Sport Trac restoration

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Rich Stern

Rich Stern

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2000
Messages
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Location
Lawrenceville, GA
Howdy, all. Glad to see folks still interacting here. Big time thanks to Todd Z and George C for keeping this place going.



Still have my '01. Has 100K miles on it, and now does light "farm duty" at my rural property in N. Georgia.



My son will head off to college later this year. Some of you site old timers may remember Zachary from early ST meetups. He was just a tike back then! How time flies! He'll take one of our two daily drivers with him, which will leave us short a vehicle at home. It occurred to me that instead of getting a replacement vehicle, I could do a light restoration of the Sport Trac and use it as my daily driver again. Because I work from home, I don't drive a lot; maybe 5000 miles a year.



Cosmetically, the ST is still in good shape. Under the pine tar, needles, and leaf residue, the paint still has some shine to it. No body damage, and the bed is still in excellent shape. Windows, sunroof, all of the electrical stuff still work just fine. Cruise control button membranes have disintegrated. Might have to see if I can find replacements for those.



Mechanically, it's a bit squeaky and there's definitely something burning (oil or tranny fluid) that I occasionally catch a whiff of, but it's reliable enough to get to the nearest town and back, or the local dump (30 mile roundtrip) with a light trailer in tow.



I'm starting a list of things the ST will need to be restored to a comfortable, reliable daily driver. It's definitely going to need new tires, shocks, and a battery. It's needs some maintenance on the air ductwork; pretty certain a critter built a nest in there, somewhere. The driver's seat leatherwork is cracked. I have a seat cover on it. I may just stick with that, but recovering the interior is a possibility. The OEM CD changer is kaput. Might put an aftermarket sound system in, but for the most part, I only listen to radio anyway, so that's in the "maybe" column.



On the more serious mechanical side, wondering how much should I would have to invest in having the engine and transmission made reliable? Is it reasonable to look for a mechanic who can go through the engine and transmission, with a list of things that should be replaced/overhauled?



What about the suspension beyond the shocks? What would you consider replacing to get the ride quality back to what it was 15 years ago?



Any thoughts on the topic appreciated.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
HEY Rich, Long time no speak...LOL



My 2 cents here on this:



As for the radio, I LOVE the JVC BT radios, under $200 from Crutchfield, come with the installation and wiring kit, Adds RCA outs and blue tooth for the cell phone !!!!!



At 100K she is reliable still, But maybe do a 100% fluid flush and change on the whole truck, Soup to nuts.



Find the leaks, Probably pan seal or valve covers or PCV ( most common) easily fixed.



Replace belts and hoses, Tune up motor. Almost like a full 120K service now.



As for suspension, a good set of shocks and a front end check should do the trick. I would not throw money at parts if they don't need it. Check the body bushings !!!!



My final recommendation would be put that sucker on the Auto train, ship it to me

And I will make it good as new !!!!! LOL



Good luck !!



Todd Z
 
Burning oil smell may be leaky valve cover gaskets. Just had mine replaced after catching that same wiff on an occasion or two.



For the engine/trans, other than regular tune up items and maybe a trans flush I woulld look at the serpentine belt and if it is starting to crack or dry rot replace it.



Other than that if it aint broken don't replace it....
 
Rich,



I have 314,000 on my '01 and plan on keepin' it going for many years to come. I've got both the Ford remanufactured motor and tranny at around 140,000. They were pricey but I wanted quality and installation that I could fall back on with Ford in case anything went south. They came with 3 year/unlimited so it was good protection while it lasted.



It's worth the effort to go through yours so it's reliable for you.
 
Thanks for the replies, all. Todd, will want to continue the conversation about the sound system.



toptobottom: Can you tell me more about the remanufactured motor/tranny? Who was the vendor? What was the cost? Why that route instead of rebuilding what you had?
 
Ford re-manufactured longblock installed by local ford Dealer. The Service Rep told me that it's really a new engine but Ford cannot sell it as one because it's not in a vehicle.



The local mechanics in my rural area cannot be trusted and if they screw it up and I have problems - good luck trying to have them make good on it. Having it rebuilt - you don't know what is absolutely being done or what quality parts are being installed. That's why I chose to pay more and go through the Dealer for piece of mind that they'll be responsible enough to go back to if I had any problems. Plus, I knew they wouldn't have any spare parts left over after the install. :cry:



I knew I was into keeping the Trac for the long haul and it was basically going to be like having a brand new vehicle. Wasn't worried about any other smaller things going bad because I can pretty do most all repairs myself.



Cost from receipt: (replaced in 2007 )



Engine: Labor - $998.64 + Parts - $3889.12 = $4887.76



Trans: Labor - $630.00 + Parts - $2452.46 = $3082.46



Both came with a 3 yr/unlimited mileage warranty at that time. I now have 174,000 trouble-free miles on them now. They've actually outlasted the original motor and tranny. Still running great and no oil leaks or smoking.
 
ttb, thank you. Pricey, but a lot cheaper than a new truck, and the new powertrain certainly gave back the value you paid for it and a lot more.
 
Any time, Email or call...



Todd Z
 
Hi Rich, Great to hear from you again.



It might be worth a few hundred dollars to take your old ST to a competent mechanic and get an estimate as to what it needs to bring it back to a reliable daily driver. Running a complete diagnostics will give you a better idea of all the little things that may be getting tired. You also need to find out where the burning oil is coming from.



I would do that before I spend a lot of money on it without knowing if it was worth investing in, or if it should be put out to the pasture....:cry:



...Rich
 
A mech with the proper electronics can print out how each cylinder is performing to give you a good idea of the wear and tear on the engine without having to remove each spark plug and checking the compression. :driving:
 
Richard...long time! Nice to see you're still here.



There's an AAMCO near me, where I had my ST towed when I had trouble with the computer cable to the transmission. They were fantastic, and all of the feedback I read from other customers of that store basically say the owner is one-of-a-kind in his service attitude. May bring it back to him, since he's honest and they do full service work.



RedRanger, thanks to you, too, for the suggestion.

 
With only 100,000 miles on it there shouldn't be any reason to replace the engine or transmission without something being obviously broken. I have over 320,000 miles on my original engine and transmission, and it's still my daily driver. I keep thinking I should look for a replacement, but it just keeps on running so well!
 
WalMart brand Mercon V transmission fluid and Pennzoil 5W30 synthetic engine oil. I think the secret with the transmission is I installed a drain plug in the pan, and I drain and refill the transmission every other oil change, and drop the pan and change the filter at the regular schedule. I think it keeps the trans fluid fresher, and over a number of changes it gets as much as a flush would anyway.
 

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