FROADER's 2005 F-150 FX4

[FROADER]

So... I traded in the van and got this truck. I'm also selling the explorer along with the motorcycle. I'm not leaving this site and will be back with a vengeance when I decide to get another "froader" to beat up on.

Anyway, here is the scoop.

2005 F-150 FX4 Supercrew
5.4/Auto
K&N drop in
Magnaflow cat back
3.73's L/S
Tow package
Silver/Black leather
6 disc in dash/MP3 - wired to iPod docking station
SnugTop Tonneau
LineX bed liner
Leveling kit
Hankook Dynapro ATMs 285/65/18 (33x11.5)










Future Plans:
Emblem for grille... It had an aftermarket grille (that looked like a mix between a gremlin and my ass), so I took it off.
Edge Evolution Programer (because Stic-o swears by his).
In-Dash DVD with rear flip down.
Amp and sub under the rear seats.


I honestly made this video for Sam, so I hope he enjoys it. Sam, I know it's not dual Flowmasters, but I think it sounds pretty deep and mean!

YouTube Video

Buy my explorer!

[Tbars4]

...Wow....You've been so quiet for awhile and then I read all of this....That is a lot of things to deal with all at once...I must say, it is a nice find...

[vroomzoomboom]

TRADER! LOL, just kidding colin, nice new toy. there's no better feeling then beating on some new(er) metal. hope the ex sells fast for you.

[Stic-o]

Congats there buddy....

and Thank God you feel that way about the old grill. I saw it in the pic you sent me... and well... I kept thinking "does he really like that grill?"

Some question...
1. are you going to get the HD headlights?
2. how do you like it compared to the van? I know it's completly different...
3. Whats going on with the SD axles? or are those going in a future project?

..and welcome to the Darkside

Waiting for IZ to see this....

[IZwack]

Originally Posted by Stic-o

Waiting for IZ to see this....

I saw it last week .. kidding

The good thing is that this isnt a white F-150 - cauz we were starting to see a trend from the other previous vehicles.

The box truck my brother and I rented to tow the Samurai to T-haven had a 5.4 and it tugged through those mountains - so thumbs up for that engine.

[Dannyboy]

you should have clunkered the Explorer and bought a brand new one.






Nice truck, Silver is my favorite color. You had a lot of projects going to get that van to where it needed to be anyway. And I'll 3rd (or 4th) how good those tow. It's no powerstroke, but doesn't take 15 quarts of oil, doesn't need $75 in fuel filters every 15K, doesn't break down all the time and I've towed 5K boats with this type of truck and they haul balls.

Why don't you test out that bed by swinging by Rockrangers, grabbing my wheels/tires and meeting me at MDR tomorrow.

[Stic-o]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy

you should have clunkered the Explorer and bought a brand new one.

How dare you!!! Your going to get Banned for that!

[Joe Dirt]

That's a helluva rig, Froader. I loved my 2004. You'll really grow to love that sled.

[FROADER]

Originally Posted by Stic-o

Congats there buddy....

and Thank God you feel that way about the old grill. I saw it in the pic you sent me... and well... I kept thinking "does he really like that grill?"

Some question...
1. are you going to get the HD headlights?
2. how do you like it compared to the van? I know it's completly different...
3. Whats going on with the SD axles? or are those going in a future project?

..and welcome to the Darkside

Waiting for IZ to see this....

Yeah, when I first saw the grille pulling up to the dealership, I thought, "Hey, that's kind of cool." Then when I actually got close to it and looked at the truck again, I said, "that's the first thing to go if I get this thing." Not my first time to the "darkside." I owned a '95 F-150 before I had my first explorer.

Some answers...
1. It's possible. I think they would look really good, but there is no way in hell I'm going to spend that much money for lights.
2. It is completely different, the van was much easier to drive and faster, but i really like this thing.
3. SD axles, if they go for sale, are spoken for already and I'm sure you can guess by who...

IZ is the one that told me to do this.

Originally Posted by Dannyboy

you should have clunkered the Explorer and bought a brand new one.

Nice truck, Silver is my favorite color. You had a lot of projects going to get that van to where it needed to be anyway. And I'll 3rd (or 4th) how good those tow. It's no powerstroke, but doesn't take 15 quarts of oil, doesn't need $75 in fuel filters every 15K, doesn't break down all the time and I've towed 5K boats with this type of truck and they haul balls.

Why don't you test out that bed by swinging by Rockrangers, grabbing my wheels/tires and meeting me at MDR tomorrow.

