Hey guys, gals, and martians. Wanted to say thanks in advance for bearing with my long winded plea for guidance post.

First let me say that I have an -extremely- limited budget. My girlfriend and I share a car, but sometimes need a second and also would find it handy to be able to transport large items, as we have no family in the area we can do ask for such help.

The brother of a co-worker of my girl has a 1987 F150XLT For sale.. for pretty cheap. I know a bit about cars, but not much about Ford trucks and was hoping for advice. I have not talked to the owner yet, just the sister and she does not know much. I went and saw the truck today, I will outline what I know and saw, and hopefully you can tell me if it would be a good purchase for someone only slightly more wealthy than dirt.

As I said, its a 1987 F150xlt, standard cab, 6 cyl EFI, manual trans, 2 gas tanks.

Condition notes:

• odometer 12k (assuming 212k but who knows)
• Tires - passable
• Exhaust - sounds clear
• Engine compartment - dirty, but no obvious signs of spewing fluids
• Engine - was told there is a hum or tick, but did not hear myself
• Last inspection expired 9/12
• one parking and one brake light out
• blinkers not working (no clicking or anything)
• Body - some obvious rust above rear wheel wells
• Oil - very low and very black, looked unchanged for a while
• coolant - too low to see in radiator or overflow, but had been parked for a while
• other fluids - seemed okay
• burns oil - exhaust had blue smoke, and also smelled rich

I did not drive it so could not test the clutch/trans. It was supposedly driven in Feb/March some. It started right up.

As far as I can tell I see this year goes for $1000-$3000 depending on features and condition. It is available to me for $700.

I do not have much if any more I could put into it after paying for registration and insurance.

The blinkers and lights could be as simple as burnt bulbs and a flasher, however the steering column has issues as the key has been rewired, and the signal lever does not click in the up position (but neither blinker works). It could be the switch in the column, or some obscure and hard to trace wiring harness issue. It has to have that at least to pass inspection.

The burning oil really bothers me. I ran it for about 5 minutes, and did not see it let up, which leads me to think rings and not valves/seals. If I but it I could pull plugs and find out which cylinders, even check compression, but that is the extent of my skill, I have no tools or money for a rebuild/replace of the engine.

Tomorrow I am going to call the brother and ask if he knows how much oil it burns, if he knows whats up with the signals, and any other condition issues he knows about.

So, my questions are is this a fair purchase? What else should I find out? The truck would mostly be used for short runs, no further than 30 miles, and most often less than that. It would be used when a second vehicle is sorely needed and when we need to get lumber or furniture or something (rarely).

Thanks again for any assistance and for putting up with my verbosity. If I do buy the truck, maybe I can use it to help contribute here!

 

The turn signals not working and the fact the signal lever does not stay in position is probably the turn signal switch behind the steering wheel and/or the flasher. Change flasher first, cheaper and easier. You need to figure out where the coolant has gone. Burning oil, you are on the right track for checking it, but the coolant issue and the oil burn could be related, did they run it low on coolant and overheat the engine and now it has lead to an oil consumption issue? For $700 you take what you get. See if he will take $500 and explain your situation, maybe he will work with you so you have a few dollars left to make some of the immediate repairs for inspection like the turn signals

matt

 

Thank you for the very clear, concise, and informative post! It's seriously appreciated that you did that.

As for the truck: if your budget is limited, you should probably turn it down. Even assuming there's no ring or valve work to be done, at the very least, the immediate fixes after purchase are going to be:

-Oil change
-Coolant system flush (recommended, since it's been sitting for so long, even with occasional starts)
-Steering column/wiring issues (you may end up replacing components, especially if there's been "custom wiring" done)
-Fuel & air filters (again, sitting so long, I'd recommend it)

You'll probably spend around $100 just in parts and fluids to get these things done.

But, based on your information, there's at least a valve job in order, so you'll have to add cost of gaskets and parts for that. If you don't have the proper tools, that's even more money you'll have to spend (assuming you can't borrow them).

Again, if you're really limited on your budget, I'd advise against this purchase. If you're looking for something for light hauling, I'd recommend you get on craigslist and start searching for trucks in your price range. People are posting new ads every day- looking once a day will keep you up on what's available. You might also look into buying a van instead of a truck, b/c it doesn't take much to prepare them for hauling (folding down/removing seats, etc.)

That's just my advice. One good side is that if you do decide to buy the truck, you've got an entire forum of information at your fingertips.

Good luck.

 

If you're really trying not to spend much money, I wouldn't buy the truck. As DBGrif91 said above, you'll spend at least $100 right away in maintenance. With significant rust on the wheel wells, I'd assume it's also got plenty of rusted parts underneath it too which could be an issue down the road.

The oil burning would also concern me. Unless I planned to do major work on the truck, I wouldn't buy something with an engine that smokes as you described.

