Parting with Old Friends
Sometimes you have to let one go.
2009 Ford F150 STX 4×4 — a lot of miles, a lot of memories.
The decision
Sometimes there are so many projects around the farm that you just have to sit down and decide, what do I need to take off my plate? This time, it’s an old friend.
I have a vehicle I drive daily. I have an old farm truck I found a good deal on. And I have so many other projects pulling at me that sometimes the honest move is to let something go and make room. That something is the 2009 Ford F150 STX.
Fender flares, running boards, big off-road tires. She always looked the part.
A little history
In 2009, I bought my only brand new vehicle, this F150 STX. I still remember the plastic still covering everything inside, that new truck smell, the pride of driving something off the lot that nobody else had touched. There’s nothing quite like it.
Over the years she earned her keep. Moved two daughters to college, and back out of college. Delivered hay. Brought the boat to more lakes than I can count. Hauled home equipment. Got me to work more times than I can remember. Vehicles are funny that way, they carry not just cargo, but chapters of your life.
🚛 Moved two daughters to college in this truck. The truck survived. Barely.
Extended cab that hauled a lot of people, and a Triton 4.6L V8 that powered a lot of miles.
The highs and the lows
Like any long relationship, it wasn’t all smooth roads. At one point I brought it to the dealer for a noise in the rear end. They couldn’t find anything. A month later the rear end went out — in Madison traffic. If that ever happens to you, here’s a free tip: slip it into 4×4 and limp home in front wheel drive. Is it good for the drivetrain? Probably not. But when you’re sitting in traffic with a dead rear end, you do what you have to do.
Then there was the head gasket. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, designed this particular model so that replacing the head gaskets requires pulling the cab off the truck. A $4,000 repair. I did it anyway, had the heads milled and replaced, new converters, a new rear end. I believed in this truck.
🔧 Ford engineer: “What if we made it so you had to remove the entire cab to change the head gaskets?” Other Ford engineer: “…perfect.”
Wisconsin winters leave their mark. She wore hers honestly.
The end of the road
Eventually she threw a spark plug, a known issue on the 4.6L Triton V8, where the aluminum heads and minimal thread engagement let plugs work loose under heat and pressure over time. She’s been sitting in the barn ever since, waiting for a long weekend and the right motivation to dig in.
That’s the farm life in Wisconsin. You fix things until the time isn’t there anymore, and then you make room for what’s next. She carried two daughters, years of hay, and more memories than I can count. Not a bad run for one truck.
I hope wherever she ends up, someone gives her the attention she deserves.
🛻 She’s not gone yet. But she’s on the list. In farm terms, that means she’s closer to the road than the barn.
That’s the honest truth about old vehicles on a farm — they give you everything, and eventually you have to give them back. Thanks for following along at Barn in the Sticks.
— Chad & Dexter 🐾 | barninthesticks.com