High Mileage Gen 2?

L

lightngsvt

3rd engine in 50 miles!!!
I Support the NLOC
I'm a Gen 1 guy, but have owned both a 99 black and an 03 red Gen 2 in the past. I'm considering picking up a Gen 2, driving it for a year, and then making it a toy. I figure now's the time since prices of these trucks only seem to be going up. What issues are you seeing, or should I expect, with a truck over 100K? I can see spending up into the low 20's which seems to get you a 70-100k mile truck. I've inquired on:

2004 Black 201k miles, stock but newer S/C $14k
2000 Black 111k has mods/gauges... $24k
2000 Red 74k appears stock $25k

I'd love either of the blue trucks, but the cheapest I see out there is in the $30's. :cr:
 
Obviously not a Lightning (it does have Gen 2 front seats), but my beater truck is a '01 CC with the 5.4 and 335k miles on it. Just routine maintenance items. And the stupid composite manifold leak, which a Lightning wouldn't have. AC is dead (probably just an o-ring) and the driver's window recently quit rolling down. Overall it's remarkable how well that thing has put up with 20 years of use.
 
OK, you are officially worse than me :) Why would you be thinking about this and not on how you're going to get the Gen1 going?
 
Ah you jump to conclusions. :D I'm not looking for project, but a driver. My BMW lease is up in September, so Im thinking if I buy something cool (gen2 or Foxbody) and daily it for a year-ish I can then keep it as a toy without angering my wife too much. :D. I'm just having some reservations about giving up all the modern comforts and the possible concerns of a higher mileage car, but adding another cool vehicle to the stable may be worth it.

As for the Gen 1, it is getting dropped off in 2 weeks from today to get EFI installed and tuned. Where it goes from there..... On my to-do list, Im trying to separate jobs I can/want to do and those best left to a pro.
 
I had 257,000 miles on my '99 before a head gasket blew. The cost to fix it was more than the truck was worth, so, I replaced it with a good, used one.

I have 191,000 miles on my '03 and it's still going strong.

If you get one with 4 thread heads (built prior to mid-2003), be sure the spark plugs are kept tight. For some reason #4 (passenger side rear) backs/blows out and is v. difficult to fix (getting an indexed Heli-Coil in there is no fun).

It's relatively minor, but, both my trucks have had the differential cover plate rust out and leak.

Both trucks have had blow-by clog the intercooler which limits boost.

The only problem with either transmission was when the neutral safety switch seized on the '03. Forcing it into PARK for a few months caused a rebuild of the steering column ($1,300...).

Both trucks have had the fuel system ballast resistor fail (mounted on the intercooler pump bracket). The '99 was VERY difficult to diagnose.

Other than that, no out-of-the-ordinary problems. I'm looking for another when this one dies.
 
Intercoolers plugged up with oil are common to all Lightnings. And when they're plugged up, it makes the boost gauge read high, since the takeoff for the gauge is above the intercooler, on the driver's side just below the blower. But the boost isn't getting through. The fix for that is to put an oil separator in between the PCV valve and the plenum. No more plugged intercoolers. There's a guy on LightningRodder that sells duplicates of the old Mad Enterprises 5.4 extended coil pack screws. These make plug changes so much easier, as you don't have to fook around with those stupid little 7 mm screws.

I tried to post pics, but there seems to be something wrong with that feature. Can't do it. Keep getting a pop-up block saying something is amiss.
 
Thanksk for the info. I havent been able to reply for some reason. Just found a 142k mile Gen2 for $19900. Truck is very clean, but still cant get over the current prices!
 
I didn't think they were selling for that high a price. I paid $20,700 for my 04 with 34,000 miles on it in 2009.
 
They are. That one I mentioned for $19,900 is the cheapest I've found recently. Last weekend went to look at an 04 w/110k miles for $23k. Trucks with 60-80k miles are easily $25-30k.

I do have a question though, the 04 I drove seemed to run well, idled smoothly, no leaks, but it just felt sluggish. LIke you stomp the pedal and it took a second to respond then just felt really lazy. My daily driver is a 355hp/6 speed manual sport sedan that probably weighs 700-900 less but still that truck felt really slow. My 280hp sports car also feels faster than that truck did. Any idea what would cause that?
 
Could be the intercooler is plugged up with oil residue from the PCV. It's quite common. Need to remove the blower, remove the midplate, remove and clean the intercooler. Practically a guarantee it runs better after that. Problem is, the boost gauge is reading off a port above the intercooler. So, when it's plugged, it reads high. After cleaning, boost goes down, but performance goes UP! Even with a MP blower and a two pound lower, I don't peg the gauge anymore since cleaning it. But it runs OH SO MUCH BETTER!

Clean the intercooler and install an oil separator. No more problems. There's a guy on LightningRodder, SVT Tim, sells a really nice oil separator. I have his number. You want it, just ask. He's fine with me passing his number out to Lightning guys.

My Lightning, when I cleaned the ic, it had around 69,000 miles. The ic was ugly with oil. Couldn't see the sun through it. I dropped it in a five gallon bucket, filled it with Purple Power. It boiled like a witches cauldron for an hour. When finished, it looked like new.
 
Last edited:
That truck was showing 10-12 psi at WOT, is that high? I dont know what pullies it had.
 
Well, the stock boost gauge only reads to 10 psi. So therefore, you must have an aftermarket gauge. Which therefore implies it must have aftermarket pulleys. Stock lower pulley is 7.5 inches. Every half inch gains you two pounds. 8.0 inch is a two pound lower. 8.5 is a four pound lower. 9.0 is a six pound lower. Stock upper pulley is 2.93. Every tenth of an inch smaller gains you one pound. 2.8 is a one pound upper. 2.7 is a two pound upper.

Both the upper and lower, those dimensions are at the surface the belt rides on, not the lips. So you have to subtract a bit for the lip dimensions. Also, the stock lower has a cage that it's attached to. All aftermarket pulleys have no cage. They also have six bolts that attach the pulley to an adaptor on the front of the crankshaft. So you should be able to look and see what it going on there. Six bolts on the pulley? Not stock.

Any kind of bolts at all on the upper pulley, not stock.

If it has stock size pulleys with that boost, it's because the intercooler is plugged up. Truck won't run like it has that much boost because of the plugged ic.
 
Without knowing the owner and how it was maintained I'd pass on those prices. Now that being said, if owner can show documented proof of maintenance and items replaced/repaired and the interior, exterior, engine, and suspension are in good shape with some tasteful mods then I'd have no problem paying more for something all I'd have to put in to it is my *** and gas. I bought my 04 with 72k miles on and sold it for more than I paid for it. That being said I also replaced a ton of wearable parts and did quite a bit of work to it. I got my money and then some out of it based on time spent having fun with it.
 
lightngsvt said:
I do have a question though, the 04 I drove seemed to run well, idled smoothly, no leaks, but it just felt sluggish. LIke you stomp the pedal and it took a second to respond then just felt really lazy. My daily driver is a 355hp/6 speed manual sport sedan that probably weighs 700-900 less but still that truck felt really slow. My 280hp sports car also feels faster than that truck did. Any idea what would cause that?
Click to expand...

In addition to the inter cooler cleaning mentioned above I’d also take a look at the fuel filter and cats.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top