Well I've been on here for a little while and have seen quite a few build threads, and always had wanted to start and have my own. So now I finally have the truck to do it with, and have started to add some things. It is my first truck and vehicle. Yes it is my first vehicle and I am lucky enough to have been able to get it. I am only 18 and a senior in high school so this will be a slow build, but I've got a lot of plans for it. So now that I've got a little start on it, I figured it was about time to start a build thread. I guess I'll start off with a little story of how I got the truck.

So pretty much ever since I even thought about getting something to drive I knew I wanted a truck. So I saved up almost all of my money I ever got, knowing that I would need it someday. And then I worked with my Dad all last summer which helped out a lot. Then I finally had enough to buy a truck. Honestly I never thought I would end up in the truck that I have, throughout most of last summer I spent my time looking for a in decent shape older F150 for a couple thousand dollars, that were starting to rust out. I was really excited to get one of those, and still would have been very happy with one of those, and was actually pretty close to almost buying one. But deep down I had always wanted a diesel, but just never thought that it would happen, at least not for a few years. So when my Dad said that he thought I would be better off getting a truck from a dealer, or at least somehow making monthly payments instead of all at once, and fully supported me in getting a diesel I was really, really excited!

I started seriously looking in August. I spent a lot of my time looking for a truck, but it was hard to find one in good shape and in my price range. It was also really hard to find time to go look at one, with me in school and my Dad working. I can't even count the number of trucks that I found earlier in the week and were gone before I even had the chance to go look at them, because the only time we had was the weekends. These things sell FAST! There was a few hit and misses along the way, that turned out to be just not what I thought they were. Word of advice to any future buyers, they all look good in the pics! So many looked like nice clean, trucks in the pics and turned out to be either beat up or full of rust in person, or obviously and crapaly (is that a word) redone and repainted, probably bondo-d to cover up previous rust. There was one that we looked at from a private seller. The guy said it was a pretty nice truck, in pretty good shape for the year with just a little rust. I'm not sure what your definition of a little rust is, but that truck did not have "a little bit" of rust it was starting to rust out! The cab corners were gone and the rust was staring to creep op the super cab doors! It was pretty beat up with scratches and a few dents, I couldn't even imagine what was under the fender flares. No offense to the guy, he seemed like a really nice and honest guy, and was very kind with meeting up with us and showing us the truck, but it just wasn't what I thought it was. So anyways enough of me rambling lets get back to my truck.

After a good 4+ months of looking I finally found my truck, in December. My Dad actually found it, on Autotrader. I had been looking mostly on craigslist and a little bit of autotrader. We went a day or two after we found it, because we knew we had to act fast. So my Dad and I took the 4 hour drive down in his truck to look at it, at a dealer in Centerville, near Dayton Ohio, and it was well worth it. It was by far the cleanest truck we looked at, and was in great shape, with very little rust. It had a few minor nicks an scratches, which was to be expected, but nothing major. About the worst thing is that the tailgate is beat to hell, honestly it doesn't even open, and I haven't even really tried to, and don't want to. Just going to leave it till I get a new one, which I still haven't done yet, but its on the list. Actually the first pictures I saw of the truck it didn't even have a tailgate, so I didn't know of its condition. I fell in love with it pretty quick, and didn't want to miss out on it. It looked good and ran good, so we signed the papers and it was mine. And then took it on the 4 hour drive home to show it off, and say that I finally had my truck. And yes I am paying for it all myself, doing monthly payments. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but was still in my price range.

So obviously its a 2002 F250 CC SB 7.3l Powerstoke diesel Super Duty. Its white and an XLT 4x4 with tan cloth interior. It has a little over 271,000 miles on it now, had a little over 269,000 miles when I got it, actually rolled over 270,000 on the way home from buying it. But for the miles, its in great shape and runs great. Looks like the previous owner(s) took really good care of it, they did a good job of keeping the rust off of it too, with some undercoating and what looks like they sprayed it down with oil or something similar. Its actually pretty much my dream 7.3 (dream truck is a Black 05+ F350 CCLB 6.0, don't hate me too much 7.3 guys. ). Its exactly what I would have picked if I could have, color and configuration and all. Except for not being a lariat and having the tan two-tone, but it has the chrome add on trim which I like and think looks good too. It is already lifted a little and has a few mods that I planned on doing anyways, which made it even better.

So now for what you guys really came for, the build and what I have planned for it.

Current mods done when I got it.
[/LIST]

Well I've been on here for a little while and have seen quite a few build threads, and always had wanted to start and have my own. So now I finally have the truck to do it with, and have started to add some things. It is my first truck and vehicle. Yes it is my first vehicle and I am lucky enough to have been able to get it. I am only 18 and a senior in high school so this will be a slow build, but I've got a lot of plans for it. So now that I've got a little start on it, I figured it was about time to start a build thread. I guess I'll start off with a little story of how I got the truck.