Believe me, if I liked the new models, I would have considered trading both the van and explorer for one... But those new ones look worse than "a mix between a gremlin and my ass."

Originally Posted by Joe Dirt

That's a helluva rig, Froader. I loved my 2004. You'll really grow to love that sled.

I'm already in love. Didn't think I was a leather guy – and for some vehicles I'm not – but I tell you, this stuff is nice!


Oh, and if you hadn't guess, I'm going to paint the chrome steps, black.

[ExplorerDMB]

Well, I do have some bad news for you though. I do not know if it started with the 2005 5.4L's or not, but as soon as you can before too many miles get on it - change your plugs! If you do, be very very careful. They have problems with the plugs seizing in the heads and breaking off when you try to remove them. It's so bad that they even make a tool for that engine now to remove the broken plugs. Just a heads up!

-Drew

[Joe Dirt]

Here is the plug removal TSB:



and a more legible procedure for removal, etc... Stupid 2-piece plug design... There are special tools to extract broken plugs, and most people I know have paid the dealer $300-$450 to do the swap- becasue if they break them, they fix them...



FORD: 2004-2005 F-150
2005 Expedition, F-Super Duty
LINCOLN: 2005 Navigator


This article supersedes TSB 06-5-9 to update the vehicle lines and model years.

ISSUE:
Some 2004-2005 F-150 and 2005 F-Super Duty, Expedition, and Navigator vehicles with a 5.4L 3-valve engine may experience difficulty with spark plug removal which may cause damage to the spark plug and leave part of the spark plug in the cylinder head.

ACTION:
Refer to the following Service Procedure for techniques to remove the spark plugs and extract broken spark plugs.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

General Spark Plug Removal

To remove spark plugs without damage, it is necessary to adhere exactly to this procedure before removal is attempted.

Make sure the engine is warm (hand touch after cooling down).
CAUTION: DO NOT REMOVE PLUGS WHEN THE ENGINE IS EXTREMELY HOT OR COLD SOAKED. THIS INCREASES THE CHANCE THE THREADS COULD BE DAMAGED.



CAUTION: BE SURE TO WEAR SAFETY GLASSES FOR STEP 2.



Remove the coil-on-plug assemblies and thoroughly blow out the spark plug wells and surrounding valve cover area with compressed air.
Back out the spark plugs, no more than 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. Apply penetrating oil (AeroKroil or equivalent) and fill the spark plug well just above where the jamb nut hex sits. A minimum period of 5 to 10 minutes of soak time is required. The penetrating oil will wick down to the ground electrode shield in this time. DO NOT WORK the spark plug back and forth at this point.
CAUTION: EXCESSIVE PENETRANT, OR REPEATING THE PROCESS SEVERAL TIMES WITH TOO MUCH FLUID, COULD INTRODUCE ENOUGH LIQUID VOLUME TO HYDRO-LOCK THE ENGINE.



CAUTION: DO NOT USE AIR OR POWER TOOLS FOR PLUG REMOVAL. THE PLUG MUST ONLY BE REMOVED WITH HAND TOOLS.



Slowly turn the spark plug out. Some screeching and high effort may be noticed but, not in every case. The expected removal torque is about 33 lb-ft (45 N-m) but should decrease on the way out. If it is higher, try turning the spark plug back in a half turn, then back out again. If the turning torque still seems high, repeat the back and forth rotation along with some penetrating oil to reduce turning effort.
Separated/Broken Spark Plug Removal

If the plug does come apart even after following the General Spark Plug Removal Procedure, it will break in one of two modes:

Mode 1: The ground electrode shield is left behind as an empty shell (Figure 1).

Mode 2: The porcelain centre and ground electrode shield is left behind and only the upper jamb nut comes out. In this case more soaking is required and long-reach nose pliers should be used to grasp and remove the porcelain centre from the ground electrode shield (Figure 2).

Once there is only an empty ground electrode shield left in the cylinder head, perform the following steps to remove the shield using Rotunda Special Service Tool 303-1203 (Figure 3).


NOTE: THIS TOOL IS ONLY DESIGNED TO WORK WITH AN EMPTY GROUND ELECTRODE SHIELD. IF THE SPARK PLUG CAME APART IN MODE 2, THE PORCELAIN centre MUST BE REMOVED PRIOR TO FOLLOWING THESE STEPS.



