8 Yr Ownership report

Picked up one of the first Gen 2's in the area (2005 Model) 8 yrs ago today. 74,000 miles, only been to dealer once (leaf springs TSB).

Updates/changes:
-Running Pennzoil Platinum in the motor, Full syn oil for 6-spd tranny, transfer and front diff.
-Use 80w-90 Syn blend w/ no fiction modifier in LSD rear diff. Lays two tracks, no chatter.
-TRD exhaust, sounds good, 7 y/o now, still looks and sounds good.
-9th winter on Blizzaks tires on 16x7 steelies for Dec to late Mar. Still 7/32" on them
-Stock H/T's were awful in winter, ok for summer. They lasted 30K, replaced w/ Kumho APT KPL51's for 3 season use
-Cut a heavy 5/8" thick horse stall mat for the bed
-Homemade bed extender, makes 5ft to 6.6ft
-Added a spacer to shorten clutch pedal travel
-Added front bed D-rings
-Still the original battery
-Undercoat the frame with chainsaw bar oil every Nov to minimize frame rust. Messy but cheap and it works.
-Replaced front discs and pads this summer at 60K. 1 of 4 pistons on both sides was frozen.

4x4 system: Several thousand miles in 4hi and use 4lo a couple times a month. No issues.
Transmission & motor: No problems, 6spd only gets smoother over the years.
Body: Paint is doing fine, wax every 4 months.
Interior: Only electronic issue is overhead temp/compass out out, I resoldered, but went again, seats/ interior bits holding up well.
Composite bed: holding up great.

MPG:
Mostly Rural driving, light city
Avg 19 non-winter
drops to 16-17 in winter
Octane: Used all grades, but it likes at least 89. Towing 93. Pings on regular.

Issues:
-Bottoming out with a load and leaf spring squeak, but fixed w/ TSB.
-Frame rust, got to keep it coated for winter.
-Weak tailgate, so a plywood plank for weight dist when hauling my enduro moto.
-The TRD sport 17 rims still bubbled on the edges. But really havent worsened over the years.
-Very sensitive ABS, not setup well for winter.
OVerall its a great truck, still looks new. Just got to keep up with treating the frame.

 

Sounds pretty good...thanks!

Not too many miles for 8 years...

 

Nice write up man, how long do you plan on keeping it for?

 

Excellent. Thanks for the write up!

 

Well its paid for, low miles, reliable, easy to work on, looks (mostly) new, does everything I need it to, I have no plans of replacing it.

My old man traded his 97 F150 for a 2013 Base Manual I4 Access cab 4x4. Hard to believe in 8 yrs the MSRP is almost same as my 05' V6 TRD Sport D-cab 4x4.

Should be interesting to drive it this wkd, play around with the VSC/TRAC settings, and see what updates to the interior, paint, and frame protection.

 

i just went from an '05 to a '13 and my 05 never had anything done to it but new shocks and brakes!

 

How much bar oil do you go through to coat the frame?

 

From a gallon jug, but only use maybe a little more than a quart of it. So roughly 5 bucks... Its just time consuming to paint all the frame and hardware bits. In all the frame holes where you can't brush, spray your favorite rust repellant to excess.

Do it on a dry weekend, drive around on dirt roads after to coat it with good layer of dust to solidify it even more.

I imagine after all the 98-01 buyouts and 02-04 frame replacements, they proabably do a better job w/ rust protection from the factory on recent models..

 

good post.
Pretty much sums up my situation as well, although mine is an automatic TRD OR...might try the bar oil trick...I've been using cans of Krown rust proofing, which is 10 bucks per can, but still cheaper than their 130 dollar yearly application fee.
I'll do pads and rotors this spring, and I have switched out the battery already...mine still looks new as well. People are always amazed to hear its an '05!

 

What exactly do you cover with the oil? Do you focus on covering just the frame or do you also get things like the differential, axles, drive shaft? Is there anything I need to specifically stay away from besides the exhaust? I am planning on doing this next week but it is my first time doing this with any car.

 

Good info, thanks for the post. It's nice to see the 6MT doing well eight yrs. & 74K miles later.