Hoping this is the right place...please bare with my while I try to figure this site out lol

Hey guys, so I'm stuck and I'm not really sure what to do at this point.

My current truck is a 1998 F150, almost 250k in miles on it and it's getting to that "Well what do I do from here?" Point. I'm only nineteen so this is only my second truck and I'm not sure if I should put the money into rebuilding this one or just save my money, pray my beast makes it until I can afford another, and buy something else.

My truck now has a 2 inch lift and lets be real, the camo wrap job is what really makes me love the truck. I still have some minor things to fix but I know the bigger things like Tranny, water pump/timing belt, so on and so forth are in my near future.

I can't afford to out right sell this truck now, so I figured I'd start stashing cash away but do I put the cash away for something new (most likely another gas job) or do I put the money into fixing this? Then again, what happens if something in this one breaks?


Opinions and other things for me to think about would be appreciated.

 

Well, for starters there's no timing belt to worry about replacing. You've got a chain that is a lifetime unit assuming you change your oil regularly. That said, what all needs to be repaired/replaced on your current truck? How much/is there any rust? Mileage is just a number. I've seen 50k mile trucks that are beat to death and others with 300k on them that are in excellent shape.



Also, your truck is new body style (10th generation), this area is for the 9th gen and older. We will still help you with what we can!

 

I wish it was the older 8th or 9th gen they run FOREVER.. Never had a newer body style but it's a ford so you still have a good truck.. That being said if you love the truck fix what's wrong and rebuild the engine and tranny of money will allow it.

I'm also in the same boat with my 96'.. Mine blew at 230k but my foot was the main problem but I'm 19 too so I know how your money situation is lol

I rebuilt and restored my truck from the ground up twice and I someone could offer me any amount of $ and I'd turn it down with a smile on my face... Better built than bought dear

 

First off, wow it's really nice to have people that are helpful on a forum for once. That's new!!!

She is pretty rusty, most of it though is right where my doors are and a few spots on the bed. The under neath isn't in the best shape either.

I know it was a town truck, was sold to some local kid who may have used it for off road, but if it was, it wasn't used that much. There were a few dents under it that my boyfriend thinks are from off roading. The kid got rid of it because...I swear to god...said he wanted a Honda so I picked this one up after my old truck died.

I wasn't given any maintenance records on it but I'm always on top of anything that has to do with care. Like, every other time I fill up I put the lucas fuel treatmeant, oil changes were done every 2500 miles but now I use the synthetic additive when I do the oil change so now it's every 5000 miles, I ALWAYS change at the minimum and use the high mileage stuff because I commute about 40 miles total every day. I don't beat on my truck either, seriously the thing gets treated like my kid.

I know I need a front end alignment but that's nothing major, I need to replace the battery too, get a horn and figure out why my power locks wont work anymore. Coils and spark plugs are also coming up, I just had to do one of those about two weeks ago. There's an exhaust leak that I can't get to to fix because it was welded on instead of bolted near the exhaust manifold[? Correct me if that's wrong please]

Other than that, she's in pretty decent shape. The newest thing I've noticed is occasionally when I got to stop it will sometimes "high idle" like, there's one hill one my way to class that it almost ALWAYS does it to me. (This just started like a month or so ago) or if I happen to have to slam on the brakes it will take a few seconds for the RPMS [?] to come back down.


My mom's been sick the last two years so she CAN'T help me and being a full time college student..moneys tight so I'm trying to go about it in the most logical way possible financially. I DONT know how much rebuilding it will cost me or even how the heck that works, I hate to admit it but I'm totally ignorant when it comes to my truck I'm trying to learn and I've learned a lot since my boyfriend and I started dating and since I started hanging around with the girl who trains my horse but...sometimes I need help from those that have been doin this for a while like you guys lol

 

Not sure if you guys see my reply if I just post it so I'm just doing the "quick reply" just in case this is how you know I replied but...yeah.... lol

 

Make sure there is nothing loose or worn out in the front end before taking it in for an alignment. Most reputable shops will shake down the front end before performing an alignment just to make sure nothing is loose (I do anyways). Are you getting uneven tire wear, a pull, or crooked steering wheel?

