Traded in my 2013 Raptor with 27k miles. I was able to trade it in for $3000 less than I paid new. I figured now was the time, since it would depreciate much faster when the new Raptors hit the lots.
I ended up with a 2016 F150 Lariat Sport 5.0L. I wanted as many bells and whistles (502A) as possible but didn't want chrome trim. I much prefer black trim. I added a BDS lift (4" in front, 2" in back), smooth pocket body-color Bushwacker fender flares, Amp power running boards, Fuel Beast 18" wheels, 325/65R18 BF Goodrich KO2, Weathertech mats, Gatorback mudflaps, Husky rear wheel well liners, Undercover Swingcase, and BAK Revolver X2 Roll-Up Tonneau Cover.
I will say that the 2016 interior is a pretty big upgrade from 2013. I'm also looking forward to being able to utilize the 6.5' bed, rather than being stuck with 5.5'.
Originally Posted by IA_Chiefs_fan:
Traded in my 2013 Raptor with 27k miles. I was able to trade it in for $3000 less than I paid new. I figured now was the time, since it would depreciate much faster when the new Raptors hit the lots.
I ended up with a 2016 F150 Lariat Sport 5.0L. I wanted as many bells and whistles (502A) as possible but didn't want chrome trim. I much prefer black trim. I added a BDS lift (4" in front, 2" in back), smooth pocket body-color Bushwacker fender flares, Amp power running boards, Fuel Beast 18" wheels, 325/65R18 BF Goodrich KO2, Weathertech mats, Gatorback mudflaps, Husky rear wheel well liners, Undercover Swingcase, and BAK Revolver X2 Roll-Up Tonneau Cover.
I will say that the 2016 interior is a pretty big upgrade from 2013. I'm also looking forward to being able to utilize the 6.5' bed, rather than being stuck with 5.5'.
Installed Eddie Motorsports billet hood hinges this weekend. They are satin black powder coated to match the engine compartment. I purchased the trunk hinges about 6 weeks ago and liked them enough I bought the hood hinges. (needed hinges anyway due to the pins being worn)
Hard to tell in the pic because of the sea of black but they look awesome, great piece of engineering.
I have about $1100 in the trunk and hood hinges. :-) The things guys will do for their cars.
I still have some other hardware to change out in the engine compartment to match the stainless button head stuff everywhere.
Final build is being put together - Cant go forged, its just going to be too cost prohibitive after all of the odds and ends needed like gaskets/machine work blah blah blah
We have a target date of april 1st to have the car ready to drive.
6.0 lq9 block, ls2 pistons and rods/GM crank all balanced, studded block, ARP rod bolts, brian tooley custom grind cam, all new gaskets, plugs, new crank case ventilation setup
heads will stay the 59cc 243 patriot 2s, going to get them cleaned up and a valve replaced. Will reuse a lot of my stuff like accessories, volant intake, oil pan, SLP oil pump and timing, FAST 92/92 combo, injectors etc
My guy has an in house mustang dyno, we are going to shoot for 420RWHP on it, and from what I hear its a true "heartbreaker"
My guess is I will bust open the 10 bolt before the season is over~ [Reply]
Originally Posted by hometeam:
Final build is being put together - Cant go forged, its just going to be too cost prohibitive after all of the odds and ends needed like gaskets/machine work blah blah blah
We have a target date of april 1st to have the car ready to drive.
6.0 lq9 block, ls2 pistons and rods/GM crank all balanced, studded block, ARP rod bolts, brian tooley custom grind cam, all new gaskets, plugs, new crank case ventilation setup
heads will stay the 59cc 243 patriot 2s, going to get them cleaned up and a valve replaced. Will reuse a lot of my stuff like accessories, volant intake, oil pan, SLP oil pump and timing, FAST 92/92 combo, injectors etc
My guy has an in house mustang dyno, we are going to shoot for 420RWHP on it, and from what I hear its a true "heartbreaker"
My guess is I will bust open the 10 bolt before the season is over~
If you get traction its going to break for sure. [Reply]
I am sure some of you saw my post a few weeks ago regarding my death touch (and poor taste) in cars...this is a bit of a spinoff and I wanted to drop this post in this thread to get the professionals response.
My 07 Explorer Sport Trac currently has its check engine light on. There is apparently a miss in cylinder "x". A mechanic I took it to changed the sparks plugs, cleared the code, just to have the check engine light come back. He kept it at the shop and watched it for a day. He came to the conclusion that I have a head gasket leak and coolant is leaking into a cylinder head. $2,000+ to repair.
Personal observation; after the truck sits all night and I hop in and fire it up, I get a lot of white [sweet smelling/coolant] smoke coming out of the exhaust once I turn it over. It idles somewhat rough at this point. Once I give it a little gas and after about a minute, the smoke clears up and it runs as good as can be. My assumption is that I am just burning off the coolant that has leaked into the cylinder head overnight.
