Originally Posted by powerranger262

^ Wow. Maybe your truck was used to haul the salt directly out of the mine.
Hit the poor thing with a wash once in a while.

Originally Posted by nddragon01

Agree completely.

While some like SCORGE have been lucky with little-to-no maintenance other than routine, I and others have had some off the wall issues.

- 4x4 IWE solenoid located behind the battery in the engine compartment failed... where rain runoff from the windshield can pour right on to it... an electrical part... good job, Ford, lol.

- Also had to replace the 4x4 transfer case while I'm thinking of it.

- Both idler pulleys and the tensioner pulley needed replacing.

- Blower motor resistor failed. Truck HVAC and defrost would only work on highest setting before replacing.

- Have been told I have a cracked front hub actuator (can't remember side) by a mechanic doing a brake job. Haven't had any issues and tend to forget about it until I am not able to take a look myself.

- Had the passenger spring snap in half on the second lowermost "rung". Luckily it sat right down on top of the bottom "rung" of the spring in the spring support tray or whatever. Found out while putting in 2" front leveling kit. A nice unexpected additional cost.

- Fan clutch went out and needed replacing.

- Radiator blew a nice hole in itself.

- Inner bolts / mounting plates for the front sway bar rusted to powder and broke - both sides. Upgraded to a Hellwig front bar at the same time, had to get new mounting nuts/bolts/washers. Not a big deal, just one of those "really?" moments when I found they rusted literally to dust.

- FX4 rear skid plate bolts rusted through as well.

- Plastic "FX4" trim moldings around wheel wells and bed rails faded beyond funny. Replaced the wheel well plastic trim with fender flares and painted the bed rails with Krylon Fusion satin black. Surprising how well the paint has held up, haven't had to fix in 2 years.

- Plastic windshield cowls (not the cowl ends, even though they have disintegrated a few times as well) - same fading, same painting done.

- Rear passenger door lock actuator failed. Had to replace.

- Steering shaft (the midsection part) had a wobbly joint (don't know how else to describe it) and had to be replaced.

- Headlights yellowed / faded / crazed. Replaced with aftermarket headlights with built-in LED DRLs.

- Power steering pump lines (not the pump itself) all leaked like sieves - power steering pump itself was covered in rust so it was replaced at the same time to insure a solid connection to the new lines.

- Rear differential leaked like a sieve as well. Parts were not expensive and not hard to do, but it's the first time I've had to fix a bad rear end seal.

- Make sure the original plugs have already been changed out, or have them done prior to buying the truck. Broken plugs are always fun to deal with.

- Almost every single manifold stud broke in the heads. PITA to get them out. Entire exhaust was rusted out behind the y-pipe, so I just sawzall-ed it off and away I went. Get compliments all the time on the natural sound of the 5.4 lol.

- Lower rear corner cab rust was so bad the sheet metal had to be cut away and completely replaced, as well as the rocker panels.

- Tailgate is showing the pock-mark looks of rust getting ready to peek it's nasty head through all over the door. Haven't decided if I'm going to get a new tailgate or just get a tailgate net instead.

- Fuel pump drive module - the aluminum backplate was so corroded through the circuit board was clearly visible. Caught that one in time before being stranded on the side of the road (my cousin was not so lucky). Side note: the drive module was so much fun to replace having to sawzall the spare tire out of the rear first due to the winch holding it up being completely rusted frozen, lol.

- I've eaten through a few MAFs, lucky that autozone and advance sell lifetime warranty replacements.

- Had the alternator die a few years ago. First time I've had to change one of those in a vehicle. I hear Mustangs of the same timeframe had major alternator problems, not sure if it's related.

There have been other issues, some routine, some not, it's hard to remember them all trying to type this in on my lunch break. Luckily I haven't had the cam phaser issue... Or the cracked manifold issue (yet)...

Timeframe on this all happening... I bought the truck 8 years ago with 118k on it, now has 180k. Some of the issues were present at time of purchase, I wasn't aware of them at the time. Some happened over the span of 8 years.

It also depends where you're buying your truck and where it has lived its life. Mine unfortunately was originally sold in VT and I lived in CT for a while, so I'm certain the snow and salt through the winters up there didn't do the truck any good as far as my rust problems above.

Don't get me wrong, I love this truck and wouldn't trade for another, but I'm also aware it's nowhere near a perfect, repairs-free vehicle and plan to have to fix more issues in the near and distant future.

EDIT: If I can find pics of some of the crazy repairs, I'll post them up. Some aren't believable without pics, lol.

Originally Posted by Heavy H.P.

After issue after issue after issue I finally said screw it and got rid of my 08. Was a good truck I can't in the begining. Kind of still think it is to a certain degree. But the lack of power. The front end issues, springs cracking, spark plug issues. Motor making crazy noises. Think their was a fuel issue also. I got rid of it 2 weeks ago for my 14 Ram.