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Welp, I changed out the MAF sensor yesterday with a Denso unit purchased on RockAuto.
I was hoping to feel some sort of difference, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't sense any. My old/original MAF had 160k miles on it, so I figured might as well just change it out. I wasn't experiencing any issues prior to the changeout except MAYBE a tiny tiny bit of tiny rough idle once in a while. By rough idle I mean I could barely feel a shake in the car, in my butt cheecks (lol) while sitting in the driver's seat and car in park. I actually didn't sit still in park long enough to see if the new MAF eliminated that ever so slight rough idle. I guess that's what I'll check today! I wanted to check before and after "fuel trim levels" and other items on my OBD2 reader that has "live data", but I'm not smart enough to figure out what to look at on it.
I did plugs about 30k miles ago? Two other "preventive" items I'd like to do in the next 6 months are the fuel filter (under the back seat), and also all the engine mounts. I think doing those items near 175k-200k is a good investment. I'd like to try and keep the LS for another couple years. She's just soooooooo smooth and trouble free for 13 year old car approaching 175k miles! (knock on wood)
Nice! I know I have plugs coming up as I'm at 113k.....I'm sure it's not a big deal I have removed all the covers before (and we're not talking about a Ford Triton 5.4 right where shade trees have broken all 8 plugs lol sorry not laughing at the misfortune just the qty)....I have the motor and trans mounts in my basement but that is a ways off, I used to buy the parts when there was a eBay 20%.....
I have to run to the car wash. Yesterday, public works was pumping a brown liquid out of a manhole, and all the cars had to cross. I got home and the sides of my cars are all brown??? WTH??!!
Nice! I know I have plugs coming up as I'm at 113k.....I'm sure it's not a big deal I have removed all the covers before (and we're not talking about a Ford Triton 5.4 right where shade trees have broken all 8 plugs lol sorry not laughing at the misfortune just the qty)....I have the motor and trans mounts in my basement but that is a ways off, I used to buy the parts when there was a eBay 20%.....
I have to run to the car wash. Yesterday, public works was pumping a brown liquid out of a manhole, and all the cars had to cross. I got home and the sides of my cars are all brown??? WTH??!!
LMAO at Triton 5.4!!! I'm embarrassed to disclose, I used to be a 2004 F150 FX4 owner. I bought it as a beater truck, and God was that thing the biggest POS ever. I tried changing the plugs myself (and read about how their ridiculously designed spark plugs BREAK in the cylinder head during removal.) Guess what happened when I tried changing them!? Yes---the 1st one broke on me!!! I drove/limped it to a Ford dealer the next day (only about 15 miles) to let them deal with it. I had to sign a disclosure that IF a technician broke a plug, I'd be charged an extra $100 per broken plug!!! I was so GD angry, but they had me by the cahones, so I signed and the next day they said completed, without breaking any.
Anyway....I went into buying a 'beater' pickup truck but didn't plan on it throwing a code every 3 months. I really didn't care 1 iota about a CEL until it was inspection time. In Delaware, you can't pass inspection if the vehicle has a CEL or if a code is "pending". The couple times I had it re-registered I failed, because of a 'pending' code. That was the worst vehicle I've ever bought. Never again! I came to HATE Ford sooooooooo much.
I hated them so much, that I ended up buying a 2012 F150 FX4 with the V6 twin turbo Ecoboost, LMFAO. Their trucks really are GOOD LOOKING, and THIS F150 has actually served me very VERY well. It's more comfortable thatn the LS as a matter of fact, seats and suspension, it's MORE comfortable than the LS430! No lie. Stock suspension and tires too. Just drove it round trip from Wilmington to Niagara Falls and back last weekend. It was 100% pure pleasure. As a matter of fact, we did not stop 1 time on the ride home, as we drove for exactly 6 hours continuously. SO COMFY!
Not 1 issue on the 2012 besides me having to install a catch can on it. The 6 plugs were a breeze to change myself. The one thing that makes me so irritated with Ford is there's like 5 different part #'s for their routine service parts, like oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, plugs, etc. Is the 7th digit on the VIN a letter X or T?...well then you need the Purolator 4812. Is the 7th digit a B or a Z?...well then you need the Puroloator 9902. It's just SO annoying the variables for all the replacement/service parts! But yet I continue to immerse myself into the caldron of bubbling hot Ford acid. SMH
LMAO at Triton 5.4!!! I'm embarrassed to disclose, I used to be a 2004 F150 FX4 owner. I bought it as a beater truck, and God was that thing the biggest POS ever. I tried changing the plugs myself (and read about how their ridiculously designed spark plugs BREAK in the cylinder head during removal.) Guess what happened when I tried changing them!? Yes---the 1st one broke on me!!! I drove/limped it to a Ford dealer the next day (only about 15 miles) to let them deal with it. I had to sign a disclosure that IF a technician broke a plug, I'd be charged an extra $100 per broken plug!!! I was so GD angry, but they had me by the cahones, so I signed and the next day they said completed, without breaking any.
