Its a 2005 FX4, ext. cab, 4 door, 4X4, 5.4 3V. 105K miles. Clean car fax, one owner truck. It drives straight, clean, no strange noises, brakes are a little spungie(dont thinks thats a big deal). My question is are there any known problems wth this truck i should know about before or if i buy the truck. it seems like you never know about the usual problems untill its too late Thanks in advance.

 

Check to see if they have changed the spark plugs yet.

 

Why am i worried about that? i usually change them reguardless when i buy another car

 

Real world mpg would be great too

 

Because spark plugs are a problem on these trucks.

11-13 city, 15 - 18 highway, are common numbers.

vacuum leaks in the 4x4 system are another problem, along with the IWE solenoid.

 

Sorry I should have explained why. Like Screwy said the spark plugs on the 5.4s are a problem and had a tendency to break off when you changed them out. If this happened the piece that broke off could get stuck or it could fall into the cylinder and cause a real headache. Search for the numerous threads on this topic.

 

Car fax is not really that reliable, does truck have a documented service history? Trans ever been serviced, yes plugs can be a problem but new extraction tools have minimized the drama and additional costs. IWE's have had their issues also.

 

2006 5.4 3v 126k miles now.
I had to replace the solenoid on mine, fixed the random engaging of the 4wheel drive. Part was $25 i think, from the dealer. I changed my plugs at 110k miles, took my time and none broke off. The autolites I replaced them with must of had a bad batch because 2 of them after 10k miles were melted and missing the electrode and strap completely, kept wondering why i had a miss!