No longer an X owner and some recommendations for new one's - Diesel Forum

orion7144 · 07-08-2004, 12:09 AM

Well, I have departed with my X (see sig). It was not my idea and I do miss it. We now have a smaller SUV. This is going to be long winded.

Some things to point to new/future owners.

1. The shock question. Get the Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. I have had the Bilstiens (sp) and although they were good the Rancho's have an advantage. You set them to how you like the ride and when you need to tow/offroad you can adjust them for a better ride (i.e. no bounce in the rear)

2. Roof Rack cross bars. Get rid of them or have the recall done. (BTW if anyone needs the complete crossbar set, all 4 pieces, I have them and they are still brand new since those were the first thing to come off when I bought it new and forgot to put them on when I got rid of it)

3. The door locks. I replaced 2 of them with the upgraded OEM one's and never had anymore problems. I recommend getting the OEM over the aftermarket one's since they are a direct replacement and no modifications need to be done. (BTW 2 I have 2 brand new acctuators that are non OEM that can be used if anyone is interested)

4. Water in the rear. The only water I ever had was from the rear AC compressor located in the rear RH storage area. It is just condensation from the compressor.

5. The rear pinion seal. Mine was replaced at 45K miles and was most likely the cause of the Quick Lube people overfilling the rear diff.

6. Front steering stabilizer. It is a must to upgrade it to the Rancho 5000 series. No more wandering going over bumps.

7. Rear sway bar. This was probably the most significant/noticeable improvement that I did. Ofcourse I went with the Helwig. I am not mechanic and I figured out the terrible instructions and completed the install pretty quickly. MAKE SURE THE BOLTS ARE TOURQED CORRECTLY.

8. Bought my 01'X Limited 4X4 V10 in May of 01' and had 65K on it when I had to let it go. Not once did it strand me or cause me any heart ache. I never waxed her and her paint looked very good upon trade in. The leather was still in outstanding shape even with 3 young ones running around.

9. Yes the X will fit in a standard 20X20 garage. there is no room at the front or back but it does fit. And if you are one of the lucky owners of one of those standard garages that have the raised concrete at the front (a raised 3ft deep X 1'-2" hight) of your garage all you have to do is drive in until the wheels touch that lip.

10. Gas mileage. I traded in a 98' Ram QuadCab 4X4 with the 5.9L magnum that got ~9 mpg in the city and ~14 on the highway. The X did not have any mileage ratings on the sticker and I had already been to this forum so I new what to expect. Fortunatley to my suprise I averaged 12.3 MPG in the city, 14.8 HWY @ 80+, and towing a 02' Jeep wrangler on a Uhaul trailer I got right around 12 MPG. The 12mpg was one the first leg of our trip and once I got used to the trailer I bumped up my speed significantly and that droped to under 10mpg. The mileage did not change no matter what I did. I could turn the AC off and no change. The only significant change was if I used bad gas.

Pharmer · 07-13-2004, 12:51 PM

Good points, but they are subjects that have been thrown around here since Nov of 1999. Besides you had that "dreaded V10". I've been looking for PSD Ex for about 6 mos, and almost bought a new 04 EB this week, but hesitated about the 6 liter. Just can't part with the old reliable.

ForumBlue · 07-13-2004, 05:46 PM

"2. Roof Rack cross bars. Get rid of them or have the recall done."

This is the first I've heard of a recall on the roof rack.

Does anyone have any info about this?

Thanks.

CHPMustang · 07-13-2004, 06:28 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"2. Roof Rack cross bars. Get rid of them or have the recall done."

This is the first I've heard of a recall on the roof rack.

Does anyone have any info about this?

Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]
Technical Service Bulletin Number: 15882
NHTSA Item Number: 637748

mike650 · 07-13-2004, 06:40 PM

On the recall, do they replace the rack with an entirely different system or is it bascially the same design?

The original one I had was not very good. One of the clamps broke and I had it replaced under warrenty. I noticed that when trying to adjust the rack it would start to scratch my paint because of the way it hugged the roof surface. If you do not move the brackets and clean or wax the roof, water stains and dirt start to do it's damage to your paint. Catch-22. It is a terrible design. All show - no go. I ended up removing the stock rack and purchasing a Yakima Rack System that is functional and works really well. It uses the original Ford tracks.

Thanks CHPMustang for the recall info! There is probabaly a lot of bullitins out there that we are not aware of. Is there a free site that you recommend visiting to find out about such alerts?

Thanks again,

Mike

CHPMustang · 07-13-2004, 06:58 PM

Mike,don't quote me but I believe like 2" or so wide clear plastic strips are applied(adhesive type)to the high ribs of the roof that come in contact with the bottom of the bars which would be similar to what is applied to the top of the rear swing out doors to prevent the hatch from wearing into the paint.

FamilyRide · 07-13-2004, 10:05 PM

It's just easier to clean the roof if you jst remove and store the roof rack bars. I've never seen anyone actually use those things and on the Ex. they seem even more useless than most.

mike650 · 07-13-2004, 11:34 PM

FamilyRide - I see a lot of X's with the stock racks still in place. Your right, it would be easier to just remove the racks, they do more harm than good.

CHPMustang - I do not have clear plastic strips (adhesive type)that are applied to the top of the rear swing out doors to prevent the hatch from wearing into the paint. Would it go where the two rubber gromits on the hatch come in contact with the rear swing doors? This tape sounds like helicopter or 100 mph tape. Using it on the high ribs of the roof sounds like a good idea.

Take care!!

CHPMustang · 07-14-2004, 04:57 PM

Mike,"Richie Rich" from Chandler Arizona had done that to the rear doors to prevent the hatch plastic edge from rubbing into the paint,it would also work just as well for the black rubber stops too.

I gotta pick up some of that stuff to do the back doors with but where?

MotionMan · 07-15-2004, 11:41 PM

I ditched the rack and went with a thule rack. I also bought body side molding in black and put it on the ribs so coolers and stuff don't rub. I use mine a lot because now you can use them. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

orion7144 · 07-18-2004, 04:53 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Good points, but they are subjects that have been thrown around here since Nov of 1999. Besides you had that "dreaded V10". I've been looking for PSD Ex for about 6 mos, and almost bought a new 04 EB this week, but hesitated about the 6 liter. Just can't part with the old reliable.

[/ QUOTE ]

The "dreaded V10"? I would point out that in my time of ownership that I spent considerably less money than a Diesel owner (granted my time of ownership was less than 4 years).

Also you say I bring up posts since 99'.. All my points are valid and can help new owners. The shock question has been brought up many times and you get varrying answeres. My post stated I perspective from a user that tried more than one brand. Sure if I had bought brand "A" and liked it I would sugests it but I am one of the few that tried more than one brand. I am sure that if more people had more money and time they could do the same and would come to the same conclusion.

My post was designed to help new users in their quest for a better machine and to find that information in one post. Not strung out in multiple usless posts.