More power to ya! I have almost $5k in mine (not counting purchase price) without even a lift yet I'm just praying that it'll last for another 10+ years (with new motor and trans along the way) and that I won't get a "new truck" itch that's uncured by a Mustang.

For you, this is much better than a Raptor in all ways then! You don't want to run a truck that expensive in the Baja, I'd be afraid to anyway! Free vehicle = a LOT of toy money I'm excited to see how it all turns out. Great Christmas gift to yourself!

Weren't we talking about our neighbors' vehicles a little while ago? And you want this truck to "keep up" with your boss' Raptor on hunting trips and whatnot? And then whether or not you should get a new trans or wait till this one craps out on ya? It's all just now coming back to me . . . I knew the story of your truck sounded too familiar!

 

That was me! I was down chasing for the Baja and was talking with my buddies on one of the race teams. They told me what I should do and then hooked me up with their account at our local offroad shop. I got everything for pretty good prices... Going to be awesome. My boss better watch out!!!!! Hahahaha

Oh and yeah the tranny started shuddering so I had it rebuilt with beefy parts.

 

Had the truck in the dealerv since Wednsday. They got all of the work I needed done completed today. What I wanted was,

-my set of Nitto Trail Grapplers in 295/60-R20 that have sat since July, to be installed with a set of OEM Motorcraft TPMS sensors ( bought from fine_style150 last year ).

-my Moog Suspension Problem Solver UCAs and lower ball joints to be installed. ( Thanks again mSall for the UCAs last spring! )

-alignment.

-inspection.

Unfortunate news during the process,

-Front left wheel bearing is needed.

-Camber adjustment bolts were needed.

So I told them order the camber stuff but said no for the bearing as they want $340 for a Motorcraft hub and $150 installed... It is a half hour job on each side, i'm doing it myself with a Moog #515079 hub. After that, taking it back for alignment, and finalize inspection after they give the wheel the shake test. I'll replace passenger side bearing later this spring when money should be better.

Needless to say I got it back today after the $690 bill, the girlfriend drove it back. Snow storms coming this week, even with a not so perfect alignment, 4wd is better than risking it in the little car. But I just ordered the Moog wheel bearing on Summit, expecting it for Tuesday if its anything like when I ordered the ball joints. Feels very bouncy on the new ball joints, not used to this smooth of a ride either, going to be even better after alignment! It only rubs my mud splash guards at full lock, otherwise, they would not rub at all. I will end up trimming the back corners of them later on.

Some Instagramed photos from my phone to satisfy your eyes for now.







Here is a before shot after installing the Rancho kit with the rubber band thin 33x12.5s

 

Gave her some ATF and road tested her down the gulf freeway only to discover the little seep was a big leak... Worked a teeny tiny bit on finding the leak, think it is the rubber hoses for the cooler.

The truck acted odd during my trip to Arkansas last month, so I went and put the tuner on it to look for / grab codes. No codes, but for some reason the tuner thought it had never been used. So I re-flashed the truck to my the SCT Xcal2 economy tune, and reset my speedo again. Now I can actually believe my speedo. I felt like I was flying when the speedo said 65mph before, now it actaully stays with traffic.... I think we are more right now...

It looks like I have my next month of weekends tied up due to holidays, transmission leaks, wrong coil springs, and of course, the AirRAID intake tube...

 

Pictures....... I must see your truck. If I won the lotto this is exactly what I would do with my truck despite living in Lousiana. I have never been Baja racing but man it looks like some much fun. The thing I will do before I die, baja. Such an amazing motorsport.

 

Re-wrapped my red, white, and blue CB whips in black electrical tape and put them back on the truck after having them off because of the parking garage I've been having to park in . . .

 

Were you worried about them getting stolen or were they hitting the parking garage? Within the first two weeks of moving into my dorm I had my am/fm radio antenna stolen and found my tailgate open (forgot to lock it). No more incidents so far, but people don't understand how to leave a space between vehicles when parking, and our parking lot is only 1/2 full.

 

Got her all washed up.

 

Oh, I'm drove into a garage months ago just one time and I'll never do it again! They sounded like thunder and scared the stuff out of me. One of the loudest things I've heard too. Fortunately, College Station has a really low crime rate, especially for a college town. Somebody did put a 3 foot (seriously that long) scratch on my passenger side about a month ago though. Thankfully it wasn't too deep and didn't go through the paint, but still. Sorry to hear that you've had some bad luck. Where do you go? A few of my friends got rid of their nicer cars in preparation for college beating the crap out of em, and others have had some pretty bad (and numerous!) breaks in over the years. I need to be better about locking my tailgate - I never do - but I do always park against a wall. Drove a 2013 RAM at work today that had the new electronic locking tailgate, that was pretty cool!

On a side note, I don't even have a CB radio I pulled my toolbox off of a trade-in at work and the whips were on it, so I kept them on for the hell of it and got used to how they looked. I got out of a ticket because of them too! After doing 13 over . . . "Hey son, you do them whips yourself? "Yes, sir" "Well, I ain't never seen red, white, and blue ones, you're getting a warning for creativity!"

 

I go to Georgia Southern. Without the school, the town wouldn't be much of anything. Most of the crime is breaking into cars and robbing people in parking lots, but armed robberies aren't unusual. Next year I am going to get a house a few miles from campus so I will be away from all the crime.

 

Washed her. I don't really do much when it comes to off roading but man dirt gets everywhere. Really just tried to wash all the dirt off best as possible then quickly cleaned the outside due the absence of sunlight. Plan on really cleaning her sometime during my Christmas break.

 

Got it back from dealer for alignment & inspection. Its finally all good. Fresh Moog ball joints, tires with TPMS sensors installed, camber bolts, aligned, new front left wheel bearing, inspected. Feels great to drive now.

 

Just picked up two sets of rigid dually spot led driving lights. One set for my truck and one set for the fathers 06 lt. He's going to have to wait till christmas for his though. Also was able to get two fuse/relay boxes through work for nothing. Going to wire the relays up to ignition to control the switched power for both trucks. Going to start mine in the morning. Pictures to follow.

 

That is one good looking truck! It is a shame they don't make step sides anymore. I'm curious, how much smaller is the width of your bed compared to a standard bed?

 

Once the weather clears up, I can measure it right quick if you would like.