Maintenance Experience

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Oct 18, 2023 | 07:51 AM

luma

Thread Starter

5th Gear

Joined: Oct 2023

Posts: 5

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Maintenance Experience

Hey all,

Got my hands on a used 2004 F150 and have been doing all the maintenance as things slowly wear out.

I wanted to document the effects of the maintenance and daily driving in case anyone else with this gen truck is facing the same quirks and wants to try to fix anything. Will update periodically, feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer.

First, info:

2004 F150 XLT Scab w/ 6.5ft bed
165,000 miles on the 2v 4.6L
Oil changes every 5k with full synthetic, all fluids according to intervals with Motorcraft

Now here's what I've done:

Tailgate cables - One was broken. Odds are the tension will not be the same on both, but don't be discouraged. Under load, they'll both be tight.
Parking brake hardware - got an AWFUL shake on the highway one morning. Like, knock-your-drink-out-of-the-cupholder bad. I had used the parking brake the night before. The mechanism uses a scissor link that's pretty open to the elements. If you don't use it regularly, the scissor seizes and the brakes are mildly stuck on. Take it apart, clean, grease. The rest of the hardware like springs is very inexpensive and sold as a pack at your local parts store.
IWE Solenoid - The original 4x4 solenoid, in its location on the passenger side firewall, was directly under dripping from the hood trim area. There is now an updated version of the solenoid with a built-in "roof" to protect it from that drip. If you are having weird 4x4 issues, try this first. It solved an intermittent thunk that I believe was the hubs momentarily disengaging.
Rear Shocks - I know the leaf springs aren't the height of comfort and luxury, but whenever I would hit something like a speed-bump or pot-hole, the back would compress then bounce and slowly decay. Replacing the rear shock helped but didn't totally get rid of that effect, but it was probably the easiest maintenance on the truck. Can't really expect it to ride like a Cadillac though.
Driveshaft Spline Grease - Whenever I would get on or off throttle, there would be a mechanical thunk like backlash in a gear. I tried the simplest thing first, which was dropping the driveshaft and putting a big chunk of grease in the splines on the transfer case side. It worked and only cost me the price of the Motorcraft grease and a 12pt socket (for the 1 piece driveshaft). Needs to be done ~yearly.
Pedal Calibration - Similar to the previous problem, when on throttle I would feel the backlash and then an engine surge. It behaved as if I had floored the pedal even when feathering. Calibration of the electronic throttle and very easy to do; remedied the surge. Needs to be done every time the battery is disconnected.
PCV Valve - Didn't have any issues, just figured it was time. Cheap part and easy replacement.
Rear Diff - It was about that time. The most difficult part was waiting 24hrs for the RTV to fully cure before refilling the pumpkin. I used Royal Purple with friction modifier built-in and initially had shudders when turning from a stop. I added 1 4oz bottle of Ford's friction modifier which helped, but still occasionally shuddered. A second 4oz did the trick and the shudder is gone. I'll dig into it and do the LSD clutches soon enough, but this will hold me over. Make sure to blow out the breather tube while you're under there, it's only one bolt.
Rear Door Ferrules - Had a pretty sloppy door handle feeling, just not crisp. Would sometimes feel sticky and need a good yank to open. I tried a silicone-based spray in the latches at the top and bottom, and that helped a good bit. Then, one door got completely stuck closed one day. I took the interior panels off and replaced the plastic ferrules at the end of the metal cables connecting the handle to the latches with aluminum ones. Doors feel super crispy now and won't rot away over time.
Driver Door Ajar Switch - Truck kept thinking that the door was opening on the highway. Easily fixed with a $10 switch, just tricky to get to it blindly with a hand in the door frame.
Coil-on-Plugs / Spark Plugs - I initially used Motorcraft plugs and TRQ coils preventatively since I wasn't sure when the last ones were done. After abut 15k miles, I got a stutter at highway speeds when applying throttle (like a long steady uphill). It went away when it eventually downshifted out of overdrive. The internet said the coil couldn't keep up with the lean overdrive conditions, so replaced with all Motorcraft coils and the stutter is gone. Lesson learned to stay OEM! The mustang crowd agrees they're the best.
