I haven't! I'm religious about only braking with my right foot other than specific circumstances (slow-speed off-road scenarios and starting on a steep hill), so I don't see that mistake happening lol.Have you used it to brake like you were subconsciously driving a go-kart?
Just saw this. In process of doing my first oil change today...like you I went past 1,000 to just shy of 1,600 miles. Hey, it rained for the last month... Thanks for posting this a few years ago. The internet is the gift that keeps on giving.Today Shadowfax got his first oil change at 1675 miles! Technically over my planned 1000 mile first oil change, but I crossed 1000 miles while on a road trip, and since this is the first one no opportunity to change it earlier.
Next oil change will be at the scheduled 5000 miles on the odometer, and every 5000 mile increment on the odometer from there on out.
Oil looked great coming out. Still plenty of clarity to it. Love how accessible the drain plug and filter are. Refilled with Motorcraft 5w-30 full synthetic and a Motorcraft filter. Cost me $70 all-in for 8 quarts and the filter.
With the first oil change came installing the Stahlbus drain plug to make future oil changes easier, particularly with the skid plate. Was as easy as installing a regular drain plug, though two notes:
View attachment 36952
- Install the cap retainer after installing the plug. You can’t get a wrench on the plug with the cap retainer on.
- While it says to torque to a maximum of 15 foot pounds (bolded, underlined and in large font) there’s no way to get a socket on there, so I have no idea how you’re supposed to use a torque wrench. You need to use an open ended wrench. I used my arm-based torque wrench.
With the oil change, I drained the oil separator. Had roughly 1/8” of a cup in it. Smelled like a mixture of oil and gas. While that’s by no means a massive amount, I’m happy to have the separator keeping that out of the intake, even if it’s designed for it.
View attachment 36957
With the oil change done I installed the PDM skid plate. Install was straightforward, though if you’re doing it use the smallest drill/driver you have. It’s tight quarters to get a drill lined up with the hole you need to drill out! Also the instructions say you need to drill it out to 7/16”, but I stopped at 3/8” (using a stepped drill bit) and it worked great.
Sprayed the hole down with some high temp Rustoleum because it’s right next to the oil pan, tightened everything up, and it’s good to go! Feels really strong. While I wouldn’t necessarily want to drop the whole truck’s weight on the thing, I’m more than comfortable having it scrape across some rocks.
Drain plug access is great, and will be perfect with the Stahlbus. Filter access is fine from the standpoint of getting a hand and/or wrench on it. But part of the filter is over the skid plate, so it’s going to be a bit of a mess when dropping the filter.
View attachment 36953
View attachment 36954
View attachment 36955
View attachment 36956
Other note from today: I love how tall this truck is when it comes to maintenance. I can roll around on a creeper under the entire truck with the truck on the ground. It’s cozy if the cats are hot, but ultimately I did everything I did today with the truck on the ground.
Parts links:
- Stahlbus drain plug for 7.3L gas engine: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124852592421
- Skid plate for 7.3L gas engine: https://www.sharptruck.com/2020-2021-ford-f-250f-350-skid-plate-fits-gas-only
No kidding it rained for the last few months! Finally getting some solid weather now.
I hear you on wanting to avoid the aftermarket drain plug until you have armor. That said, the Stahlbus doesn’t stick out much more than the factory plug. Technically a bit more, but not meaningfully in my opinion.
www.fordtremor.com
Thanks for the tips and suggestions! I will look into Talon's Garage. Tying up loose ends so I can get to Plain WA today before traffic gets horrible this afternoon....No kidding it rained for the last few months! Finally getting some solid weather now.
I hear you on wanting to avoid the aftermarket drain plug until you have armor. That said, the Stahlbus doesn’t stick out much more than the factory plug. Technically a bit more, but not meaningfully in my opinion.
As for what armor for the 6.7L, that has an easy answer! Talon’s Garage! Here’s a link to their F-250/350 product page which has all of their armor, including for the 6.7L:
Ford F-250 Skid Plates
Off-road skid plates and catalytic converter shields for the 2020-2023 Ford F-250. Our skid plates provide comprehensive protection to your vehicle's essential components, including the engine, transmission, and transfer case. This added safeguard ensures you can confidently tackle rocky trails...talonsgarage.com
Better yet, @Talon2006 (the owner) is right here on the forum. Here’s their main thread if you want to ask them any questions or see the history of how they’ve developed their products for the Super Duty:
Talons Garage - Who are we, what do we do, and where do we want to go!
Good afternoon from Talons Garage! My name is Shaun and my wife’s name is Crystal. We are a husband-and-wife team that started this adventure about a year ago in our three-car garage. I am excited to be a vendor here on Tremor Forum! I want to take a quick minute to talk about us, and who we...
To kind of put my money where my mouth is: I would, without question, get the Talon’s Garage skid plate instead of the one I bought if I could do it over. Unfortunately, the Talon’s Garage skid plate didn’t exist yet when I bought my skid plate.
Curious if you've updated anything with your dash mount situation?For sure! We'll start from the base and work upwards, then outwards.
