Jumping Ship from Gen 2 to Gen 1

[06viper]

Hi guys, ive been a Gen 2 raptor owner for the last four years. First a 2018 and now had my 2020 for the past 6 months. Ive had an itching over the past couple months to get a Gen 1 to go along side my Gen 2. Ive made the decision to finally do that. Im now actively searching for a Screw Gen 1 in blue preferably under 50k miles. So here's my question, I literally know nothing in terms of things related to the Gen 1 and problems or "common things" that go wrong on them. I know about the "common things" on the Gen 2's that go wrong (knock on wood my last gen 2's have been flawless in terms of reliability and I beat on them pretty hard) but nothing about the Gen 1's. Obviously the older the truck gets the more things will start to wear out just like all vehicles, but in your opinion what are the main things to look out for with the Gen 1's? Motor problems? tranny problems? Suspension problems? Any insight or knowledge at all will be greatly appreciated! Any info at all about buying a used Gen 1 and what to look out for. And like I said, I want one that's preferably under 50k miles so that way it doesn't have things breaking all the time. Heres a picture of my current Gen 2 incase anyone cares haha.

 

[Wampa]

Nice man - went through the same thing a few months ago; here's the information I gathered from reading and hearing from other folks.

Things to look for:

Bed cab alignment(making sure it’s even and straight with back window)
Fuse 27
Last shock rebuild
Checking skid plate for dmg
Bump stops
Shocks for leaking
Rocker panel rust *


@ 9 minutes I talk about the gen 1 and what I looked for.

If you have any other questions let me know and happy to help.

GL hunting!!

 

[melvimbe]

Hi guys, ive been a Gen 2 raptor owner for the last four years. First a 2018 and now had my 2020 for the past 6 months.

Typo? A truck bought for years ago would be a 2017 at best.

 

[06viper]

Typo? A truck bought for years ago would be a 2017 at best.

Opps sorry typo, last 3 years. Had my 2018 model year delivered in late summer/early fall 2017.

 

[EricM]

Rust should be your only concern IMO. Everything else is easily fixable.

If you are going to be under there though, look at each inner tie rod boot for signs of leakage. The power steering system is problematic on the Gen 1 trucks.

 

[John813]

1. Engine is pretty close to bulletproof. Can they fail? Sure, but those are far and few cases there. Valve springs.
1b. If you like a Raptor with a supercharger, there's a debate about the oil pump gears and if you need to upgrade it.
2. Transmission is also pretty durable. See above
3. Suspension is the same as the Gen in getting the shocks serviced every 50k miles(max).
4. Power steering is a weak point if you run 37's and/or do donuts. It's undersized for the Raptor.
5. Fuse 27 is a weak link. Easy way to prevent that is the relocation.
6. Rocker rust. You can go under the truck in the cab corners to see how the body looks. Rust starts in the back and usually eats it's way towards the exterior. Not guaranteed to happen depending on location and if mud gets stuck in there often.
7. Check for damage due to driver error. 13/14 have stronger frames, but as with anything can bend. Bed alignment, or if the frame in the rear wheelwell wells isn't mushroomed.
8. IWEs can go out, but I think Gen 2's suffer from it too. Check it before you buy that the truck engages 4wd.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Nice pic of the Gen 2, I wouldn't worry about the powertrain, thats a good solid foundation. Check the heated seats all work (cooled seats if that applies), as far as the rockers, since you're going with a low mileage, crawl under there and where the running boards bolt on inside there, look and see if the factory (duct) tape is still covering the holes. I have replaced all my tape with gorillas tape twice now, as the factory stuff peels back pretty quick and allows dirt and moisture to get in there. That is why the rockers rust on the gen 1's. Check that all the vents work properly : cold to hot, left to right, defrost to floor to vent, those damper motors can be a bitch to replace, the one for the vents is easy to get at, but the other two are "dash pullers". Good luck in your search.

 

[Frogger22]

To me each year they slowly worked out kinks over time until hitting peak perfection in the 2014 so that’s what I’d look for myself. To me the 2014’s didn’t have some of the smaller problems the earlier models did. Also more likely to hit your desired mileage going with the 14. At the very least though I’d only purchase the 6.2L no matter what

 

[badm0t0rfinger]

The only thing you HAVE to do is the fuse 27 modification. Everything after that would just be normal "used car" stuff and then have at modifications.

 

[tltoronto]

Nice pic of the Gen 2, I wouldn't worry about the powertrain, thats a good solid foundation. Check the heated seats all work (cooled seats if that applies), as far as the rockers, since you're going with a low mileage, crawl under there and where the running boards bolt on inside there, look and see if the factory (duct) tape is still covering the holes. I have replaced all my tape with gorillas tape twice now, as the factory stuff peels back pretty quick and allows dirt and moisture to get in there. That is why the rockers rust on the gen 1's. Check that all the vents work properly : cold to hot, left to right, defrost to floor to vent, those damper motors can be a bitch to replace, the one for the vents is easy to get at, but the other two are "dash pullers". Good luck in your search.

If you do your homework, you can find the seals that they use on the stock f150 for the rocker panels, and glue em in. Problem eliminated 100%