2nd Gen Lightning Reliable?

[WRCREX]

Hey guys,

I currently drive a 2009 Subaru WRX which is under full warranty. However, I have loved these Lightnings for years. There is one nearby (03) which is bone stock with 56k miles. They want 18k for it. How reliable can I expect this truck to be given the year and mileage, assuming its never been beaten on and is in great shape when I drive it off the lot? I only plan on doing minor mods...like I/H/E and maybe a throttle body. I don't plan on beating the shit out of it either, or taking it to the track at all. Thanks to anyone who can give me a heads up before I buy.

 

[mws221987]

keep it stock and it will be more reliable then your wrx. the more power the less reliable it will be ,

 

[Landan@Latemodel]

My opinion may not matter, but my Lightning is 12 years old and has yet to skip a beat. Granted it does have 61k miles and is a garage queen.

I know several trucks with 125k miles and still kicking. When you start modding, your best friend is a tuner who knows what they're doing. The weak point of the Lightnings are the rods. Sadly, the stock block is only good for about 450hp.

But, I wouldn't hesitate! Good price on the one you found and the opportunity to own the best truck to ever be produced!!

If you want some good knowledge, head on over to www.lightningrodder.com

 

[fruhdaddy]

keep it stock and it will be more reliable then your wrx. the more power the less reliable it will be ,

not true at all..


Any vehicle can last along time, if you take care of it and the maintenance required. There are alot of Gen 2's pushing 200k miles (modded and stock) and running like new. I have 120k on mine and runs like a showroom truck. I daily my truck and have track outings often giving it hell. If you decide to mod it you need to find a reputable tuner that knows and tune these trucks.

 

[WRCREX]

Guys,

Thanks for the info. It sounds like these aren't prone to breaking like my old DSM was which is great to hear. What is the actual shelf life of this truck? I mean...if I invested 8-10k into it in replacement parts, would I be able to run this truck to like 300k miles? Or would I have to start looking into replacing the chassis and stuff? I'm just worried because it has ~60k miles on it right now, and I'm sure as hell going to put 40 on there pretty quickly. I know people restore very old trucks and they run fine today...I just wanna know how long I could potentially keep this thing alive for (and if its worth it/cost efficient to do so). I wanna run this truck for a very long time. Sorry if that question seems ridiculous but this is my first venture into non japanese automobiles.

 

[fruhdaddy]

Guys,

Thanks for the info. It sounds like these aren't prone to breaking like my old DSM was which is great to hear. What is the actual shelf life of this truck? I mean...if I invested 8-10k into it in replacement parts, would I be able to run this truck to like 300k miles? Or would I have to start looking into replacing the chassis and stuff? I'm just worried because it has ~60k miles on it right now, and I'm sure as hell going to put 40 on there pretty quickly. I know people restore very old trucks and they run fine today...I just wanna know how long I could potentially keep this thing alive for (and if its worth it/cost efficient to do so). I wanna run this truck for a very long time. Sorry if that question seems ridiculous but this is my first venture into non japanese automobiles.

No matter what vehicle you own, you are gonna have to replace worn out parts. Belts, hoses, pads, ujoints, ball joints, etc...They can only handle so many miles or abuse from driving alot of miles. You can keep the thing alive for along time if you take care of your normal engine maint like filters, plugs, oil, fluids etc..Dont be afraid to drive it, just take care of it and rag the hell out of it.

 

[Scuba-Matt]

I owned mine for almost 8 years (70K miles), And most of that time it was heavily modified. It was very reliable. It's a matter of using quality parts, doing things right without any short cuts and having a tuner knowing what he is doing.
Since your buying a used Lightning I would run a Car Fax and search the boards to see what was done to it in the past.

 

[Blk04L]

I've had two issues with mine, with 113k on the clock.

1 was my fault, too much boost/nitrous+ not enough fuel.

2. The front ball bearings for the tires are going bad.


Keep up with basic maintance and it will last a long time.

 

[Canadian_Bacon]

^Why did you put ball bearings in your tire?

 

[SVTWHITEROCKET]

I bought mine new May of 1999 and I added a 3 lbs pulley cold air kit and SCT software I had a new supercharger put on under warranty that was my fault I put the wrong belt on it and it was so tight it wore out the bearings the only other things I replaced besides normal wear items was my front ball bearings and battery I got 82,000 on it and it still drives and looks good and get compliments on it all the time so go for it

 

[Blk04L]

^Why did you put ball bearings in your tire?

lol, my bad. Wasn't thinking, properly, when I posted that.

