What did you do to your truck today?
02-23-2017, 04:52 PM
Well, I bought a $7.99 radiator cap and solved my coolant smell problem. I just popped the hood; unscrewed the old cap; cleaned the surfaces and installed the new cap. Been driving around for two days and no more coolant smell.
02-23-2017, 08:30 PM
Senior Member
Originally Posted by gwgeep
Well, I bought a $7.99 radiator cap and solved my coolant smell problem. I just popped the hood; unscrewed the old cap; cleaned the surfaces and installed the new cap. Been driving around for two days and no more coolant smell.
02-24-2017, 08:28 PM
Burped radiator overflow tank
Well, I opened my new radiator cap today and the overflow tank burped - released the system vacuum - and that was surprising. Never did that before...so, it was good to replace the cap. I noticed before I did this the temp gauge was up and down and I got the impression that there was pockets of air and when the overflow did not go back into the radiator I smelled coolant. Day 3 and still no coolant smell. So, I did something right.
02-24-2017, 09:52 PM
Another huge upgrade on tap for the morning... lol
Mine works still, only thing is the wipers sometimes need to be wiggled for them to engage, probably could just clean and service the original and i probably will to keep it as a spare, but it was only 38 bucks canadian delivered off of ebay so what the hell.
Mine works still, only thing is the wipers sometimes need to be wiggled for them to engage, probably could just clean and service the original and i probably will to keep it as a spare, but it was only 38 bucks canadian delivered off of ebay so what the hell.
02-24-2017, 10:59 PM
Air Bag//Horn Replacement
When I first bought my F150 16 years ago within a month my horn did not work so it would not pass inspection. Found the part that had to be replaced and it was the coiled spring conductor inside the steering wheel. Had to take the air bag out with caution and take out old spring and put in new spring. The instructions said to use caution when pulling the steering wheel as I could jerk it and it could come back and break my face. Never did that before but it worked out just fine...a little cautious as I did not want to break my face but also did not want to have an air bag explode in my face either....
02-27-2017, 01:37 PM
Junior Member
Replaced harmonic balancer
On Friday I fired up the truck and the entire truck was shaking extremely hard, and sounded like the motor was going to crater. I had heard that the balancer was a real PITA, so i was a little skeptical. Took off the fan and radiator shroud and was able to break the bolt holding the balancer with a 2-3 foot cheater bar. The new one went on very nicely. I rented an installer but none of them fit, so I just pulled it on with the bolt and washer. I was able to get probably 9 or 10 turns of the bolt without it pulling yet, so wasn't too concerned about stripping the crankshaft. Went slow and it worked just fine.
Looks like the power steering pump replacement will be soon. Or is the Saginaw conversion worth the effort?
Looks like the power steering pump replacement will be soon. Or is the Saginaw conversion worth the effort?
02-27-2017, 06:09 PM
Fuel filter replacement
I was wondering what my fuel filter looked like so I went ahead and bought a new one on the way home. I recall the last time I replaced it was maybe 8 years ago and I used a WIX. This time I bought a motorcraft because I remember that aftermarket fuel filter shafts are shorter and the removal tool does not work very well on it. So, I made a plastic tool for one end and used my real tool on the other end. I figured this 10 minute job would take hours but it came off easy and the new one went on just fine.
The one thing I noticed was that the fuel that came out of the good end was cloudy not dark and mucky like the input but cloudy. Surprised me a bit. I emptied the input end and it was murky/black. I suspect my WIX filter might have been breaking down which is why the output was cloudy. I do use LUCAS gas treatment and that does help my MPG when I use it. That was what I did today...
The one thing I noticed was that the fuel that came out of the good end was cloudy not dark and mucky like the input but cloudy. Surprised me a bit. I emptied the input end and it was murky/black. I suspect my WIX filter might have been breaking down which is why the output was cloudy. I do use LUCAS gas treatment and that does help my MPG when I use it. That was what I did today...
02-27-2017, 07:01 PM
On Friday I fired up the truck and the entire truck was shaking extremely hard, and sounded like the motor was going to crater. I had heard that the balancer was a real PITA, so i was a little skeptical. Took off the fan and radiator shroud and was able to break the bolt holding the balancer with a 2-3 foot cheater bar. The new one went on very nicely. I rented an installer but none of them fit, so I just pulled it on with the bolt and washer. I was able to get probably 9 or 10 turns of the bolt without it pulling yet, so wasn't too concerned about stripping the crankshaft. Went slow and it worked just fine.
Looks like the power steering pump replacement will be soon. Or is the Saginaw conversion worth the effort?
Looks like the power steering pump replacement will be soon. Or is the Saginaw conversion worth the effort?
02-28-2017, 01:04 AM
Senior Member
Sag pump upgrade is by far the best upgrade I have done to my truck. Everyone should do it.
03-02-2017, 06:53 PM
Today I replaced what appeared to be the factory shocks on my 317k mile F150.
Video of removed shock
Placed the following order:
1.5 inch leveling kit
Moog:
tie rod end adjusting sleeve
radius arm bushing kit
axle pivot bushing
Ball joints upper and lower
tie rod ends
Basically all of this plus some more to rebuild my steering.
Video of removed shock
Placed the following order:
1.5 inch leveling kit
Moog:
tie rod end adjusting sleeve
radius arm bushing kit
axle pivot bushing
Ball joints upper and lower
tie rod ends
Basically all of this plus some more to rebuild my steering.