03 F-250, Looking for some direction (hopefully a build thread of sorts)

GTI-88

Active member
Hi folks,

Through unfortunate circumstances, I am "adopting" my late fathers 2003 F-250 XLT 4x4 w/ the 5.4L gas V8. The truck has ~185,000 miles on it currently, and has largely sat for the past few years as my dad had an Escape he was driving regularly.

Ultimately what I would like to do is to get the truck in good shape and use it for a combination of some weekend work activities and my partner and I are also toying with the idea of a small, probably 16' camper in the mid term future that I would like to pull with it and explore within our neck of the woods, primarily WA, OR, ID, and MT. I know there are a lot better / newer etc. trucks out there, but this one has some sentimental value and I think my dad would have appreciated me putting some work into it and giving it some new life.

That being said, over the holiday weekend my brother and I replaced the thermostat, coolant expansion tank (old one was cracked), and replaced the coolant because it was having some overheating issues where the truck would go into limp mode after driving it a ways and you would have to pull over, shut it down, back on again, crank the heater and blower up, etc. and then it would start working properly again. The work we did seems promising because after purging the system and getting it up to temp, it was clear the new thermostat was opening correctly and coolant was flowing. Some additional test drives will tell if the issue is fixed.

The truck is currently at the family property and I am planning to head back over and drive it back home with me about 300 miles. Any tips of additional work or items I should look out for before taking this on? Any recommendations on any replacement parts, etc. I should bring with me? It does seem to be running pretty well after the work we did. All the fluids check out, trans fluid looks clean, oil is good, etc. I have a bluedriver OBD tool that I have checked codes on it with, and I plan on bringing that with and utilizing some of the live digital gauges to monitor temps, etc. It will be a lot easier for me to get work done on the truck once it is here in my own garage with all my tools, etc.

I am hoping this will turn into a build thread, and I would love to hear / see what others have done with this vintage of F-250. I have never been a "big" truck guy, I have only owned smaller trucks (Ranger, Isuzu) and a couple of Jeeps, so this is a new world to me. Luckily I don't have any need to DD this pickup, which definitely helps on the project front. If you all have any must do items from either a maintenance / preventative maintenance or an upgrade standpoint, let me know!

Here is a photo as it sits. Yes it does have a 2 tone situation going on as the original bed was damaged a bit in a fight with a bollard, so my dad found the current bed and swapped it out, which has a couple dings of its own. Otherwise the body and interior are both in pretty darn good shape, and as far as I'm aware its been a west coast vehicle for its life, so no rust of any substance to be found. I think I may just be happy with the 2 tone, makes it kind of unique. I will be removing the chrome trim panels at the bottom of the doors and getting the adhesive marks all cleaned off from where the bits of trim were.

IMG-7752.jpg
IMG-7753.jpg
 
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Slocral46

Member
Hi folks,

Through unfortunate circumstances, I am "adopting" my late fathers 2003 F-250 XLT 4x4 w/ the 5.4L gas V8. The truck has ~185,000 miles on it currently, and has largely sat for the past few years as my dad had an Escape he was driving regularly.

Ultimately what I would like to do is to get the truck in good shape and use it for a combination of some weekend work activities and my partner and I are also toying with the idea of a small, probably 16' camper in the mid term future that I would like to pull with it and explore within our neck of the woods, primarily WA, OR, ID, and MT. I know there are a lot better / newer etc. trucks out there, but this one has some sentimental value and I think my dad would have appreciated me putting some work into it and giving it some new life.

That being said, over the holiday weekend my brother and I replaced the thermostat, coolant expansion tank (old one was cracked), and replaced the coolant because it was having some overheating issues where the truck would go into limp mode after driving it a ways and you would have to pull over, shut it down, back on again, crank the heater and blower up, etc. and then it would start working properly again. The work we did seems promising because after purging the system and getting it up to temp, it was clear the new thermostat was opening correctly and coolant was flowing. Some additional test drives will tell if the issue is fixed.