So pretty much ever since I even thought about getting something to drive I knew I wanted a truck. So I saved up almost all of my money I ever got, knowing that I would need it someday. And then I worked with my Dad all last summer which helped out a lot. too Then I finally had enough to buy a truck. Honestly I never thought I would end up in the truck that I have. Throughout most of last summer I spent my time looking for an in decent shape older F150 for a couple thousand dollars, that most were starting to rust out. I was really excited to get one, and still would have been very happy with one of those, and was actually pretty close to almost buying one. But deep down I had always wanted a diesel, but just never thought that it would happen, at least not for a few years. So when my Dad said that he thought I would be better off getting a truck from a dealer, or at least somehow making monthly payments instead of all at once, and fully supported me in getting a diesel I was really, really excited!

I started seriously looking in August. I spent a lot of my time looking for a truck, but it was hard to find one in good shape and in my price range. It was also really hard to find time to go look at one, with me in school and my Dad working. I can't even count the number of trucks that I found earlier in the week and were gone before I even had the chance to go look at them, because the only time we had was the weekends. These things sell FAST! There was a few hit and misses along the way, that turned out to be just not what I thought they were. Word of advice to any future buyers, they all look good in the pics! So many looked like nice clean, trucks in the pics and turned out to be either beat up or full of rust in person, or obviously and crapaly (is that a word) redone and repainted, probably bondo-d to cover up previous rust. There was one that we looked at from a private seller. The guy said it was a pretty nice truck, in pretty good shape for the year with just a little rust. I'm not sure what your definition of a little rust is, but that truck did not have "a little bit" of rust it was starting to rust out! The cab corners were gone and the rust was staring to creep op the super cab doors! It was pretty beat up with scratches and a few dents, I couldn't even imagine what was under the fender flares. No offense to the guy, he seemed like a really nice and honest guy, and was very kind with meeting up with us and showing us the truck, but the truck just wasn't what I thought it was. So anyways enough of me rambling lets get back to my truck.

After a good 4+ months of looking I finally found my truck, in December. My Dad actually found it, on Autotrader. I had been looking mostly on craigslist and a little bit of autotrader. We went a day or two after we found it, because we knew we had to act fast. So my Dad and I took the 4 hour drive down in his truck to look at it, at a dealer in Centerville, near Dayton Ohio, and it was well worth it. It was by far the cleanest truck we looked at, and was in great shape, with very little rust. It had a few minor nicks an scratches, which was to be expected, but nothing major. About the worst thing is that the tailgate is beat to hell, honestly it doesn't even open, and I haven't even really tried to, and don't want to. Just going to leave it till I get a new one, which I still haven't done yet, but its on the list. Actually the first pictures I saw of the truck it didn't even have a tailgate, so I didn't know of its condition. I fell in love with it pretty quick, and didn't want to miss out on it. It looked good and ran good and was in my price range, so we signed the papers and it was mine, I was very happy with it. And then I took it on the 4 hour drive home to show it off, and say that I finally had my truck. And yes I am paying for it all myself, doing monthly payments. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but was still in my price range.

So obviously its a 2002 F250 CC SB 7.3l Powerstoke diesel Super Duty. Its white and an XLT 4x4 with tan cloth interior. It has a little over 271,000 miles on it now, had a little over 269,000 miles when I got it, actually rolled over 270,000 on the way home from buying it. But for the miles, its in great shape and runs great. Looks like the previous owner(s) took really good care of it, they did a good job of keeping the rust off of it too, with some undercoating and what looks like they sprayed it down with oil or something similar. Its actually pretty much my dream 7.3 (dream truck is a Black 05+ F350 CCLB 6.0, don't hate me too much 7.3 guys. ). Its exactly what I would have picked if I could have, color and configuration and all. Except for not being a lariat and having the tan two-tone, but it has the chrome add on trim which I like and think looks good too. It is already lifted a little and has a few mods that I planned on doing anyways, which made it even better.

So now for what you guys really came for, the build and what I have planned for it.

Current mods already done when I got it.

• 4in MBRP Exhaust w/ muffler
• K&N Intake
• TS 6-position Chip
• Glowshift Gauges: EGT, Boost, Tran Temp
• Small lift: Not sure exactly how much. I'm guessing a 2in added block in the rear, and a leveling spring pack in the front along with an add-a-leaf. Can anybody tell me for sure?
• 285/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's on stock 16in rims.
• Prestige (I think) or Bushwacker painted pocket fender flares. I originally thought that they were Bushwackers, but after looking at a few pics I think they are Prestige.
• 05+ Grille with billet insert
• Westin Bull bar
• AVS (I think) Bugshield
• Chrome door handles
• Chrome rocker trim

What I've done so far. Not much but I've got a few things ordered, that should be here sometime next week.

• Tan WeatherTech custom fit floor mats. It didn't come with floor mats, so I knew I needed some, and wanted plastic and nice ones. They fit pretty well and do a good job protecting the floor, my Dad actually has them in his truck now after seeing mine. I actually ordered them from Cabelas and are their Trail Gear 2 floor mats, but are made by WeatherTech. They are the exact same thing as WeatherTech's floor mats, they just come with Cabelas stickers to put over the WeatherTech ones.

What I have ordered.

• Recon Smoked Cab lights. Hope I like how they look on my truck. I wasn't sure if the smoked or clear would look better on my white truck, but I like smoked better and think that it should look good. I've seen other white trucks with smoked lights and they look good.
• Recon Smoked 3rd Brake light
• Recon LED 3-watt Cab lights
• Recon LED Interior Dome lights

Things that I'm going to order to do some work over my spring break.