Anyway....I went into buying a 'beater' pickup truck but didn't plan on it throwing a code every 3 months. I really didn't care 1 iota about a CEL until it was inspection time. In Delaware, you can't pass inspection if the vehicle has a CEL or if a code is "pending". The couple times I had it re-registered I failed, because of a 'pending' code. That was the worst vehicle I've ever bought. Never again! I came to HATE Ford sooooooooo much.
I hated them so much, that I ended up buying a 2012 F150 FX4 with the V6 twin turbo Ecoboost, LMFAO. Their trucks really are GOOD LOOKING, and THIS F150 has actually served me very VERY well. It's more comfortable thatn the LS as a matter of fact, seats and suspension, it's MORE comfortable than the LS430! No lie. Stock suspension and tires too. Just drove it round trip from Wilmington to Niagara Falls and back last weekend. It was 100% pure pleasure. As a matter of fact, we did not stop 1 time on the ride home, as we drove for exactly 6 hours continuously. SO COMFY!
Not 1 issue on the 2012 besides me having to install a catch can on it. The 6 plugs were a breeze to change myself. The one thing that makes me so irritated with Ford is there's like 5 different part #'s for their routine service parts, like oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, plugs, etc. Is the 7th digit on the VIN a letter X or T?...well then you need the Purolator 4812. Is the 7th digit a B or a Z?...well then you need the Puroloator 9902. It's just SO annoying the variables for all the replacement/service parts! But yet I continue to immerse myself into the caldron of bubbling hot Ford acid. SMH
That's a great story! And btw my bro just got a raptor with the Ecoboost, and now I hear the 2020 is back to a V8.
I honestly think I would be the same way. Again, like a roulette wheel. What if you had a bad experience with Ford, but then they build the best product when you are ready to buy again? Sure maybe we say I will never ever get one of their products again. But, if they do build a good product, then we have every right to go back on that statement and get it. I don't feel the need to be brand loyal and get 1,2,3,4,5,6 of the same cars. My buddy has a 2008 Navigator L and he complained about Ford service, and Lincoln too, so he goes to an indie. It has the 5.4 and he is hoping to go 200k--apparently it has a known oil passage issue so he keeps it clean like 3-5k....hey you didn't head up into Toronto on the trip?!
That's a great story! And btw my bro just got a raptor with the Ecoboost, and now I hear the 2020 is back to a V8.
I honestly think I would be the same way. Again, like a roulette wheel. What if you had a bad experience with Ford, but then they build the best product when you are ready to buy again? Sure maybe we say I will never ever get one of their products again. But, if they do build a good product, then we have every right to go back on that statement and get it. I don't feel the need to be brand loyal and get 1,2,3,4,5,6 of the same cars. My buddy has a 2008 Navigator L and he complained about Ford service, and Lincoln too, so he goes to an indie. It has the 5.4 and he is hoping to go 200k--apparently it has a known oil passage issue so he keeps it clean like 3-5k....hey you didn't head up into Toronto on the trip?!
We didn't. I didn't even want to make the trek to Niagara during February!.....but the gf shamed me into it. It's what she wanted for her birthday present, so I had to give in. I actually showed my softer/gentler side by booking a cute bed and breakfast (first time ever for that) and had a surprisingly great experience. She was happy, and get this...she didn't even complain about no bathroom breaks for 6 HOURS on ride home! She was a trooper (for once!) lol
Currently in the process of swapping out as many of the cabin bulbs to neutral white LED's as I can. May pass on the airbag however since it seems like i have to pull the bag itself out to get to the radio buttons. Anyway, here are some shots at night:
Wanting to do the radio and GPS/Screen buttons but it's more involved since the OEM bulbs are actually incandescent instead of LED's. They pump out about 9 or so volts per bulb unloaded so i'll have to use some SMD resistors next to the SMD LED's when i solder them in.
Oh man this looks AWESOME. How difficult / easy is it to swap out? Cool white is so nice.
