As I have stated before many many times, you simply cannot go wrong with the 300 six. I have two of them both in 4wd F150s with manual transmissions, I absolutely love em. The Mazda 5 speeds are garbage IMO, it didin't take me long to break the one in my 96 F150. I did one better though, when the Mazda trans broke I dumped it and stuffed a ZF 5 speed out an F350 in there and never looked back. Frame rust is a problem on these trucks keep it clean underneath, it wouldn't hurt to slap some cheap paint on there just for a little added protection. I had to replace all the spring hangers, shackles, and front coil spring towers on my 96 due to rust. They're great trucks I still see tons of them running down the road today.

 

I just wanted to say thank you all for your comments... i will look into all that was mentioned.
Just to give a little more info on the truck and since I have had it a couple weeks now I have noticed just a couple little issues...
First off the specs on the truck.. It is a 96 F-150 4X4 Long Bed with the 6 Cyl and 5-Speed. The truck has 140,000 miles on it.. The last owner just put a rebuild head on the engine and the clutch was just done a few months back. The truck itself is Beautiful...Has a new paint job and the body is in perfect condition.. The truck runs and drives very smooth.
Now the little problems that I have noticed..
After driving the truck for a while on the freeway or I guess getting it warm enough just from driving.. I have stopped and turned the truck off to run into a store or misc place and I have come out within an hour or so and tried to start it up and it runs like it is on 2 cylinders...I try to give it gas and it just putters and spits... well by chance I hit the tank switch and clicked on the back tank and the motor purred! then i went back to tank 1 and everything ran great...in fact it did the same thing again the other day and all I had to do was hit the switch and it cleared up..any ideas? also the previous owner had a front end alignement done on it but they didnt level the sterring wheel...so the middle portion sits right at 10:30 or so.. Can I take this off and put it level myself even with the airbag on it?
Oh I paid $2800 for it and unfortunately when I licensed it the state made me pay tax on the current value at $4900...So in a way i was ok with paying the extra tax since it seamed like I got a steal of a deal on the truck..
I will be posting picks later this week..
Thank you again all...and look forward to talking with you all again...

 

Wow, what state do you live in?

You have to get it re-aligned. You aren't supposed to move the steering wheel to correct that problem.

As for the fuel problem, I would get a fuel pressure gauge and see what the running pressure is on both tanks. It should be between 55 and 60 psi.

 

I live in washington state.
So I take it the guy who owned it before me never had the alingment done right then...

 

It's not exactly unusual to have the alignment guy forget to center the steering wheel before he aligns it. I've had it done to me before, I just take it back and make them do it over again.

 

ON the sales taxes on appraised value - the State of Texas is doing that now. Guess they felt they were getting burned on "Bought the '04 F150 for $500.00 from a friend cuz we're buds and it has a blown engine". State lost revenue. They go by book appraised value (don't know if it's NADA or KBB or an arbitrary amount).

I tried to pass my F150 purchase back in July at 1/2 the price and they called my bluff. Cost me an extra $60.00 so no big deal in the grand scheme.

You can get around it by going to a certified dealer for an appraisal then heading to the DMV with the paperwork.

What a hassle. Government get the bucks one way or another.


Oh - good luck on your new purchase.

I only use my front tank to avoid any complications. Maybe much later down the road I'll look at using the other tank.

/Ricache

 

Hey guy, you probably have one of the best engines that Ford has ever produced. I had the same setup in my 94 F150 and it was totally indestructable. Everyone is correct when they say the truck nreeds to be worked or you will be dissappointed with it. The only problem I had with the truck was the clutch internal slave cylinder in the transmission. Other than that, it was the best truck I have ever owned. I regret ever parting with it. Hope you get the same great service with yours that I got. Enjoy

 

The sputtering on restart can be pump related. It's possible that your pump is just a little weak, and not giving enough pressure for a smooth start.
When you switch to the rear tank it is building pressure quicker, giving you the smooth start, then you switch to the front tank and it just has to maintain the pressure.
I would bet that a pressure test would show a marked difference between the the 2 pumps.
Try this out..............
When you go to restart, try turning the key to the on position for a second or two to give the pump time to build full pressure before cranking.

I am seeing a new pump in your future----see I'm psychic now.

 

I also really like this engine.
I like it so much, I'm putting 2 of them in my 28 REO Speedwagon.
Can you say inline 12.

 

I have a 93 F-250 4.9 5 speed and a 4.11 rear gear. 31.6 tires . I'm thinking 3.55 or 3.73 would get me better mpg. Got a 2000 10.5 inch 3.73 laying out back. Too bad I can't swap the chunk.
So what do ya'll think? 3.73 or 3.55?

 

I say neither. It isn't going to change your mileage that much.

 

I've got 246k on 1 of my 300's and 85k on the other. Respectfully

 

My 96 5 speed 2wd is a daily driver, loaded with plumbing parts and tools, with 250k on it, and I'm getting the same 12-14 mpg depending on how much freeway vs. city miles I drive. Original transmission too, starting to slip out of gear on occasion, but its just me that drives it, so no hurry to fix it.

Good luck with your new truck O.P.

 

Thanks GL.
With that weight and milage I guess your happy with the gears you've got. I'm getting a consistant 13 mpg and am not real happy with it. I don't carry anything.
I had a 65 for years that got 12 no matter what, but it didn't have OD or EFI or....... you know. Gas was cheap back then though and I don't want an S-10.....

 

your going to love it like everyone says,I have a 95 with 300/5spd 4x4 and its an awesome truck,I wouldn't change a thing about it.just keep your oil changed and run it.
the 300 will never die.