Another New Guy...
08-21-2013, 08:51 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Another New Guy...
Hello all,
I've recently purchased an '08 F150 XLT/XTR Supercrew 5.4 4x4 in Stone Green Metallic w/ the beige two-tone. I bought the truck from my uncle who bought it new in '08 and put nearly 287k km's on it. He used it mostly for work to travel to open pit mines and other construction sites. The truck spent most of it's life on highways though since the sites are somewhat remote. Cosmetically, the truck is pretty rough with the typical rust around the gas cap and the edges of the box. The rims are in rough shape too because of corrosion between the wheel and the chrome cladding. The interior was pretty filthy with a lot of wear on the drivers seat and leather wheel.
Mechanically, it's in good condition for its age. It has been dealer maintained since new with 5k km (3k mile) oil changes. Shortly before purchasing the truck, he had the front steering/suspension serviced (alignment, ball joints and more) along with all new front brakes. To pass the safety inspection I got a new windshield installed and put new rotors, pads, parking brakes and hardware on myself.
This is my first truck, I've always owned a car but lately I've been seeing the need for a truck more and more. I didn't want a payment nor did I want to daily drive a truck for gas millage reasons (work is currently a 270 km round trip a day). My uncle was getting rid of the truck because it was at the end of its useful life for him and he was almost done paying for it. He usually ends up giving his truck to the company he works for. However, this time around they didn't want it since needed more work than it was worth it (in their eyes). The dealer wouldn't give him a half decent trade in so I offered to buy it. Long story short, I bought the truck for more-less what was left of the initial loan.
To me this will be a project of sorts. I got the truck cheap enough and it has a very good service history so I don't mind putting time and money into it so that it's something I can keep as a secondary vehicle for a few years. I'm also thinking of daily driving the truck over the winter since my previous winter "beater" was totaled a few months back.
The current fix-it list includes:
- fix intermittent 4wd engagement
- get new tires (and probably a new set of factory rims)
- fix the A/C system
- replace the intermittent steering shaft
- fix some body rust
- remove or replace the cracked bug deflector
- replace the passenger side mirror (small crack in housing, might upgrade to 09+ mirrors)
- remove the interior carpet cleaning (power washing)
- fix the drivers seat cushion
- good exterior detailing
Future Repairs:
- spark plugs (depending on when they were last changed, need to see the dealer)
- timing set + phasers
- new idlers and belts
- new wipers
Wish List:
- front window tint
- install an aftermarket headunit (just need an install kit)
- e-fan conversion w/ underdrive pulley
- headlight/ foglight retrofit
- repair/paint the steering wheel
- replace the grille with one from a Lariat
- Lariat cluster swap (probably more than I want to handle to do it right)
I'm looking forward to being part of another forum. I'm currently active in forums for my other cars and toys and enjoy those. It's also nice to have a change in what I drive since I've owned the same platform of car for nearly 8 years now!
Steph
I've recently purchased an '08 F150 XLT/XTR Supercrew 5.4 4x4 in Stone Green Metallic w/ the beige two-tone. I bought the truck from my uncle who bought it new in '08 and put nearly 287k km's on it. He used it mostly for work to travel to open pit mines and other construction sites. The truck spent most of it's life on highways though since the sites are somewhat remote. Cosmetically, the truck is pretty rough with the typical rust around the gas cap and the edges of the box. The rims are in rough shape too because of corrosion between the wheel and the chrome cladding. The interior was pretty filthy with a lot of wear on the drivers seat and leather wheel.
Mechanically, it's in good condition for its age. It has been dealer maintained since new with 5k km (3k mile) oil changes. Shortly before purchasing the truck, he had the front steering/suspension serviced (alignment, ball joints and more) along with all new front brakes. To pass the safety inspection I got a new windshield installed and put new rotors, pads, parking brakes and hardware on myself.
This is my first truck, I've always owned a car but lately I've been seeing the need for a truck more and more. I didn't want a payment nor did I want to daily drive a truck for gas millage reasons (work is currently a 270 km round trip a day). My uncle was getting rid of the truck because it was at the end of its useful life for him and he was almost done paying for it. He usually ends up giving his truck to the company he works for. However, this time around they didn't want it since needed more work than it was worth it (in their eyes). The dealer wouldn't give him a half decent trade in so I offered to buy it. Long story short, I bought the truck for more-less what was left of the initial loan.
To me this will be a project of sorts. I got the truck cheap enough and it has a very good service history so I don't mind putting time and money into it so that it's something I can keep as a secondary vehicle for a few years. I'm also thinking of daily driving the truck over the winter since my previous winter "beater" was totaled a few months back.
The current fix-it list includes:
- fix intermittent 4wd engagement
- get new tires (and probably a new set of factory rims)
- fix the A/C system
- replace the intermittent steering shaft
- fix some body rust
- remove or replace the cracked bug deflector
- replace the passenger side mirror (small crack in housing, might upgrade to 09+ mirrors)
- remove the interior carpet cleaning (power washing)
- fix the drivers seat cushion
- good exterior detailing
Future Repairs:
- spark plugs (depending on when they were last changed, need to see the dealer)
- timing set + phasers
- new idlers and belts
- new wipers
Wish List:
- front window tint
- install an aftermarket headunit (just need an install kit)
- e-fan conversion w/ underdrive pulley
- headlight/ foglight retrofit
- repair/paint the steering wheel
- replace the grille with one from a Lariat
- Lariat cluster swap (probably more than I want to handle to do it right)
I'm looking forward to being part of another forum. I'm currently active in forums for my other cars and toys and enjoy those. It's also nice to have a change in what I drive since I've owned the same platform of car for nearly 8 years now!
Steph
08-22-2013, 02:03 PM
#2
Unique & Different
Awesome. Hello to you from SC and GA. Welcome to the forum. Lots of information is on here. Enjoy.
