HVY-MTL
New Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2019
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Altoona, PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 Sport Trac Limited
Lurked on the forum and checked often for answers to tech questions and finally subscribed and joined the family.
I bought a 2008 Sport Trac Limited V8 4X4 in August of 2017. Drove with a friend of mine from Madera, PA (about 25 miles outside of State College) to Winchester, VA to check it out, and it was in such great shape I couldn't pass it up. I have worked on Ford's and built small blocks for years, which is the reason for wanting the V8. Starting out with 296 hp and building from there sounded like a lot of fun. At the time, I had no idea the ST was that HEAVY!! Holy man are these things beefy and well put together.
So far, I have:
1) Changed plugs and installed aftermarket coils - Thankfully they are the newer designed plugs
2) K&N CAI
3) 265/60-18 tires - Man, they are CLOSE to the upper ball joint in the front, but no spacers needed.
4) Custom exhaust (still single exhaust, unfortunately) but removed the massive stock resonator and muffler and installed a 2-1/2" Summit Race Muffler(same as 2-chamber flowmaster) with quick disconnects in case I decide to change it out. Very aggressive sound but OK inside the truck.
5) SCT X4 tuner with Brenspeed 87, 91, & 93 octane tunes - For everyday driving, I love the torque of the 87 tune the best. No lag or catch up of RPM's between shifts - Just keeps on pulling ! ! 140,000 miles now, and runs like a champ ...
6) Just finished swapping out the front and rear differential with 3.73 gears. Got the front housing from a junk yard V6 (already had 3.73), but couldn't find a V6 rear. Bought another 3.55 8.8 rear from a 2007 Explorer and a set of used 3.73 gears from eBay. They were in fantastic shape, so a few specialty tools later and they were all set up and ready to go. This is the second 8.8 that I have done gear setup, the other is my '83 Mustang w/ a 351W (Rear is out of a '92), but that is a story for another forum.
7) Next up is probably pull the engine (this winter) to change the dang manifold gaskets. Passenger side ticks for sbout 15-20 seconds on cold start. My Christmas present from my wife was to take it to the local garage, where we have a great relationship with the mechanic, to get this done for me. He took one look at how tight the manifolds were tot the strut towers and said, "No Thank You" ! ! Oh well, as you can tell, I usually do all my own work anyhow, and pulling the engine actually looks easier than trying to do it with the engine still in the truck.
The Mustang & ST are garage kept toys, as I run a Subaru Forester 76 miles roundtrip to work 5 & 6 days a week. Wife drives a 2006 Super Crew F150. 180,000 miles and runs just as good as the day we bought it in 2008. Gotta' love synthetic oil ! !
Sorry for the long introduction post, but good things to come and will post pics if it ever stops raining long enough to get it shined up.
Matt
I bought a 2008 Sport Trac Limited V8 4X4 in August of 2017. Drove with a friend of mine from Madera, PA (about 25 miles outside of State College) to Winchester, VA to check it out, and it was in such great shape I couldn't pass it up. I have worked on Ford's and built small blocks for years, which is the reason for wanting the V8. Starting out with 296 hp and building from there sounded like a lot of fun. At the time, I had no idea the ST was that HEAVY!! Holy man are these things beefy and well put together.
So far, I have:
1) Changed plugs and installed aftermarket coils - Thankfully they are the newer designed plugs
2) K&N CAI
3) 265/60-18 tires - Man, they are CLOSE to the upper ball joint in the front, but no spacers needed.
4) Custom exhaust (still single exhaust, unfortunately) but removed the massive stock resonator and muffler and installed a 2-1/2" Summit Race Muffler(same as 2-chamber flowmaster) with quick disconnects in case I decide to change it out. Very aggressive sound but OK inside the truck.
5) SCT X4 tuner with Brenspeed 87, 91, & 93 octane tunes - For everyday driving, I love the torque of the 87 tune the best. No lag or catch up of RPM's between shifts - Just keeps on pulling ! ! 140,000 miles now, and runs like a champ ...
6) Just finished swapping out the front and rear differential with 3.73 gears. Got the front housing from a junk yard V6 (already had 3.73), but couldn't find a V6 rear. Bought another 3.55 8.8 rear from a 2007 Explorer and a set of used 3.73 gears from eBay. They were in fantastic shape, so a few specialty tools later and they were all set up and ready to go. This is the second 8.8 that I have done gear setup, the other is my '83 Mustang w/ a 351W (Rear is out of a '92), but that is a story for another forum.
7) Next up is probably pull the engine (this winter) to change the dang manifold gaskets. Passenger side ticks for sbout 15-20 seconds on cold start. My Christmas present from my wife was to take it to the local garage, where we have a great relationship with the mechanic, to get this done for me. He took one look at how tight the manifolds were tot the strut towers and said, "No Thank You" ! ! Oh well, as you can tell, I usually do all my own work anyhow, and pulling the engine actually looks easier than trying to do it with the engine still in the truck.
The Mustang & ST are garage kept toys, as I run a Subaru Forester 76 miles roundtrip to work 5 & 6 days a week. Wife drives a 2006 Super Crew F150. 180,000 miles and runs just as good as the day we bought it in 2008. Gotta' love synthetic oil ! !
Sorry for the long introduction post, but good things to come and will post pics if it ever stops raining long enough to get it shined up.
Matt
