Australian owner Gen1

[14BlackRoush]

Hi there,
new to the forum
I live in Australia but have been checking out posts on here for the last few weeks to help with deciding if I should buy a 2014 Raptor.

Ended up buying the truck a few days a go and driving it back to my place in another state. Have done 1000Kms (620miles) in it each day for the last 2 days and am very happy with it. Have some long stretches of poor quality narrow roads with Road Train Trucks (roughly 150 feet long) to pass, which require at times only being on half the road doing 140kms/hr (86m/ph) and the truck felt super safe and stable, and with the big 6.2L and Roush super charger I was able to get around the trucks in places my old Toyota would never dream of.

I have driven F250s, Dodge Rams and a Tundra in Australia (not to mention my daily driver which is a toyota Landcrusier pickup) and none of them have had the power, handling and overall comfort all in one like this Raptor.

I did get a tyre pressure sensor warning light come on but after I check tyre pressures they were all good, happened another 2 times during trip. Also had a bit of a fright from a flashing engine light which came on when I put my foot down passing a truck, I herd it splutter a bit as I got around the truck and took the power of a little bit, when I went to give it power it spluttered again while still flashing engine light.

I was sure I had done some major damage and not looking forward to breaking down at least 50miles from any small town. With in a 10-15 seconds though the light stopped flashing and the truck went back to running well. Checked owners manual and it said it was Engine misfire, will make sure not to stomp the foot down from now on, but am questioning if this is a normal thing or not?

Any ways I’m keen to learn as much as I can about the truck as I will be doing the service and maintenance on it back on the farm. I am still in a smaller city at the moment and going to shop around tomorrow to get bits an pieces to keep in the Raptor that might get me out of trouble, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?
So far on the list :
Box of assorted fuses (have read fuse #76 can go)
Engine oil
Cleaning kit for the cold air Pod Filter

I have also read with the Roush super charged engines the belts can go, is it a good idea to carry a spare? Or is it unlikely under normal highway driving?

Thanks for any info, glad to be a new member of the F150 Raptor community, have wanted one of these truck since they first came out years ago but they are very rare in Australia and pricey so feeling lucky things all like lined up.
(we do have the Ranger Raptors which I have test driven, they are a nice car but 2.0L engine hmm..... if I had bought one I’d still be driving now stuck behind a Road train)

cheers

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Welcome to the place. Congrats and post a pic or two of your truck. I would definitely keep a spare blower belt. Is the check engine light still on? You should get the code pulled to find out what exactly is going on. Not being able to go full throttle when needed is not an option, may as well have a prius if thats the case.

 

[K223]

Welcome! Sounds like the truck to finally have out in the bush.

 

[SS308]

Congrats and welcome to FRF!

 

[Allmarine]

Well done and congrats.
If you have the supercharger fitted i would suggest pulling the plugs to check condition and perhaps replacing them, plug gap is critical on a charged engine. Remember you have a twin plug engine so that's 16 sparklers. Carry a spare belt and a 1/2" breaker bar so you can relieve the tension to change it. Absolutely fit the fuel pump relocation fuse kit because it will go at some point. Get Forscan off the internet and buy an ELM327 connector with switch and you should be good to go.
They are an awesome truck and a lot more fun than the Gen 2.

 

[BenBB]

Very nice! You're in the right place to learn, you can search and find literally everything you could imagine. I definitely agree on the spare belt and fuse relocation kit (it's fuse 27 that can fail BTW). And you should be able to floor it anytime, I agree get the codes read, I've had my check engine come on a few times for minor issues (O2 sensor, CPV, and thermostat) and the last time I spent about $20 on a code reader from amazon, well worth the investment. Does it have a K&N or other gauze-type air filter? I'd consider going back to stock airbox if it'll flow enough for the blower, not sure if that's an option though others can advise better. Either way, keep a spare air filter if you can. The tire pressure light is kinda sensitive, mine will go off at about 36psi and I usually run 38, you might just try another psi or two. Consider alignment cams for the lower control arms, the stock setup uses a slot to adjust caster/camber and hard offroading can throw it off, the cams prevent (or at least limit) movement.

I carry all kinds of crap in mine just in case, if you're a long way from home it doesn't hurt, but these trucks are pretty solid and I've never gotten stranded in the boonies. There's no real weak links aside from the aforementioned fuse 27, the steering can develop a whine (some say all Ford P/S pumps whine heh) and leak, likewise the shocks can develop leaks but can be rebuilt, and depends on how hard you are on it. Keep an eye on the wiring harness along the left-hand framerail, it can hang down and get hung on things at the front (I relocated mine to the top of the framerail as others have documented on threads here). If you hear a knock from the left rear look on top of the frame for a counterweight, the rubber tends to wear out (I just removed mine when I looked at it). Also from threads I've read here I recommend rear seat latch mod or Builtright rear seat latch to access the space behind there, and an underseat storage tub/toolbox like Du-Ha or similar. Like I said, I take a lot of tools, tow straps/shackles, spare belt, jumper cables, rechargeable jumpstarter, fluids, electrical tape, etc.

Now let's see some pics!

 

[14BlackRoush]

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome, really appreciate all the great information from you guys. As I mentioned there isn’t many F150 Raptors in Australia and even less Roush supercharged versions due to the import tax and the steering conversion, this truck I’m guessing when imported in 2014 Could have been around $140-170,000 Aus dollars (a new 2019 eco boost raptor is $200k from what I’ve seen advertised). So because they are rare I was not super confident about finding parts dealers or even mechanics that could work on them, but as I mention after finding this forum and seeing the level of technical information people have to share I felt confident that any problems that may occur I would be able to remedy with the support of this forum.

I will order a spare belt and a few other things mentioned above tonight to carry with me, I have spoken with my mate who is a diesel fitter and he can plug his computer onto it on my trip home tomorrow and see if he can find any fault codes.

My wife has a spent half the day driving it around town and she loves it haha, my 14month old son had a good 1 hours sleep in the back today as well, I think the rumble of the V8 must of soothed him

thanks very much for the replies and will get some photos up tonight

 

[14BlackRoush]

Haven’t taken many yet but these are the ones I have so far (first two are from the bloke I bought it off)