Goooood morning Connecticut!

 

Good Job Tom, You can come back and start new threads even after you move. Looks like no of the rest of us can remember new months.

 

Afternoon everyone, I put the rest of the interior back in my truck this evening, cleaned it and washed the body, looks pretty sharp!

Josiah, my old 98 f150 has the 4.6 and was the most reliable truck I ever owned and I beat the absolute hell out of that thing. I found this 2002 up in MA last night on auto trader, significant price drop and the fixes are minor. I'll have to red more into the head issues and what years are more prone.
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...400026378&mmt=[FORD[F150PICKUP[]][]]&driveGroup=AWD4WD&modelCode1=F150PICKUP&showcaseO wnerId=1359953&startYear=1999&makeCode1=FORD&engin eCodes=8CLDR&firstRecord=51&maxMileage=150000&sear chRadius=200&listingId=408202073&Log=0

might have to copy and paste that, FTE cant seem to figue out that the whole thing is part of the link

 

The listing says that the car is no longer for sale (or I am doing it wrong)...

 

Evening guys.

It's September already !!!!!

 

<p>Ha ha, thanks Ray. &nbsp;I figure I'm still in New England, so it's not wholly inappropriate. &nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Spent most of the day fighting with my rear axle. &nbsp;No issues up until putting the diff cover back on, and the damn thing didn't want to seal. &nbsp;I've always used Fel Pro gaskets in the past and never had an issue, but this stupid thing was dripping after a short test drive. &nbsp;Removed most of the bolts, wiped all sides of the offending location, bolted it back together, and filled it up. &nbsp;I think it's good now, but we will see. &nbsp;Hoping to leave for Minnesota first thing tomorrow, but that'll be delayed if the pumpkin drips overnight. &nbsp;</p><p>The offending seal. &nbsp;Interestingly enough it was a simple seal failure after a year and a half of use. &nbsp;The rollers and shaft looked immaculate. &nbsp;Probably could have gotten away with another repair bearing. &nbsp;</p><p></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /><br />The internals look really good for 174,000 miles. &nbsp;Goes to show you how easy these things have it compared to a truck! &nbsp;</p>

 

Im not sure why but for some reason it seems this link can;t be copied or pasted or show up properly in a hyperlink, my bookmark still works

 

Hey Josiah, you were right, 2003 seems to be the year they increased the thread to 3/4" length. Seems the spark plugs in the pre 2004 motors would break but rather back out where as the ones after 2004 were prone to breaking upon removal.

 

<p>Good morning everyone,</p><p>The pumpkin held it's liquid overnight, so things are looking good. &nbsp;I'll be headed West from Concord in about an hour. &nbsp;Hope to make it there by Sunday evening. &nbsp;</p><p>I've had a couple modular engines before 2003 that have never had an issue Kyle. &nbsp;Use a torque wrench when installing your plugs and don't worry about it. &nbsp;I can't find any evidence that my '97 has ever had a blowout repair, and it's about to hit 175,000 miles. &nbsp;</p>

 

Evening guys.

Tom, sounds like being aware of the plugs and keeping an eye on them is the easiest thing to do with these trucks. I've got a few emails about my truck, we'll see if it sells

 

Yeah, the plug issue in the earlier mod motors were more or less issues with people not keeping an eye on them over time. Certainly not a deal breaker, just a tidbit of information really.

 

<p>Good evening everyone. &nbsp;</p><p>Made it to Cleveland, OH for the night. &nbsp;About 660 miles down with another 790 to go. &nbsp;Will probably get there mid-morning Friday, I'm not pushing the pace pulling this contraption. &nbsp;</p><p></p>

 

Morning guys.

I wish you a safe trip Tom.

It is going to be another hot one today.

 

<p>Got really lucky this evening. &nbsp;</p><p>Planned a fuel stop in Kenosha, WI. &nbsp;Coming off the exit ramp the brake pedal went to the floor. &nbsp;I still had brakes, but I came to a stop and made a plan on getting it into the closest parking lot safely. &nbsp;Brake controller in hand I slowly slinked into the first parking lot on the right, which turned out to be the lot of a Super 8 and called AAA. &nbsp;Master cylinder was halfway empty when I got there, so I would have had a couple more stops if needed. &nbsp;Turns out a steel line along the driver's side frame rail let go. &nbsp;Easy fix, but of course I lack the tools or parts to do this, so I'll be paying for it. &nbsp;</p><p>AAA towed the car, and since I rented a room at the hotel I didn't have to pay to tow the trailer. &nbsp;Extremely fortunate this thing didn't let go in the middle of Chicago a mere hour before that. &nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://s195.photobucket.com/user/tomboy376/media/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.10.34_zpsw2dgmh5y.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/tomboy376/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.10.34_zpsw2dgmh5y.jpg" /></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://s195.photobucket.com/user/tomboy376/media/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.38.48_zpsckn3qqzp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/tomboy376/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.38.48_zpsckn3qqzp.jpg" /></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://s195.photobucket.com/user/tomboy376/media/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.51.53_zpshdi6wj3h.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/tomboy376/Town%20Car%20pics/2015-09-03%2016.51.53_zpshdi6wj3h.jpg" /></a></p>

 

Dam, sorry to hear that tom, definitely glad you're safe! You're really putting that car to the test!