mods you wouldnt do again ...

[Hill Bill E.]

i wanna do all kinds of things to my truck, but the more i read, the more i wanna leave it alone, ......

As long as the truck is doing what you need it to/want it to, that's a sound plan!

The best mod, in my opinion, is seat time. Learning how to drive, how your rig functions, and it's abilities, will take you to 90% of where you want to go.

And by doing this, you will discover what mods you may really need.

ie: bigger fuel tank for extended range, locker(s), sliders/body armor, etc.

That way, you don't end up with a bunch of posts in threads like this:snorkel:


I know I mentioned doing a spring over, but don't recal if I mentioned the engine swap.

Dropping a 350 V8 into my CJ was a bad mod. And it took me 3 tranny rebuilds to realize it!:elkgrin:

(can be a good mod, if done correctly)

 

[bdbecker]

Best. Thread. Ever. :ylsmoke:

I am embarrassed to say I just crossed a few things off my mod list after reading through....good real world feedback always helps!

You shouldn't be embarrassed, that's why this forum is here - so we can all learn from each other (and each other's mistakes). You should be happy that you did the research and didn't make a change you would one day regret. I think this thread is great. It's made me question a lot of things I was planning on doing to my ride, and saved me a lot of money in the process.

Example - I was hell bent on getting a power commander (chip) for my truck because on an F150 forum I read, apparently they are the best thing since sliced bread. I wanted it because I could reset my speedometer to the new tire size, and try to squeeze some more fuel economy out of my truck. Because of this thread, I started doing some research, I found that it would take me almost 5 years to get a return on investment for the fuel savings, and that my $100 GPS works really well for making sure I'm not speeding.

Maybe I'll consider it if fuel jumps significantly in price, but I'd probably get a better ROI out of buying a used Honda Civic that gets significantly higher MPG.

 

[Chazz Layne]

I suppose it isn't a mod, but it goes in the truck so...

Those flexible rubber socket organizer/holder strips - what a waste of money! I was better off just having all of them floating loose in a pocket of my tool bag. At least then I knew what to expect. Most of the spots barely fit the sockets (too big and too small) so they either wouldn't push on all the way, or were simply too loose to stay put. Worst $30 I've ever spent.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

I suppose it isn't a mod, but it goes in the truck so...

Those flexible rubber socket organizer/holder strips - what a waste of money! I was better off just having all of them floating loose in a pocket of my tool bag. At least then I knew what to expect. Most of the spots barely fit the sockets (too big and too small) so they either wouldn't push on all the way, or were simply too loose to stay put. Worst $30 I've ever spent.

AARRRGGHH! Loose sockets! Or worse yet, the plastic cases that drop sockets all over when opened!

Best solution I've found for this, has been the HUSKY brand socket set sold at Home Depot.

4 years of riding in the back of my Jeeps, and the sockets still stay put when you open the case, (tools on both sides of the case) with the exception of 2 of the metric deepwell's, but that's only been recently.

I also tried the metal and plasitic socket holders, with no success.

 

[Mamontof]

Buy cheap after market part , to replace original GM , it cost twice or even more and plus loosing time to fix again .

Only best and original !

 

[Rando]

Aftermarket accessories that use SAE/inch hardware! It is a real pain to have to take a set of SAE tools just to work on your compressor or to adjust your driving lights. Are any cars still made with SAE? It is time to go all metric (actually it was time 20 years ago, but that is a different rant!).

 

[Chazz Layne]

Best solution I've found for this, has been the HUSKY brand socket set sold at Home Depot.

Thanks, I'm in need of a new set anyhow so I will check those out. How do the tools themselves hold up to use? The reason I'm in need of a new set is because my 13mm (10 years old) recently split open trying to get a bolt out of the alternator. :Wow1:

Aftermarket accessories that use SAE/inch hardware!

If you had a Rover you wouldn't have to worry about that. You'd be carrying both just to deal with the stock components...

 

[alexrex20]

I suppose it isn't a mod, but it goes in the truck so...

Those flexible rubber socket organizer/holder strips - what a waste of money! I was better off just having all of them floating loose in a pocket of my tool bag. At least then I knew what to expect. Most of the spots barely fit the sockets (too big and too small) so they either wouldn't push on all the way, or were simply too loose to stay put. Worst $30 I've ever spent.

I couldn't be more impressed with my flex socket holder.

