Sport Trac Awareness

[BBB]

Greetings all. BBB from S.E. PA signing on with a new to me 2001 Sport Trac 4x4. Hope I can bring some tips and tricks along to share with the forum.

Had it for a few weeks at 117K Miles now and got a good chance to inspect it. I do all the work myself to save a few bucks. To date...Replaced 4 shocks. Re-skinned the center console arm rest cover, replaced 3 exterior door handles. Re-painted the front door grab handles. Lost both Ford factory running bars. Fixed the oil pressure gauge needle that was sitting below the pin (no idea how it got that way) and repaired the parking brake indicator light switch.

Up next is the passenger side valve cover gasket and both timing chain tensioners. Soon vital fluid and filter changes: engine oil & filter, tranny fluid & filter, transfer case fluid and rear diff fluid. Don't forget the fuel filter! The power steering fluid and brake fluid should be flushed as well as the engine coolant.

Got a new stereo to replace the Pioneer factory audiophile head unit but Pioneer system sounds so good. Rear subwoofer needs replaced as its a bit distorted though. Wish list includes new bottom cover for the gray leather divers seat and a 47" amber/white LED light bar for the roof & amber/white LED hide-a-way lights to compliment the existing full bull bar on the front of the vehicle. That along with the Sport Trac being white would give it a nice "interceptor" flare as I recall seeing a few of these as Police vehicles in their time.

Lots to do but all worth it in my opinion to keep this sweet ride on the road. I'll post some pics as I go.

 

[BBB]

Here are some pics as promised...

Took the front door panels off, then removed the door grab handles from behind. Sanded them down and spray bombed them silver metallic with a bunch of coats due to the high usage. Looks way better than the chipped up paint that was there before.

Removed the center console arm rest cover to re-skin it. I looked at the kits on fleaBay, but found a cool looking gray perforated vinyl at Wally World (walmart) in the fabric section. It's super stretchy and conformed easily to the shape of the arm rest base. Plus for $8 I got a whole sq yard (3'x3') and that's enough to do the arm rest several times over.

Here you can see the Bull Bar the Sport Trac came with. Removal of the completely rusted factory running bars really helped the appearance also.

Here is what it could look like with a similar light bar on top.

 

[BBB]

Cleaned the factory mats including giving the edges a trim with a light flame on the torch to get the fuzzys off. After they dry, I'm going to glue a nice rubber patch over the area where the driver's heel rests. It's definitely too worn and discolored there to leave it that way. Otherwise they're in pretty good shape.

I'll have to score a mat retainer floor clip to replace the one I borrowed from the rear (due to the missing one on the front drivers side. A safety issue) fleabay has them for under $10 I see.

 

[Todd Z]

Welcome and good luck with the truck, If the guides are worn in the engine changing the hydraulic tensioners will do nothing. sadly you must pull the engine to change the assemblies.... Keep us posted.

 

[EddieS'04]

BBB, I just noticed the police Trac you posted was from Gulf Breeze PD.
I have 2 best freinds that are brothers living in Gulf Breeze. One is retired and runs Spirit Sound Records, to Christian contemporary music.. He writes the lyrics. His brother is a park ranger on the beach.

 

[BBB]

I found that Gulf Breeze photo with an image search. There are quite a few photos of Sport Tracs as Police vehicles. My family all moved to West Palm Beach but I was the only one to stay up north. Why? I'm not sure. I like Florida. I'm scratching my forehead now.

Here is the driver side floor mat with the decorative rubber piece over the worn area. I glued it down with an activated silicone adhesive. Looks way better than before. I would have possibly left the carpeted floor mats out but the rubber floor (albeit pristine still) proved to be a bit slippery. I replaced the brake peddle cover too.

 

[BBB]

I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket finally. Wasn't too bad on this 2001 as the EGR tube is on the driver side and doesn't go over the top of the passenger side valve cover as in later models. Just had to disconnect the heater core hoses, spark plug wires, a vacuum line and a small hose going to the air intake. FYI...8mm deep well socket is required for the studs on this valve cover. Tied everything else back with some 12 gauge solid wire to make a big enough hole to lift it out. Hardest part was disconnecting the plate that holds the heater hoses and tranny dip stick. Once loose, I tied that back as well. Not much coolant leaks out. Voila, no more stinky burning oil leak on the exhaust manifold.

Did a quick oil change as the Sport Trac goes in for yearly PA State Vehicle Safety Inspection and Emissions Testing tomorrow. Yes in PA they charge separately for both, plus the cost of the windshield sticker(s). That little chestnut ends up costing about $85-90 pass or fail per year. What a commonwealth crock-O-you know what.

Some say clean new engine oil helps with passing the emissions test. Who knows, it was time since the last change was 4K miles ago.

 

[BBB]

Passed both. Ooh-rah.