Something that has boggled my mind for years is why Ford has chosen to have the SVT Raptor F150 powered by the 3.5L Ecoboost V6, and not turbocharging the 5.0 Coyote V8. I've driven both engines in F150s, and even though the Ecoboost is rated for more power, I've never noticed a difference in performance. Plus, the 5.0 has a HUGE advantage: If the water pump fails, you can replace it in a parking lot, by removing four bolts. To replace an Ecoboost pump, you need special tools, and have to remove the valve covers and timing chain. Don't believe me? I'm doing one at work right now. I'll post pictures. It's a fucking ordeal. Ford could just mildly boost the 5.0 (like 7-10 psi), and make more power than four wheels could handle in the Raptor. So why don't they do it? Why do you need to replace the throttle body? What are the codes? If you have the plugs replaced, be prepared to spend a lot. The 3V Ford V8s have a bad habit of breaking spark plugs in the heads; I've seen this happen too many times. When you have this done, be sure that the mechanic soaks the spark plugs with WD-40, or some similar lubricant BEFORE they take the plugs out. Just do a search on "Ford 5.4 broken spark plug" A few months ago, we had a 2004 F150 with a 3V 5.4 come in, and six of the plugs broke in the head. The shop I work at charges $50 per plug to remove them. Jason, I don't want to scare you, but I'm just telling you what I've seen. For the record, I've never broken a 3V Ford spark plug, BUT that is because I've always been VERY careful replacing them.
Those broken plugs....do they also happen to plague Lightnings from that era? Because after seeing that last night about the new blown F150s, that made me think "Hmmmmm....you know I really like 2001 or so Lightnings" and kind of went scouting on prices and such. It'll also leave folks scratching their heads if I go driving cross country with a Lightning pulling a trailer with a Z28 on it.....
Ford plugs are easy to do, if you can handle working on a hot ass engine, get the truck nice and hot and then use an electric impact to zip the plugs out, knock on wood I’ve never broken one. YMMV
No, quite the opposite: Lightnings (and other 2 valve Modular Fords) would BLOW OUT spark plugs. From '99 to the mid '00s, Ford Modular V8s with "PI" heads only had four threads in the spark plug hole, and were prone to blowing out plugs with high boost levels, or if the plugs were installed incorrectly. Supposedly Ford fixed the problem in '04, adding four more threads, but I've seen heads from the late '00s that still had four. While annoying, this problem can be easily repaired with threaded inserts. Why Ford chose to only cut four threads when more would fit is beyond me.
Yea the spark plug and 1"+ thread on the plug and the head had less then a 1/4". Then they went the other way and had a problem with the plugs seizing.
I guess I could try cleaning it. I've replaced the throttle position sensor already. I didn't get the actual codes for a few, but here they are. P2104 TAC System forced idle TAC System forced closed P0301 Cyl 1 Misfire P0303 Cyl 3 Misfire Cyl 4 Misfire P0300 Random/Multiple misfire PO174 System too lean (bank 2) I'm in a financial situation where I will have to replace the plugs and coils myself. I watched the video below to prepare. Anything else you guys would suggest?
Son. Of A. Bitch. In my drunk purchasing frenzy I failed to notice that the short stick I bought was for the factory shifter, not the Pro 5.0. So now I have a $60 short stick I'll never use. Oh well... On the plus side...the short stick for my new shifter is angled at 45 degrees towards the driver. Being 6'7", and most of that legs, that would never work for me. So I guess it's a wash.
I ordered the SLP CAI for my car. They claim an extra 20 horse, if it was anyone other then SLP I'd doubt that claim, but they've got a pretty solid track record. So this should push the car over 300 horse, which in this day and age isn't much....but 300 horse, a metric shit ton of torque, and a manual transmission...that's a recipe for fun. I also had a stranger walk up and compliment me on the car today. That got kind of old when I had my '68 RS/SS, it happened every time I took it out. It amuses me to no end with my Z though...it's still kind of hard for me to process that it's 23 years old and considered a classic.