Ball Joints / Control Arms / Bushings / Front Struts - Had some thunks form the from when going over potholes that were driving me crazy. The ball joints looked original, so decided it was time to change them. The upper control arms ball joints cannot be pressed out and replaced (on OEM control arms) unlike the lowers, so you have to replace the whole thing. I changed out the upper control arms, front struts (didn't want to mess with a spring compressor), lower control arm ball joints, and stabilizer bar frame bushings. It definitely helped most of the front end thunk over bumps/holes, but wasn't a dramatic change in handling or driving feel. Replacements used were OEM-level, no up/downgrades.
IWE Hub Actuator - Started getting what sounded like a "playing card in the bike spokes" sound from the front right wheel. I jacked the truck up and put it in and out of 4x4 and the wheel wasn't locking as it should. You can spin the tire and see if the axle spins with it or not to check if the actuator is locked in place. Tore it down and the IWE actuator diaphragm was not behaving smoothly. It seemed like a broken off piece of plastic (?) was jammed in the diaphragm and preventing it from fully retracting, making the teeth half engage. A new Dorman actuator fixed it fine. You can purchase permanently locking IWE actuators that keep the driveshaft and hub engaged permanently. This works because the transfer case does not send any power to the front diff in 2WD mode so the front axles and diff spin freely (similar to other company's 4x4 systems). I did not want to do this because I daily the truck and do not know if the front diff can handle permanently spinning like that, but it could be of interest if you're tired of vacuum issues for the IWE system.
Windshield Washer Connectors - The spray on the driver side of the windshield washer system was very weak, so I had someone press the button while I looked under the hood. Found the fluid to be spraying into the engine bay. I took off the windshield cowling and saw the plastic junctions to the windshield washing fluid hoses were crumbling apart. Cheap generic part to get online, and replaced the hoses too while it was all open.
Window Switch - One day, I put the driver-side window down and was never able to get it back up. I tore down the door panel and with a multimeter found a weak connector between the window switch and the regulator. For some reason, there is a connector that links between the two that reverses polarity. It seemed that those connections were loose, so I tightened them up and went ahead and replaced the driver side window switches since they're fairly cheap and easily found. I'll know to keep an eye on that connector, now.
Driver Seatbelt Pretensioner - Had an airbag fault light start flashing one morning. I believe it was a 3-3 flash sequence. Apparently there is not a standard code like some other things, so I wasn't sure what exactly it could have been (reader said B2292). The front impact sensor is known to go bad on these trucks so I tried swapping that first, which did not fix the light. (Side note - you have to fully install the sensor because the mounting bolt serves as the ground, you can't just plug it in and check if it works.) I took out both seatbelt pretensioners and cleaned them up since they were in that valley of dirt/crumbs between seats and plugged them back in with no luck. I tested the resistance on the driver side, which read very low (was told it is supposed to be 2-3 ohms). When unplugged, the airbag light flashed a different sequence (I believe 5-2). I had the pretensioner rebuilt by a company online, which solved the issue. It seems one of the flashing sequences would have been for driver pretensioner low resistance, and the other high resistance (open). Rebuild was ~2x the price of the impact sensor, so I would start with that if you get random airbag issues.
4x4 Check Valve - Under load (slight sustained uphill, highway speed) it sounded like there were rocks shaking in a tin car under the passenger side of the front of the truck. With the windows down, it was much louder. Replaced the 4x4 IWE check valve (located under the solenoid on the passenger side of the firewall, and solved the issue. Easy to check - just remove the check valve, and try blowing air in both directions over the valve. If you can blow in both directions, it's failed. The new valve should only allow air to pass in one direction. This meant that when vacuum at the engine would drop, the valve was allowing the IWE vacuum to drop and momentarily engage the wheel ends until vacuum resumed (the metallic noise).
Brake Bleed - Fairly self-explanatory. Bought a hand vacuum pump to attached to the bleed ports on each caliper and it was done in no time. Completely restored the pedal feel, must never have been done by the previous owner.