2014 FX4...Slowly making progress

150405 Views 2266 Replies 73 Participants Last post by Blown F-150, 3 d ago

Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · Nov 6, 2016 (Edited)

I figured it was time to get all my additions to the truck listed out and tracked. I have it all documented on a Detailing site, but obviously doesn't get a whole lot of views.

Current upgrade list
Exterior
Raptor Wheels and 285/70/17 Ridge Grapplers (winters)
Raptor Running Boards
MX GrillCraft Upper and Lower Grills
OEM 2016 Sport 20" with OEM Hankook's (Summers) - SOLD
Expel film on front Bumper
Spray in Box liner
Morimoto XB Fogs
Removed lower air dam
Access "Vanish" tonneau cover
AVS in-channel visors
AVS bug deflector
AS 2" level
Hellwig sway bar
Pro-Comp AAL
Fox 2.0 Rear shocks
Rear wheel well liners
EZ Tail Gate assist
Pop a lock tail gate lock
LED bed lights
Recon 3rd Brake light
Recon Tail lights
Recon LED puddle lights
ANZO LED marker lights
Flat black FX4 Bed decals
Custom flat black "EcoBoost" decals
Painted F150 emblems
Painted FORD emblems
50% ceramic window tint on the from windows
42" LED Light bar - Removed for FR CAC
12v/5v Power outlet in box of the truck

Interior
Raptor Steering Wheel
WeatherTech Digital Fit Mats
3M protective film on the door sills
Kicker Subgate upgraded sub
DRW-650 2-channel dash cam
Back seat access mod
Custom Hydro dipped door panel inserts and stereo surround
Full LED interior light conversion
Custom overhead light switch panel

Performance
SCT Xcal4 Tuner with MPT tunes (87 perf/chill, 87 tow/street, 91 Perf/street, 91PRX, 93PRX)
Full Race FMIC in Black
Tial BOV
AFE Stage 2 CAI
3" MBRP Cat-Back Exhaust (added Magnaflow 6" round muffler)
GT Turbos
Ported Manifolds
SPD Turbo adapters

I started out with a new 2014 FX4 Screw luxury pack in Blue flame. 7200# GVW, 3:55's. Pretty much all options other than Max tow and Apperance pack. Built in November of 2014 and I bought it March of 2015.

Bought the truck from family that work at a dealer, great deal as I was able to get it for less than used. Downside is it was 600miles away. Thankfully, my Uncle delivered it for me.

I had them put 3M on the bumper and do a Spray in liner. They did a great job with both.
Window Sticker

Day I got it.

I already had a 2" AS level for it that I put in a couple of days later
Before

After

The kit came with a 3" rear block, but I figured it would put too much rake back in for my taste.
on level ground, it measures perfectly level. I would have liked a bit of rake, but I address that later on...much later.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #2 · Nov 6, 2016

Next up was a bit of protection. It already had a scuff on the bottom of the drivers door sill. So I polished it out as best i could and put down 3M film on both front door sills.

Before

After polish

Rounded off edge of film and installed.

The paint underneath wasn't perfect with some dust in the clear, etc. so you can see some high spots in the film. very hard to notice though unless you reall get close.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 6, 2016 (Edited)

The truck needed better mats, so I ordered up and installed Weathertech's.

Compared to our Edge, the sub with this Sony set up was non-existent. I was actually surprised at how bad it was. I ordered up a Kicker Subgate kit from Rogel Ford. Dude was real great to deal with and at $199 US, I couldn't match the value with other sub options. Easy install and it's sounds really impressive for what it is.

I wasn't a fan of the chrome badges, so I plasti-dipped them until I could figure out what I wanted. I also pulled the FX4 and EcoBoost badges

Next up was a full paint detail and selant
Opti Clay
Meg's M205
Menzerna Power Lock Sealant

more to come

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 6, 2016

I worked with a guy just over the border in Washington State on some custom decals. I went with flat black for the EcoBoost and FX4 decals.

Also did all the interior lights with LED's

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 6, 2016

Added an Access "Vanish" roll up cover. Very nice cover.

Then did a road trip back home. Round trip was 3500 miles. Truck drove awesome and killed a lot of bugs in the process

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 6, 2016

Ironhide Fx4 said:
Nice truck. I have always liked that blue.

Thanks, I was going for race red when looking for a truck, but am now loving this color.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 7, 2016

After only having the truck for about a month, I had a neighbor back into it with his PT Cruiser. I knew I wouldn't have time right away to get it fixed up properly, so I cleaned it up with some Clay, M105 and M205.

Before

After

Ended up getting the bumper re-painted and the plastic rock guard replaced. I didn't want the whole side of the box re-painted, so I left the main panel after spending some time with the body hammer a couple of different dollies and more polishing.

Shortly after I took the sled for a road trip back out east. Long story short, I have always ridden sleds and blew mine up the previous year. I only ride with my Dad 1600 miles away, but brought the sled out to my place to rebuild over the summer. I literally went through it from bumper to bumper.

Before

Halfway through

Motor after I got it back together

Done deal

Halfway across to Calgary

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 7, 2016

The wife and I had a beautiful new addition to the family in January, so once our little man was 6 weeks old it was time for a road trip. Went from Vancouver to Winnipeg. Stopping to see family in Calgary then back again.

I bought a set of Raptor tires with Toyo GSI-5 285's. Great tire and great price

Added a 42" lightbar and Custom overhead swiches from KustomFX

Sorry, crappy cell phone pic

Some shots between Vancouver and Calgary

Pulling the sled trailer once back home in Manitoba

Heading back to Van

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 7, 2016

Spring rolled around and I knew I didn't really want to put the 18's back on the truck. Never liked the look of them.

