Thub

Did a little PM work and some computer related modifications to the F150 this weekend. Started out with a transmission fluid change/pan drop and filter change on the 6R80 since I'm closing in on 60k miles. Overall it was actually pretty straightforward. Ford could have made it way easier by putting a real dipstick on the transmission but whatever I managed to reach up in between the cat and the side of the transmission with an heavy leather glove to check the fluid level without getting burned. Others who have driven vehicles equipped with the 6R80 could probably confirm how good of a job Ford did on its shift schedule and quality but with the fresh fluid it was really smooth and crisp. The Ecoboost/6R80 combo is so quiet and smooth you couldn't even feel the shifts or engine change speed, the RPMs would drop and you'd just keep moving faster. (I know that sounds like a CVT equipped car but it really just goes to show the refinement that Ford put into a pickup truck.) Manually downshifting with the toggle switch was equally satisfying. Most of the bolts removed and draining out over the exhaust...the dumbest part of the whole design and job. Inside the 6R80. You can see the dipstick in the far left front corner of the transmission, notice the massive catalytic converter right behind it where the dipstick access point is. The 6R80 is sealed well, when you crack the 19mm cover nut you can hear the transmission suck in air releasing the vacuum. Then I got to work on the some programming work with Forscan, I had previously activated DRL fog lights, so I continued with adjusting the code to allow the fog lights to remain on with the high beams. I then activated the compass feature in the IPC screen, so I have the full compass app in the IPC and a direction readout all the time on the IPC screen as well as the compass readout on the MFT screen. Several days ago I also installed the Hill Descent Control switch, turns out I didn't have to activate it using Forscan as it was already activated in my truck, just needed the switch. Needless to say that feature works pretty well, it uses ABS to keep the truck from going over a set speed. HDC and Traction Control combo switch. IPC compass app. A nice touch as the vehicle shown is actually a pickup truck.

Probably double that noise because I doubt the Fusion has 2 - 15 or 16 inch fans.

The F150s A/C is kinda fussy like that. Its kinda lame and struggles to produce cold air when its just sitting still or driving slow but when your at cruising speed on the highway the A/C blows ice cold. Its almost obnoxious how loud the high speed cooling fan is on the F150 too, I don't understand how a fan that big roaring that fast can't move enough air over that huge opening but I guess it doesn't quite cut it.

Not to often that I have put the 1500lbs of payload capacity to real work, but these old railroad ties were really heavy. I bet that was a solid 900-1000lbs of old wood. Truck rode like an absolute dream with that weight.

In case anyone is wondering what a good oil sample looks like from a 3.5L Ecoboost. I thought I should get a base line for the truck, this oil had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it, a good mix of regular driving, moderate to heavy towing 5000-8000lbs, and a long 2000 mile road trip. No wear metals, no fuel (good sign for the Ecoboost since they suffer from oil dilution due to the high pressure), no coolant, and no water.

So I did a rear brake job on my sisters car, 2014 Mazda CX-5. Rotors were trashed, lots of pulsing, very rusty, etc. Pretty straight forward and easy job. I take the passengers side rear caliper apart and find one slide pin is bent, and one is all full of brown goop and corroded. So I went to the Mazda dealer in hopes of finding OEM slide pins...I'll just say, don't waste your time with Mazda and their parts department, their only option was to buy a whole new caliper bracket for over $120, and apparently there are only 18 of those in the whole USA. So luckily O'Reilly had what I needed. Put it all back together and wow what a difference, that car has really snappy brakes when they are actually working. I'm not sure how many miles were on those brakes, there was lots of pad left but they were all chopped up and uneven. I read a few things online and I would have to agree with others that Mazda skimped on the brake lubricant from the factory. So I really loaded them up with the good Motorcraft silicone brake lube. New pads and rotors were Wagner TQ ceramic and Wagner Premium E-Coat. So hopefully no dust and no rust.

The front rim is from the Gen 4 (2000-2003 MY cars) the rear "step ledge" rim is from the Gen 4.5 (2004-2007 MY cars).

I do think its a bit of a silly move by Ford but technology has come so far and a lot of these new SUVs are getting much better fuel economy than even 10 years ago. The American auto brands are very good at building SUVs and trucks, they know this and they ride on it. I do think it would be cool if Ford could get back to the days of the 90's where the Explorer just steam rolled everything in front of it, almost a dozen different brands and no one could even come close to the Explorer. Ford just failed at anticipating a market shift...big time. There is definitely something to say about buying a car from an American manufacturer, you as a car buying customer do not matter to them as much as a customer buying a truck. That's one of the reasons I felt so confident buying an F150, I could walk into any Ford dealership and if I'm dissatisfied loudly say "I' think I'm going to go check out a Chevy", and they would be all over me to do anything to make me happy, you do the same about a Fusion or whatever and they wouldn't care near as much. As a company Ford will do as much as possible to keep their truck customers happy...massive TSB support, huge extended warranties, you name it. And when they mess up everyone knows about it and they have to work extremely hard to gain trust back. Its all about the $ and that happens to come from trucks and SUVs. With the new Expedition, Ranger, Bronco, EcoSport, possible Mini Bronco, and the Explorer going RWD it is pretty clear Ford is dead serious about bolstering its SUV lineup. I think a big indicator of how they are going to perform is going to be based on the Bronco, if it actually turns out to be big beefy square body off roader that can run with the Wranger then IMO they aren't messing around. To say your done with Ford because they don't make cars is a bit silly, what if the day comes and you need a truck or a SUV, and you know they have the best vehicle on the market...your going to let the fact that they don't sell a mid-sized car influence your decision to buy a truck or SUV? Removing the Fusion completly did hit me as odd, I mean the Midsized car segment is really big and when the Aston Martin themed Fusion came out it sold extremely well, I would think that really put the confidence in Ford that they can produce a really nice car that people like.

