Tackle

Well, here we go. I purchased this truck in Sept 15th, 2012 with 108,000 miles for $10,200. I had looked at it twice before I purchased it. Slightly high but it had everything I wanted. I spent 2 years looking for this truck. In the last 6 years I've bought, fixed, and sold 5 vehicles for profit (except for my DD which I sold the day before I bought this truck, a 1998 Monte Carlo). I'm fairly handy when it comes to working in the garage.

2002 FX4, Lariat.

So far I have not really done any "mods" besides the Lund Genesis Roll up Tonneau cover. Mostly just maintenance. This thread will serve as a log, as well as my progress.

Rims are MB Gunner 5 with Bridgestone Dueler Revo A/T's. Which were on the truck when I bought it.

Tackle

These are my notes on what I've done so far. I don't have many pictures, but I'll see what I can find. I will continue to update this as I move along. I haven't owned it for very long, but seems I've dumped quite a bit of money into it. I needed to get this to my standards, which are very high.

*Sold Monte for $2700 on 9/14/12
*Purchased truck 9/15/12, 108,450 miles, $10,200.
*2 Keys. cost $28 to cut and program. $11.50 to buy the key online. Extra fob cost $18. Programmed myself. Insert 1 key to run, then remove key and put in the second key to run then remove, then press the start button the new fob and press the brake before it stopped. (This was to program the autostart after getting the new keys).
*Mileage 11.2, 11.8, 10.9, 10.6, 10.2, 10.1, 12.1, 10.1, 11.3
*LT 285/75/r16 Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo 32.8", 16/32" tread depth new, currently 11/32" and 12/32". Rims are "MB gunner 5". 5x135 lug pattern. PSI current: 40psi (Might go 35 in spring)
*9/29/12 Leaky Trans - Dropped and straightened pan. Takes Mercon-V. Added less than 1/2 quart.
* 9/29/12 Replaced PCV Valve ($3)
*9/28/12 Changed Front Diff fluid (75w-90) with Mobile 1, $9.99 a bottle (Took almost exactly 2 bottles)
*10/19/12 Purchased Superchips Flashpaq 1815 for $160
*10/20/12 Cleaned throttle body.
*10/25/12 Flashed Superchips 1815 87 Octane
*10/26/12 Replaced Fuel filter. Napa Gold 3595. Bought the tool as well. 109k. ($12 for the filter)
*11/13/12 Had serpentine belt replaced and oil change. $150 after coupon (was $83 just for the belt), 109500 miles.
*11/20/12 Replaced Rear shocks with Monroe Sensatracs, 37134. $47 from RockAuto.com on sale (half price). 14mm on the top nut, 18mm on the lower. 29 ft/lbs top, 44-60 ft/lbs bottom.
*Moog K8695T (2), Moog K8722T, Moog K8724T, Moog K8738T ordered. $220 Shipped from RockAuto.com (Upper Control Arm & Ball joints, lower bj's, Idler arm)
*Ordered Moog Camber kits for the UCA's ($50), Amazon.com
*11/24/12 Replace ball joints and control arms w/camber kit. Had alignment at Sears plus tire rotation. $88. 6 month warranty as long as you don't replace parts. Took 3-5 hours each side. Used Anti-Seize on all bolts except brake bolts.
*12/2/12 Replaced Idler arm. (all 21mm bolts.) Torque top 2 bolts to 148 and nut to 98ft lb's.
*12/2/12 Installed Gotts Mod and sprayed MAF with contact cleaner.
*12/4/12 Ordered Inner/Outer Tie rods and sleeves. $131 from Rock Auto. Moog ES3370T, ES3366T, ES3369T, ES3367T, ES3368S
*12/4/12 Took off driver side caliper (18mm & 13mm) and greased the pins as it had a rotational squeaking. Fixed the issue.
*12/8/12 Replaced Inner/Outer Tie rods and sleeves with the Moog parts. The inners were not the same. Saved the boxes and put in the garage attic. Torqued both to 60ft lbs.
*12/8/12 Got alignment from Firestone. Paid for Lifetime Alignment ($170). Said the clunk was from the Driver side UCA but didn't effect alignment, but should replace.
*12/9/12 Contacted RockAuto about the UCA and said to order a new one and ship the bad one back under warranty (30 days but they will give me an extension because I contacted them before hand).
*12/14/12 Went to Willmar and picked up 4 FX4 rims. 2 Uniyoral Liberators 4-5/32", and 2 Firestone Destination le's 8/32". 265/70/17. Measured less than 1/4" different when off the truck. 1/4"-1/2" when on the truck. Possible issue? Maybe not.
*12/15/12 Put on the FX4 rims/tires. Uniroyals on the front.
*12/15/12 Replaced Driver side Upper control arm again. Had Firestone check alignment, was good and did not need to be aligned. No clunks. Torque Alignment bolts to 100ft pounds and upper ball joint to 60-70ft pounds.
*12/15/12 Put other rims in the shed. Washed first at SOK's/dried outside. Swapped order Jan 21st 2013.
*12/26/12 Installed DieHard AGM Advanced Gold battery. $183. 3 Year warranty.
*1/6/13 Installed Lund Genesis Roll up Tonneau cover from AutoAnything. $264.
*1/17/13 Added Chevron Techron to fuel tank and filled up to about 20 gallons (twice).
*1/22/13 Called Ford where truck was worked on previously. October of 2010 the Transmission was replaced with a Ford Re-manufactured @ 93,000 miles. Warranty is good until 10/25/13, unlimited miles. Local ford dealer can honor warranty. Also in 2009 the tailgate latch was replaced so I'm guessing it doesn't work with the key I have.
*2/11/13 Ordered Motor craft PCV ($9), ACDelco 16002 COP Coil Boots ($31.36), and Motorcraft Spark plugs SP479 ($20.48)
*2/16/13 Installed 8 Motor Craft Spark Plugs and ACDelco cop boots. Used dielectric boot grease on the insides of boots and porcelain part of spark plug. Torqued to 25 or 30 foot pounds using older yellow handle torque wrench. Had Auto-lite double platinums in it. Put the used ones and a couple boots in the AC delco boot box above workbench.
*2/16/13 Installed Motor Craft PCV Valve.

