I'm thinking about trading my wifes Toyota van for this tomorrow, she found it at a local car lot and fell in love with it.






It is a 2005 Ford F150 with the 5.4. It does have high milage, 133000 to be exact. But it runs great, way more power than my 2001 F250 with the 5.4. I'm sure being a half ton and a few years newer helps with that.

Is there anything concerning about these that I need too look for? Never owned a F150, just SD's.

Thanks...

 

Sweet looking truck. Super quiet under the hood? Check the oil.

 

Thanks for the quick responce!

It is really quite under the hood, the oil seemed clean for the miles. Is there something I should look for with the oil?

Sorry for all the questions, I would just hate too trade her perfectly good van for something that may be bad. My 5.4 has been a good one so far, is the newer ones better? I know I have read where mine has the spark plug thread problems, did they correct this?

Thanks

 

You can read all kinds of threads about the misfortunes of the unlucky few. Around 2007 they corrected the weak spark plug, the 2005 may have them in it. I wish she had 70,000 on it! Don't know the year of the van, are you soccer parents or grandkid raisers? LOL I have a couple of those, and my 2011 3.7L is great for them, they watch DVD's and we go places. Driving about 600 miles a week with it now at 15,250 miles. Averages 19.9 MPG since new. Only way to go. Ha ha. I would recommend the XL x2 for you to. Just kidden.

 

Our van is a 2004 Toyota sienna with 144000 on it now, stilll runs as new(knock on wood). We are foster parents and have two of our own. So right now we have a total of four kids.

We wanted it because we would only need one truck to go camping, right now we pull the camper with my truck and she follows behind with the youngun's. Which is not that bad for me...

But none the less, she want's a truck and I'm not willing too trade mine off. We own a thrift store and mine has a tommy lift and a headache rack. It's only a single cab 2 wheel drive, and it's just perfect for what I need it for.

What horror stories do you speak of? Guess I need to study into it and hold off a day or two...

 

The 5.4 can be a tuff cud to chew if it goes bad on you. The older 16 valve was a reliable motor just needed a gallon of gas. People who have good 3v's swear by them and the ones who throw the cam chains guides and all the other VCT stuff hurt. My next move will be a crew cab F150 when the kids are pushing 7/10 years for less bumping in my back. By then my 11 will have 70,000 or so on it. It is a scab, roomy enough for em now. Maybe just take the risk and go get a new crewcab and keep the Toy a few more years. You can use it with the business, and wife can beat around in the new crewcab. LOL a win/win. Mine loves to make the statement, "I'll take you downtown"! She loves to beat around in my trucks. Its the curbs I worry about most.

 

Yes the scab has plenty of room, but two of them are 10 now. My boy is very small for 10 though, he is the same size as my 6 year old. My 10 year old foster son that were fixing to adopt is a big un, but he will be riding up front between the misses and me. The other one is just 3 and is small for his age as well.

Me, Im 6'4" 300 pounds. So whom ever rides behind me will be all scruntched up. But I will only be driving it for camping trips and the rest of the time it will be my wife. She is small too, and she feels more comfortable with a scab over a crew...

How do I check the valve chain guides and all the other stuff you mentioned? It run's great, lots of power and throttle response compared to mine. I was pleased with the way it drove, not sure if I can get a warranty with the miles that are on it though...

 

I guess the real knowledge to have is the Red machine is right in the ballpark bull pin for the cam problems to jump right out and bite you. The odds of you reaching 200,000 miles with out getting hit with a $2000 maintenance bill are very low. Of course you aren't paying $36,000 for it either. Look at your position, can you afford a couple days of it being at ford getting fixed a year. Say in the next 5 years. My position is I want to travel with the feeling my odds of returning with out breaking down are very high, in the 99.999% area. LOL There are just too many miles of Expressway, high speed, conjested traffic and having to get towed, probably to a containment yard, with all the costs of getting it out and moved again. Knock on wood. On a lighter note in 1993 I bought a 1984 Toyota 4 runner. In 20,000 miles I put a water pump, a lower crank seal, a rear electric window unit, rear emergency brake actuaters, and clutch in it along with the rear main seal on the motor, + a rear pinion seal. I loved that 4x4 though, fun to drive. It never broke down, just leaked and wore out.

