Updating the wiper arms and cowl

Mother nature can be harsh, especially when your garage can't hold your Raptor.  I've had this beast parked outside for 8 years now, and some of the plastic has taken a beating!  I did some research on the forums and Facebook and found that replacing the cowl plastic and wiper arms can really refresh the look and functionally seal up the hood space between the windshield and hood.

Below, you can see how thrashed the OEM parts were from NorCal sun, rain, leaves, etc.  Very faded, cracked and even some sections broken off an missing.  The wiper arms, while they worked just fine - needed a refresh, no more ceramic coating could bring them back.

These are the parts that I used to replace the old OEM parts, it's ~$200 in parts

• Windshield Wiper Cowl Cover Panel Grille Set  $127
• (this part includes new nozzles and hoses)
• Dorman 42799 Front Driver Side Windshield Wiper Arm $33
• Dorman 42798 Front Passenger Side Windshield Wiper Arm $36

Removing the old parts isn't too hard.  First remove the old wiper arms.  Start with the driver side.  This is done by sliding out a small tab that holds the wiper arms onto the rotating assembly on the wiper motor.  A small flathead screwdriver works great.  You may need to wiggle the arm a bit to get it off, just keep that tab extended and it will come straight off the wiper motor hub.  

Once you figure out the driver side, the passenger side is identical - just a bit harder to reach. As you can see, my OEM parts are pretty thrashed.

Next up - pop the hood, and lift to full height to get better access to the cowl pieces.  

You can use the flat head screwdriver to pop the snap slots.  There are also 3 clips per side that will pull out when you lift up on the cowl pieces.  The passenger side is where the wiper washers are connected, there is a simple clip that holds the hose to the body, and simply pull the water connector from the hose.

Here are the old cowl pieces off the truck.  The rubber/plastic is hammered.  Also, I cleaned up the windshield and cowl area - used a razor blade to clean the glass really well as the grime is caked on.

Lastly, you replace the old parts with the new parts just the inverse process.  Just to note, the new wiper arms came with a small metal tab that I had to remove, no matter how hard I tried - I couldn't get that tab to fit the small slot in my hubs - your mileage may vary.  A simple flathead screwdriver popped the tab out and they fit fine.

I sprayed the new parts with a good ceramic sealant/wax: 

Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating

Now the final result!  Just like new!  Good luck on replacing yours!

Added Deaver +3HD leaf springs today!

 The Raptor tends to 'squat' a bit with the travel trailer, so after many days of research I bottomed out (sic) on the Deaver +3HD leafs with the Offroad Alliance raised bump stops!  Why?  They'll add 1" of clearance in the back, they offer an amazing ride, and this will give us more oomph with the Raptor suspension.  

They're seriously BEEFY leaf springs.  The OEM springs are 4 leafs, the Deaver +3HD are 12 leafs!  But the ride is incredibly compliant!  Love this update!!

The truck is a totally new beast when towing now, before you could 'feel' the trailer much more - but now it feels like it was meant to do this!  Two big thumbs up for this addition!

Got a travel trailer - finally!

My wife and I have wanted to get a travel trailer ever since we got the Raptor 7 years ago!  We finally bit the bullet(haha) and got a used 2016 Keystone Bullet Ultra-Lite 220RBIWE - we love it!  Obviously, Raptors are not really 'towing' vehicles for daily use, but this trailer is 4600lbs, and GWVR of 6400 lbs and 480lb tongue weight.  For a 25.5' trailer it comes nicely setup with dual slides and a center island.  We got a weight distribution hitch (WDH) with the trailer as well which made a HUGE difference in ride quality while towing.

Here are some pics!  

A few videos with my GoPro and the Whipple Stage1 Kit with SPD trombone and Flowmaster Flow-FX Muffler!

For your viewing (and audible) pleasure... 💀

Rebuilt the shocks at a local shop - Forged Offroad

 I have about 57k miles on the Raptor now, and given my driving style it's suggested to have the stock Fox shocks rebuilt around 50k miles.  If you're a major off-roader, you may have to do this every 10-30k miles depending on the daily beatings.  Fortunately, Forged Offroad is about 11 miles away and they do the majority of shock rebuilds for these trucks and are part of an avid off-road community as well!