• All new injector O-rings to hopefully fix a knocking noise I've been hearing.
• AIH Delete
• Front ABS Grease-able Block off fitting
• RiifRaff OCR
• RiffRaff 6637 filter kit to replace the K&N
• RiffRaff CCV mod kit
• RiffRaff HPX
• Fumoto EZ drain valve
• MBRP muffler delete
• Not really anything to order but something I plan to do at the same time: Foil delete mod
• Full service. Everything except the differential fluid which I will do once I get new diff covers

And things that I plan to get done relatively soon, as in by the end of the summer. In roughly this order, but I'm sure things will change and things that I forgot.

• Pioneer 700BT head unit
• Mud flaps
• Hutch and Harpoon mod
• New 08+ tailgate
• Tinted Windows: 20%
• Line-x Bedliner
• New mirrors with the clearance light either the 04-07 ones or the 08+
• Dieselsite Coolant Filter
• Dieselsite Transmission filter and gauge
• Dieselsite 203* T-stat with billet housing
• New water pump and new lower water pump outlet
• RiffRaff FRX
• Jimmi Jammer front and rear doors and tailgate
• DeeZee Tailgate EZ Down
• Custom Tunes on the TS chip. Probably from DP but not for sure yet.
• RiffRaff complete CAC Intercooler Boot kit
• JW or BTS valve body
• 6.,0 trans cooler
• RiffRaff front and rear Diff covers
• T500 HPOP
• Meilling M208 LPOP
• Possibly a Wicked Wheel or RIffRaff billet compressor wheel
• Smoke Stacks: probably 6in Mitre cut, but not decided on that. I know not everybody is a fan of them, but I like em and think they will look good.
• Recon smoked taillights
• Spyder clear/chrome projector headlights with 6000K HID's
• Either the 6000K HID's in the fogs or new LED fog lights
• Possibly some more driving lights and backup lights
• Cargo lights in the bed
• Clearance lights along the cab by running boards
• Clearance lights in the front valance
• New chrome door handles, tailgate handle, and rocker trim. The current ones aren't in that good of shape.
• Redo lift to get rid of the stacked blocks in the rear and maybe go to a full 4in in the front
• New rims: probably chrome 18x10. Not 100% decided on which ones yet.
• 35x12.50 Toyo MT's

That's about it for the summer, with maybe a few changes and things added or not getting done here and there. I know that's a lot but I hope I can get it all done. I honestly have no idea if I'll get it all done by then, things change and priorities change so who knows for sure. That's just the plan for now.

And now for the big plans for the future. I plan on keeping this truck for a long, long time so I have a lot of plans for it. These are some big plans so I'm not sure when or long it will take to get it all done. I would have guess that I'll get to a point in a year or two, where I'll pretty much leave it for the most part because of money reasons. After that point it will be mostly big $$$ items so I won't be able to get as much done. So here's the big plans.

• Traction bars
• The new tires and wheels if I don't get them this summer. Either way I'll need new tires before next winter because my current ones will probably be bald by then. I plan to run the stock rims in the winter.
• Undercoat and either oil or fluidfilm everything. Might even take off the bed and POR 15 as much as I can.
• Probably a new sound system and a few other things done to the interior.
• Obviously keep up on maintenance, and try to keep er real nice and clean, after it gets a little dirty.
• Fully built BTS or JW transmission
• Banks Techni-cooler Intercooler
• Full Regulated Return system
• Aftermarket Fuel system
• Full engine rebuild and build up to handle more power
• Bigger injectors
• Big turbo
• The plan is to have over 500hp someday, which won't be for awhile. So anything else that I might have missed to get me there.
• Bigger lift
• Bigger tires
• That's about it for now, I think. I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more down the line.
• And somewhere way, way, way down the line....
• Full frame-off restore with a new paint job, maybe a little bit custom, new parts and many rust prevention measurements. Basically want to make a new truck someday.

Phew I think that's it. Like I said I'm sure I've missed stuff and will come up with more things along the way. I hope you guys like it. I'm open and welcome and thoughts, comments, ideas recommendations, etc... I'll keep you guys updated as I go with thoughts and lots of pics and videos. I'll go back in and say when I got everything done. Like I said it will be slow, but I'll get it done.

I'll be posting pics in a separate post because this one got really long haha. I also posted this in the Super Duty part of the forum as well, just to share and to get ideas and input from more people.

 

Pics!!!

Also forgot to say that it has the window vent-visors and Bilstein shocks.
First pictures I got of it. At the dealer before I left for the drive home.




Rolled 270k on the way home.


Got it home.


Next to my Dad's 06 F550 6.0.


First few pics at home.






After the first time I washed and waxed it.







Beat up tailgate.


Pics of the lift. Rear then front. There's 3 leaf's in the front and I believe 7 in the rear, is that stock? I don't think the front is. Anybody have a guess at how much lift I have? I think its 2 or 3 inches.







Front.




And the most recent pics I have. I need to get some of the interior and the floor mats.