Check the fuses first for the power locks. Does the passenger side lock switch operate the locks? If so be suspect of the drivers switch. They do wear out, mine is a prime example.

Exhaust leaks are commonly cracked manifolds and/or broken manifold studs. Pipes and flanges do rust out and leak over time as well though. Post up a picture if you can (create a free photobucket account and use the "img" tags to embed a photo on a forum)

You may have some buildup in the throttle body and idle air valve that is causing the throttle to hang. I don't believe 98s were throttle by wire yet. Pull off the intake duct and look for carbon buildup. Pull off the IAC (Idle air control) valve and check for buildup there as well.

Pick up a manual for your truck as well, it will help greatly when it comes to locating and testing parts in the future. I would continue to drive it and repair it as needed unless something major goes wrong (engine or trans), then decide which direction to go. No sense in rebuilding the engine or transmission if they are still working fine.

 

I was with you until "You may have some buildup in the throttle body and idle air valve that is causing the throttle to hang. I don't believe 98s were throttle by wire yet. Pull off the intake duct and look for carbon buildup. Pull off the IAC (Idle air control) valve and check for buildup there as well. " Then that kind of became Chinese for me. I understand when things are broken down into technicals if that helps, but I will google it to try and understand it so I don't have to completely harass you!

The power locks don't work from either side, I thought it was a fuse too. They lock if I do it manually but neither of the buttons work.

I just bought new tires but there was a little bit of uneven wear and yes I do get a pull to the right.


I think I have the manual, I'll have to double check and see if it's with all of my paperwork.

Is there anything else that I could be doing to help make my truck last longer? Like basic up keep stuff?

 

Right, 98 wasn't throttle by wire, but the IAC valve is. The Idle Air Control is an electrically operated valve mounted to the throttle body, that allows a variable amount of air to get around the main throttle butterfly. The EEC (Electronic Engine Control) controls this valve, adjusting the amount of air that goes thru it in order to maintain a target idle speed. This is required for instance when you have the a/c on... the a/c compressor adds load to the engine whenever it engages, which causes the RPM to drop. The EEC responds within a few milliseconds and adds more throttle (opens IAC) to bring the RPM back up.

What BlkF250HD is saying is that sometimes crud can build up inside the IAC valve or the air passages inside the throttle body, and cause it to act real strange. He's suggesting you pull the valve off and clean it.

What engine do you have, V6, or one of the V8's (4.6 or 5.4)?

Power locks not working... does everything else work? If so it's probably a fuse, although them trucks (late 90's F-150) had some problems with the windshield leaking and wiping out a control module near the fuse panel.

 

welcome to FTE.
it seems like you have a pretty good grasp on what you are doing, and i think you will be fine keeping this current truck running good till you can get a better one.

as for the door locks, it is probable dead actuators. they are little electric motors, and they are known to go bad.
i replaced the ones in my 02 super duty with cheap ones off evilbay for $30 each 6 years ago, and they are still working.

 

Ford girl for your power door locks on the late 90s if it is anything like my mom's 97 expedition or our 02 F250 then I would replace or look at the door lock actuator. Go to LMCtruck.com and they will have a picture of it. You will need to remove your door panels which isn't hard just you need to be very fragile with these years door panels.


I would most defiantly flush the cooling system, transmission, and such at that much mileage (we are about to on my mom's 97 4.6L expedition with 180K.)


How high does the tach go and about how steep is your hill? I noticed when I drive my mom's 97 4.6L along with buddies 4.2L V6 and 5.4L V8 of this style they do get a little high of rpm depending on your driving (me sometimes I see it when I am a little heavy on the throttle (but I am only 17 too)).

Check your air cleaner regularly I noticed on my mom's 97 expy it gets dirty fairly quickly compared to my 88 F150 or our 02 F250 and that causes higher idle.

For the trans what do you have auto or standard I didn't see you post that above. If auto flush the trans it helps a ton.

Change the coils (or coil pack) and plugs as that will help a ton on everything it is probably past due.