The truck is currently at the family property and I am planning to head back over and drive it back home with me about 300 miles. Any tips of additional work or items I should look out for before taking this on? Any recommendations on any replacement parts, etc. I should bring with me? It does seem to be running pretty well after the work we did. All the fluids check out, trans fluid looks clean, oil is good, etc. I have a bluedriver OBD tool that I have checked codes on it with, and I plan on bringing that with and utilizing some of the live digital gauges to monitor temps, etc. It will be a lot easier for me to get work done on the truck once it is here in my own garage with all my tools, etc.

I am hoping this will turn into a build thread, and I would love to hear / see what others have done with this vintage of F-250. I have never been a "big" truck guy, I have only owned smaller trucks (Ranger, Isuzu) and a couple of Jeeps, so this is a new world to me. Luckily I don't have any need to DD this pickup, which definitely helps on the project front. If you all have any must do items from either a maintenance / preventative maintenance or an upgrade standpoint, let me know!

Here is a photo as it sits. Yes it does have a 2 tone situation going on as the original bed was damaged a bit in a fight with a bollard, so my dad found the current bed and swapped it out, which has a couple dings of its own. Otherwise the body and interior are both in pretty darn good shape, and as far as I'm aware its been a west coast vehicle for its life, so no rust of any substance to be found. I think I may just be happy with the 2 tone, makes it kind of unique. I will be removing the chrome trim panels at the bottom of the doors and getting the adhesive marks all cleaned off from where the bits of trim were.

View attachment 754525
View attachment 754526
 

Slocral46

Member
The 5.4 is a strong engine. I have an 05 F150 4x4 with the 5.4 triton with 150K. It is a capable tow engine. There are some flaws. The spark plug issues are well documented. Yours should have been changed to newer plugs by now that don't break in half and fall into the head while changing. Look up spark plug change procedures for the 5.4 before messing with the plugs. The timing chain oiler is a problem also, the chains stretch and develop a clatter on startup and there is excessive slack. By 150k it is recommended to install a kit including timing chains and high volume oil pump. My son just did this job and the engine runs like new. There is a really good tutorial on utube and the parts were all Ford motorcraft. It has served the family well and never let us down.
 

GTI-88

Active member
The 5.4 is a strong engine. I have an 05 F150 4x4 with the 5.4 triton with 150K. It is a capable tow engine. There are some flaws. The spark plug issues are well documented. Yours should have been changed to newer plugs by now that don't break in half and fall into the head while changing. Look up spark plug change procedures for the 5.4 before messing with the plugs. The timing chain oiler is a problem also, the chains stretch and develop a clatter on startup and there is excessive slack. By 150k it is recommended to install a kit including timing chains and high volume oil pump. My son just did this job and the engine runs like new. There is a really good tutorial on utube and the parts were all Ford motorcraft. It has served the family well and never let us down.
Thank you, good to know on the timing chain issues. I haven't noticed any engine rattles so far, but now I know to be on the lookout.

It is my understanding the that this era of the 5.4 3V engine didn't use the 2 part plugs that would fall apart, but did have the issue of occasionally blowing a plug out. I believe that actually happened on this truck and it was brought in to a shop and repaired. Hopefully good to go now, but I was thinking maybe I should check the torque on the plugs before I drive it back
 

billiebob

Well-known member
300 miles on a 25 year old truck that has been parked... Get AAA first.
Free towing is common srense.

Yes, do ALL the buying a used car due dilligence. Even tho this was yer Dads get a full mechanical checkup. Guaranteed everything rubber, tires, hoses, belts will be ready to replace but they might be fine for 300 miles.

300 miles is a 6 hour drive but add a day. After doing all the fluid and tire pressure checks do a short under 100 miles and check everything again.

Personally I think the truck you inherited is better than anything new sold today. Best of luck.
 