Ball joints/Tie rods.

 

[Jroc]

not true at all..


Any vehicle can last along time, if you take care of it and the maintenance required. There are alot of Gen 2's pushing 200k miles (modded and stock) and running like new. I have 120k on mine and runs like a showroom truck. I daily my truck and have track outings often giving it hell. If you decide to mod it you need to find a reputable tuner that knows and tune these trucks.

Wrong.

The guy you quoted is correct.

OP a stock or near stock L will be a more reliable vehicle than a modded one. I have over 113K on my mostly stock truck and it runs like a champ. When you start modding the truck you are likely going to up the boost, which will make more HP, and create more heat, and obviously add more pressures in the motor. These things add more strain and faster wear to a motor, and auto tranny. If you just want to do mods like VB's, and exhaust/cai/tune and things like that then you can probably maintain close to factory reliability. In most(not all) cases good OEM engineering is hard to beat in turns of reliability even though what I'm about to say next somewhat contradicts what I just said.

OP I don't want to scare you from modding your truck, but do understand that the stock motor isn't built nearly as stout as a Terminators or GT500's. It just isn't. If you want to build the motor or buy a truck that already has a built motor then I say by all mean attack the power mods, but be a little cautious when working with stock internals. They work great at supporting the HP they were intended to, but weren't designed to handle 500 whp/600 lb-ft reliably. Again if you strengthen up the bottomend, and maybe do a little head work, and add a more efficient blower you will have a nasty little truck that will be a blast to drive. Still there are people that run around at 450 whp on stock motors, and they seem to be doing fine, but at the same time there are people who throw rods at that HP level also.

BTW I love my truck more than my old Terminator even though it isn't nearly as fast. A Lightning is still an F150 which in and of itself is a very reliable, and well pieced together vehicle.

 

[fruhdaddy]

Wrong.

The guy you quoted is correct.

OP a stock or near stock L will be a more reliable vehicle than a modded one. I have over 113K on my mostly stock truck and it runs like a champ. When you start modding the truck you are likely going to up the boost, which will make more HP, and create more heat, and obviously add more pressures in the motor. These things add more strain and faster wear to a motor, and auto tranny. If you just want to do mods like VB's, and exhaust/cai/tune and things like that then you can probably maintain close to factory reliability. In most(not all) cases good OEM engineering is hard to beat in turns of reliability even though what I'm about to say next somewhat contradicts what I just said.

.

actually not wrong at all. A stock truck can be just as unreliable as a modded one. There have been stock trucks blow up or go to crap, not just modded ones. I know a few near me that have blown up with no mods, just stupid owners. Depending on how you the owner takes care of it, will determine how long it will last. I will put my stock block modded truck against a stock L in reliablity/durability any day of the week. Not all mods are bad either. Intake, exh, VB, tune (from an L tuner) are all good. Yes upping boost will create heat but there are also ways to help tone that down. Bigger H/E, I/C res, I/C pump, eliminate I/C hardlines, port the blower/plenum. Point being, a modded L is just as reliable as a stock one when done properly and within "stock block" limits.

 

[SLVRBLT]

Its been my DD and only vehicle for 5 years with no issues. I have kept my motor mods to a minimum (intake and exhaust). Got mine around 45K miles now its at 111K.

Just do your upkeep (oil changes, etc) and it will be reliable.

 

[02SILVERBULLET]

7 years, with mine bought it with 32k miles now has 120+k only time it has left me stranded was my own faults. 2 blown plugs (even these were slightly driveable), broken acc belt (should have seen it before hand)

Other than that it has been down for mods but thats all.

 

[SNCBOOM]

Never had any issues with mine.

 

[Jroc]

actually not wrong at all. A stock truck can be just as unreliable as a modded one. There have been stock trucks blow up or go to crap, not just modded ones. I know a few near me that have blown up with no mods, just stupid owners. Depending on how you the owner takes care of it, will determine how long it will last. I will put my stock block modded truck against a stock L in reliablity/durability any day of the week. Not all mods are bad either. Intake, exh, VB, tune (from an L tuner) are all good. Yes upping boost will create heat but there are also ways to help tone that down. Bigger H/E, I/C res, I/C pump, eliminate I/C hardlines, port the blower/plenum. Point being, a modded L is just as reliable as a stock one when done properly and within "stock block" limits.