I take the truck to another mechanic...kind of a small town guy who works on cars on the side. He has a good reputation... BUT, he SWEARS it is not my head-gasket. He is ran a compression test and found no pressure lost and also said there is no signs of coolant in my oil. He isn't sure what it is at the moment, says its a nice truck, but he is currently having me run a couple of bottle of fuel injector cleaner through it for the next month and wants me to bring it back.
My questions: Because Mechanic 1 says it head gasket leak, and Mechanic 2 says it is not....I tend to lean toward Mechanic 1 but want Mechanic 2 to be right. I just don't know what else would cause the white sweet smelling smoke when I initially turn the truck over. Q: Should I try using an over the counter head gasket sealer?
The truck has 125K miles and the wife isn't fond of dropping $2k plus into the truck, neither am I...so i wasn't sure if trying the gasket sealer would be worth it?
I have heard good and bad stories on this stuff....just wanted to get some of the gear heads opinions on this stuff and what brand should I use? Also, how long does it last...could I get another 50k miles off this sealer stuff?
Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk:
Alright Wrenches,
I am sure some of you saw my post a few weeks ago regarding my death touch (and poor taste) in cars...this is a bit of a spinoff and I wanted to drop this post in this thread to get the professionals response.
My 07 Explorer Sport Trac currently has its check engine light on. There is apparently a miss in cylinder "x". A mechanic I took it to changed the sparks plugs, cleared the code, just to have the check engine light come back. He kept it at the shop and watched it for a day. He came to the conclusion that I have a head gasket leak and coolant is leaking into a cylinder head. $2,000+ to repair.
Personal observation; after the truck sits all night and I hop in and fire it up, I get a lot of white [sweet smelling/coolant] smoke coming out of the exhaust once I turn it over. It idles somewhat rough at this point. Once I give it a little gas and after about a minute, the smoke clears up and it runs as good as can be. My assumption is that I am just burning off the coolant that has leaked into the cylinder head overnight.
I take the truck to another mechanic...kind of a small town guy who works on cars on the side. He has a good reputation... BUT, he SWEARS it is not my head-gasket. He is ran a compression test and found no pressure lost and also said there is no signs of coolant in my oil. He isn't sure what it is at the moment, says its a nice truck, but he is currently having me run a couple of bottle of fuel injector cleaner through it for the next month and wants me to bring it back.
My questions: Because Mechanic 1 says it head gasket leak, and Mechanic 2 says it is not....I tend to lean toward Mechanic 1 but want Mechanic 2 to be right. I just don't know what else would cause the white sweet smelling smoke when I initially turn the truck over. Q: Should I try using an over the counter head gasket sealer?
The truck has 125K miles and the wife isn't fond of dropping $2k plus into the truck, neither am I...so i wasn't sure if trying the gasket sealer would be worth it?
I have heard good and bad stories on this stuff....just wanted to get some of the gear heads opinions on this stuff and what brand should I use? Also, how long does it last...could I get another 50k miles off this sealer stuff?
Thanks!
How are the guitar lessons going? Can you play a whole song yet?
Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk:
Alright Wrenches,
I am sure some of you saw my post a few weeks ago regarding my death touch (and poor taste) in cars...this is a bit of a spinoff and I wanted to drop this post in this thread to get the professionals response.
My 07 Explorer Sport Trac currently has its check engine light on. There is apparently a miss in cylinder "x". A mechanic I took it to changed the sparks plugs, cleared the code, just to have the check engine light come back. He kept it at the shop and watched it for a day. He came to the conclusion that I have a head gasket leak and coolant is leaking into a cylinder head. $2,000+ to repair.
Personal observation; after the truck sits all night and I hop in and fire it up, I get a lot of white [sweet smelling/coolant] smoke coming out of the exhaust once I turn it over. It idles somewhat rough at this point. Once I give it a little gas and after about a minute, the smoke clears up and it runs as good as can be. My assumption is that I am just burning off the coolant that has leaked into the cylinder head overnight.
I take the truck to another mechanic...kind of a small town guy who works on cars on the side. He has a good reputation... BUT, he SWEARS it is not my head-gasket. He is ran a compression test and found no pressure lost and also said there is no signs of coolant in my oil. He isn't sure what it is at the moment, says its a nice truck, but he is currently having me run a couple of bottle of fuel injector cleaner through it for the next month and wants me to bring it back.
My questions: Because Mechanic 1 says it head gasket leak, and Mechanic 2 says it is not....I tend to lean toward Mechanic 1 but want Mechanic 2 to be right. I just don't know what else would cause the white sweet smelling smoke when I initially turn the truck over. Q: Should I try using an over the counter head gasket sealer?
The truck has 125K miles and the wife isn't fond of dropping $2k plus into the truck, neither am I...so i wasn't sure if trying the gasket sealer would be worth it?
I have heard good and bad stories on this stuff....just wanted to get some of the gear heads opinions on this stuff and what brand should I use? Also, how long does it last...could I get another 50k miles off this sealer stuff?
Thanks!
It's a head gasket. 99% sure. A compression test won't show it yet.
It's good it's not getting into the oil yet.
Try the blue devil big bottle, about 38 bucks and follow the instructions. Imo it won't hurt a thing. I've torn motors down after it's been put in and seen no issues.
