Hey folks, been around for a couple years but I keep forgetting all the things I've done so I figured this would help me. Plus I want feedback. Disclaimer, I'm no expert, I'm not a mechanic, and I don't know everything. I call it a project because I didn't build this thing - I'm just modding it and some people are sensitive to that term.

So we started with a clean slate 2009 Ford F150 Platinum 5.4. It's tri-color white and the frame had some minor oxidation (at the time). We needed a truck that would fit the entire family and be able to haul a horse and hay at the same time - the F150 was in our price range so we jumped on it. This was to be my wife's daily driver. She loves it and will never let me sell it. So I'm in it for the long haul.

First Round of parts:
Motorcraft 9L3Z-7A785-B Vacuum tubing for IWE system
Purge Valve
Solenoid

After about a month of ownership we started hearing the beloved grinding sound while turning. Sounded awful. Some quick searching yielded a potential issue with the IWE system. A quick pressure test showed me the line was bad but I went ahead and replaced everything that could fail except for the hubs themselves.

Second Round:
Supreme Suspensions 2.5 in. Front / 2 in. Rear Pro Lift Kit
Supreme Suspensions 2" Pro Billet Wheel Spacers

While these were great initially they proved to be a headache in the long run. The upper A arms struggled significantly with the amount of lift from the puck spacers. I went thru a round a upper A arms and even then they only lasted a month or so, not to mention the clunks and added noises. Additionally the wheel spacers (despite being hubcentric) were not well balanced and caused a wobble. After the alignment I continued to have excessive wear on the tires.

Third Round :
Tuff Country 20930 - EZ-Ride Front Upper Uni-Ball Control Arms
Gorilla Lugs

Uniball A arms were/are fantastic and fixed much of the noise. Did their job and continue to. The gorilla lugs were great and better be for the price I paid. The crappy stock lugs took far too long to replace/remove.

Fourth Round:
Procomp Series 5143 20X9 0 Offset 6X135 5" Backspacing Wheels
Procomp Lugs
2 New TPSs

A wheel was bent and not holding air well at the bead. Replacing it was more expensive than 4 procomps - so I did the latter with the proper lugs (still got the Gorillas - FS if someone wants them). Also had a couple bad TPSs, so we replaced them simultaneously.

Fifth Round:
Procomp 50" Traction Bars Part # EXP72500B
Procomp Traction Bar Mounting Kit Part # EXP72096B

So we had some weird wobble and I wanted an excuse to fix it with traction bars. So they happened. They definitely make the rear end more solid but a downside is a lot of the bumps of daily driving are transferred to the frame (duh). Its not horrible, but noticeable and worth noting.



Sixth Round:
Motorcraft Purge Valve Part #: MICX2447
Motorcraft CX-2355 Vapor Canistor
Motorcraft PFS490 Fuel Sender

One day after filling up the gas tank I started the truck up and smelled insane amounts of fuel in the cab. The truck idled like crap and wanted to stall. Gave it a rev and it cleared up. We limped the truck home and the gas tank had "imploded". Purge valve failed. The tank literally was indented. Which basically translated to evap canister needing to be replaced. When this happened it also bent the fuel sending unit sensor. Awesome. So we replaced that too. Removed the bed and did some wire wheeling and rust prevention while I was in there. Broke a lot of rusted bolts. 5 of the 6 bed bolts were seized so angled grinder came out. The gas tank had to come down a smidgen. Having the supercrew and shortbed I couldn't get the fuel sending unit out - cab was in the way. Tank strap bolt was seized/rusted - replaced it. Got the bed back on. Took all day.

Seventh Round:
aFe High Capacity Differential Cover
5Qts Mobile1 95w140
Motorcraft Friction Modifier
National Pinion Seal

Wobble persisted. We now have a small leak at the pinion seal. Replaced seal and rusty diff cover. Painted the bare metal aFe cover red and wrapped it up. Wobble Continued.



Eighth Round:
Spicer 1350 u joints x2
Neapco N3-2-1579

Wobble is gone. Slight clunk when shifting transmission gone. Broke the flange yoke getting the old u joints out. Replaced with Neapco. Easy job when you have the right parts, do yourself a favor and just measure the caps and axis lengths before you go to the part store.