What a fucked weekend on the Nova. Was really making progress on it and was ready to fire it Saturday. Get the ECU powered up, go through the options, upload the tune, hit the key, fuel pump primes and then injector #1 start pouring fuel. Not weeping or dripping, but POURING up where the injector goes into the fuel rail. We pull the rail, check the injector and the O ring seems a little misshapen and a little hard so off to the parts store we go to get some new O rings. Install those, prime the pump and again, fuel everywhere. Inspect the area and it looked like the brass nutsert for the rail bracket wasn't inserted all the way so we filed that down which allowed us to set the injector down just a bit more. Nope. Pull it all back apart and swap injectors with cylinder #3. More gas out of the cylinder #1 bung. God damn it but at least we've narrowed it down to the rail and not an injector issue. Take it all back apart again and start inspecting the fuel rail. Putting straight edges on it to ensure it wasn't warped, measuring the holes to see if cylinder #1 was machined wrong and that's when we see it. A god damn crack in the injector hole. Hard to get a picture of, but it goes almost all the way around so when it pressurizes with almost 60 psi, fuel just dumps out of it.
Talked to Holley and sent them some pictures. Sounds like they're going to send out a new one. Best pic I could get of the bulge on the outside.
I put in the email with the pics that I would send it back if they wanted it. I called Summit Racing first but they couldn't do anything because it's been about 3 years since I bought the parts. I'm glad Holley is stepping up and going to take care of it.
That is a problem with a lot of parts like that, you buy them and do install them to well over the warranty period.
Damn it. Sometimes drunk shopping is a pain in the ass. I'm trying to put together a stereo for my car and I've picked out an awesome head unit (45/100W continuous/peak x 4 awesome...yeah, it's going to be loud.) Now I'm trying to match speakers for the system. Dear. Fucking. God. I just want matched Infinity speakers to replace the stockers front and back. Apparently that's a problem. I have no idea why.
Meh. I ordered Polk Audio speakers...at least it won't be a half assed system. No amp, no sub...I don't need folks to hear me 3 blocks away (My Durango already has a stereo like that...I sold the sub box with 2x12's almost as soon as I bought it. The 1200W amp powering it is still there.) I like music loud, but not annoying. Hopefully this system will toe the line between loud and irritating others. It's got to be better then the stock cassette system that only works on the front speakers and sounds like you're listening with mud in your ears.
Nooooo shit. I have a 2014 Sierra and I'm not happy with the shitty iPhone/IOS interaction, so I looked into what upgrades would be required. I figured it would be a little firmware upgrade or something. Nope. The whole fucking dash has to come out and some special module has to be plugged in. It's going to be a multi-thousand dollar procedure. So then I figured, "fuck it, I'm a smart guy who's good at electronics... what would be involved in upgrading it to some third-party piece?" An hour later I came to the conclusion that my shitty iPhone integration is plenty good enough.
And if a CD is stuck in the player, fuhgettaboutit. My SS is at the dealer ATM, for a CEL/catalytic converter gremlin. I have an automatic Cruz for a loaner; woe is me. It does have Android Auto, though... My $50K SS does not. #firstworldproblems
2004 Chevy Silverado. When I put on my left turn signal, both sides blink. Right turn signal is working normally. Bulbs are good. (I tried swapping them, pulling one out, etc. just to see if I could identify something.) About 2 months ago, I changed the turn signal / cruise / bright / hazard switch because whenever I turned on my right signal, the brights would come on. It was plug & play, and changed out just fine, no problems since. So, either that switch is bad or went bad (it was brand new) and is shorting the hazard or something, or there is a bad wire, or . . . ? If the flasher relay is bad, could that happen? Those things are about $75 and a pain to replace. Is there something more simple I should try first. I really don't think the new switch I put in would already go bad already. They're not flashing fast, the brake lights and tail lights work fine, and I checked my trailer harness to see if there was a short there. All that seems good. I can't figure it out and I'm not having a lot of luck on Google.