 

Seems to me like you have a good solid plan and a very nice truck. I look forward to watching you build it up to be the dream truck you want

 

Congratulations on your truck/first vehicle and good luck. It looks nice. Having recently bought my first F-250 powerstroke I can relate to the toils of finding one that is good enough and hadn't been sold within five hours of having been posted. It's also good to hear your story of how you worked for it and built your way to it. That is a good foundation for the rest of your life.

 

Subscribed! looks like you have a pretty good parts list going on, you sound like me... i bought my truck february last year and knocked out pretty much all of the mods i wanted over the summer. im broke but im happy and my truck looks good

If i would change anything it would be ditch the stacks and the HIDs, mostly because i do not like stacks and HIDs are nothing but trouble. Id get some LED headlights if i were you. And in the future, shoot me a pm if you want to get traction bars...i can likely get you a little deal from the guy who built mine

Go around and look for a truck upfitter place, somewhere that installs service bodys/flatbeds/plows etc...thats where i found my 2013 tailgate, they had a pallet of like 20 for a pretty good price. Even better for us with oxford white, dont have to paint them

And you cant get dp tunes on a ts chip, those are 2 seperate platforms. id personally get a TS chip with tunes from gearhead..but theres lots of vendors out there

Try to save some money, especially if anything were to happen. Last summer i literally waited for paychecks to come in to buy truck parts haha

 

By the time you get through that list, your going to be pretty handy with these trucks.Looking forward watching you & your truck progress.By the way Nice Truck.

 

noticed on your to do list about certain upgrade to take care of a "knocking noise" you have been hearing...im no expert by any means but first things first (my opinion of course), would be compression check on cylinders....I would hate to see someone drop a lot of money in upgrades to have it come back on them later.
Its a great looking truck, better than any of mine, even my excursion! enjoy! basics first!
subscribing!

 

Looks like a solid plan and a good start. I am not sure about the rear suspension but to me it looks like the blocks are stacked from the picture. It could be the cable in the way however the side view looks the same. I noticed you are still missing the billet insert on the passenger side as well.

 

Thanks John! Yeah I've definitely got a good plan. I've been thinking and dreaming about it for years. I like to dream a lot, haha. And I like to have a good plan to start with, and since I am a big truck and diesel fanatic, I knew that someday I wanted to have a built 7.3 and a built 6.0, yeah like I said dreaming a little, but this is probably going to be a big hobby for me and I don't plan to spend my money on much else. Hopefully this will be quite the build when I get to finishing it all.

Thanks Walleye. It was difficult to find. I knew it would be hard to find a good one, but it definitely got frustrating sometimes. And like you know, it doesn't help that the good ones sell so fast. Thanks, I had been saving up for awhile, I knew I would want something big and important, instead of spending it all on stupid little things. I also tried to make it a strong point of paying for it myself, just feels like the right way to do it and gives you sense of accomplishment to a degree. It also keeps me in check for later in life and to not spend too much money.

Thanks Miles!

Haha yeah I've got quite the list going. I'll try not to go too crazy over the summer, but we'll see how well that goes....

Yeah I know not everybody is a fan of stacks, but the more I think about it the more I think I will like them, but still not 100% decided on them. There is sill part of me that thinks every time I look at.... hmmm man it does look pretty clean with nothing in the bed or blocking the rear window. Most of that comes from being so used to my Dad's truck with the big flatbed dump on it and hardly being able to see anything out of the rear window. Idk, we'll see.

I was pretty set on going with the HID's. I would get the projector headlights and then put the HID's in them, and not in the stock housing. What's the problems with HID's? I have heard of a few issues with them, but I thought they were fine if you had them in a projector housing? I didn't know the made LED headlights. Is it just a replacement bulb? I do think now that I probably will go with new LED lights to replace the fog lights, instead of throwing the HID's in there.

I think that's what I'll try and do for the tailgate. I've seen a few on craigslist, but most of them are ridiculously priced, at least more than I'd like to pay. Having a white truck definitely makes it easier.

Yeah I wasn't sure if DP could or not. I thought I remember reading somewhere that they could, but a few people told me that they thought that DP couldn't, but weren't for sure on that. I think when I'm ready I'll have to contact DP to find out for sure. I'll have to ask around and feel out for myself, like you said I know there's a lot of different vendors out there.

Yeah I know what you mean, I'll try to save some money. I think I'll do a few small things here soon, and then just take the time to make sure its running good and everything is in good shape. And then go from there.

Also I had a few questions about your lift. I know I want to get rid of the stacked blocks in the rear. I was thinking of going with just 4in like is there now, mostly because I think it is a good base point for when I want to go bigger. But then I was thinking that really, it will probably be awhile before I ever go any bigger, so the 5in block might not be bad to go with not. Why I was considering the 5in block was because I think when I redo my lift I might go with 4in lift springs in the front like yours.

You have 4in front springs and 5in rear blocks on your correct? So I was wondering how yours sits with that, and how think mine would look with that same setup. I was also wondering how you think a 4in block with 4in front springs would look on mine. I would like to keep a little bit of rake and definitely don't want the saggy backend look.

