Hard to part with my 96 XLT - should I?
04-09-2014, 03:07 PM
#51
I replaced my coil spring mount in less than an hour. I just cut the brake lines and ran new ones afterwards. It seems most ppl break them anyway after screwing with them for hours. took me less than 20 mins to run new lines.
04-09-2014, 03:23 PM
#53
Member
Thread Starter
look for dealerships that are located in very rural areas, the typical truck sold in rural areas are work trucks. So the factories send more work truck type vehicles to those dealerships. Thats why if you go to a Dallas ford dealership there are plenty of nice 4 door shortbox 4x4's platinums, king ranch's, and lariats available, but you'll be lucky if you can find 1 single cab. But I can go into the sherman dealership and see plenty of singe cab and XL/ XLT models lined up.
For the life of me, I do not understand the gigantic, over-stuffed cabs on the new trucks with every possible luxury, then a tiny bed with only room for a bag of groceries left over (out in the weather besides). I was looking at one last weekend in a showroom that was like an old time Lincoln towne car with a tiny bed in the back - a Limited model I think. It was gigantic inside with almost no bed at all. Certainly nothing you would ride to do plumbing or carpentry work in... God forbid you got the leather dirty!
Last edited by Dan3292; 04-09-2014 at 03:26 PM.
04-10-2014, 07:37 AM
#54
Senior Member
Right, thanks. Here that is Central PA or the mountains out of the Philly or NYC metros.
For the life of me, I do not understand the gigantic, over-stuffed cabs on the new trucks with every possible luxury, then a tiny bed with only room for a bag of groceries left over (out in the weather besides). I was looking at one last weekend in a showroom that was like an old time Lincoln towne car with a tiny bed in the back - a Limited model I think. It was gigantic inside with almost no bed at all. Certainly nothing you would ride to do plumbing or carpentry work in... God forbid you got the leather dirty!
For the life of me, I do not understand the gigantic, over-stuffed cabs on the new trucks with every possible luxury, then a tiny bed with only room for a bag of groceries left over (out in the weather besides). I was looking at one last weekend in a showroom that was like an old time Lincoln towne car with a tiny bed in the back - a Limited model I think. It was gigantic inside with almost no bed at all. Certainly nothing you would ride to do plumbing or carpentry work in... God forbid you got the leather dirty!
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04-22-2014, 11:50 PM
#55
Member
Thread Starter
I'm going to keep blathering on here, just in case others may find this useful. Onward with the rusted spring tower/rad support project.
The 3rd independent body shop I thought I was going to have do my repairs stalled and stalled like they decided against doing the job. Basically the same response I had gotten from the other 2 body shops. Like nobody wants to touch it.
By this point, I have already received the spring towers/rad support + hardware from Jeff's BG for about $800. I ended up spray painting the rad support myself last week with a couple cans of silver spray paint from HD. I also got four new KYB shocks from eBay for another $120.
With time running out, I turned back to my Ford dealer to install the parts. They were the ones who failed me for inspection in the first place, so it makes sense they would make the repairs.
Last weekend, I also had the scary experience of losing my alternator while driving on I-95 in heavy traffic pretty far from home. Picture doing 75mph when suddenly lights dim out, dashboard blinking, and sputtering engine. I had to be towed into the dealer.
As I dropped the truck off to them with a bed full of parts, I told Ford to call if they needed me to order anything else and that I was open to thier recommendations with regard to the rear suspension as well. The rear end has been sounding rather clangy to me lately. Ford ended up calling a day later with some concerns about how the work was progressing. I drove over in person today to take a look.
The particular mechanic that ends up doing most of the repairs for me at Ford has a 92 F150 himself, so he is sympathic at least and I trust his opinions on repairs.
He had already installed the rad support and apparently had no problem using the aftermarket support and mounting kit from JBG. You previous posters here were correct that it took him about 4 hours to install the new rad support.
The mechanic was concerned that if I was going to the trouble of replacing the spring towers and shocks, he would recommend replacing the radius arms and brackets while we were at it. Makes sense to me, but they will have to let it sit around idle for a couple of days while I order the radius arms.
Anyway, this is getting pretty expensive. I had about $920 in parts so far. My second order for radius arms plus hardware another $450. I shudder to think what the labor charge will be - plus add in the alternator and one upper ball joint, as well as required alignments after the spring tower project. I will have quite a bit into keeping the old truck running.
I have been simultaneously out looking at new trucks. I have been very uninspired at spending $35K for a comparable truck and have happily driven home six times now determined to keep my old one. Yet, I know I will lose this battle eventually.
The 3rd independent body shop I thought I was going to have do my repairs stalled and stalled like they decided against doing the job. Basically the same response I had gotten from the other 2 body shops. Like nobody wants to touch it.
