I've been around previously, although not for a few years. I was originally wanting to purchase a 2011 F150 but life happened, and well you know how that goes.

Yesterday, I bought myself a black-on-black 2004 F150 FX4 5.4L SCab 5.5' bed with 112k miles, complete with leather and sunroof. Pretty much all stock as far as I can tell, other than the Pioneer Premier deck it has that I still need to figure out. I was a bit leery of buying a truck with a 5.5' bed for hauling purposes, but I love how maneuverable it is and the fact that it fits in my garage (but just barely).

Everyone loves pics:











I'm already feeling the bug to customize and I'm starting to do my research. One thing I wanted to ask is what other SCab 5.5' owners do for exhaust? It doesn't seem like there are any cat-back exhaust systems available for our specific body style. I guess I can always just go to an exhaust shop, I just assumed a cat-back exhaust would be cheaper.

Only issues I've come across so far is the lock button doesn't seem to be working on the driver's side. Unlock button works fine, just not lock. Doors lock with my key fob and on the other side so it's not a big deal. Also a slight vibration at freeway speeds, not sure if it's the tires (two are worn, so I'm kind of leaning towards that) or if it's the fact that it's such a short wheelbase truck. Any other SCab 5.5' owners want to chime in on that?

Appreciate any info you guys can give me! I'm looking forward to happy ownership.

 

I have an 08 reg cab shortbed, 6.5' bed but either way it is a shorter wheelbase than yours and mine doesn't vibrate. It's probably the tires having a flat spot or unbalanced. My gf has a 06 ram crew cab and her truck vibrates from the wheels being slightly out of balance. She has the factory 20 inch rims and everyone has trouble getting them correct including the dodge dealership.

 

Okay good to know. Thanks for the info! I'll be shopping for some new tires when I get my tax refund.

 

Looks nice!

 

Wheel base has nothing to do with vibrations. Get new tires and an alignment. When I bought my truck it had a horrible vibration that ended up being from junk tires the dealer put on it. Once I got new tires the vibration was gone.

For the exhaust you will just need to cut out a foot of the straight part and it should be fine.

 

Congrats on your new to you F150. I have a 05 XLT reg cab 4x2 with the 5.4 with just over 150k miles on it. Tires will do wonder on the vibration but you may want to have the shocks replaced if they are still factory as well.

 

Nice looking truck! I too just recently got back into an F150. And like you have been building a list of mods.

Have fun and enjoy

Cheers

Nem

 

Thanks for the compliments guys! Tires and balancing will be the first thing then. Pretty sure the shocks are original, seems to ride good but I do plan on having them replaced in the future anyway. Appreciate the info.

 

With 112k the shocks are definitely due, and I'd also get the entire front end checked out for any components worn past limits.

 

For the lock button, get on rockauto and get a new switch, I think it's like $25 or something like that. My window-up buttons for both rear windows stopped working, swapped that master switch out in 10 minutes, and all has been well for about a year!

 

Congrats on the truck looks clean someone took care of it. Any service records? If not I would go over the common issues that these trucks have.

 

Glc, will do.

KMAC, thanks! I'll buy a new switch.

05FordGuy, I'm going to see if I can pull anything up on an autocheck or OASIS report and see what's been done. The dealer told me that the cam phasers and spark plugs have been replaced but they were not able to provide service records for it.

 

Congrats on the truck. I'm also a new owner and have felt similar vibrations at higher speeds (usually 70mph and up), guess I'm probably due for a balance and alignment as well.