New member from Minnesota

[Andrew116]

Bought my black 2012 non pp about 5 months ago. The car is still stock and has 108,000 miles I plan on putting a tune on it once the snow melts. I'm a little worried about it having 108,000 miles and 104 of those with a unknown previous owner. Any advice/best first mods. Keep in mind im 16 so im working with a small budget. My other vehicles are a 1941 ford 1 ton pickup with a 1950 flathead swapped in, and a 1971 honda cl350 scrambler. So im not scared to get my hands dirty and turn wrenches. Excited to be joining the ecoboost community cant wait to see what they future holds for the car/community!

 

[Andrew116]

Here's a pic of the car.

 

[blk\blk90]

Check/change all fluids. Especially ptu/rdu fluids. Check the trunk for a spare. You've got the 20s, and iirc most pp had 20s. My 10 pp looked just like that but white. Make sure nothing in the suspension is worn, brakes are decent. Maintenance before mods. After that your best bang for the buck will be a tuner. Livernois comes highly recommended.

 

[SM105K]

Best advice do everything blk/blk90 said. However, do not tune the car. I would leave it stock. There are many expensive items that could start to failure due to high mileage. Turbos, Transmission, Ect. A tune does put more stress on these parts. SHO's (all years) are an investment, and take way more preventative maintenance then most vehicles. I won't assume your financial situation, just know things can get pretty expensive pretty quick. Enjoy your car, and take car of her.

 

[luigisho]

Best advice do everything blk/blk90 said. However, do not tune the car. I would leave it stock. There are many expensive items that could start to failure due to high mileage. Turbos, Transmission, Ect. A tune does put more stress on these parts. SHO's (all years) are an investment, and take way more preventative maintenance then most vehicles. I won't assume your financial situation, just know things can get pretty expensive pretty quick. Enjoy your car, and take car of her.

Andrew, you are young, and at that age I would be crazy to go balls out on power--- BUT the above is 100% the best advice you can get if you do not have multi-thousand dollar repair funds easily available.

This isn't old school car stuff and the weaknesses in this engine and driveline design are not the same animals. The replacement costs for failed items is incredibly high at certain income levels. Add to that the ease of increasing the designed power with just a tune, it is so easy to push it to the edge of design limits. Look around online at engine failure items and PTU and other drivetrain failures. I respect that you have greasy skills and less fear than most kids your age. You just have to look at the risk and the money from pushing it too hard.

You have everything in front of you and you don't want to be financially chained to any car if you can avoid it. If you have a good pile of dough that won't cripple you with spending it-- then it's all good.

 

[SM105K]

^This 100%. I just replaced the trans in 2013 PP tuned only SHO. It cost me $4900 bucks and I was hooked up. Not trying to discourage you, just giving you the truth.

At age 18 I could not afford my 1993 SHO and had to sell it. I was financially chained to that car.

 

[SHOdded]

Congrats on the new ride and the daring move into an SHO Def change all fluids as mentioned, including the power steering ... no, scratch that LOL. Keep an eye for any rattles at startup, short or prolonged. Timing chains are likely in trouble at that point, so plan to change them and water pump at some point in the future (not an immediate thing) along with VCT solenoids.

Quality full synthetic fluids for engine, transmission, PTU/RDU. Keep em freshened up. Motorcraft oil filters work well, no need to go whole hog if your oil changes are done within 6 months/5K whichever comes first. Coolant changes are important in particular to preserve water pump seals.

Look up TSB/recall information for the 2010-12 MY. Check out extended warranty pricing at lombardfordwarrantys.com for general knowledge if nothing else.

 

[luigisho]

I don't know about availability of ext warranty over 100k if already out of warranty. Maybe..

 

[blk\blk90]

Dont listen to those guys, mod it till it breaks!








Kidding! They are pretty dependable stock. We've had no problems with our 15 in the 1 1/2 years we've had it. Change the mufflers out for sound, and pull off the recirculation hoses on the bov's. Drive it and save money for when/if it goes boom.

 

[Andrew116]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I agree im 16 and definetly couldn't afford to replace a trans if it broke so I may just have to stay stock no matter how bad I want to tune it. I plan on changing oil ever 3k and did the first oil change in my ownership at 107k with ford semi synthetic oil. As far as I can tell my cars is a non pp as it has a spare tire (space saver one), I looked up the vin once and it said that it was a non pp car but the site was a little sketchy and also when u try to drift it in snow the traction control cuts the power even if I press the button. Being a non pp car then the ptu doesnt have a drain plug? So how am I suppose to change the fluid without buying a $200 vacuum pump? Id rather not have to take the ptu out just to change fluid. I know I said I wouldn't mind working on it but I'm used to old cars/motorcycles and honestly a little scared of screwing something up on a very expensive(to me) twin turbo v6 engine with direct injection. If I do have to change the ptu at some point and it sounds like I will is there a upgraded version avaliable? Thanks in advance sorry I didn't reply sooner I had 3 of my 6 finals for semester 1 today.

 

[blk\blk90]

You can get a cheapie little hand pump for a couple bucks at the auto parts store. Just measure how much you pull out and replace it with that. Since you have a spare it's probably not a pp. I had a 95 mtx when I was 18. Didn't know about the diff pin. Put on the ebrake and did a nice long burnout. Had to call my mom for help since I was in the navy in WA. So being on here and getting informed on the ins and outs of these cars is already a big step ahead.

 

[luigisho]

Not really an upgraded version. Maybe some updated version from Ford but I would not put alot of stock in it even if updated. You might be able siphon fluid out but you should see the pics in other threads of when it turns into heavy looking goo. Not sure if using light vacuum would clear it out very well or not. Others who have done it can chime in on that. The cooked PTU fluids look really funky.

The PTU (transfer case for old timers like me used to 4x4) holds less lubricant than a Harley transmission.

 

[SHOdded]

PP cars did not get a drain plug till the 2013MY. Only because the Police Interceptor was introduced. Also Got cooling for the PTU.

And yes you can get coverage even if over 100k. Just a matter of the max coverage you can get. Premiumcare, extracare, basecare, or powertraincare. For these cars, basecare to me is minimum i would get. I think it covers water pump, ptu, rdu, and trans sensor issues. The biggest issues with these powertrains.

 

[Shaggy]

Here's a pic of the car.View attachment 8155

Nice SHO! When I was 16, I was still riding my bike around and you have 3 vehicles already.

 

[blk\blk90]

I had an 89 y49 crx at 16. Loved that thing.

 

[Andrew116]

Nice SHO! When I was 16, I was still riding my bike around and you have 3 vehicles already.

Yea the truck is a father son project and I bought the honda not running and needing electrical work.

 

[SM105K]

You can get a cheapie little hand pump for a couple bucks at the auto parts store. Just measure how much you pull out and replace it with that. Since you have a spare it's probably not a pp. I had a 95 mtx when I was 18. Didn't know about the diff pin. Put on the ebrake and did a nice long burnout. Had to call my mom for help since I was in the navy in WA. So being on here and getting informed on the ins and outs of these cars is already a big step ahead.

Kinda the same story with me. 18/19 year old in So Cal while making jack squat in the USMC.

 

[Ben R]

Welcome fellow minnasotan enjoy the new ride.
Livernois is the best tune for reliability and power in my honest opinion.