As the title suggests this is a quick overview of a spark plug replacement on a 3.5L Ecoboost...RWD application. Really this job has got to be one of the easiest spark plug jobs on a V configuration. The most basic ratchet and socket set will get the job done with no special tools or real tricks. Once the engine cover is removed by simply pulling it off, the coils are all right there and easily accessible. I started on the passengers side, those heater hoses are kinda in the way but you can still get a 3/8" ratchet and 6" extension back there. Drivers side bank has a few more things in the way, that PCV hose has to be removed and the electrical connector to the fuel pump has to be disconnected. The 2 coils around the fuel pump were the most difficult, both stuck in place and needed a little extra effort to pop off. The coil behind the fuel pump was the hardest to pop out, because some ass hat decided to mess up the rubber seal and let it fold over on itself. Job done. I know these plugs are not the original (they are the updated style) and the truck has almost exactly 50k miles on it. So this engine is on its 3rd set of plugs. Ford specs a gap of .030 in for the ecoboost .028 for tuned engines. The old plugs all checked out around .035 to .038. the new plugs were all unable to pass a .032 in feeler gauge. I could have let those plugs go a while longer but with not knowing when or if they were done, the ecoboosts terrible track record with spark plugs, and 2 cross county trips coming up this summer I wanted to make sure something stupid like a spark plug isn't going to mess anything up. These new SP534 MC plugs appear to be made by NGK, stamped JAPAN on the plug. Maybe next time I'll buy the NGK plugs and save some money. I've always been impressed with NGK plugs, they are top notch in my book. I used the NGK equivalent in the so called "ultra picky" Skyactive engine and my sister has yet to have an issue.

Well we got hit pretty hard with this April snow storm, I woke up to a good 14 or 15 inches of wet heavy snow, drifts were easily 3-4 feet in places. I had to run some errands and I wasn't letting the snow slow me down, I mean I have access to a big 4x4 truck so I wasn't worried. So for fun I tried to back out of the driveway in 2wd, I made it a whole 3 feet before it just spun, so I shifted over to 4, turned off traction control and locked the rear diff. I got down to the end of the driveway and realizing how deep it really was I made the shift to 4low and took off. I had got going good but I ended up stopping in front of the house to talk to a neighbor...I couldn't get moving forward again! I had to rock the truck back and forth to get moving and even then it struggled to get going. I have never seen this happen before but the snow was so wet, dense and heavy and the truck was too light that with all that torque in 4 low the rear axle was wheel hopping on the snow. I thought it was unreal that there was that much torque being put down at 5mph that the entire back end of the truck was jumping off the snow. I'm sure a few hundred lbs of ballast in the bed would have helped a lot. Jeff, I'd expect Lincoln to switch all models to their new front end in the next few years. Look to the Company flagship Navigator and Continental front end.

Pulled this beast about 400 or so miles yesterday. Yes it is absolutely at the limit of what the F150 can handle without a weight distribution hitch but the Ecoboost pulled that 8000lb trailer with ease. I definitely would have preferred to pull this trailer with a 3/4 ton truck, that extra front end weight of the bigger truck would have made the drive more comfortable. In this picture I just had the trailer jack off the ground so the full weight of the empty trailer is on the truck.

The new truck for my group at work arrived today. With exception of the less than attractive aluminum cap my company chooses to equip all of our trucks with it looks very sharp. 2018 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Crew Cab long box. So this is the biggest Tacoma you can get, and let me say the rear leg room is no better than a small car. My group is just excited that we were able to get a smaller truck. The company apparently cross shopped the Tacoma and the Colorado and Toyota delivered a better price for the options. Its all setup already with nice little micro leds in the grill and the nice Whelen top led strobe

Run a RWD 3.5 EB at WOT and then we'll talk about dangerous, your lucky to keep the thing going straight. And thats in a vehicle that weighs more than two of those Fiestas. Just remember Matt...respect the power. Vulcanator, I think the salt brine is as bad if not worse than regular rock salt, the dust it creates gets on and inside of everything.

Is that the pentastar 3.6? I was reminded that with the big capability of the F150 comes the big cost to use that capability, had to buy a rather expensive adjustable 2 5/16" ball hitch to tow a big 20' enclosed trailer next week. For the amount I've spent on different hitches I should have just spent the big money and bought a adjustable load equalizer setup that would work for anything I would ever tow.

There are a few stragglers yet, lol.