I recently did the sync 1 to sync 3 conversion on my ‘14 5.0 SCrew. I looked at a lot of reviews for different kits as I felt it was worth the extra cost to avoid the hassle of sourcing all of the parts and I also didn’t want to worry about the wiring harness and forscan adjustments. For me, it was well worth the extra cost to have someone else take care of all of that.

from my research the OG seems to be 4Dtech, which has great reviews but is also the most expensive. There also seems to be a lot of kits from China which felt like a bigger roll of the dice. I stumbled upon FourSyncTech as a US based site that had good reviews and forum / Reddit posters had good things to say. The cost seemed to be in the middle between the Chinese kits and 4Dtech so I took the chance and ordered a kit.

I am not the most experienced with working on cars, but I am fairly technically proficient and I’m definitely a student at YouTube university:-) The various videos on YouTube about this conversion made the process really straightforward. I would estimate it took me about 3-4 hours in total.

For this kit, you do have to use forscan to change one setting in the as-built menu but this was pretty straightforward. After install, everything was working well - rear view camera, climate control, CarPlay, Bluetooth all working. It was so nice to not have to yell at my car “Bluetooth audio” to get my phone to connect!

I was getting a navigation module error and I figured that this was what the forscan update was for so I fired that up and followed the instructions. Unfortunately, this didn’t fix the issue and my backup camera stopped working. This is where I was so happy I decided to go with FourSyncTech!

I emailed Anthony, the owner of the company and he was super responsive and helpful. It turns out the navigation error was due to me not unplugging the module under the dash tray- easy fix. The backup camera was a different issue. We had something like 15-20 emails back and forth trying to troubleshoot. Anthony was awesome and very patient. I was convinced that it was the reprogramming of the module in forscan that had caused the issue (it turns out I was wrong:-) but Anthony and I tried all different options- still no backup camera. I even pulled everything apart to ensure the RCA connection was good (it was)- still no camera. Anthony suggested it might be an issue with the camera itself. This seemed weird, but at that point I figured I’d give it a try and ordered a cheap replacement camera off of Amazon.

I just finished installing the new camera and now everything works! My only guess as to what happened is that perhaps there was a power surge when I disconnected the battery or when I reprogrammed the module and that caused the camera failure. The other option is just plain coincidence :-) Regardless, I am super happy I paid the small premium to support an American business. The shipping was fast and the after sales customer support was top notch.

In regards to the upgrade- it’s amazing and I wish I had done it years ago. I purchased a wireless CarPlay adapter off of Amazon and now when I get in my truck my phone automatically connects and CarPlay comes right up. Gone are the days of hitting the sync button and saying blue tooth audio (and then having my son echo / mock me). Waze works great as well. Climate control, backup camera and steering wheel controls all work as expected and it looks much more modern.

If you’re considering this upgrade, I’d say do it. If you have the budget I would definitely recommend going with a kit and I fully recommend Anthony and FourSyncTech. Yes there are cheaper options out there, but I am confident that had I gone the China route, I would still be mucking around with the modules instead of enjoying my truck.

Hope this helps anyone who’s on the fence.

 

that's good feedback. Still happy with it? Any lingering issues? What is "unplugging the navigation module"?

 

I have an entire kit sitting in my garage to be installed.

 

Does that mean you want to sell it? Or that you're not interested in putting it in for some reason?

 

Purchased it on a whim, hasn't been a priority since I'm not having any issues with original radio. Thought about just getting rid of it. Just one of the many projects I have laying around to do.

 

I learned recently that the Sync2 and Sync3 APIMs are the same module -- same size and same ports and plugs. So can folks with Sync2 just send their APIM in to get Sync3 installed? Damn that would be cost effective.
I do like the new higher res Sync4 8.46" screen though.

 

Overall I'm still very happy with the upgrade. The biggest improvement is I no longer have to hit the sync button and say "bluetooth audio" (and then hear my kids echo it back every time I get in the truck. I connects to a wireless airplay adapter seamlessly connects about 98% of the time. The bigger screen is really nice for CarPlay apps (I use Waze).

There are some issues however- I get a navigation error every time I turn on the truck. This doesn't really bother me as I'm using a wireless CarPlay adapter and it syncs usually about 20-30 seconds after I get the navigation error and I don't see it. On what I think is related, this navigation error also makes the truck's clock give an incorrect time and if you attempt to change it, it reverts back to the initial time immediately. I suspect this has something to do with a GPS module giving both a GPS time and some error. Again, once the CarPlay comes up, it uses the time off of my phone and no issues.

I would do it again but if I had it all apart I would see what I could do about the navigation error.

 

I ordered the FourSyncTech upgrade a couple days ago, should be here Saturday. Did you remove your Sync1 GPS antenna and then install the Sync3 antenna in its place?