HubFord

Howdy all,
first time pickup truck, and first time Ford owner here. Live in NY, found this truck in Tennessee a couple weeks ago. 2004 FX4 99,000 miles, $11,400.

Specifically wanted a stepside bed, wanted to purchase from a "less rust" area (here winter brings tons of salt on the roads).

So far I have only driven it a few times. Already removed "rigged" turndown Flowmaster before the rear axle and installed a Magnaflow cat back (sounds great, not too loud).

Truck looks super clean (to me), basically zero rust (all aluminium on engine looks new, no corrosion), carfax had maintenance records, came with manual, everything seems to work, stereo even sounds good.

Few quick questions:
-Is there a FSM download available, or is this something to buy on a disc on ebay?

-Is there a way to tighten up rear door latch a bit (drivers front door rattles over bumps a bit and requires a decent slam to latch).

-I only hear some engine noise for about 2-3 seconds after startup, once oil pressure gauge responds the noise stops completely, I have yet to change the oil, but plan to use a FL820, perhaps anti drainback valve will help.

-Do aftermarket air intakes do anything on these trucks?

In the past few weeks I have been watching many youtube videos about spark plug changes, plan to do that soon.













Thanks,
John

techrep

iTrader: (1)

Looks pretty damn clean ... gotta use a motor craft oil filter with the anti drain back.. Walmart sells them... Nice truck even if its Yellow...lol

powerranger262

Very nice. I would hit the plastics on the bed with a heat gun, to get them black again. As for the doors, I don't think the latch is your issue. The hinges themselves are known to be the weak point, and tend to sag after a while. My doors rattle and bang like crazy when going through a field.
Stick with Motorcraft filters and parts.
You may not have the issue, due to the low rust on your truck, but drop the spare and check out your FPDM. There are tons of threads on this. It's just good to take a look at it, before it leaves you stranded.
Just like above, I'm not a huge fan of yellow, but that truck really looks to be in great shape. Enjoy!

HubFord

Thanks... It looks like the FPDM is fairly inexpensive ($60, with lots of positive reviews on amazon). I will lower the spare tire and check it out, maybe just replace it.

I would like to download an FSM for the truck, any good sources?

Rick's 06

Truck looks great. Love the yellow. She's begging you for some bigger tires though.

Magna_Flow

That's a great-looking truck and (we may be biased here) that exhaust pipe selection just seems to work well with the truck as a whole. Nicely done! How's it sound?

HubFord

Thanks! I read up about leveling kits, then decided on the Rancho RS999910 quick struts instead (which I have not yet installed), considering my front coils had an 80 lb?+ brush guard (which I removed and am selling) on it when I got the truck, figure I will get new springs, and struts with some leveling lift all in one with the quick struts.

Speaking of tires... they are so-so... planned on keeping stock size when they wear out since there's not much off-roading around here, I take the Jeep CJ-7 4BT Cummins on the beach (35" tires).

Thanks, haha. It sounds great... not too loud, not too quiet. Basically, I didn’t want to **** off the neighbors, but wanted to remember I had a V8 truck at the same time.

HubFord

Heat gun or Mothers Black To Black?

beetlevegas

very nice. Love the step side

powerranger262

I would go with the heat gun. The back to black eventually comes off, and runs down your paint. If the heat gun doesn't do the trick, then I would just paint all the plastics with krylon fusion, satin black paint. First clean real good with a high quality degreaser, then a coat of adhesion promoter, and then paint.
As for the FPDM, make sure you get the new revised version, that has spacers ti make it sit off the crossmember.