For local customers, we can bring to the shop in the morning and it's done by end of day.  In my case, I got there about 8:45am and they called me to pickup around 2:30pm - great time! 

Here's how they look after the rebuild - great team, and great work!

Cold Start - 2017-2020 Ford Raptor 3.5L EcoBoost Trombone Equal Length Resonator Delete, RDFR20EL

 Here's a cold start video of my Whipple Tuned 2017 Ford Raptor with the SPD Performance 3.5L  EcoBoost Trombone Equal Length Resonator Delete, RDFR20EL

Definitely louder on cold-startup than with the Flowmaster Flow-FX.  The truck sounds like a race car when you floor it, and really screams!  There is some drone from 1,800-2,200 rpm so I'm not happy with that as that is cruising RPM around town.

new shoes for the Raptor - Pirelli Scorpions!

 After 36k miles on the BFG KO2s they were getting rather lumpy, noisy and down to about 4-5/32nds so it was time.  Did a lot of research and found the Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus in the stock size 315/70R17 - and decided they were a good choice for my driving style.

   

Pirelli’s new SCORPION™ ALL TERRAIN PLUS offers light truck and SUV drivers a durable, high performance driving experience in a wide range of challenging on or off road conditions. The product feature a self cleaning pattern aimed at increasing integrity while delivering excellent wet, snow, and mud traction.

These are E-rated tires, so heavier duty sidewalls - not the best for MUD and crawling, but then again my truck is 90% road so I won't be that concerned.  The tire comes with a 50k warranty as well, as compared to the BFG KO2 - with no warranty.

The feel on the highway is excellent, and these tires are nearly silent.  Maybe it was just the wear on the KO2 but it was like riding in a 747 - you had that constant drone of the tires...

A little cheaper than the KO2, and 50k warranty - plus all the features - time will tell if these were a good switch!

Finally upgraded to Husky Liners in the Raptor

 A few months back I was rather disappointed that my front driver side floor mat hasn't lasted 32k miles.  I mean, yeah they're rubber floor mats - but I usually wear soft soled shoes, no boots (or heels). As you can see it was torn the whole way through on the driver side.  The passenger side isn't as worn, but it's a horrible fit for being stock.  

Ugh, lets see that driver side again...

Bring on the Husky Liners!

I found some reviews of some floor mats that I posted on Ford Raptor Forum  

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/top-10-floor-mats-which-do-you-have.69317/#post-1373988

The Husky liners came out on top, so I finally broke down and got a set for the front.  The rear seat gets marginal traffic, so I opted to leave the stock one alone there.

Pretty happy with the setup, the driver side snaps into the mat holders so they don't slide around. The passenger side looks to fit much better than OEM as well.  Both sides extend a bit over the door sill, which doesn't bother me one bit.  What are your thoughts?  Not complaining for $83!

BuiltRight Industries Rear Seat Release review

BuiltRight Industries has made this rear seat release for some time now.  This is the new version that fits newer +19 F150s too!  Plus they're cheaper now!  They used to be $35!

• CNC Laser Cut Brackets
• Brackets are precision CNC laser cut and CNC bent for perfect fitment every time. They are then black zinc plated, NOT painted, for corrosion protection.
• Modern Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite
• Unlike the knockoffs, our new brackets are injection molded from a fiberglass reinforced composite, which leaves smooth edges and allows for tight, 'click fit' tolerances. The result is no rattling and no risk of cut straps.
• Fits Newest Ford latch
• The latest version of the stock latch from Ford uses a square head rather than a round featureless pin. Around half of the new trucks built use this latch. Only the newest BuiltRight revision accommodates these new latches.

2 T-30 Torx bolts need to be removed, and slide the existing bracket toward the top of the seat

Next you loop the composite part over the pin, and slide the metal bracket into place.

Re-attach with the same T-30 torx bolts and voila!  It's done!

so much extra space back here for 'stuff' :)

They were out of stock for a few months during the black friday sale 2019 - now they're back in stock!  Very simple install!