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GTI-88

Active member
300 miles on a 25 year old truck that has been parked... Get AAA first.
Free towing is common srense.

Yes, do ALL the buying a used car due dilligence. Even tho this was yer Dads get a full mechanical checkup. Guaranteed everything rubber, tires, hoses, belts will be ready to replace but they might be fine for 300 miles.

300 miles is a 6 hour drive but add a day. After doing all the fluid and tire pressure checks do a short under 100 miles and check everything again.

Personally I think the truck you inherited is better than anything new sold today. Best of luck.

25 is some generous rounding, she's just turning 20 ha!

I am pretty handy and have looked the truck over twice now, once initially, and once while doing the thermostat work. Suspension components look good, nothing fishy looking under the truck, no major leaks etc. Fluids check out. Tires are in good shape with lots of tread. I did try to get it into a local shop for a look through but they were backed up in the range of months. GF has triple A and she would be driving back in my VW so I would have some backup. Plan on bringing my extended toolkit and extra fluids. I would love to do a bunch of work on it over at the family property, but the garage and shop over there are full and I just don't have access to my tools and my space that I am more comfortable working in.

Definitely good tip to do the first third of the drive and recheck everything. Thanks for the thougths!
 

GTI-88

Active member
Anybody have any thoughts or personal experiences with the Scout truck campers here? I cruised through the truck camper section on here and found some info and thoughts, but I am really looking hard at the Scout Yoho and how it looks / fits in a full size 8' pickup bed.

Doing some research, they are made for midsize pickups, even as small as the new tacos and rangers. I am thinking it could work well to throw one in the back of the 250 and have an extra 1.5' plus the tailgate down as a "back porch". Definitely would help with getting the dogs up and in, and back down.

Here is what one looks like in a Ranger. I think it would look a lot more proportional in an HD pickup, and perform a lot better.

1669919810059.png
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
Nice truck. Hands down one of my favorite body styles of Ford trucks. The 5.4 is a great engine, might be a little small for a super duty for my taste but I'm sure it will work fine. They last a good long time if you take care of them. My brothers lasted well into the 200k range.

I dont have much experience with the Scout campers other than seeing a few of them around town. I think they maximize space but are too large and look awkward. Plus they're 20k... Might look better on a super duty.
 

GTI-88

Active member
Cam phasers are a known issue with the Ford 5.4L V8. Be aware.

I think you have a nice truck.

Looking into this a little bit, and at least at the surface level it doesn't seem like this was an issue until the 2004 5.4L and later? I am hoping I am dodging it with the 03, but maybe not...
 

GTI-88

Active member
Here's my artistic rendering of what the Scout Yoho would approx. look like in the 250, just trying to get proportions close...

F250 w Scout Yoho.jpg
 

GTI-88

Active member
Option 2, push the camper to the back and maybe still have the space to keep the toolbox in place. The nice thing about these campers is they are just sub 1,000 lbs dry so I don't think it should be too much trouble load wise, but this option nicely centers up the load on the rear axle:

F250 w Scout Yoho op2.jpg
 

TripLeader

Explorer
Looking into this a little bit, and at least at the surface level it doesn't seem like this was an issue until the 2004 5.4L and later? I am hoping I am dodging it with the 03, but maybe not...

Yes, sorry to cause worry. It was 2004 and later, at least for F-150s.
 

BajaSurfRig

Active member
@GTI-88 you might wanna look into an older Lance 815 or 835. I got mine in cherry grandpa condition for 6k. With a few weekends and a couple grand I have a modernized camper for under 10. The Lance 815 is quite light (under 2 k), my F250 barely notices that it is there (similar feel to my older FWC on the road).
A72A8D63-D3F1-4444-9411-8C27E5C16F2E.jpeg
 

Slocral46

Member
I like the 8' cabover camper idea too. Good used deals out there. The 16' trailer idea is nice. You can't beat the mobility once the trailer is unhooked.
 

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