What did you do to your Sport Trac today?

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I suppose this classifies as maintenance. The lock on my Tonneau Cover and on my tailgate would not lock with the keys. A friend suggested I put graphite in the locks to lubricate them. I was able to purchase a tube from a local auto parts store. The directions said to shake well and I suppose I assumed it was liquid since it came in a tube.

Well, it did indeed do the trick and now I can lock both locks which is great because now I can keep things and not worry too much about somebody taking them.

Pro tip: Don't mess with graphite on windy days. It doesn't come off very easy.

Tonneu Lock.JPG
Graphite.JPG
 
^ Good tip. Many don't maintain locks until they stop working. Don't know if you used the same product, but I use Lock-Ease in a 3 ounce aerosol spray with tube. Also clean the door latches and lube with white lithium spray. I lube all four door locks and latches every two years because of our somewhat mild Hawaii climate. Doesn't take much and this little aerosol can will last a long time. Houdini or 3-In-1 lock lubes also work well.
https://www.amazon.com/AGS-LE5-Lock-Ease/dp/B000CIJUGA

Agree, graphite is very messy and hard to remove especially if over used.
Anti seize is also a PITA to remove. I use paint thinner to remove both.
 
One of the rare days in the PNW and had a sunny day during the winter. Got off my butt and washed the ST and wife's Explorer.

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This summer I'll do a cut and polish on both, but the ST has a ton of surface scratches so it will take a lot more.
 
Picked up my new front wheel hub today for the 08. Got the three bolts off the back and the big nut off the CV, and was able to push the CV back but that old hub is not coming off.
I tried everything I could but it won't budge.
Any suggestions would be appreciated my wife misses her car 😂
 
You’ll need a big hammer and chisel. If that doesn’t work, get a bigger hammer and bigger chisel. Still not moving? Apply some heat around the outside of the housing. It will come off but sometimes it takes a LOT of force.
 
topher5150 said:
Picked up my new front wheel hub today for the 08. Got the three bolts off the back and the big nut off the CV, and was able to push the CV back but that old hub is not coming off.
I tried everything I could but it won't budge.
Any suggestions would be appreciated my wife misses her car 😂
Click to expand...

I've done the front left on my '10 STA and it came off with a few hammer hits. I recently did one on my Subaru and it finally came off ONLY after a couple cycles of heating then cooling with water....then hammering.
 
A full detail of our 08 Limited after 6 weeks of crap weather.
 
Two weeks ago, I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket on my 2002 ST. Wasn't as bad as I expected. I had done the driver's side in the fall, and the passenger side was just beginning to noticeably leak. It went to smoking a lot in a short time.

Last week, I replaced the thermostat housing on my '04 ST with a generic aluminum one from Parts Geek like the one on the '02. This job didn't go as well as hoped. Some of the heater hoses that need to come off to get more room to work didn't want to come off, or the clamps were turned to where I couldn't get a good hold to release them. The '04 uses 1 sensor, but I didn't see a listing for an aluminum housing with 1 sensor on Parts Geek, so I used one with 2 sensors. The original uses a plug that clips in like the sensors do, so plan A was to take the plug from the original and use it in the aluminum housing. The lower end of the plug crumbled when it came out - not enough to cause it to leak, but enough to make me rethink using it - so I went to plan B and cut the top of the unused sensor off near the bottom of the prongs. I did this for clearance, and so anyone working on this truck in the future won't waste time trying to find non-existent wiring to plug into it. I reused the original temp sender and thermostat since they are known to work.

Saturday, I cut up and reshaped the plastic liner of a soft-sided cooler to fit the space where the bag goes in my '02's console. I've been using a small plastic box in the space with soft goods in the spaces on either end of the box since I bought the truck 11 yrs ago. I found a bag several years ago, but don't care to use it. The cooler liner was the perfect length at the top and the right width. I cut and reshaped the back to the proper angle, and pop riveted it back together. I cut most of the front out so the lower part would fit into the recess in the front. It's a little crude because I made a second cut at the rear that wasn't needed once the front was modified, but no one will see it.
 
Duane Foster said:
Two weeks ago, I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket on my 2002 ST. Wasn't as bad as I expected. I had done the driver's side in the fall, and the passenger side was just beginning to noticeably leak. It went to smoking a lot in a short time.

Last week, I replaced the thermostat housing on my '04 ST with a generic aluminum one from Parts Geek like the one on the '02. This job didn't go as well as hoped. Some of the heater hoses that need to come off to get more room to work didn't want to come off, or the clamps were turned to where I couldn't get a good hold to release them. The '04 uses 1 sensor, but I didn't see a listing for an aluminum housing with 1 sensor on Parts Geek, so I used one with 2 sensors. The original uses a plug that clips in like the sensors do, so plan A was to take the plug from the original and use it in the aluminum housing. The lower end of the plug crumbled when it came out - not enough to cause it to leak, but enough to make me rethink using it - so I went to plan B and cut the top of the unused sensor off near the bottom of the prongs. I did this for clearance, and so anyone working on this truck in the future won't waste time trying to find non-existent wiring to plug into it. I reused the original temp sender and thermostat since they are known to work.

Saturday, I cut up and reshaped the plastic liner of a soft-sided cooler to fit the space where the bag goes in my '02's console. I've been using a small plastic box in the space with soft goods in the spaces on either end of the box since I bought the truck 11 yrs ago. I found a bag several years ago, but don't care to use it. The cooler liner was the perfect length at the top and the right width. I cut and reshaped the back to the proper angle, and pop riveted it back together. I cut most of the front out so the lower part would fit into the recess in the front. It's a little crude because I made a second cut at the rear that wasn't needed once the front was modified, but no one will see it.
Click to expand...
This is the thermostat housing I got. Working great.
 
Len Jorgenson said:
You’ll need a big hammer and chisel. If that doesn’t work, get a bigger hammer and bigger chisel. Still not moving? Apply some heat around the outside of the housing. It will come off but sometimes it takes a LOT of force.
Click to expand...
I'll give that a try. Time to get a BFH
 
Looking at some pics from last summer and we put a lot of miles on her. The first pic is from when we went camping in Georgia. Then later that summer I went camping with my family in Northern Michigan over 4th of July weekend.
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Needed a stickier tire. The Atturo AZ850’s are worth the hype. 285/45’s hook up decently now.

Need to build a set of adjustable upper arms to get rid of a tiny bit of camber. 🫣
 

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Len Jorgenson said:
Look for a chisel with the rubber hand protector on it. Ask me why I suggest this :)
Click to expand...
I already know that pain from replacing outer tie rods.
I hosed it down a couple of nights ago with the PB. I got my lil blue bottle torch on the knuckle, hosed it then worked on something for a while, lather rinse repeat. I gave it a few good hwachks with the blunt end of my mighty axe then I was able to get a chisel behind and work it around the hub.
Now I'm sitting in the house waiting for the feeling to come back to my toes.
 

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