I'd bet you could find a MUCH better truck for $1000-$1500 that wouldn't give you the issues that this one has the potential to give you. Just keep an eye out, and something better will pop up.

 

Thanks for your responses, I will keep them in mind, and hope to hear other ideas/opinions.

As far as making a clear post, I have worked tech support, moderated and adminned forums and mailing lists. I know how irritating it can be to get a question like "wanna buy truck, pls help". It gets even worse when they expect fast and accurate answers to all their problems in a free forum that they have contributed nothing to and get angry or belligerent when you do not provide what they need.

Conversely, I know that a providing all the info allows for a better and more thought out response.

I do have to say however that I have had nothing but bad luck with Ford trucks in the past. Years ago I had a family member loan me an 81 F series that caught on fire while I was driving it (I can tell you exactly how it happened in an appropriate thread if you like). About a year after that I was using my bosses 96 F-150 while he was on vacation and it flipped on me. I say it flipped because I was doing nothing but driving the posted speed around a sharp turn (35mph). I tapped the brakes once, the rear wheels lost traction, and before I could even correct the slide (which I am not bad at), we were off and rolling. However, after looking at the accident scene, and circumstances, I was surprised that I was not seriously injured or killed. (Again, a story for another thread).

 

While I'm glad to hear you're still in one piece, I'd say that if your luck w/ Fords in the past has been that drastic, this is definitely not the truck for you.

 

Third times the charm?

 

this is a parts truck ... the engine is very worn and tired and because of that, will not be good on fuel (or oil).

all the other things that you mentioned point to a truck that has been neglected, just barely kept running.

i know what it means to be on a low budget, but more than once i have saved a few hundred dollars on the purchase price, only to spend a lot of time and money getting a vehicle such as this into shape. after spending money and time on all the little things, you will still be left with an engine that is hemorraging internally. i say spend a bit more (when you have it) on a better truck.

 

Agree with all of the above. Can he PAY you to take it off his hands??? Its funny, but not. Keep your hard earned money and save it for something that is gonna be reliable.

 

Don't buy that truck man... it ain't worth it. You might be able to get it running for not too much money, but judging by the amount of rust you say it has, when it does need repairs you're looking at fighting your way thru bolts and brackets that snap and crumble to dust. This will cost you, since you'll then have to drive around and find replacements.

As for the electrical... I really hate when I buy something and tear into it only to find out someone has tried their hand at being an electrician. I work in industrial controls so to me, scotchlock taps are NOT a valid way to connect wires... but I sure have seen a lot of them under dashboards. Also goofy things like the Ford factory radio that came with my Ranger when I bought it. Too bad it was a factory radio for a minivan instead of that truck... no wonder it stayed on even with the key off. I can fix these things myself, but if you're not good with electrical systems then I suggest you leave any vehicle that's had it's wiring "worked" on alone.

 

I made the call today not to get the truck. I appreciate all your help and input. Your overwhelming nae's matched my own fears. Glad to know I can still think my way out of a paper bag .

As far as electrical problems go, its not a scary thing for me. Years ago I used to install car stereos, and I am not afraid of getting dirty under a hood. I also fix electronics that most would throw away (including cellphones and televisions). I know how to wield a multimeter and a scope, and can spot a bad electrolytic capacitor from a mile away. The part I would be afraid of is tracing a bad wire through a harness running god knows where in the truck. Oh and I would sooner put a 22 in the fuse panel than use a scothclok in a dirty, damp, vibration prone environment.

Anyway enough from me... thanks again!

 

That cracks me up, but it's so true.

 

In the interest of learning stuff, what's the major drawback to scotchloks? I've used them a few times in the past (not for ignition related stuff), but obviously if there's a serious problem when putting them to use, I'd like to be aware of it.

 

They just do not last. Moisture gets in easily and corrodes the wire/connector. Heat/cold/sun can degrade the plastic. I have seen people use ones for the wrong gauge wire and it dies not clamp or hold well. I just do not like them.

If you have a soldering gun, for simple splices it is much better and not much more time consuming to slip a piece of the correct shrink tube on the wire, solder the splice and heat the shrink around it. Hell, if you are careful even if it sounds jacklegged, you can shrink the heat shrink with a lighter. Just keep the flame moving so as not to melt a hole and to shrink it evenly. When I have it I prefer the shrink tubing with hot glue inside, it helps to seal it from the elements.

 

Yes, this is the preferred method. When I got my truck, I had several electrical issues fairly quickly because of old splice connectors. They'll come apart from just bouncing around...

I soldered everything up and used heat shrink on everything and it's all good now. A solder joint won't come apart. If you do it right, the joint won't even be a weak point in the wire if you were to pull really hard on it. It's a VERY reliable connection.

I got tired quickly of using soldering gun/iron because they don't heat up as quickly as I'd like, so I just use those newer torch type lighters to solder with. Using that, I can have a connection soldered in about 10 seconds. I do most of my soldering out of the truck though, then I'll put the wiring into it.