By this point, I have already received the spring towers/rad support + hardware from Jeff's BG for about $800. I ended up spray painting the rad support myself last week with a couple cans of silver spray paint from HD. I also got four new KYB shocks from eBay for another $120.
With time running out, I turned back to my Ford dealer to install the parts. They were the ones who failed me for inspection in the first place, so it makes sense they would make the repairs.
Last weekend, I also had the scary experience of losing my alternator while driving on I-95 in heavy traffic pretty far from home. Picture doing 75mph when suddenly lights dim out, dashboard blinking, and sputtering engine. I had to be towed into the dealer.
As I dropped the truck off to them with a bed full of parts, I told Ford to call if they needed me to order anything else and that I was open to thier recommendations with regard to the rear suspension as well. The rear end has been sounding rather clangy to me lately. Ford ended up calling a day later with some concerns about how the work was progressing. I drove over in person today to take a look.
The particular mechanic that ends up doing most of the repairs for me at Ford has a 92 F150 himself, so he is sympathic at least and I trust his opinions on repairs.
He had already installed the rad support and apparently had no problem using the aftermarket support and mounting kit from JBG. You previous posters here were correct that it took him about 4 hours to install the new rad support.
The mechanic was concerned that if I was going to the trouble of replacing the spring towers and shocks, he would recommend replacing the radius arms and brackets while we were at it. Makes sense to me, but they will have to let it sit around idle for a couple of days while I order the radius arms.
Anyway, this is getting pretty expensive. I had about $920 in parts so far. My second order for radius arms plus hardware another $450. I shudder to think what the labor charge will be - plus add in the alternator and one upper ball joint, as well as required alignments after the spring tower project. I will have quite a bit into keeping the old truck running.
I have been simultaneously out looking at new trucks. I have been very uninspired at spending $35K for a comparable truck and have happily driven home six times now determined to keep my old one. Yet, I know I will lose this battle eventually.
04-23-2014, 01:04 AM
#56
Martin
Where you don't have the ability or time to do those major repairs yourself, you are probably right about it being a losing battle. You ought to plan for the future and save some pennies, when the 2015 come out should be screaming deals on new 2014's. If you like single cab most of those are xl models but still very nice outfits.
In my area 2011 and up can be had for 20k with 30,0000 miles. Gotta be tempting when repairs are costing that much. Really need to be able to do repairs yourself to make these older trucks cost affective, especially 4wd models. IMO
Good luck.
In my area 2011 and up can be had for 20k with 30,0000 miles. Gotta be tempting when repairs are costing that much. Really need to be able to do repairs yourself to make these older trucks cost affective, especially 4wd models. IMO
Good luck.
04-23-2014, 08:27 AM
#57
your truck
I had to chime in because I used to think like you. Car was mystery, follow the best mechanic's admonitions and put the best parts on it.
Looks like you did your research, but Rockauto and LMC truck has the best catalog for research. LMC catalog has become a good book for me, by the way.
I thought NJ was bad due to my inspection experience, but it looks like PA really cares about its drivers.
For all good intentions and professionalism, your mechanics can't help but see you as a moneybag, and see your (all ours) truck as nothing but trouble - time is money, and insurance won't pay. Sdmartin's advice is right on point. Any more problems, I'd take the loss and trade in since you can't do the work yourself. My truck is m5od transmission, and if I have another problem with it (slave cylinder $800), I'm trading.
About the steel parts. A cheap mini paint scraper with flat and round blades wil tell you how much good steel is left. Most brackets seem to be about 1/8" thick new, and these parts don't wear out uniformly so that the whole parts gets thin enough for a catastrophic failure. But you have to pay attention to the parts such as rivets and around them and where shocks and springs rest. Mine looked bad until I changed the shocks, and once cleaned, the rust wasn't that deep. My opinion only, but even half eaten rivet heads don't predict parts flying out.
I buy cans of rustoleum rust reformer. The red logo cans. I am fairly impressed with its protection. It even stood up to propane torch longer than I thought.
It is your truck and most of your worries come from not having even a minimal experience. So again, I'd think about changing to newer car.
Looks like you did your research, but Rockauto and LMC truck has the best catalog for research. LMC catalog has become a good book for me, by the way.
I thought NJ was bad due to my inspection experience, but it looks like PA really cares about its drivers.
For all good intentions and professionalism, your mechanics can't help but see you as a moneybag, and see your (all ours) truck as nothing but trouble - time is money, and insurance won't pay. Sdmartin's advice is right on point. Any more problems, I'd take the loss and trade in since you can't do the work yourself. My truck is m5od transmission, and if I have another problem with it (slave cylinder $800), I'm trading.