I ended up finding some 2016 Sport 20" take-off's for a crazy good price. Rich kid just wanted them out of his garage. I swapped in some compatible sensors and mounted them up.

I figured it was also a good time to ditch the low-hanging from valiance. It would smack stuff even on some of the logging roads I run to take up the Mountain Bikes.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #11 · Nov 7, 2016

I really wanted to keep the performance modding to a minimum until the warranty is up, so I focused on some minor aesthetic touches.

Never trying Hydro-dipping before, I pondered this one for a while, then decided to go for it.
Pulled the door panels then started pulling them apart
Before

"rivets" that need to be drilled out to remove the panels

Painted the speaker grills a semi-gloss black

Panels inserts sanded, primed and painted

As close as I could get to the paint

Panels with the speaker grills back in

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 7, 2016

I then started to Dip the pieces.

Pattern transfer on my gloves

After dip, but before clear

Clear coat done

Epoxy used to put the inserts back in

Completed panel

Panels back on

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #13 · Nov 7, 2016

Between paint drying I tried to get a couple of other projects tied up.
- Auto lock for tail Gate
- LED Bed lighting
- LED light bar across the back
- 12v Power supply for the bed
- Recon Tail lights
- Recon LED 3rd brake light

Auto lock was a straight forward install, can't believe it wasn't until the '15's that this was a factory option

Tapping in for the LED light bar. I did solder the wires and used liquid e-tape to seal it up

Wires run from the rear to both in the cab and to the front.
- 8ga power wire for 12v power
- 12v signal for bed lights
- Auto lock wires to lock/unlock

8ga terminated at the power distribution box. Still have to put a connector on it.

Water proof LED light strip. I used adhesive silicon and held in place with Duct tape till it dried

light wiring routed into stake pockets to connect

Signal tapped into Cargo lights so they are on whenever the cargo lights are on. Makes it easy to trigger via FOB

Recon Tails and LED strip

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 7, 2016

Next up was to get some Morimoto LED fogs. Very happy with the color and their light output for Fogs. Easy install.

50/50 OEM vs. Morimoto

I also installed some ANZO marker LED's. I hooked them up as turn signals. Quality is crap, I would not recommend.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #15 · Nov 7, 2016

The truck was clayed and waxed a few times, but I figured it was time again for a good detail.

I picked up some V04 Chemical Guys AIO that I wanted to try as well as some Poor Boy's Natty's red liquid wax. Both great products, very happy with the results.

I used my RUPES Bigfoot and a combo of UBER and Lake Country pads.

Products used

Taped off

Some marring in the paint before

Some V04 setting up on the paint

Afters

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 7, 2016

Before the summer was up, it was time for another road trip to Calgary. Man, I LOVE this drive in the Eco.

Truck got a good clean up after teh road trip

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #17 · Nov 7, 2016

Next up, I wanted to Dip the stereo surround the same as the door panel inserts. I picked one up out of a wreck for $20 so I could go back to the original if I wanted to or didn't like the look.

Same process, only a lot more taping due to the buttons.

Taped and sanded

Primed and painted

I messed up the first Dip by using too much activator

Much better after the second attempt

I baked it for a bit in the oven @ 130degrees (turned off the stove after it got up to temp). Let it gas out for a couple of days, then polished with M105

Assembled and ready to go back in the truck. comparison to original.

Final

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 7, 2016

It had been about a year since I dipped the badges and wanted to do them up a bit better. I ended up pulling the F150 and Ford badges off, taking them apart and painting them. I think they turned out pretty good.

After sanding and painting. They were finished off with a matt clear-coat

For the inserts, I sanded the F150 badges smooth and then painted them in the closest color I could get my hands on. They were finished with a gloss clear-coat

Tailgate badge finished up.

Everything back on the truck.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 7, 2016

I bought some cheap LED 921 lights for the reverse lights off a local guy. They were pretty much crap and I don't even think they shed any more light than the OEM ones.

After much searching, I found a thread on another forum pointing me at these JDM ASTARS 800 Lumens. Big difference. They certainly aren't as good as putting some pods on the back, but they will do for now. They also match the housings well with the black boards. I don't want to cut into my bumper to put in flush-mounts and I don't like the idea of hanging lights under the bumper.

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #20 · Nov 7, 2016

This all brings us to the past few days where I having been messing around with the latest addition. I bought some Fox 2.0's for the rear along with some Pro-Comp AAL. I just didn't like the sag with just a few pounds in the back or the dampning/rebound of the OEM shocks.

Prior to install

All in and done

So after some measuring, the ALL added more than 2.5" to the rear of the truck. Way too much rake for me. I drove it around a couple of days and decided that the OEM 1.25" blocks had to come out. So I pulled it apart again tonight to get the back settled down a bit.

After the blocks were pulled, the rear sits 1.5" higher. Pretty much bang on what I'm looking for and with the AAL, it won't sag so much with some weight in the back.

Before and after I removed the blocks

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Blown F-150

Discussion Starter · #23 · Nov 7, 2016

The HID's on this truck have been by far the best OEM headlights I have had on a vehicle. I would agree that's why you don't notice the LED fogs as much. I found that the aim them a little low from the factory, so when I put in the LED's, I adjusted them up a bit. Not much, probably 2 inches at 20ft from the wall. I was really happy with the color and the spread of light off to the sides they offered though. Fairly inexpensive upgrade that looks better turned off or on.

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