Hello everyone,

One of the guys at my work is selling his 2006 F250 with the 5.4l,a 6 speed transmission and about 130,000 miles on it. He said he used to tow his trailer with it, but for the past couple of years he just used it as his daily driver.

Now I do realize its not a diesel but how many more miles can I realistically expect to get out of the engine, transmission, transfer case and diffs? He has done the regular maintenance on it and even put a new clutch in not too long ago and replaced the spark plugs a couple of years ago. He says it has a leaky exhaust manifold on the drivers side though.

There are a couple of things that concern me though:

I heard that the 4.6/5.4 engines are having issues with ticking timing chains and vales, so I did a little bit research and found quite a few threads about it. I currently drive a 2000 crown vic (140,000 miles) with the 4.6, it doesn't tick and has been a solid ride so far. So I'm a little puzzled about the ticking issue those engines are supposed to have. Is it just a few engines that develop that tick or do most of them have or get it?

He started the engine for me in the parking lot the other day and after it sitting outside for about 9h at 30°F I couldn't hear anything ticking when I stuck my head under the hood.

He also told me that the first and second gear on the transmission are very finicky. He said he always takes off in second if hes not towing and that you have to be smooth with the clutch otherwise it'll grind? Which is supposedly a common ford issue? (I couldn't find anything about that online)

All the standard cars that I had so far just bucked or stalled if I wasn't gentle on the clutch, but no grinding.

I haven't taken it for a test drive yet, but I would definitely do so before I buy it. Are there things I should pay close attention to?

 

It could be band syncros in the transmission causing the noise which would require the trans to be dropped and repaired.

 

Oh boy, I kinda figured that ... I guess I better step away from this one :/

 

6 speed would be cheaper to repair than an automatic.

 

Yeah that's true, so if he has driven it like that for a while. I might be looking at new synchros and a new gear?

 

Have you driven it? Do you know if it even has a problem?
At that mileage I would be very surprised if there was anything wrong with a ZF transmission unless it was worked really hard or passed around as a company truck and driven by people that didn't know how to drive stick.

Every "granny gear" truck trans I have ever used has required a little more finesse shifting into and out of 1st than a typical light duty manual. If you try to speed shift it or bang it around like it's a Mustang it is going to clang and grind and let you know about it. Drive it like you are in a truck and act like you know what you are doing and you will have no problems. The ZF is fully synchronized so it will be even easier to shift than the older NP's which had an unsynchronized granny gear 1st.

Go drive it before you make a decision. The ZF is a great transmission and highly sought after in the used vehicle marketplace. If you pass, it is going to make someone else very happy to have it.

 

If you look at the shift pattern, 1 (low gear) is under reverse so if you aren't paying attention you could possibly "rub" reverse coming out of 1st.


Usually in any "granny gear" truck transmission, the only time you use the lowest forward gear is starting off with a heavy load. Any other time you will drive this one like a typical straight H pattern.

Like I said, drive it before you pass. There may not even be a problem with it that paying attention won't cure.

 

Driving it is a good idea, also maybe getting an inspection since it makes the noise. A professional should be able to figure out what the noise really is.

 

"you have to be smooth with the clutch otherwise it'll grind?"


Whut? I don't get it. I guess you can have him make it grind for you so you'll know what the heck he did. I had a 2006 with the same drivetrain, and it's nice, of course. Naturally it would be. The engine does have some known weaknesses, but the transmission frankly doesn't. Mine was so quiet you couldn't drive it by listening, which is strange.


I would say the axles would be good for about 400,000 miles. Lots of people have run them to absolute failure. I don't know about the transfer case; I never heard of anybody wearing one out. The engine, it's hard to say. I suspect it is wise to do a bunch of modifcations to the timing chain tensioners and VVT while they're still quiet. However, I sold mine.

 

Yeah I'm planning to head over to his place on Saturday to take it for a spin and then take it from there. He said he's not in a hurry to sell it, so I won't rush into it.

At least he seems to be honest about the stuff thats wrong with it. I'm not expecting a new truck and I'm planning extra money for repairs, but I want to try to estimate the repair costs as good as possible

 

The L to 1 shift takes some getting used to, it is a big ratio change and requires a longer lateral movement than shifting 2-3, 4-OD. I have the 6.0 with a ZF-6 and the manual actually states to start off in 1 (2nd gear really) when not towing, but of course use whatever is comfortable.

Unless the truck has been abused the clutch should still be fine along with the transmission. Just remember a 3/4 ton truck with a 5.4 isn't going to win any races or tow heavy loads at high speeds, but they are just fine for normal driving.

 

I had a 97 7.3 with the zf 5 and the synchros were worn out from low(first on the 5 speed) to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. I put another 70k on it before I sold it, but I shifted it like a non synchronized transmission and it didn't grind. I've got a 2000 zf 5 behind my 5.4 and love it. Let us know how the test drive goes.

 

Okay I just got back from the test drive and the second gear does grind. So when you take off in first (not L) and then shift into second, you have to´pull it out of first gear wait a few seconds and then push it into second gear. By the end of the test drive I had it almost figured out but it is really annoying ... He said it's done that since he bought it at 50,000 miles ...
It only does it in second gear, taking off with L and then going to first does not do it, but every time I tried to shift into second I could hear and feel the grinding in the stick

I also think the phasers on the engine are bad, this time I could hear it ticking pretty good, especially after the cold start up. Putting a screw driver on the valve cover and listening to it I could hear it ticking pretty good. He says one of the bolts on the exhaust manifold is broken off but it didn't sound it was coming from that though, like that noise wouldn't radiate through the engine up to the valve cover right?
(I checked my 4.6 right after and I can't hear anything tick with a screwdriver on the valve covers)

 

Any idea on what he is asking for it or is he just wanting you to make him offer?

 

At first he was talking about 4000-5000 CAD, but looking at the things that are wrong with it, I don't think that it is worth that much. We haven't talked about the price yet, I told him I wanna do some research about the transmission.

I'm not a mechanic but I'm interested in learning how to fix things myself. A phaser replacement or transmission exceeds my resources though.(I don't have a garage/shop) I'd be willing to buy it and get the transmission or engine fixed in a shop but if both are in a need of a high dollar value repair then I don't think its really worth doing that :/