Id be interested to know what kind of features it has. Im selling my old X3 this weekend and really considering buying the X4. There hasnt been many reviews that i can find. Does it have a windshield mount to where you can mount it for extra gauges? I though i had read that but could be wrong.

 

No windshield mount. At least mine did not come with one. But funny enough, I already have a mount on my windshield for my cell phone that will work perfectly. If I end up playing with it more, I'll do some reviews or videos. But you are right, there still isn't a lot of info out there on them. I never had the X3, so I can't compare it to that. But this sucker does fly through the menus and load tunes fast.

 

Much better:

 

I have the same one and went with the 93 octane for just the performance and 87 for towing and I freaking love it. Don't have one my 250 buy have it on My 150 that I use for hunting and just messing around with.

Love your truck Duce.

 

I have yet to try the 93. I'm afraid I won't go back haha. But even the 87 is pretty sweet.

Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

 

How do you like that exhaust? I am looking one.

 

I LOVE the exhaust. It's quieted down a bit since day one. Either that or I've gotten a little more used to it. I still think it's the best exhaust I've heard on the 5.0 yet, with Borla coming in a close second. I'm glad I went with the Mach 46 muffler though. Any louder and I don't think I would like it nearly as much.

 

Welp...the truck has been at the dealership since 8 AM this morning. I took it in because my possible IWE issue was getting worse. I narrowed it down to every time that I would decelerate somewhat quickly from 45 MPH or faster and turned right, I would get a horrible grinding and popping noise. I had to switch to 4A to get it to stop and could then shift back to 2H and it would be fine.

I called at 12 to ask if there was an update. The service person said that they were just waiting on Ford to approve the warranty work. I really didn't expect it to be in there all day, but it is what it is. I'm just hoping that it gets covered under warranty as I've seen other posts where it was considered a wearable item and cost between $500 and $800 to repair.

Annnnnndddd...I literally just got a call from them as I was typing this. She said it was all done and was covered. Now I just have to make sure everything is working right.

 

Got my first official "warning" from the dealership. They ended up replacing the IWE solenoid on both sides, but the service writer told me that the damage was caused by my level. They claim both solenoids were cracked. They either didn't tell Ford about the level or Ford gave them the go ahead for this one time. I asked to speak to the tech that worked on it because I was/am curious as to how they were sure that the level caused the damage. He had already left for the day by the time I got there to pick up the truck.

Whether the damage was a result of the level or not, I gotta say I appreciate them covering it under warranty at least this time. They could have just as easily told me to pound sand if it truly was because of the level. I don't know enough about the solenoids to know how the level would impact this and cause them to crack.

So now I'm rethinking the whole level thing. I know Bilstein's change the geometry too, so I'm not sure if that would be a fix or not. Short of a full body lift, I'm either stuck with the level or going back to stock tires and removing the level. Or, I'm just being paranoid and I won't ever have a problem again. But the level has only been on for 3,000 miles.

 

I think that's BS. I don't know enough about them either, but way too many people have a level and big tires without breaking things every 3k miles. Don't the solenoids only make the system release vacuum to engage the 4WD? I see no reason why a level would affect that at all, but I don't know. It's only a 2" level right?

I had my whole front suspension checked by a Ford dealer last Friday and they said my entire front end was as tight as brand new, not so much as a cm of wiggle in either upper or lower balljoints after 8k miles with a 2" level. The front end has at least the 17k miles I've put on it, plus whatever the previous order put on it (truck only has 92k, so they might even be original). I'm sold on 1.5-2" levels not causing much additional stress when staying only on pavement.

 

Yeah, it's only a 2". I'm not completely sold on what they are saying either, but I have been searching Google since I got home and have found probably 10+ threads across different forums that relate to IWE problems from level kits. My only guess is that it throws things out of wack enough to cause problems with the hub actuator, which places stress on the solenoid. I'm grasping here. And yes, my understanding is that the solenoids control the vacuum that holds the actuators in place for 2WD, and then releases when switching to 4WD.

I guess I'll keep riding around with the level and hope for the best. If it happens again in 3k miles, I'll likely make a switch for something else or go back to stock. I'd be fine if this happened at like 30k miles or something. I expect some premature wear with a level. But if this is going to happen this often, it's just not worth it. I just hope this isn't a case of a service tech seeing the level and immediately attributing any problems to it. That's why I wanted to talk to him to see if he really knew what he was talking about. Either way, I'm happy that the dealership was willing to cover it under warranty when they could have easily said no.

 

I was thinking that the actuator would be taking the brunt of trying to force the vacuum in/out, instead of the solenoid, assuming the solenoid acts as the actuators' "brain." But I don't know enough to know if that's even on the right track as to how that works.

I wish sometimes that I had 4WD, but things like this make me love my lack of a front pumpkin and all the lovely problems that come with it

 

Ok, so I did some more thinking last night and this morning. I eventually wanted to move to a Rancho 4" lift with this truck, so I'm thinking I may do this sooner than later. I just need to find a for sure answer on whether I can run my stock wheels with the Trail Grapplers. Rancho's site says that they will fit 35" tires with 20" wheels. Stage3's website has a customer specifically ask about 20" stock wheels and 35's and the response is along the lines of them being safe and only recommending 33's. I think I might call Stage3 today to see what they say.

I'll have to start pricing installs, as I'm sure that will add a significant cost. I'm looking at the lift plus Rancho RS9000XL shocks at $2000. But, Rancho is running a promo for a $400 mail in rebate until June 30th. There is also a $60 coupon code for Stage3 right now. So that's $1,540 without install.

I might have to start my own "will it fit" thread. Haha.

 

Installs usually run in the $800 ballpark, but a lot of places won't install anything that they don't sell to you themselves. Getting a Rancho for that cheap is a steal though, so I'd hop on that.

Lot of guys on the other forum running 35s on stockers with the Ranchos. Your tires are only 34s too, so that's even better.

 

Yeah, I've found a few threads where people are running that setup. I think the general consensus is that I would be good. I'll start looking around for installs. I know of one shop in Dallas that will install whatever you bring them. I don't know their reputation though. My dealership has a custom shop, but I don't know if they carry Rancho. They warranty the work since it's done at the dealership too.