Where did you figure out how to do this? Sorry, I'm new here. Is there a thread on it? My wife has been complaining about the passenger seat not being very warm. I will agree, in comparison to my previous car it does take a very long time to warm up so I'm just curious if it needs to be serviced.
Sorry for the late response to your question.
At full blast you will notice the heat in only a couple of minutes depending of course on how cold it is to start with. You should be able to easily tell the difference if the drivers seat is working properly. Just go out or a ride and turn on both seats to the max. After a couple of minutes [ need to be careful here ;-) ] just slide your hand under your crotch and then slide it under hers and you will be able to tell the difference in heat immediately if one isn't working while the other one is. Of course it might be easier to just pull over and swap seats too.
As far as how to get at the seat and the Peltier heater/cooler elements under the seat, I just browsed through the appropriate service manual sections and figured it out. It isn't terribly difficult if you have some mechanical skills. The hardest part is finding a replacement element without breaking the bank.
FYI, there are two elements per front seat, one for the bottom of the seat and one for the back...
A few months ago, I re-painted the brake calipers on my 2005 LS430 UL. Paint is Flint Mica, rims are 5-spoke OEM in “hyper black.” I had originally painted the calipers in a metallic grey, along with the hubs on the rotors. I wanted to add just a little zip to the overall look, while embracing the classic lines. I picked a metallic red spray paint, basically trying to complement the dark red of the tail lights. I think it came out rather nice.
BTW, I had added some OEM mud flaps some time ago.
What size are your wheels. They look awfully small in comparision to the amount of space between the tires and the wheel well cutout. Way more than I see in my car or most others. Or, do you have a UL with it in the HI position?
In keeping with the thread.
Last weekend I found the Bic mini lighter that had been put inside the passenger side mirror assembly. Very weird, it was preventing the mirror from tipping in far enough for my wife to drive the car. I was able to 'extract it' with a pair of hemostats. I was working at removing the glass to inspect the mechanism when I saw what I though was a wiring connector. Tipping the mirror all the way up revealed the lighter, and all fixed.
My passenger side high beam was pointed at the ground and I resolved that issue yesterday.
Must have been the same guy who jammed the lighter in the mirror! The high and the low beam were completely out of sync with each other. Low beam was about right, high beam pointed to the ground. I removed the plastic retainer frame from the gear train, and removed the shaft and two gears that connect the two elements of the headlight. I cranked and cranked on the adjustment for the high beam until I thought It looked about right. I then reassembled the gear train. I reassembled everything and fired her up. Turned on the lights and was rewarded with seeing both lights dip up and down for the self leveling. Went out for a pizza and my lights are now working great. I'll need to adjust a little more, but I am pretty close to ideal now.
Looks to me that both phillips screw adjustments need to be done at the same time to prevent damaging the gear train. At any rate I am a happy camper. Only thing left is the oscillating center stack vents, one moves one does not. I'll wait till I install my Bluetooth module to tackle that, it's pretty minor.
So far, so good. I love fixing things for zero dollars in parts. I am totally in love with my LS.
I was able to take the car on a straight highway run about 65 miles away. Going both ways, i.e. there, and back, 140 miles (10 is actually stop and go), she still does 27-28. I still wonder why the epa rating was 23 highway.
What size are your wheels. They look awfully small in comparision to the amount of space between the tires and the wheel well cutout. Way more than I see in my car or most others. Or, do you have a UL with it in the HI position?
I think it is an optical illusion. The photos are taken while I was crouched, so you are looking directly at the wheel well. Tire size is 245/45/18.
And you may be looking at too many cars with a dropped suspension.
Pulled the front brake pads and measured them to determine if the OEM pads I purchased needed to be installed. Pleasantly surprised that the pads averaged 5mm thick after 38k miles. The rear pads have less than 5k miles and had very little wear. Cleaned the front brakes slide pins and lubricated with CRC Silaramic. Measured tread depth on the tires(averaged 7.5) and rotated the tires after cleaning the wheels. Overall I was pleased with the brake & tire wear and have piece of mind that the front brakes should last to 70k.
02-07-19, 06:31 AM
I actually showed my softer/gentler side by booking a cute bed and breakfast (first time ever for that) and had a surprisingly great experience. She was happy, and get this...she didn't even complain about no bathroom breaks for 6 HOURS on ride home! 
She was a trooper (for once!) lol
Hood Lift Relief!
Fixed my headlight!