Thanks! Yeah I should be pretty handy with my truck by the end. I plan to do all of my own work on it. The only thing I probably won't do will be the built tranny, other than that I will probably try to tackle everything else myself.

Yeah I had been hearing a knocking noise intermittently, after having driven my truck a little. I had a separate thread on it, and we had it down to pretty sure being an injector. Whether a loose one or one going bad. But lately since the weather has warmed up a little, I have hardly heard the noise at all. I definitely want to get the basics done first and make sure it is running good and everything is in good shape. So I will take it slow on the "extra" mods until I make sure of that. I think I will go ahead and do the injector O-rings anyways just to be safe, and I think it would be good anyways since I'm not sure how many miles are on the injectors to begin with. And it should be a good learning experience too.

Thanks for the compliments. I waited a long time to find a good one, and this one is in pretty good shape.

Thanks Bently. Yes they are stacked blocks in the rear. It was like that when I got it. Sometime over the summer I will replace them with a single 4 or 5in block. Yeah I'm still missing that, haha, its been like that since day one. That's something else I forgot, I am going to get a new billet insert over the summer too.


A few things I didn't list.
The truck came with aftermarket Kicker door speakers, with an amp going to them. They sound good, but not sure which model Kickers they are.

Also had two 8 or 10in (I think 8) subs behind the backseat as well. Was very happy with that. But they are cheaper ones, and sound good but not great. I plan to get some new higher quality 10 or 12in ones with a more powerful amp going to them someday, but they are just fine for now. Will probably get better door speakers too.

The CB is on the list.

I think I might try to find a cab visor someday too, like my Dad has on his truck.

Also plan to get a headache rack too. I think I would go with one from Spyder industries.

And a D-ring type shackle for the rear hitch, when I'm not towing, which will be most of the time. And no not a big obnoxious one, just a decent sized one that will look cool, and be functional if I need to use it, to pull out any Chevy's or Yota's.

I think that's about it, but I'm sure the list will continue to grow.

 

Got my lights and stuff today! Ordered the cab light lenses, 3rd brake lights, and LED interior lights, all Recon from Thoroughbred Diesel, through Amazon. Best prices and free shipping. For the cab lights themselves I got Catoctin Off-Road. Since I wanted Recon's 3-watt bulbs, which are a newer product, not many people have them. So I searched on Google, and Catoctin was the only place that had them, except for Recon of course, but those were just way too expensive especially after $15 for shipping.

The cab light lenses, 3rd brake light and cab lights yesterday and the interior lights came today. They look pretty good, can't wait to get them on my truck. I'll get some better pictures out of the box tomorrow. Might get the put on this weekend or if not sometime next week.

 

Alright so got a lot of updates here, that I just haven't gotten around to posting yet, haha. I'm going to have two separate posts for each, since there's going to be a lot of pics and info with each. I got my lights in, and did some engine work.

So a few weeks ago, probably longer, I finally got around to putting all my new lights on. Everything was real easy to do about the only real thing I had trouble with was getting the new Recon cab light bulbs in. They just would not go in, had to get my Dad to help me. And I guess you had to start them at angle and then they would slide in. Other than that it went real well.

Really like the look of smoked lights, I am very happy with them, and glad I went with them over the clear. Smoked tails are next. The only thing is now I'm not sure if I should go clear or smoked on the lights. Really not sure, still sort of leaning to clear though. Let me know what you guys think.

The only real complaints that I have about the lights is that the cab lights really aren't that bright, or at least not as bright as I thought they'd be. They look cool, but not as bright as I hoped. But I'm guessing that its because of the smoked lenses that they don't look as bright. I've been meaning to mess around with a few different bulbs, the amber stock ones that Recon supplies with the lenses, and the Recon 1 watt bulbs in my Dad's truck, and see how those look. His look a lot brighter, even though he also has smoked lenses, but his are so faded they almost look clear lol. Also for some reason one of the map lights with the new LED interior lights is a little different looking than the rest. Its more of a white color and not quite as bright as the rest. I didn't want to mess with it, and wasn't too concerned about so I just put it in the back, where it will hardly get used.

But overall I am very happy with my new lights. Like I said, love the smoked look. The brake light and the cargo lights in the 3rd brake light are pretty bright, and the new interior lights are very bright, I really like those. Cab lights look good too, just not as bright as I expected.

Time for pics. g I guess will go with the good the bad and the ugly, along with a few stories to go along with them.

Parts




Before and After's.






















All Recon bulbs in.




Few better ones, from a few days after install.














Interior lights. And compared to the new Recon ones.


Stock ones.






Now all lit up. Interior lights.






Cargo lights.








3rd Brake light. Some of them aren't the best pictures.








And now cab lights.


Compared to my Dads.






Then from a couple weeks ago when I washed and fully detailed it, inside and out. Note to self though, never wash it outside in the sun. I always knew it was bad to do, but I figured ehh I'd be fine for a quick wash. Nope friggen water spots everywhere. Never washing it outside again, but it still turned out pretty good. And actually sort of fit in my garage, to get it out of the sun and finish detailing it.



And then down at the shop, when I started working on it.