 

[mustangwarrior]

As long as the truck is doing what you need it to/want it to, that's a sound plan!

The best mod, in my opinion, is seat time. Learning how to drive, how your rig functions, and it's abilities, will take you to 90% of where you want to go.

And by doing this, you will discover what mods you may really need.

ie: bigger fuel tank for extended range, locker(s), sliders/body armor, etc.

That way, you don't end up with a bunch of posts in threads like this:snorkel:

bigger fuel tank is no problem, my f150 has dual factory tanks :wings:

i've looked into lockers but being a student, they wont happen anytime soon

and hopefully sliders will be this summer, i have already bottomed the cab out on a hill and every build thread i have been thru, it appears that the sliders come after the damage, haha

also lookin at some performance mods, not necessarily for more ponies but more for more mpgs

 

[chasespeed]

also lookin at some performance mods, not necessarily for more ponies but more for more mpgs

I would focus more on proven reliability mods, than anything performance. I have been doing this dance since I was 16.

Sometimes it works, and most times it doesnt.

You make some more power trying to improve efficiency... Okay....

NOW, you have more power to heat up that torque converter, or your clutch. Build that stronger....

Okay...

Now, you have to worry about whether you want to move your weak point to the u-joints, or, axle shafts, etc etc etc...

If you are NOT racing... leave the engine stock, UNTIL you are 100% positive you can increase efficiency without worrying about reliability....

In my current truck, I have been moving my weak point all over the place, and at this juncture, I am leaving the diffs unlocked..... I already had issues with breakage.......

K.I.S.S. Period....

If i had it to do over again, I would have left my engine alone, other than an airflow mod(exhaust)......

Just MY 2 pennies, plus inflation...

Chase

EDIT, I have said before, and I will say again, the best efficiency mod you can make is yourself.....

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Thanks, I'm in need of a new set anyhow so I will check those out. How do the tools themselves hold up to use? The reason I'm in need of a new set is because my 13mm (10 years old) recently split open trying to get a bolt out of the alternator. :Wow1:


If you had a Rover you wouldn't have to worry about that. You'd be carrying both just to deal with the stock components...

The tools have held up great. I've only split one socket, a 5/16th deepwell.

It was a 1/4" drive, and I had it adapted up to the 1/2" breaker bar:snorkel:

I'd buy another set in a heartbeat.

 

[x32792]

...NOW, you have more power to heat up that torque converter, or your clutch. Build that stronger....

Okay...

Now, you have to worry about whether you want to move your weak point to the u-joints, or, axle shafts, etc etc etc...

You make an excellent point..

Bolt-on mods and body work are generally pretty innocent, but everything else was designed, tested and put together to work as a balanced system...You 'improve' one part of the system only to find you've over-stressed or reduced the functionality of something else...One thing leads to another.

 

[Azlugz]

You make an excellent point..

Bolt-on mods and body work are generally pretty innocent, but everything else was designed, tested and put together to work as a balanced system...You 'improve' one part of the system only to find you've over-stressed or reduced the functionality of something else...One thing leads to another.

That is exactly why i laugh when I see the K&N commercials. All that HP they claim you can add just by swpping to a new filter that breathes better......So, how does all that extra air get outta the engine????

 

[Deleted member 9101]

That is exactly why i laugh when I see the K&N commercials. All that HP they claim you can add just by swpping to a new filter that breathes better......So, how does all that extra air get outta the engine????

Depends on the motor, but I know for years the 5.4 in the F-150 and the 5.4 in the lightning used the same exhaust manifolds. Point being, the stock 5.4 exhaust system could handle the extra "air" getting out.

 

[dzzz]

........

Bolt-on mods and body work are generally pretty innocent, but everything else was designed, tested and put together to work as a balanced system...You 'improve' one part of the system only to find you've over-stressed or reduced the functionality of something else...One thing leads to another.

That's very true. It pushed me into a unimog rather than a heavily modified F550. The unimog is well under weight. The F550 would have been maxed out. While the best pickup upgrades like what Earthroamer does seem to hold up they are doubling the price of the base vehicle. There seems to be huge depreciation taking this approach. That doesn't matter if the vehicle is used frequently over a number of years. But life has a way of changing one's certain plans.

It's unfortunate we don't have a better choice of medium duty trucks in the U.S. appropriate for camper conversion.