I've been an owner of '93L and just sold my '95L. It has been nothing but a joy to own and drive both of them. Now I own an 01L an so far have been thrilled with it so far. In my 52 year, I have owned everything from my first new 1968 Hemi Road Runner, my '70 Boss 302 to my 01L. And I have always researched every car before I bought it to the point of going crazy. Now here I am, new to this great site and to the other site (NLOC). What do I see, but problems that should not be, such as leaking IC's, control arm clunks, and so on. Now my fvorite one is the (still waiting for this one myself) the "strange sounding, clattering, piston slapping sound from the engine after the first oil change. I don't remember ever having to deal with these things in any of my cars or trucks before. I'm 100% sure these things are happening to fellow L.owners. It's just that it isn't suppose to be. My mother told me before I went in for an operation, that I shouldn't look up the procedure on the internet before I went in. She said that I would read all the bad things about it and forever thing something was wrong. I think she was right. That won't stop me from reading the sites, because I still learn so much from them, but sometimes I learn too much. Keep up the good work...Gary..

 

Sorry to hear that Gary.
I love the new trucks looks, but with all the great times mine has given me I decided to keep my first Gen, I hope you work out the problems.
John O
NLOC 52

 

First of all, welcome aboard Gary;

I, like you, have had many vehicles -- some were fun, and others I try to forget about until someone mentions them. When I owned most of those vehicles there wasn't a site like f150online that aired all the dirty laundry about them. In many cases, the clunk, chatter, rattle etc. added 'character' to the vehicle. Hell, I was happy with some of them if they just kept running.

I think you will find that most of the owners here have a very high standard for the Lightning...in performance, looks, and durability (even when modded and raced). Many consider the L to be the flagship of Ford performance; others (including myself) think that it is the most versatile sports car on the planet. While Ford and the other domestic manufacturers have improved their quality considerably, there is easily room for improvement.

Ford is finally stepping up to the plate and addressing some of the 'genetic' flaws of the L (intercooler.) Some of the other problems are random, and are not unique to the L, such as piston slap. The odds are the same of getting piston slap in any 5.4L F150. The owners of the 01's are getting the benefit of the previous owners frustrations, and it looks as if the 01's should have less problems. (Not that I've had too many problems with my 00)

I think the bottom line is that you should filter all the posts you read here through your own experiences with your L. If you get too depressed, your doing too much reading, and not enough driving! Crank 'er up and check out the 'smiles per gallon!'

 

I couldn't have said it better. Trust me, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was complaining, I was just trying to make a point that you shouldn't have problems like that. I guess if they had a site for Caddys (and there may be), they would have their own little problems.
Still love my L. and driving it as much as I can is the norm. Know what's better than driving a L.?
Being a cop and driving a L. I just had to say that...
Be safe out there.

 

Gary.. no fair.. I wanna do stupid things on the road and not get caught!! just kiddin', I know if your cop you probably don't partake in these actions, especially with an L! :wink: :wink:

 

Damn why couldn't you be a cop in Denver? Can never use too many cop pals when you drive an L
CA

 

HEY Gary
Drive it like you stole it!!!!!!!!Enjoy.

 

Alright, another Lightning owner in the Garden State

 

Ha Strikes Twice, Me speeding...out of the question LOL. Do you mean to tell me that my L. will go faster than the posted 65mph limit? Have to try that sometime. Maybe that's why I get stopped every once in awhile. Gotta love it.
And Fast Gator, let me know when your down my way..Barnegat. I've been looking for Jersey L. owners. There are a few I see every once in awhile. Would love to get togther with as many L. owners as I could find and take a run somewhere. Like I said before, I'm new to the site, but I'm sure in time I will meet up with more Garden State L.

 

Maybe we get a few more of you older Garden State L owners and we might get some activities going like the HALO group. Seems like its pulling teeth it getting us together for a meet let alone to do something.

Daniel

 

older ouch...........LOL

 

I'm sure there are more L. owners in the Garden State. I guess I'll try a new Thread to see who bites. Sounds like a fine idea to me and I know what you mean about pulling teeth. It's a little like finding someone who wants to go out on a weekend and ride motorcycles. Never seems to work. Anyway, I'll post something new like I said and see what goes.