Sand Lariat FX4 - and minor updates

[purdyd]

So I bought some metric tools. I haven’t bought anything new for decades

gearerench makes sets without gaps. That seems important at least for now

the socket set case is too big to go under the seat. I thought there was more vertical room underneath the rear seat but I was mistaken.

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[910_RANGER]

I got a couple of rear seat headrests that fold down in a color that will match my new tiger tough seat covers.

and my new yankum rear tow point

Have you installed the seat covers yet? If so, do you have any pix? I'm In the process of looking for a good set as well. Let me know your thoughts on the Tiger Tough if you don't mind. Thank

 

[purdyd]

Have you installed the seat covers yet? If so, do you have any pix? I'm In the process of looking for a good set as well. Let me know your thoughts on the Tiger Tough if you don't mind. Thank

yes

i have a couple of issues and have been talking with tiger tough

one is that the drivers seat bottom cover flap that goes under the seat doesn’t clear the seat I think tilt motor properly

there was also no front console cover

I’ve been told tiger tough is working to get a 2025 ranger lariat I to check the fit with timeframe tbd

also I though there would be a slit in thr back for the pockets but apparently you order pockets when they are made

so I am going to rerurn the front seat covers and wait

the fit is pretty good and I really like the rear cover Which does have an armrest cover but I didn’t have it on in this picture

you will have wrinkles but the material is nice and works well with heated seats

I would buy them again

 

[purdyd]

So I put this stuff on today, just the rear 3/4 and get the front on the next oil change.

not as messy as I imagined. Definitely get a spray gun with the tube attachments.

one sprays straight and the other straight and sideways for inside the boxed frame and other enclosed structural items.

the frame by the way appeared to already have some type of grease coating inside

smells like mink oil from the old break in the baseball glove days

stuff goes on a produces a mottled flat clear finish

i have this little undercarriage pressure washer attachment on wheels and I should have taken the spare tire off before pressure washing. Not a big deal.

 

[purdyd]

Well today it’s Lasfit LED rear turn signal and backup lights.

because you can never have too many LEDs or too much light.

after removing the two bolts holding the rear light I pulled them toward the rear, and then a little harder and the driver side eased off, the passenger side came off quickly.

a quick quarter turn counter clockwise on the bulb connectors and then and easy swap with the new leds

everything was fine until the next day and the passenger side turn signal stopped working. I drove home, took it out, turned it around put it back in, and it’s been working ever since.

i might carry the original lights with me, just in case….

here is a picture with led on the left and regular bulb on right.

 

[purdyd]

Today it was a new cabin filter by K&N

the oem filter is about as cheaply made as you can make a filter

but it appears that I’m getting about 10% more air as my wind meter went from 20mph to about 22mph

the K&N, made in the USA, has a glossy rubbery frame and a metal screening around the fabric pleats.

it might just last the lifetime of my truck.

easy install it fit perfectly, if it gets askew on the way in just push on either side.

 

[purdyd]

Added in a real full size spare with matching oem rim.

so started the 5 Tire rotation cycle

public service reminder, it is the sauare end of the extensions that lowers the spare.

 

[purdyd]

Painted the little silver part at the front with plasti Dip black.

note for the Fx4 package with the front skid plate there are only 8 screws that need to be removed.

2 x t25 on each side and 2x 8mm holding the little rubber thingy that surrounds the tow hooks.

and numerous plastic tabs

i found it easy to push the tabs out from behind to get it sarted on each end and it came off pretty easily,

two of the t25 screws are back up inside and a bit of a pain to get a ratchet to. Not much room to turn,

a full can of plastic dip, three coats.

before the paint I could see the part had already taken some small hits.

we will see how rhe plasri dip holds up.

i noticed one of those little plastic fasteners was missing, the one with the screw that expands it. Fortunately I had some extra from the tonn install.

and my rival recovery hook hit something. Probably the same thing that took out my air mud deflector.

 

[purdyd]

I added a new clock widget to my CarPlay.

with the advent of iOS 26, CarPlay now supports widgets.

there is a program called Clockology that allows you to create custom watch faces and widgets

https://clockologyapp.com/

select widgets from the app and you will see some CarPlay small widgets that can be used in whole or as a starting point

tou don’t really create an Apple Watch face, you create a widget to run within the Clockology widget

functionally same thing

there is a pretty active community making watch faces with this app

the better designers are using custom images for the background and hands.

but the app has some pretty powerful feature for creating faces Without having to get out adobe illustrator

but I caved and built my own watch hands and ford log with Inkscape.

you can see my progression below with the bottom clock being the default Apple clock widget to the top one which seems to be my latest best.

the second from bottom is using stock what Clockology calls layers

as you move up I got fancier and created the hands

i also learned you can take screen shots of your CarPlay display. Who knew?

 

[purdyd]

well today I took off the little doohickeys that attach the mat to the posts from carpet liners and put them on my husky liners

i saw this thread

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...loor-mats-snap-in-like-your-stock-mats.26251/

and even easier since the top part doesn’t need to have carpet needles trimmed as the husky and ford parts are nearly identical

The bottom cap has four fingers that you have to pry back or just overpower

good news is they squeeze back together really very easily.

 

[purdyd]

Today I added….. a screen protector.

You clean the screen.

Tape it in place from the top.

Lift it up, and tape comes off. So you align it up again using three strips and smoothing it down

You lift up like a door and peel off the back from the tab.

Put it down, lightly touch the middle from top to bottom and it magically goes on

No bubbles. A near miracle for me.

It is a matte finish so less contrast when it is dark but expect less glare

And it has a nice touch feel and less fingerprints.

 

[purdyd]

I 3d printed some little hat hooks that attach via the headrest supports.

 

[purdyd]

Today I broke down and installed the auto stop start defeater cable.

it goes inline with the cable that goes into the silver metal box on the right side behind the glove compartment.

 

[Mrtull4]

Well today it’s Lasfit LED rear turn signal and backup lights.

because you can never have too many LEDs or too much light.

My daughter frequently rants about LED brake and turn signal lights being blinding… at least I can tell her I’m not the boy one who feels this way!

What is this defeated cable of which you speak?

 

[purdyd]

My daughter frequently rants about LED brake and turn signal lights being blinding… at least I can tell her I’m not the boy one who feels this way!

What is this defeated cable of which you speak?

that was somewhat tongue in cheek on my part.

tell your daughter wait until she is old

and this gagdet turns off the auto/start stop

https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Auto-Start-Stop-Eliminator/dp/B0D33YLCDY

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