 

Dang, I honestly had no idea these had this much problems. I was figuring I would have a bunch of guys jumping in and saying pull the trigger, it's a winner either way...lol

That's why I've always loved this place though, always get the truth no matter what. We probably could come up with the cash, but it would be hard going without the baby hauler. And even though it is used and alot cheaper, I still don't think I wan't to buy it knowing it probably won't make it too 200K without major problems.

I will ask about a warranty, if that don't work I will definantly move along. Is there any way I can find out if the work has already been done? Or is it something that will happen again and again? Did Ford fix the problem for good, or are they putting the same parts back on too happen all over again?

Thanks again...

 

If the dealer has the service info, it is one of their trucks it should be easy. It is a beauty of a truck. When you said 4 kids and the wife's van I wondered if it is right for you. I don't know for sure. 5w30 oil can mask some problems, but not major ones. Usually a ticking is the injectors while the more pronounced sound like a diesel means front timing cover problems usually a long with camshaft contacting parts. I do my own repairs and it is very hard work usually. I don't envy the mechanics one bit. I believe if you are going to keep your truck 10 years buy a new one. Red crew cab. She will love it. Trust me on that one. The " it's just too big a truck " only lasts until she fills the box up with stuff once and then they love to haul stuff and have room for groceries and the kids too. LOL

 

A new one is out of the question for now, were looking to trade and add cash too not have too finance. All they had here was this and a Nissan Titan in our price range, the titan was a crew but had a darn console up front, and, well it's a nissan.

We will look else where, maybe I can talk her into another excursion. I miss ours and it fit the bill nicely. But she was nervous driving it and hit every curb in town...lol

Dang shame, I actually thought she was doing good with this pick....

Thanks for all the info budy, it was very helpful....

 

I hate to see you miss a great truck you love. Maybe drive it around a lot and check out its maintenance if you can. I searched for mine and talked a lot before decision time. Got it for $22,000 last october. $400 a month. I reach the next big town down the expressway on every tankful over my other truck with the same tank, that's + 120 miles every fill. That saving alone at 600 miles a weak is great.

 

Well I ended up buying it for her, I also bought a 2 year unlimited mile warranty to protect us.

Hopefully all will go good, we love it so far....

 

I know, it is a great truck. Good luck, change her oil reg. and maintain. She would be probably $40,000 new with the turbo's and such. LOL

 

Mileage is always a concern with purchasing a used vehicle, as it always should be. But something that I have noticed of late, having just gotten finished with the seemingly endless quest of finding something worthy of standards, is that people are keeping vehicles longer. That can be a good or bad thing depending on the kind of owner they are. Just like the days of old when you could find take off tires at the local shop that had another fifteen thousand miles left in them, the same used to be of cars and trucks. But time are a changin' in the words of Bod Dylan.

People are also having to take care of vehicles that they have since the banks aren't letting every schmuck in the country with a credit score higher than 500 trade a $20,000 remaining loan balance vehicle for brand new $40,000 vehicles anymore. People have to take care of their stuff to make it last now.

With that said, I would think a good look at the seals on the underbelly of that truck would be a good place to look at and get an idea of maintenance ethics of the previous owner. Also the tranny oil and see if it has a good smell and color to it too. And maybe a look at the bushings. Those are the last thing people want to keep in good shape since they are such a PIA to change usually. The rear dif cover should have some fairly recent seal replacement too. If nothing else there should at least be some silicone squished out a little as evidence that something has been done. Just a couple of thoughts and things that I look at when looking at used vehicles.