I need to get some better pictures and videos with my new camcorder I got. Its my first one and its pretty nice, I'm really happy with it. Its a Sony CX330, it takes real good videos and picks sound really well too. Also takes pretty good pictures too. So hopefully I'll be able to get some better pictures, especially ones at night.

So now for a few stories.

First one. In my school parking lot, a while back, of course from all the snow and plowing there was big piles of snow and dirt/gravel in the back. So some of the few guys with trucks would back up onto them. So I never did, until one day I decided I had to do it once, since I was the only one with a real truck. So I backed up one and parked it was a decent sized hill, but not the big one in the corner. All went well, until I came out to leave, I was "stuck" up there, lol. Idk if some of the ice melted during the day or what, but my drivers side tire was in the air and just spinning, so I couldn't get any traction to get off of it. So I ended up having to put it in 4wheel drive, it was pretty funny. As soon as I parked it, I just had a feeling, of "yup I'm going to get stuck up here for some stupid reason" and it happened, LOL. You can see my truck way in the back sticking above everything else, haha.


Another story also, a little while ago. So for a April fools joke, my buddies girlfriend put sticky notes all over his car. So he took a picture of it, and sent in to all of us in a group message. So were all talking about, and I was like yeah if any of you guys do anything like that to my truck, I'll kick your ***, etc. Yeah I knew that was stupid afterwards, just asking for trouble, haha. So next morning, I wake up to my Mom yelling "Jon somebodies trying to steal your truck or its your friends" so I jump up slowly still half asleep, like oh this is just great. I guess when my Mom woke up she saw somebody out by my truck through the window, and also our Dog was barking real bad. By that time everybody was up. My Dad goes out into our mostly glass enclosed patio, and sees one of them sitting almost directly below him hiding behind his truck. So he goes into the garage and loads up the shotgun, but by that time they were already gone. So I called my buddy, to what he was up to, and he was like no, no it wasn't me you just woke me up. So me, still half asleep was like oh ok. It ended up being two of my friends. One of them was the one that I called, and apparently he was running down my driveway and jumped into his car, parked at the end of my driveway, and slammed the door. I guess me being still half asleep, I was completely oblivious to it, haha. They ended up attempting to saran wrap my truck. They didn't make it too far by the time we saw them. Also why my Mom thought somebody might be breaking into it was because the saran wrap made it look like my window and mirror were broken, so that's all she saw and two people walking around and standing on my truck. I still had no idea exactly who it was though until I got to school. I was a little pissed, but it was actually pretty funny, mostly because they did such a terrible job at it. A few pics of it.

 

Now for all the engine work I did. I think I mentioned before I was hearing a knocking noise intermittently, so I was hoping to fix that. Now recently I hadn't really been hearing it much at all, not sure if it was because the weather's warmed up or what, but either way I still wanted to do something about it. So I decided on trying some new injector O-rings to see if it would help, before deciding that I needed some new sticks. I think it helped quite a bit, I can already tell it runs a little better and runs a lot smoother too. Doing the O-rings took a little longer than I expected, lol. It was my first time working on much of anything really, so I guess it wasn't too bad, even though it took me a week haha. I started Monday two weeks ago 4/14, and started tearing a few things apart. Got down to the valve covers and did the foil delete mod. Next day my buddy came down and helped me and we got the valve covers off, which some of the bolts turned out to be a pain to get off, especially that back bolt on the drivers side. And then we pulled the injectors out. And finished up some other things. Then next day took the fuel bowl out to do a rebuild on it. Once I got my parts in from Riffraff on Thursday off that week. I started on Friday to put it back together. Got the new O-rings on the injectors and did the fuel bowl rebuild. Put the injectors back in and put the fuel bowl back in. Then finally on Monday got everything put back together, got my new 6637 intake on from Riffraff on, and got it started. Took a few cranks and ran rough for a few minutes, probably because of doing the injectors and the fuel bowl rebuild at the same time. But then it smoothed out, and ran pretty good after a drive home.

So I did new injector O-rings, cleaned up a few things, rebuilt the fuel bowl, foil delete, put my new 6637 intake on, and ended up with a few new parts, lol. Broke a few things as I was going. Broke a UVCH clip, so got two new UVCH's, might as well get replace both at the same time. New in head, under the valve covers oil rail plugs, because they were a little stripped out, so were hard to remove. And also broke the EBPS, so sort of got a new one, my Uncle just took the one out of our mechanics truck, cleaned it up and put in mine, and then put a new one in that truck, so I didn't have to pay for it, lol.

Things that I wanted to get done but didn't get to it. AIH delete, still have to do. Muffler delete. Change oil and oil filter, was going to do that after or during all this, but then my Uncle and our mechanic said not to, because then all the crap and fuel that would get mixed in from having the engine open and injectors out, can clear itself out for a few hundred miles, instead of mixing in with my new fresh oil. Power steering flush, just ran out of time, so will do when I do the oil. Wanted to a tranny flush with all new fluid, but decided to wait, because it would get expensive fast, and had already spent enough money on everything else. And also really wanted to do it right with a full service, with a good cleaning, all new fluid and a new filter. Should get that done towards the beginning of the summer. Also need to get my radio fully installed, just have it "redneck" rigged up with it just being plugged in with the wires, and not fully installed into the dash because I haven't trimmed it yet, haha.