Yes it is very wrong. A stock L is without a doubt more reliable than a modded L all other things being equal. This is not an opinion. People say if you are running a stock motor and are pulleyed then don't do things like downshift two gears at once, or go WOT in under 60 degree weather, etc. These are reliability issues. You don't have to worry about those things when running a factory setup. Basically you're having to compromise your driving to be safe.

Even a car with a much better built motor like a Terminator isn't as reliable when even just pulleyed as it is stock. How many stock Terminators have you heard of burning up pistons?

As I said before yes VB, exhaust, intake, tune, and mods of that nature can probably maintain close to stock reliability, but in stock form a L's motor is not that great for modding. Your listed cooling mods will not have any effect on a street truck other than a ported blower. Larger reservoirs will only benefit you when you ice them, and a larger H/E is a big waste of money, and you will see no benefits to one unless you RR and then you might see a little bit cool temps. If you want a cooling mod that works I recommend the killer chiller, or E85.

 

[fruhdaddy]

Yes it is very wrong. A stock L is without a doubt more reliable than a modded L all other things being equal. This is not an opinion. People say if you are running a stock motor and are pulleyed then don't do things like downshift two gears at once, or go WOT in under 60 degree weather, etc. These are reliability issues. You don't have to worry about those things when running a factory setup. Basically you're having to compromise your driving to be safe. .

Yea man sorry, your so right :bowdown:

You cannot go WOT without hitting OD even on a bonestock truck, has nothing to do with being modded or not. When I worked at Ford, more trucks came in bonestock with a vented block than a modded truck for doing WOT blast without hitting OD button. This is not an opinion? You are stating one guy. There are reliabilty issues on a stock truck also. So you dont have to worry about your I/C pump going out on a stock truck and pulling timing then burning up plugs? Preach whatever you want dude.

 

[Jroc]

Yea man sorry, your so right :bowdown:

You cannot go WOT without hitting OD even on a bonestock truck, has nothing to do with being modded or not. When I worked at Ford, more trucks came in bonestock with a vented block than a modded truck for doing WOT blast without hitting OD button. This is not an opinion? You are stating one guy. There are reliabilty issues on a stock truck also. So you dont have to worry about your I/C pump going out on a stock truck and pulling timing then burning up plugs? Preach whatever you want dude.

I'm not preaching shit homeboy, I'm stating facts. WTF does a intercooler pump burning up have to do with anything? It can burn up on any truck. Are you trying talking about going with a aftermarket pump for a cooling mod or something? Again "all things being equal". I don't care what you say about, "when you worked at Ford". My truck has well over 100K on it, and I beat on it pretty damn hard, and would be much less aggressive with it if I was pulleyed. So you don't have to worry more about launching a spark plug out of the heads when it under more pressures, throwing a weak rod threw the block when making noticably more HP/lb-ft, or adding more strain and heat to the tranny with more HP/lb-ft, etc? It goes back to the whole "you have to pay to play" kind of thing, and sadly enough even motors such as the GM 1/2 trucks 4.8/5.3 will hold up to quite a bit more HP than a Lightnings motor in factory form. A stock L's motor is not a good platform for a big increase in power at least not compared to the other boosted SVT motors, new 5.0's, LS motors, etc. Hell a stock Edge GT can safely support about the same HP a L can with stock internals.

OP if you want to mod then jump on it, but yes you are taking a much bigger risk of breaking things as opposed to staying near factory with the truck.

 

[fruhdaddy]

Im not sure what you dont understand about a stock truck can have the same issues as a modded truck. A plug can pop just as easy on a stock truck to a modded truck, plugs were popping before mods were even available on these trucks. A rod can vent the block on a stock truck just as easy as a modded truck. Yes this platform has a week spot in the rods but saying putting simple mods on it isnt safe is crap. Mine has 120k on it and I beat the piss out of it with no issues and runs like it did off the showroom floor. Dont agree with what I said when I worked at Ford as I could care less, thats a fact what I stated when I worked there. You can still mod the truck to run better than factory by letting it breathe, exhale, cool better. Im done arguing about this, about as stupid as your Cop thread on LR.

OP, dont be afraid to put some parts on it. Just do a search on good SAFE mods for a stock block and enjoy the truck