Need to do:

**Will need to balance the 16" MB rims before/right after putting them on. The weights are coming off.
**75w-140 for Rear (3 bottles)? Double Check. Plus need 4 oz friction modifier.
**ELM327 OBD-II diagnostic scanner and Torque android app?
**Replace upstream O2 sensors to help with MPG?
**Magnaflow Oval 14 or 18" SI/SO muffler. 2.5" in/out I think?
**Use Motorcraft Synthetic blend 5w-20 from Walmart. They also have Motorcraft filter.

Tackle

Chillen on the lake...


Idler Arm:


Time to tighten up the front end:


Rims cleaned and ready for storage (Tires are for sale, pm if interested - MN only)


Little brisk one morning:

TheKing1985

Good looking truck, those are some sweet looking rims, had no idea you had aftermarket wheels...

Sent you a PM about your tires.

Edit: Just noticed you have 16 inch rims, disregard tires.

Cal3bCart3r

nice truck and good idea about the "log" ....im slightly mechanically inclined, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being hardest, how was the job of doing lower bj's and UCA?

Tackle

The log comes in handy. Don't have shops do much besides oil changes, so I don't have receipts to keep track of when maintenance was performed.

UCA is a breeze, take tire off, remove 3 bolts. The lower ball joints aren't terrible. Deff not what I would consider easy without a lift though. Had snow melting on the floor the whole time too. A good full body workout. With a bj press and puller, probably a 6 compared to a transmission swap which I'd consider a 10. Rust is always a big factor when working on suspension in MN. A $.50 rusty cotter pin held me up for 30 min.

I always think...how would a mechanic go about doing this (getting nut loose, removing part, saving time by not removing this, etc). Seems to help with efficency.

1of723

Subscribed.

Love the truck. Very jealous. I have the same truck just the XLT model. Wish I could have found an FX4 but oh well. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

-Brian

Amazin1

nice...i have the same truck, same color but, a supercrew that i just bought with similar mileage for about the same price. some good info you have here. interested to follow along...

Tackle

Finally got a break from the snow (20+ inches the last 2 weeks, more in the forecast). Took it out and washed it.

Here is the a picture from the storm last week on the way to work:



Picture of the Tonneau cover I put on over Christmas. Also cut a nice cedar 2x6 so my box would quit sliding around:



Radar detector (Beltronics 955, 6 years old now- 0 tickets) mounted, hard wired so I don't have to worry about it getting left on:



Sold the Dueler Revo's as they were getting weathered. Picked up 265/75/16 Firestone Destination LE2's. Was hoping they would increase mileage since they are a highway tire, but didn't help much if any. Ride a lot nicer though:

TheKing1985

Looks clean as hell man, like those wheels too. This winter has got to stop!!!!!!! Looks like 50s next week.