So overall I am very happy with everything that I did, and glad that I did it myself with a little help, and learned a lot from it. Will definitely continue to do my own work, and can't wait to get some more mods done.

So now time for some pics. I wish I would have documented everything better, but was sort of in a hurry and more concerned with getting it back together and up and running instead of stopping to take pics, lol. I also wanted to get a nice video of it starting for the first time since getting everything done, but my damn camera shut off because the memory was full. Oh well, not a big deal, still would have been nice to get it on camera though.

Oh yeah also forgot to say that man, there is all kinds of different injectors in my truck, haha. There's two remans per head, and even those don't all look the same. Someday I'll get a nice new set of aftermarket ones. Also forgot to mention that it is pretty hard to get those injectors to pop out, had to pry pretty good on some of them. The #3 injector was a real b*tch to get out, took us a while trying from a few different angles. One of the O-rings on that one was pretty messed up, but not sure if that was from prying on it or not. Also we ended up somehow breaking the oil deflector on that one. Not really sure how because we just looked at it once and saw that it was missing a piece, so good thing was that it was only one piece and was easy to find, good thing it didn't shatter. So ended up with a new one of those as well.

Passenger side head


Drivers side


All. You can definitely tell the difference from what look to possibly the stock injectors to the remans.


O-rings off except for one we left as a reference.


New O-rings on and washers on. Much better.


So I also got a HPX from Riffraff. Now as I was putting everything back together, I was curious where the HPX would go so I started looking around, because I figured it would be a little easier to put on, with everything still apart and out of the way. Well what I found is what looks like to me, my Uncle also agreed with me, is what looks like to already be some form of an HPX already on the truck. It looks to be the right thing to me, and does connect both heads. It looks like a similar steel "connector" that goes into the head as the Riffraff one and then those are connected by a rubber hose. I'm not sure if it is an HPX or not. What do you guys think? It doesn't look factory to me, but I could be wrong.

Drivers side




Passenger side.




Also got a pic of the turbo compressor wheel, where the intake goes into. Doesn't look too bad, but not exactly good either, at least to me. The blades edges don't look nice and straight like they should be, but I could be wrong. What do you guys think. Is there any issue with the shape that its in? Will it cause any problems to leave it like this?


Also have an issue with the 6637 filter. So when I got the truck it had the K&N intake on it, so it had K&N's intake boot on it. So I just used that for the 6637, since I don't have the stock boot, but the 6637 is a lot bigger than the K&N filter, so I wondered how well it would fit. It fits fine with K&N boot, but doesn't quite fit right under the hood. It hits the hood when you try the close it, and doesn't allow the hood to close properly. The hood still closes but, will stick up a little bit and you can see it in the body line. So I pop the hood every time I park it for a longer period of time, to avoid bending or breaking anything. Any idea of what could be causing the filter to not sit right, or what I could do about it? I'm going to call Clay tomorrow and ask him a few questions, hopefully he can help me out.

Here's a few pics of how it sits and the gap with the hood. I love how it looks, looks much cleaner under the hood. It seems to be resting on the brake fluid master cylinder, but could also be hitting a couple other things underneath it. And love the sound too. Sounds great along with the foil delete. I think I can definitely hear a little more whistle, should sound real good once I take out the muffler.




Driver's side It was not like this before.


Passenger side.

 

I still didn't get around to calling Clay yet, so I'm going to hopefully give him a call and ask him a few questions tomorrow.


So a few more things that are next on the list and I plan to get done soon.

Running lights in the front lower air dam. Not sure how many or which ones yet. Will post more about it tomorrow to see what you guys think.

Running lights going the length of the cab by the steps. Pretty much decided on those, but just not sure how many. Thinking 5 per side. But also am still considering a light strip similar to Recon's Big Rig LED's, because I saw one the other day and it looked pretty cool.

Smittybilt D-ring shackle receiver hitch

AIH and Muffler Delete still need to be put on

Need to get my radio fully installed too. Any tips on trimming the dash to fit a double din radio?

CCV Mod

RiffRaff's OCR

Jimmi Jammer's for all doors and tailgate

New 08+ tailgate. Should be getting one soon. Pretty determined to find one now.

I think that's about it for now, at least for anything happening soon. Also I think I decided to hold off on the stacks for now. Still not 100% decided on them. And they are EXPENSIVE for something that doesn't really do much for the truck. There's a lot of other things that could be bought with that money, that I want a little more right now.

 

Some info I found about my truck's original features from the factory. I looked up my VIN# using FordEtis home page Thanks to Jeremey (wiskid00104) for sharing the link, it was cool to find all that out about my truck.

