I recently bought an '04 Lightning from a Ford SVT dealership. There was an issue with an aftermarket crank pulley. I didn't notice that it was there untill I had the vehicle for a couple days. I had purchased an extended warranty and knew that if I had an issue that a claim would likely be denied. I let the dealership know that this part was on there and wanted them to assure that my warranty would cover the vehicle. After running around in circles for a while they said that they would have to remove the pulley and replace it with the stock assembley. Though I knew it would be a reduction in power I need to have the warranty for a while untill I've got some equity in the vehicle.

So. It's got the stock pulley now . I don't know which pulley it was on there but I got an easy ten pounds of boost that came on quick. I don't know if there was proper tuning for this pulley so I took it easy. From what I've seen a crank pulley doesn't add a ton of power. I just wonder if there is a way to gain back some of that lost power. Tuning? E-fans? Are there things that I can do to add power that won't blatantly void the warranty?

Thanks.

 

The pulley you just had taken off is your best bang for the buck. That and a tune and an intake will be the first thing everybody tells you to get if you want to add power. If you are worried about the warranty, keep it stock. If you want more power and your warranty together and are ok with possibly deceiving them, put the stock pulley back on when you take it in for work.

Another alternative is to have your blower ported. That will give you some horse power, it's safer than adding a pulley, and it looks stock unless they take it off. From what I understand you don't have to get a tune but you probably should to optimize your gains.

If it came with an aftermarket pulley and they denied you a warranty claim I would think the responsibility would be on the dealer that sold it to you. IMO You probably would have done best to play dumb, but be sure to document that the pulley was on there when you bought the truck.

 

Believe me, I wanted to leave the pulley on. This is a low mileage truck and had obviously been run. If the prevoius owner hammered on this truck and I suffer the consequence, I don't want to have to pay for it. Also, in the short time I've delt with this dealership, they have done nothing to make me feel confident that they would work with me in any way. I think they were suspicious from the beginning. The truck I traded had been modded, maybe they thought I wanted to go all aout with this one too. I will need to rely on another SVT dealership so the truck has to be warrantyable. I will at some point do some more serious mods but for now, I'm looking at the beginning of the vehicle loan. I need to pay in for a while before I risk having to pay for a major repair out of pocket.

So, what kind of numbers are people picking up with say a #6 lower, and a tune? Can I get numbers similar with things like porting the blower? How many are using E-fans and is there a seat of the pants difference with them.

For right now I'm thinking that I'll start with tuning and I've got to drop the back of this thing. My search made me conclude that I should go with 3" shackles and shims. Sound OK?

 

Three inch shackles will get you down nice, and you already have the shims under your truck. Most of the '03 and ups have just had to turn the shim around. Good luck.

 

So uhh, like why didn't you buy a stock pulley from either E-bay or the classifieds here? There are plenty to be had, and would have saved you the re-purchase of a lower pulley. You may have a chip installed in the ECU as well, so it's quite possible you're now running rich depending on how many lbs. the pulley was rated for. You should have consulted the forurm first, dude.

 

Why risk it? Money seems to be a concern for you. $400 e-fans. $400 tuner. That's nearly a grand down the toilet and you are now risking blowing the warranty.

The only smart thing for you to do is leave it the hell alone. I have been running my engine stock since May 02. I do have the money to repair a broken engine on my own dime (don't get me wrong, it would still hurt), but did not feel that adding mods and voiding the powertrain warranty was an intelligent decision to make anyway. I'm about to install some mods, but it has been a plenty satisfying ownership experience without them.

Just chill for a while and vicariously enjoy the mods by the other lunatics here.

 

 

Good advice from Tim.

If you're really concerned about "voiding your warranty" - just about any engine,ecu,chip, etc. modification you make to it, could do it. And seeign as how this truck is "used" - I'd want to drive it the way it is for while, while it's under warranty, just to make sure it doesn't have any problems. Some guys put a pully and chips on and change oil every 1k miles and drive it like "grandma" most of the time with a few trips on the track and when it isnt driven, sits in a garage all comfy and cozy. And some guys drive it like "hell on wheels" and change oil when there's none left. Unless you personally "know" the owner - you don't know what you have for sure.

 

Isnt that what your suppose to do

 

I have extra cooling and fluid capacities for every motherf'ing thing and change fluids regularly. I bet that I go through more brake fluid than most guys do oil.

But I beat on it like a redheaded stepchild every time I drive it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

First off, I agree that I should have consulted the forum first. I did sort of and didn't get a lot of replies.The reason I didn't just get a stock set up is because I wanted it documented that they sold the truck with this part on there. I don't need someone down the road saying that I tried to deceive them. Flawed thinking perhaps but I don't have the best luck. Murphy's law applies to me often. One of the things I checked when I looked at the truck was if there was a moduel installed in the PCM. There wasn't. The previous owner might have left a tune in the ECU, so I asked the dealership to reflash the computer.

There is risk with every mod but I believe that things like tuning and fans are reliable. My '98 never gave me any trouble (other than the weak clutch) at any point from just the chip to the supercharger @9lbs. I never had any trouble with warranty work at the dealership either. I think there was four claims since the blower and they fixed the problems no questions asked. They are a great dealership but not an SVT dealer. I don't yet know how the local SVT dealer will be concerning the warranty. I don't see e-fans being an issue. With a tuner I can easily return it to stock.

Good advice. I've already been doing that for years. It can be tough though. My '98 was fast for what it was. There is a much greater expectation of the Lightning. Of course I had to choose the last year for the gen II, and the competetion has become rough. I guess I'm being impatient.

Yes, I agree. I've been looking at Lightnings for the past few years. I would have preferred a new one but I was all wishy washy because of the financial commitment. I should have stopped being a penny pincher and got a new one. It became to late though. The used ones I looked were mostly too used. When I saw this one (I was actually thinking I would get an SUV) it seemed like the deal I was waiting for. Low miles, good shape, good price. It's used though and with any used vehicle there is a big unknown. I guess I should try to resist doing anything for a while but it's hard. You guys know. Once you've experianced modding it's hard to stop.

Thanks all. You've given me some things to consider.