I bought a new 2000 F150 on the cheap and consequently got the 4.2 liter engine. I only learned about the intake gasket issue the engine has recently.
The truck has 203,000 miles on the odometer and money spent on maintenance has been minimal. I am not a mechanic guy and an earlier post tells me the repair would cost $850 approximately. Another post suggests the engine might go to 250,000 without the repair so I am leaning toward running to failure and letting someone else take ownership of the truck. Does anyone have experience/an opinion on the issue to tell me my thinking is flawed?

 

It is not a difficult fix to replace the intake gaskets and isolator bolts. Maybe $80 US retail in parts. Fix it and drive it a lot longer.

 

you have an air inlet leak? water in the oil ? water leaking external ? WHAT ?

 

Common issue. No need in doing anything until you need to. Check engine light and subsequent codes will tell you when the intake gaskets are failing. I did this repair to mine and it was relatively easy. I documented the process on my blog here: https://nicholasfluhart.com/2012/10/...ifold-gaskets/

 

Super easy repair. Definitely not worth selling the truck over.

 

Mine went when the temps were about -10Deg F. I don't have a garage & so had a shop do it. Your check engine will let you know if it becomes an issue. The code will come up as a vacuum leak. The shop job on mine did run about $800. That was for the head gasket, Injector intake manifold gasket, bolt sleeves and bolts. Like the fellas said, I would have done it myself , but I didnt feel like fighting it in the sub zero temps.