edselford

rperez817 thanks for your inputs. I had not read the MT article but based my comments on looking at the 2020 Explorers on the dealer lot. The 2019 Explorer Sport was a bargain but the 2020 ST is not! Also a 3.5 NA V6 would probably get better fuel economy than the 3.3 V6 if it were direct and port injected with roller followers for valve actuation. Basically the 3.5 ecoboost engine out of the Ford F-150 but without the turbos! The increased torque would allow using a faster final drive ratio, say a 3.27 versus a 3.73! edselford

To compete head to head with the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade Ford needs to up the game on the Explorer! The pricing is too high on current Explorer for what you get in the XLT Four cylinder, non leather seats, strut front suspension. I had a 2011 Ford Explorer XLT with leather seats, first generation 3.5 V6. It was a great car. Only one problem, overheating because the radiator fan seized and engine went into limp home mode! maybe Ford management need to think about offering an XLT plus which would include the following: leather heated seats 3.3 naturally aspirated V6 current generation with dual fuel injection and roller finger followers for hydraulic cam sport appearance package, 20” wheels double wishbone front suspension from the Aviator ford could of hit it out of he ballpark with the 2020 Explorer but probably didn’t. edselford

Everest could slot between the Explorer and the current Edge. The design has a low range in the 4 wheel drive transfer case! More of an ideal off road vehicle. This cannot be the Bronco because to out do the wrangler ford will have to basically copy it with the Long front hood and axles as far to the corners as possible. when ranger gets upgraded ford will look at Everest for North America. front wheel/transverse engine platforms front wheel based all wheel drive has many inherent disadvantages versus old rear wheel drive all wheel drive platforms. Everest is a refinement of the 2010 Ford Explorer! edselford

Remember the old C series cab over F650/750 Vehicles had heavy truck versions of the FE series V8’s I think the 391/361. Basically not much different than the 332, 352, 360, 390, 406, 410, 427 and 428. forged components, governors etc. edselford

To jpd80 The cylinder deactivation system ford picked worked but did not pass durability testing. There were two competing systems at the time. Ford chose the less costly system and the rest is history edselford

To 7 Mary 3 mary interesting picture. When it first came out, l thought it was a 7 liter version of the 6.2 SOC ford V8. I think that is actually wrong! It may have been a phase I prototype of the now new 7.3 V8. Narrow valve covers and in some discussion the bore was at 4.220” same as the 7.3 Also, if you take a picture with a wide angle lens, say a 25 or 30 mm, things seem to extend farther than they should. (Valve covers) edselford

I was driving on Michigan roads, mostly paved but pretty bad because of the severe winters. I did learn that on the Taurus, they have two different front struts. One is for normal duty with three attaching points and another for severe duty with four attaching points. I guess the severe duty was used on Taurus/Explorer police and possibly the SHO. Yes, I was shocked at the cost off replacing a strut and if one goes, ford recommends changing both! edselford

Guys Thank you for your inputs on this subject! After reading article pointed out by CoolScoop, I don’t think it’s going to be an Explorer for me. I had two Taurus’s and a 2011 Explorer that needed strut replacements after only 40,000 miles. I also wondered why vehicles ride quality was great at highway speeds but poor at low speeds and now I know why. edselford

Why would ford have a new vehicle platform with two different front suspensions? the new Aviator utilizes SLA design and the New Explorer utilizes s modified strut design. At first I thought the Aviator would require a short, long a arm design for the air suspension but the aviator is offered with a conventional spring as base! Is this cost driven? We made the full circle in the last 30 years. From SLA to simple strut and now back edselford

To Ifeg Your not the only old guy here! I’m 70 years old and worked at Ford Engine division between 1968 and 1975 first as a test car driver and later as a product development engineer in fuel systems. The discussion is interesting about the new 7.3 V8. With enough money, you can do almost anything but you must make a profit when your done or you will be done in by the market! I do remember the 1968 thunderbird 429 as the first application of the 385 series. It was not any faster than the 428 but used more gas! The absolute best street engine in that time was the 428 cobra jet. It could burn rubber from 0 all the way up to 113 mph. The 460 never did anything but move very large cars and motor homes. Volume on F250/350 was very low. From what I remember the Chevy 348 was designed as a truck engine. It became the 409 which always beat our 406 FE V8 on the street. So a truck engine can become a performance engine with the right cam, cylinder heads and fuel system. The 6.2 can be bored and stroked to 7.0 liters. putting displacement on demand on it is more costly to do than on a push rod engine like the 7.3. edselford

If you wanted to take the basic architecture of the 7.3 and build an aluminum block version at 7.0 liters, the bore could stay at 107.2mm and a stroke of 97mm would get you there! However, if your going to do an aluminum block say for Mustang or F150, the next question would be do you adjust the deck height down to say about 237mm from 256mm? Probably! When your done, it would be pretty low volume say 20,000 per year. Very difficult to justify unless someone other than Windsor does it! cylinder head design looks good even for a 605 hp naturally aspirated 7.0 liter version of the 7.3. edselford

HP and torque numbers look real good for expected duty cycle! Reliability and fuel economy is most important for these trucks. Greater horsepower and torque requires more fuel any way you want to get it. edselford

Thanks guys. Interesting crossection. Sure looks like a frame rail to me! Does this mean the Explorer has a separate frame with body mounted on it or does this mean frame integrated with body?????? thanks Edselford

I saw a group of 2020 Explorer vehicle’s on a vehicle delivery truck yesterday and got a very good look at the underside of these vehicles. I noticed that there was a flexible black paper type cover on each side of the vehicles where you would normally find a frame rail! Does anyone know what this is for ? chassis design looks unitized but probably has side frame rails with top open directly welded to floor?? Does anyone know for sure? Thanks edselford

I just wonder if the 7.3 gas V8 engine will spawn different displacement variations? Maybe a 6.6V8 and an 8.0 liter V8 for heavy duty truck applications. The 6.6 could completely replace the current 6.2V8 Also, an. Aluminum block 7.0 V8 might be possible for Mustang and Light truck. Applications. (107.2mm X 97mm) Does anyone know the bore center on the new 7.3V8? Some time ago I Suggested 117mm but That was a guess looking at the blocks in the Windsor engine plant annex. Probably very close to the old FE series V8 of 4.63”?????? edselford