Lastly check the steering stabilizer bolts my mom's expedition was also heavily offroaded (with 180K miles) and the stabilizer bolts broke from rust and the stocks aren't that good. I had it pulling to the left a lot until I replaced that then it went perfectly straight. I believe I have a pic of the stabilizer bolts if you want a pic but I am not for sure.
Trav

 

So question then - In July, my AC compressor got replaced, I was at a stop light, every light in my dash went on and then my truck just died. It was the AC Comp. - I don't trust the shop my mom brings it to and unfortunately, at that point, I had no say because she DID pay for that. Could that issue be related to that at all?

Also, Dixie460, funny you bring that up. My windshield fluid doesnt come out anymore when I hold the button for it. It just foams and I've tried everything to get those damn things to work and gave up - my power locks stopped working at the same time that started too, wonder if that's why? Also, thank you for breaking that down for me, I understand it SO much better now. Since I don't know how to do that myself, any idea what that would cost me in a shop? And I have the 5.4 Triton

tjc transport - Thank you for the welcome, really loving this place so far! Everyone's really helpful!

Redneckfordf2502002 - Again, any idea what it would run me to flush the cooling system at a shop? I did just replace one of the coils and a spark plug about two weeks ago. If by Tach you mean the rpm's (again, please correct me if I'm wrong) goes to about 2ish and holds there, even when I'm stopped for about thirty seconds and then kicks down to 1 or below. The hill really isnt that steep, (I live sort of on a mountain and it doesnt do it on my hill at home, just on my way to class) or it does it if I have to break fast. I drive through down town new haven and at least once a day I have to slam on my brakes because someone cuts me off, she doesn't like that lol

 

OH another question while I'm thinking of it - When I take my truck out of 4WD it lags for a second and then almost slams back into 2WD - Is that my transfer case and if so, what am I looking at for that? I live in New England and with the snow I don't want to risk not having my 4WD not working correctly

 

that hard shift thing is kind of a common problem with electric shift transfer cases.
try coming to a stop and shifting from 4 wheel to 2 wheel, then reversing about 10 ft that should make the transfer case shift real soft and easy. it will allow the transfer case to unload making the shift from 4 to 2 easier.

i do that even with my manual shift transfer case trucks.

 

I can see the a/c compressor causing that. When it locked up it stalled the engine, which is why all the warning lights came on. It probably wasn't all of them, just the ones that you'd see with a dead engine. Alternator, oil pressure, Service Engine, etc.

As for the windshield fluid, if it comes out as foam then we can deduce that the pump and control/power circuits are working... sounds like you have a broken hose somewhere, or your pump is sucking air.

The power locks should be easy. Do you have a voltmeter, or even a test light, or know someone that owns one? If so, just check for power at each door lock actuator as the buttons are pushed. If you have power, then the actuators are dead. If no power, then you have a different problem.

Coolant flush would probably be around $80 or so.

To have the IAC cleaned at a shop would probably be around .5 hours at whatever hourly rate they charge. They usually charge in tenths of an hour and it goes by what their book says it takes, not the actual time it takes the person to do the work. I'd guess that most shops would want to replace it, instead of cleaning it, since then they can warranty it. I can't give you a better estimate, sorry. I do all my own work... nobody takes a wrench to my truck except me. Well, and the tire shop lol.

Did you have this thing scanned for codes by any chance? I'd do that before I took it to a shop for the IAC. Reason I say that is because the computer (the EEC) will give you a fault code, which can point us to the sensor that sees the problem condition. From there it's just a matter of figuring out why that condition exists. Your high idle at 2000 RPM (tach reads RPM x 1000, so "2" = 2000 RPM) could be a stuck IAC and/or a vacuum leak, both of which should cause the EEC to set one or more fault codes in it's memory. We'll want to see if those are there, and any others, before throwing money at a shop for labor.

 

TJC - I'll give that a go, thank you

Dixie460 - When the coil needed to be replaced my friends boyfriend scanned it for a code then to figure out what was wrong with it. The only other code this has thrown has been for the exhaust leak that it has. I forgot what the exact code it's throwing for that but I can try to find the paper autozone gave me when I had them do it?

I also took a video of what it does on that hill this morning, if anyone wants to private message me I can text it to you, not sure if you're going to be able to tell from the video but I figured it was worth a shot.