Primary Features
Build Date: 02.10.2001
Vehicle Line: F250/350/450/550 Super Duty
Body Style: Double Cab (3/4 Door)
Version: 250 Series
Engine: 7.3L Diesel V8 Turbo
Transmission: 4 SP Auto 4R100 (Diesel APPLI)
Drive: LHD 4WD (PTD)
Axle Ratio: 3.73
Emission: With 49 State Emission Requirements
Air Conditioning: Manual Air Conditioning
Paint: Oxford White


Minor Features


• Medium Parchment
• With Cloth Trim
• Bazaar
• Blocker Beam-Underbody Front End
• With Tailgate Lock
• With 6 3/4' Styleside Steel Box
• With Load Box Edge Protectors
• 156"/3962MM Wheelbase
• XLT
• Less Special Purpose Vehicle
• Less Fleet Related Items
• Kentucky Truck Plant Build
• U.S. Sales
• Security Lock Group
• Less Special Equipment Package
• Complete Vehicle
• 8800 LB. GVW
• Less Appearance Group
• With Cold Weather Group # 1
• Less Exterior Appearance Pack
• With Power Equipment Group
• Less Ambient Temp/Speed Pack
• With On-Board Diagnostic System
• Kentucky Truck Plant Build Only
• With English Language Label
• Owner Hand Book Pack
• With 2 Ton Mechanical Jack
• Less Warning Display
• Less Fire Extinguisher
• Less Tool Kit
• With Power Front Windows
• With Electric Rear Windows
• With Privacy Glass
• With Sliding Rear Window
• Less Overhead Console
• With Full Floor Console
• Fixed Foot Pedals
• With Carpet Floor Covering
• Sunvisor - Single Driver W/Strap
• With Sunvisor Mirror - Passenger
• With Level 3 Door Trim Panel
• With Sound Insulation Pack Level 1
• Less Exterior Sun Visor
• With Bright Front Grille
• With Lower Body Moulding
• Less Rear Window Protector
• Less Side Auxiliary Step
• With Dipping Rear View Mirror
• Dual Sail Telesc TT Power Mirror
• Less Temp Control Driver Seat
• Less Temp Control Passengers Seat
• With Seat Belt Warning Light
• With 2nd Row Bench Seat - 3 Passngr
• With Driver 2 Way Mnl. Seat Adjust
• With Pass 2 Way Manual Seat Adjust
• Trailer Tow Prep Pack
• With Trailer Towing Attachments
• With Front Towing Hook
• Exterior Door Handle - Black
• With Central Locking System
• With Door Entry Remote Control Unit
• Less Body Tu-Tone Paint
• Less Bodyside Accent Stripe
• Front Bumper - Steel Chromed
• Rear Bumper - Steel Step - Chromed
• With Front Licence Plate Bracket
• With Inertia Front Seat Belt
• With Driver Air Bag
• With Passenger Air Bag
• Adjustable'D'Ring-Drivers Seat Belt
• Less Passenger Air Bag Deactivation
• With Frame Mounted Tyre Carrier
• With Steel Spare Wheel
• With Standard Rear Shock Absorbers
• With Single Rear Wheels
• 7.0 X 16" Forged Aluminium Wheel
• LT265/75R-16E OWL A-T Tyre
• With Conventional Spare Tyre
• Less Wheel Covers
• With Bright Wheel Hub Cover
• Immersion Heater Engine
• Less Attitude/Ride Height Pack
• With Standard Duty Front Suspension
• With Front Stabilizer Bar
• With Heavy Duty Rear Springs
• Less Rear Stabilizer Bar
• 3.73
• Rear Axle Limited Slip Differential
• Ford Axle Type
• Rear Axle/Wheel Lube-Mineral Based
• With Mono Beam Front Axle
• Less Catalyst
• With 4 Wheel Disc-Brake
• 4 Wheel Anti-Lock Braking System
• With Standard Transmissn Oil Cooler
• Less Transmission Power Take Off
• Electric Trans Case And Auto Hubs
• Less Skid Plates
• With Mid-Ship Fuel Tank
• With Non Locking Fuel Cap
• For Unleaded Fuel
• Less Gaseous Prep Pack
• With Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel Content
• Less Steering Damper
• With Tilt Steering Wheel
• Basic Type Steering Wheel
• With Speed Control
• With MPH/KMH Speedometer
• Less Reverse Proximity Sensor
• Less Engine Immobiliser
• Heavy Duty Battery
• Heavy Duty Alternator
• Elect Prem Stro/Cass/Disc/Clock
• Less Radio Pre-Equipment Pack
• With NAAO Radio Frequency
• High Front Lamps W/Signature DTRL
• Less Daytime Running Lamps
• With Front Fog Lamps
• Roof Marker/Clearance Lights-Conv
• Engine Compartment Light
• With Dual Beam Dome Map Light
• With Glove Box Illumination
• With Load Compartment Lamp
• Tail lamps - Level 1
• With High Mounted Stop Lamp
• With Automatic Headlamp Control
• Oxford White
• F81A-5310-AED (4800 LB.)
• F81A-5310-AED (4800 LB.) #2
• Less B&A Control Codes Issue 030388
• Less LPO 50S Emiss Calib Label
• (+)"USA"
• (-)"N"
• (-)"CDN"
• (-)"AUS"
• (-)"RA"
• (-)"GU"
• (-)"BRN"
• (-)"BZ"
• (-)"BS"
• (-)"VN"
• (-)"BO"

 

I'd put a new wheel on the turbo. It's nicked up around the edges and is out of balance. Anyway how's it run now? New O-rings make a difference?