Ninth Round:
34.4" General Tire AT-Xs

We found a slow leak in one of the tires, turns out it was slashed and the BFG A/Ts we had we no long in production. So new tires all around. These were purchased pre-6" lift and looking back I wish I had gone bigger because now it looks like we skipped leg day. But I love these tires, so much that I bought the same manufacturer for my FRS and am looking at the M/Ts for my 4Runner. Plus they came with a warranty and $70 gift card. I will be a return customer.

Tenth Round:
Rough Country 6" Suspension Lift Kit Part # R/C59871
Dorman Lower Control Arm and Ball Joint Part # 522-214
Dorman Lower Control Arm and Ball Joint Part # 522-213
Motorcraft Endlinks x2

So we still had the some noise in the front suspension I was suspecting end links or ball joints so we just repaired the whole lot. Additionally, the front axles were at such extreme angles with the puck spacers that I wanted a lift with a drive shaft drop. Replaced the front struts with extended RC coilovers thankfully so because while beating the lower ball joints out one of the factory coil springs just broke (2" off the bottom). The extended spindles were a must to help with the axle angle.



Eleventh Round:
aFe Dry Stage 2 Cold Air Intake System Part # AFE54-11622-B

Hands down easiest install there is, got it on sale for $178 so I figured why not. Even if it falls short of the hp/tq claims, it was time for me to change my filter anyway and being a dry filter - I'll just put an air hose to it every oil change. Big difference in tone, was happy ab a cheap and easy mod.

Twelfth Round:
Bushwacker 20926-02 Black Extend-A-Fender Style Smooth Finish 4-Piece Fender Flare Set
Duplicolor Bed Armor Kit Part # BAK2010

So this is probably an unpopular move here but we had to make a decision. Some rust started showing it's ugly face on the lower portion of the driver's side door below the chrome door molding. Obviously this trim has the holes in the doors, fenders and bed to align the molding but one of the holes started to oxidize. When we really got into it, the hole was about the size of a softball. The rear fenders where the factory fender flares met the bed were no better. Ate all the way through the metal. Some metal and body filler with some metal body screen and we were back in business. It took a lot of metal filler. Being tri-color we were facing a pricey paint job and with all the time we spend off road (farm life) it didn't seem worth while. So homemade bed liner it was. We used Duplicolor because Raptor X was completely sold out and because of COVID the parts stores didn't have any kind of guess when they would see the next shipment. We did the whole lower portion of the truck, sanding rust removal, metal filler, sanding, metal filler, sanding, body filler, sanding, body filler, sanding, wax and grease remover, and then lining. Took like 3 days. It was less than ideal but I like bed liner more than rust. Also did the Bushwacker fenders in liner too. These fender flares are stout, they are locked in there. We needed these mostly for state inspection (tires aren't allowed to extend beyond the body of the vehicle).



Thirteenth Round:
Hooker Blackheart Shorty Headers

Easily the hardest install. Mostly because of the size of these headers fitting in such a tight location. We had the dreaded clicking sound but from the drivers side. Upon inspection it looked like the previous own had the passenger side repaired. I didn't care, it was already oxidizing and had a FoMoCo stamp on it which means it was bound to crack again. Thankfully the hardware was fresh(er). I got an induction heater and bolt extractor to help. They did the job and well. My starter ground bolt seized and was forced to drill it out. Oh well. We had to unbolt the passenger side motor mount and jack it up an inch to get the Hooker header in the passenger side.
Driver's side:

Passenger Side:



Whats next...

I'd like to add a bed rack and roof top tent but I'm being picky because why not. Also looking at bumpers/grille guards/winches. Since this car is going to be with our family until it dies, I believe there is much more to come.

Thanks for reading this far.

 

Some other Round:
Steering Shaft Assembly
Power Steering Cooler Universal
Power Steering Reservoir

Steering was binding and caused a whole mess of issues. The power steering blew a line which I believe was from a crusty old steering shaft. So we replaced both - but I decided to do an external universal condenser instead of ripping EVERYTHING out of the front end. Also the Reservoir was leaking so that had to be replaced.


Yet another Round:
2 Rear leaf springs, 4(3/1) leaves, 1900 lbs capacity Part # 43-1783

We had a leaf spring in the rear break in half. So we replaced both of the rear springs.