Tom S
Member
2003 XLT 4x4... heated leather, moonroof, Pioneer 6-disc & sub. It has the Ford vinyl tonneau cover and bug shield, Hidden Hitch with 7-pin connector and a trailer brake controller mounted below the dash. Had 99,4xx miles on it but rolled 100k within minutes before getting back from the 9+ hour drive home from buying it. Most that I called on listed around here were sold, 2WD or lesser-optioned than I was looking for.
Bought it about a month ago, had been lurking the site before purchase and made a few changes already.
Apparently Monroe is discontinuing the Reflex shocks (or so several outlets have been telling me). Supposedly they're superceding them with the SensaTracs, so I changed out the stock shocks for a set of those. They ride a lot firmer than the stock ones, but none of the "drum solo" going on in the front suspension anymore. (Encountered a little "me-induced" problem afterward... when I lowered the spare tire, then the EVAP canister, two EVAP lines came disconnected and must not have fully sealed when I put them back on... got the CEL "EVAP small leak detected". Cleared the code, came back a few days later. Dropped the canister down again, put some dielectric grease on the o-ring for the press-in fitting and it now passes.
) Changed the front sway bar bushings & end links with Moogs too.Next, I swapped out the stock speakers for some Infinity Reference 6822cf's both front & rear. I've bought many speakers before, but have to say these have extremely crisp & clear highs and decent mids... no muddy/tinny sound at all... very satisfied with them, and oddly even the factory sub sounds better.
Took a look at the spark plugs & wires... already has 8mm Autolite wires, so those will stay for now. Had Bosch R3 plugs that look like they've had better days, not to mention that 2 of them were only finger tight and had carbon-spray on them from not being fully seated. Swapped them out with a set of NGK Iridium IX plugs... saw an immediate improvement in idle quality and throttle response. Changing the plugs took about an hour, wasn't as bad as I've read other say it can be... found the passenger side easiest with a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter and a 1/4" ratchet & 5/8" swivel socket, hardest one was the middle with a longer adapter (swivel didn't want to rotate very well, was binding).
The next mod will likely be a 2-3" lowering in the rear to bring the wheel-well spacing closer to equal, then maybe a 1/2-1" torsion-untwist to the front. Has anyone here lowered a 4WD ST? Advice welcome.
I'm on the hunt for a bed extender (originally had one but wasn't with the truck when I bought it) and a folding bed cover, but they're not in my budget for the moment.
Transmission fluid is clean & red, not grey & smelly like a few others I'd looked at. Front brake pads were just changed by the dealer before I bought it. May also look into changing the transfer case, front & rear (D2) differential fluids too.
What areas am I missing for preventative maintenance? Any other suggestions and advice greatly appreciated.
BTW... I love this truck. It steers & rides SOOO much better than the Sonoma/S10/Canyon/Colorado I'd also been considering, also has a lot more passenger room and heavier payload/towing capacity.
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