FNG checking in from the Carolinas

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PD1744

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Been lurking the forum for a while and figured it's time to make an intro. Picked up this higher mileage (178k) 2011 SCREW at the beginning of the year. Been a happy but busy owner since.

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Sold my DD 2017 WRX that I bought new (only new car I've ever bought) when after three and half years of ownership, came to the conclusion that she wasn't the right car for me at this stage in my life.

This guy:

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The caveat was that I had to be able to buy my Raptor for whatever I was able to sell the Subie for. No payments. Hence why opting for an older higher mileage unit. Found this one outside of Atlanta (about 4 hours away). It was an unmolested Texas/Oklahoma vehicle and appeared to be pretty well taken care of.

And to be clear, this trucks main duty will be my grocery getting, soccer dadding truck, so I'm sure the flamers will come for me. For getting dirty, I use my 2005 V8 4Runner with 226k on the clock that I've owned for 14 years and runs like the day I bought her. Sitting pretty on Kings:

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I've also owned a few built Mustangs, so I'm fairly versed with Ford vehicles.

Issues quickly emerged that needed addressing since owning the Raptor, which I fully get with a truck of this mileage, and I'm here for it.

Stuff I've addressed in the month plus I've spent with her:

- Transmission recall

- Sealed up leaky 3rd brake light. But the 3 red LED's are toast. Just had one pop up local for $50. Might jump on it. They want a mint for this damn things.

- Tackled a tune-up, though to my surprise, she didn't need it. I thought the lumpy idle meant she was due, but apparently it sort of normal? Seafoam through the throttle body. Blade was clean as whistle and barely any white smoke. Engine was very clean. Fresh air filter was already in it. Good sign. Couple of bottles of Seafoam through the fuel tank. Then for the spark. Tackled the 16 plug and wire job, which went way smoother than anticipated. Plugs and wires were already new and OEM Motorcraft equipment, I would come to find out. So it showed me it was likely a dealer maintained vehicle and documentation seems to support that as well. Still went through with the job for piece of mind.

- Had to fix the driver side rear seat latch. Seems like a PO took the handle appart and disconnect the cable for some reason.

- Put on a new steering wheel red stripe from Built Right.

- And then tackled that worn suspension. Front end was clunky as all hell and the passnger front was clearly blown and leaky. Found some low mile Gen 2 take-offs for the rear that I got for a song and ordered some new fronts from Rock Auto for a great price. All is good. No more clunking and rides as I imagined it should. I did end up having to remove the shaft guard from my driver side rear though. Never heard anybody talk about that:

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Definitely a lot more things I need to look at. Still have to tackle the air mix actuators. Starting to click. Already have parts on hand, just need some time to tear into her. Paint correct and ceramic coat when I have more time. My front USB doesn't seem to work so I can't update Sync. Hopefully when I pull the dash to do the air mix servos, I'll find a loose connection. I've got a vibration in my driver front door. Might throw a little vibration dampening in there. They seem really thin. My keypad doesn't seem to work, but it does light up, so I might dig into that at some point. And then, I might possibly have some IWE issues lurking. 4WD functions as it should, but driving down the road I hear a faint humming/roaring type noise that isn't tire noise. Seems to be coming from the passenger front and the tone seems to change and get louder if I'm banking left. I've already bought a vacuum pump to troubleshoot the system with, just have to get it done. I know that the hubs aren't free wheeling from the axle when I jack it up and spin it with the truck cranked, so I feel like it's either a leak in the system or bad wheel end actuators.

If anybody has an experience or advice on any of these issue, please share. The forum seems like a great community with lots of good information here. Happy to be here.

Okay, sorry for the long into.
 
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PD1744

PD1744

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Appreciate the welcome gents.

Welcome. From the sound of it. Sounds more like a right front wheel bearing vs the iwe. But just from description. Moved from Charlotte area as well

I agree it sounds like a wheel bearing issue as well. But I guess I’m more interested to find out if an IWE issue is the root cause of the wheel bearing failure.

How did you figure I was from Charlotte? Some incredible detective work!

Awesome to see you rolling up your sleeves and doing work to bring your new ride up to *****. Welcome and great intro!

Thank you sir. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
 

Richard Hinsley

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Nice truck I almost bought one just like it with 90k on it bit they wouldn't go lower than 32k so I bought a 1 owner 10 Scab with 85k on it. I've been looking at IWE delete kits.
 

Steve R

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Glad to see Im not the only one willing to take on a Raptor that needs a little work. I bought my 2012 with a salvage title due to damage to the LF. Insurance totaled it due to a supposed bent frame, but it checked out as straight on a frame machine. Their mistake my gain. With your keypad, wait until its dark and hit each key one at a time. It should light up the pad. Wait until the light goes out and try the next one. There is usually one that has failed. Pretty easy to replace too. As for your heater actuators, I just did mine and the one for the left is a pain. You can do it without dash removal if you have patience. PM me if you need any tips or tricks. I was a Ford tech for 20 years. Good luck with your project!
 

SS308

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I bought my '12 a over ago. Love it! So will you.

Congrats on your Raptor and welcome to FRF. The information and the people here are awesome!
 
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PD1744

PD1744

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Nice truck I almost bought one just like it with 90k on it bit they wouldn't go lower than 32k so I bought a 1 owner 10 Scab with 85k on it. I've been looking at IWE delete kits.

Yeah man, I've found Gen 2's cheaper than some people are asking for low mile Gen 1's. These things definitely hold their value and I feel like they are already starting to near their value floor, which is great. The car I traded was still on the depreciation downslope, so even though I swapped out a newer car with warranty, I'll win the long game.

What's the verdict on IWE deletes? People happy with them? Any drawbacks.

Glad to see Im not the only one willing to take on a Raptor that needs a little work. I bought my 2012 with a salvage title due to damage to the LF. Insurance totaled it due to a supposed bent frame, but it checked out as straight on a frame machine. Their mistake my gain. With your keypad, wait until its dark and hit each key one at a time. It should light up the pad. Wait until the light goes out and try the next one. There is usually one that has failed. Pretty easy to replace too. As for your heater actuators, I just did mine and the one for the left is a pain. You can do it without dash removal if you have patience. PM me if you need any tips or tricks. I was a Ford tech for 20 years. Good luck with your project!

Oh yeah. I looked at a couple with salvaged titles that might have been worth rolling the dice on. One guy, the line went dead. The other wouldn't meet me on my price and I'm pretty sure he ended up selling for what I offered after being stuck with it for a long time. Oh well, wasn't meant to be.

You're awesome man. Really appreciate the tips. What I love about online forums. Like all things internet, they have their downsides, but definitely a net positive IMO. Hopefully get to tear into the dash this weekend. We'll see how it goes. I plan to take my time and take apart anything I need to. I approached the spark plugs the same way and had every intention to go ahead and remove the wheels and splash shields, after researching the job, but when I got in there and saw how much access there actually was, I ended up having to do neither.

Welcome and congrats! You’ve started an awesome journey.

Thank you sir! Definitely enjoying it so far. Can't say that was always the story with my Mustangs.
 

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