Truckin' Homepage

2001 Ford F150 - Customization 101

Trick Additions That Make A Difference
By Dan Ward
Photography by Brandan Gillogly, Dan Ward
2001 Ford F150 Strut Grille Boxed
Out of the box, we found the most luxurious and well-packaged grille we've ever seen. Strut prides itself on making sure the grilles arrive in perfect condition.

2001 Ford F150 Vis Racing Hood
With the factory grille unbolted from the VIS Racing hood, we used a screwdriver to snap the out-slotted grille out of the chrome shell.
2001 Ford F150 Mesh Grille
Using 7/16-inch studs, the new Strut crimped-wire mesh grille frame was installed onto the factory chrome frame.
2001 Ford F150 Strut Grille
A symbol of luxury, the Strut badge replaced the factory Lincoln emblem by simply sticking it in place with double-sided tape.
2001 Ford F150 Front View
The end result was a look that stands out in a crowd. Notice how well the lower grille matches the primary and completes the front end.
2001 Ford F150 Xtralights Light
Moving on to the Xtralights.com Xetronic digital 8,000K HID headlights, we opened the box and made sure all of the contents were intact. Xtralights.com included new HID bulbs, ballasts, wiring, terminals, and detailed instructions.
2001 Ford F150 Drilled
After we removed the factory Lincoln headlights and set them aside, the halogen bulbs were removed and discarded. Then, a hole was drilled into the back of the screw-on bulb cover, which allowed the new wire grommet for the HID bulb wires to slide through. The rubber grommet keeps everything nice and watertight.
2001 Ford F150 Hid Bulb
Next up, the new 9006 HID bulb was inserted into the bulb housing. We made sure not to touch the filament with our hands.
2001 Ford F150 Bulb In Housing
With the bulb in the housing, we slid the wires through the supplied grommet and secured the grommet to the screw-on bulb cover.
2001 Ford F150 Splicing Wires
We were then ready to cut and splice the positive and negative wires of the headlight to the positive and negative wires coming off of the digital ballast.
2001 Ford F150 Voltage
All it took were two simple connections to make sure the ballast received the proper 12.6 volts to engage the HIDs.
2001 Ford F150 Xtralights
Xtralights.com made the next step easy because all we had to do was connect the two weather-pac connectors from the ballast to the bulbs.
2001 Ford F150 Hid Option
Fortunately for us, the Lincolns came with an HID option and the headlights already had a designated location for an HID ballast. We simply notched the edges, so our wires could easily run through, then used double-sided tape to secure the ballast to the under side of the headlight.

1  | 2  | 3  | Next

Get Adobe Flash player

New Car and Truck Price Quote!

Get a free new car and truck invoice pricing online before you buy.

Related Photos

2001 Ford F150 Strut Grille Boxed 2001 Ford F150 Mesh Grille 2001 Ford F150 Front View
2001 Ford F150 Vis Racing Hood 2001 Ford F150 Strut Grille 2001 Ford F150 Xtralights Light

 

Get Adobe Flash player