The combustion chamber must be protected from contamination during the extraction process by using a modified vacuum cap (382444-S) as a stopper-type plug. This is because the remaining ground electrode shield will be thread-tapped, so the cap is needed to prevent thread chips from falling into the cylinder bore. Cut a vacuum cap to a 3/8" (10 mm) length for each ground electrode shield that needs to be removed.
Install the modified cap with a long drill bit or suitable wire (Figure 4), sized for the internal diameter of the cap. The rubber cap should bottom-out on the electrode strap of the ground electrode shield once installed.

Thread-tap the ground electrode shield using a 9.0 x 1.0 mm "plug" tap (tap profile is about 3-4 reduced diameter threads on the tip end).
Coat the end of the tap with general purpose grease as shown in Figure 5.

Turn the tap about 3 to 4 turns into the ground electrode shield once the tap begins to cut. As the shield is tapped, for every 1/2 turn, the tap should be backed up 1/8 turn to "break chips" and prevent any cut material from coiling-up and laying in the spark plug well. All of the thread chips will embed in the grease pack or drop inside the vacuum cap when following this procedure. A suitably sized tap wrench of about 7-9 inches in handle length will aid in reaching down the well. If not available, use an 8 point socket with a ratchet and drive extension. Keep the shank aligned with the axis of the spark plug bore cavity to prevent possible thread bore damage. Use care not to damage any spark plug threads on the way in.
CAUTION: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE GROUND ELECTRODE SHIELD WITH THE TAP AND WRENCH. THE TAP MAY BREAK IF THIS IS ATTEMPTED.



Carefully back out the tap while maintaining the residual grease coat on the tap which contains some chips. Take care not to touch the sides of the spark plug well bore during removal.
Once the ground electrode shield is tapped, thread Rotunda Special Service Tool 303-1203 into the ground electrode shield to extract it from the spark plug well and encapsulate any remaining chips from falling into the combustion chamber.
NOTE: SEE FIGURE 6 FOR DETAILS OF THE TOOL AS INSTALLED IN THE HEAD.


Install the stepped end of the tool pilot bushing into the spark plug well ensuring it bottoms out.
Screw the centre shank into the ground electrode shield. Do not over tighten the shank, to prevent thread stripping.
Install the nylon washer and jack nut until finger tight.
Turn the jack nut with a socket and 3/8" drive ratchet until the ground electrode is freed from the cavity and withdraw the tool assembly. Several turns of the nut are required. Upon removal, any remaining chips not caught earlier by the tap grease will be captured by the rubber plug sitting at the bottom of the ground electrode shield.
NOTE: ONCE THE SPARK PLUGS HAVE ALL BEEN REMOVED, NEW PLUGS SHOULD BE INSTALLED USING A FILM COATING OF MOTORCRAFT HIGH TEMPERATURE NICKEL ANTI-SEIZE LUBRICANT (XL-2) ON THE GROUND ELECTRODE SHIELD OF THE NEW SPARK PLUG (FIGURE 7). DO NOT COAT THE ELECTRODE STRAP OR THE PLUG WILL MISFIRE. THE NEW PLUGS SHOULD BE INSTALLED WITH NO LUBRICANT ON THE THREADS AND TORQUED TO SPECIFICATION, 25 LB-FT (34 N-m).

[section525]

That thing is badass! What will the custom plates read?

[Rick]

Yow... can't believe my eyes

Best of luck with whatever you're planning... Sorry to see the Ex go

[FROADER]

Originally Posted by section525

That thing is badass! What will the custom plates read?

When the explorer sells.

[Stic-o]

Yes the plug thing sucks...I'm still on the fence if I should change mine now at 56k, or wait But at least they don't fly out of the engine when your driving down the road like the old 2 valve 5.4's I know my dad had it happen to him, and Ford had replace the entire head

[Stic-o]

Hey Colin, I have a brand new set of rear shocks off a '07 FX4. (came with my front coilovers) I'm not going to use them so if yours are worn at all, they are yours.

[FROADER]

They feel fine, but I've only driven the thing about 30 miles, so far. The previous owner seems to have taken very good care of this thing, but thanks though, I'll keep them in mind!

[RockRanger]

That will not fit to well in the ditches out at Truckhaven. Cool ride.

[90ranajo]

Looks good.

So, when are you gonna start the SD axle swap on it?

[Sams01XplrSprt]

nice f150 u got there colin and ur f150 sounds nice as well.

hey colin where u by any chance in los angeles a few days ago cause i think i saw u. I was in my friend's bmw he just got a used 03 325i.

I was driving it too and his bmw is blue color and its a stickshift. He wants me to help him do some mods to it.