Onto the BuiltRight mount, I attached two RAM® Diamond Ball Base - C Size:
RAM® Diamond Ball Base - C Size
The RAM-238U ball base consists of a 1.5" C size rubber ball connected to a 2.43" x 1.31" diamond plate. The diamond plate features two holes that measure 1.912" from center to center, matching the industry-standard AMPS hole pattern. This diamond ball base is compatible with a wide variety of...rammount.com
I chose the C size to have lots of weight headroom, since this is the foundation of the platform. While I'm not mounting anything super heavy to the PVC, I do intend to mount at the ends of the PVC which is quite a large lever.
To each ball base I attached a RAM® Composite Double Socket Arm - C Size Short:
RAM® Composite Double Socket Arm - C Size Short
The RAP-201U-B, short double socket arm, has a socket at both ends that accommodates 1.5" ball bases. This socket technology allows for almost infinite adjustment and perfect viewing angles.
I went with the short arms as I want to keep the pipe as low as possible to minimize potential visibility obstruction.
(Above is what I've mounted to the truck so far, and showed in the picture in the previous post.)
Next is two RAM® Torque™ Large Rail Base - C Size, which will mount to the pipe and the short arms:
RAM® Torque™ Large Rail Base - C Size
The RAM® Torque™ handlebar and rail mounting base has a 1.5” rubber ball and accommodates bars 1 1/8” to 1 1/2” in diameter. Sizing inserts are included to provide a snug fit and protection of the rail. The mount utilizes nylon-insert lock nuts to prevent loosening in high vibration environments.
These mounts were originally intended by Ram Mounts for handlebars and roll cages, but no reason they won't work with PVC pipe.
That has the pipe mounted, so next it's accessories. Each accessory is light, so to reduce weight, cost, and bulk I downsized to "B" sized balls and mounts.
Each accessory gets a RAM® Torque™ Large Rail Base - B Size for the rail:
RAM® Torque™ Large Rail Base - B Size
The large version of the RAM® Torque™ handlebar mounting base features a 1" B size RAM® rubber ball and is compatible with rails 1 1/8” to 1 1/2" in diameter. Sizing inserts are included to provide a tight fit while also protecting the mounting surface. The large RAM® Torque™ mounting base also...
The phone and GPS mounts get RAM® Double Socket Arm Adapter with Medium & Long Arms - B Size, to have enough length to reach past the dash, as well as have some flexibility to follow the dash and reduce their height (again, visibility):
RAM® 10.5" Double Socket Arms - Long & Medium B Size
The RAM-B-201-201U-C consists of a standard-length double socket arm, long-length double socket arm and double ball adapter that joins the two arms together. A single spring inside the arm opens the end sockets, allowing you to pivot the ball and socket connection. This socket technology allows...
And lastly, the phone and GPS mounts to attach to those arms:
RAM® X-Grip® Universal Phone Holder with Ball - B Size
The RAM® X-Grip® Universal Phone Holder (RAM-HOL-UN7BU) is a rugged, spring-loaded phone mount designed to securely hold a wide range of phones—with or without a case. Featuring the signature four-leg “X” design, the cradle expands and contracts to provide a strong, open-air grip that keeps your...
RAM® Spine Clip Holder with Ball for Garmin Handheld Devices
With the Garmin spine mount adapter, make any Garmin handheld device featuring an integrated spine connection RAM® Compatible™. This spine mount adapter easily clips into the integrated spine connection on a wide variety of Garmin devices. For use in nearly any application, the included B size...
Worth noting I didn't get any Ram Mounts for the speakers yet. Strongly considering screwing those directly into the PVC, but we'll see.
vectoroffroad.com
Talon's Garage - At "CCW's" suggestion I followed up w them last January and learned they had not yet designed skidplates to fit the 2024 diesel Super Duty. A few days ago Talon's garage followed up with me in order to let me know that the '24 F350 Diesel skid plat is now in production (They contacted me out of the blue, on their own, after 9 months!!! Wow - who does that anymore?? Kudo's to Talon's garage). I'll re-post that again in a proper spot...No kidding it rained for the last few months! Finally getting some solid weather now.
I hear you on wanting to avoid the aftermarket drain plug until you have armor. That said, the Stahlbus doesn’t stick out much more than the factory plug. Technically a bit more, but not meaningfully in my opinion.
As for what armor for the 6.7L, that has an easy answer! Talon’s Garage! Here’s a link to their F-250/350 product page which has all of their armor, including for the 6.7L:
Ford F-250 Skid Plates
Off-road skid plates and catalytic converter shields for the 2020-2023 Ford F-250. Our skid plates provide comprehensive protection to your vehicle's essential components, including the engine, transmission, and transfer case. This added safeguard ensures you can confidently tackle rocky trails...talonsgarage.com
Better yet, @Talon2006 (the owner) is right here on the forum. Here’s their main thread if you want to ask them any questions or see the history of how they’ve developed their products for the Super Duty:
Talons Garage - Who are we, what do we do, and where do we want to go!
Good afternoon from Talons Garage! My name is Shaun and my wife’s name is Crystal. We are a husband-and-wife team that started this adventure about a year ago in our three-car garage. I am excited to be a vendor here on Tremor Forum! I want to take a quick minute to talk about us, and who we...
To kind of put my money where my mouth is: I would, without question, get the Talon’s Garage skid plate instead of the one I bought if I could do it over. Unfortunately, the Talon’s Garage skid plate didn’t exist yet when I bought my skid plate.
![What did you do to your Tremor today? [2019-2024]](https://www.fordtremor.com/data/files/featured_images/featuredimages_thumb_5.webp?1790996567)