About the steel parts. A cheap mini paint scraper with flat and round blades wil tell you how much good steel is left. Most brackets seem to be about 1/8" thick new, and these parts don't wear out uniformly so that the whole parts gets thin enough for a catastrophic failure. But you have to pay attention to the parts such as rivets and around them and where shocks and springs rest. Mine looked bad until I changed the shocks, and once cleaned, the rust wasn't that deep. My opinion only, but even half eaten rivet heads don't predict parts flying out.
I buy cans of rustoleum rust reformer. The red logo cans. I am fairly impressed with its protection. It even stood up to propane torch longer than I thought.
It is your truck and most of your worries come from not having even a minimal experience. So again, I'd think about changing to newer car.
05-07-2014, 12:54 AM
#58
Member
Thread Starter
The Ford dealer finished my truck last week. It was an enormous labor bill - around $3600 which included a one week car rental. I have been pretty thrilled to have it back and be driving it around with it's new suspension and replaced alternator.
The replacement of the rusted radiator support included the part which spans the entire front of the vehicle at a cost of $180. I had painted it with silver spray paint before handing it over to them along with a rad support mounting kit at cost of $99. Ford charged me 10 hours installation time.
The replacement of the rusted spring towers, shocks, and radius arms included 2 spring tower brackets at a cost of $155 and $118, assorted nuts, bolts, spring and shock brackets for another $90, radius arms for $149 and $139, radius arm brackets for $64 each, two sets of radius arm bushings for $48, four KYB shocks for $108, and two brake hoses for $14 each. Ford charged me 8 hours installation time. There was an additional 3 hours charged for the front end alignment afterward.
We had noticed mid-way through the repair that one of the springs was ready to punch through the top of the tower. At least one of the shocks was also ready to punch through.
I had included a can of black spray paint in the parts for the spring towers and the mechanic re-painted my old springs and gave a healthy spritz to the frame as well. It is a real nice clean job and the front end of the truck looks new underneath.
I also had one ball joint replaced, as well as a new alternator which totally corrected my low battery problem I have been having for the last two years. The battery meter on the dashboard went right back up to the 13-15 volt range where it has been reading 10-11 volts for the last few years.
I am just finishing up this post with some details for those of us who are not capable of maintaining our own trucks, but still love them anyway. I cannot imagine me doing this work in my driveway - no way. In my book, I wil have one high credit card payment to keep old truck rolling.
That makes the total spent at $5000, which is the most I have ever spent to keep a vehicle running - state inspections or not. I have also acquired the rear shocks and upper mounting brackets after the fact and will have those installed in the next month. The mechanic thought my rear leaf springs would last indefinately - the main failing point being the forward spring hangers. The rear shackles were replaced a few years ago.
So that's what I ended up doing... Thanks for all of your replies
The replacement of the rusted radiator support included the part which spans the entire front of the vehicle at a cost of $180. I had painted it with silver spray paint before handing it over to them along with a rad support mounting kit at cost of $99. Ford charged me 10 hours installation time.
The replacement of the rusted spring towers, shocks, and radius arms included 2 spring tower brackets at a cost of $155 and $118, assorted nuts, bolts, spring and shock brackets for another $90, radius arms for $149 and $139, radius arm brackets for $64 each, two sets of radius arm bushings for $48, four KYB shocks for $108, and two brake hoses for $14 each. Ford charged me 8 hours installation time. There was an additional 3 hours charged for the front end alignment afterward.
We had noticed mid-way through the repair that one of the springs was ready to punch through the top of the tower. At least one of the shocks was also ready to punch through.
I had included a can of black spray paint in the parts for the spring towers and the mechanic re-painted my old springs and gave a healthy spritz to the frame as well. It is a real nice clean job and the front end of the truck looks new underneath.
I also had one ball joint replaced, as well as a new alternator which totally corrected my low battery problem I have been having for the last two years. The battery meter on the dashboard went right back up to the 13-15 volt range where it has been reading 10-11 volts for the last few years.
I am just finishing up this post with some details for those of us who are not capable of maintaining our own trucks, but still love them anyway. I cannot imagine me doing this work in my driveway - no way. In my book, I wil have one high credit card payment to keep old truck rolling.
That makes the total spent at $5000, which is the most I have ever spent to keep a vehicle running - state inspections or not. I have also acquired the rear shocks and upper mounting brackets after the fact and will have those installed in the next month. The mechanic thought my rear leaf springs would last indefinately - the main failing point being the forward spring hangers. The rear shackles were replaced a few years ago.
So that's what I ended up doing... Thanks for all of your replies
