So I went ahead and bought my first truck.

1991 F150 XLT extended cab, 147k miles, 4x4, manual hubs, 4.9/I6, M5OD 3.55 gears, nice topper, bedliner, recent underbody coating. It was a trade in farm truck at the local chevy dealership (booo right?) and I nitpicked the sales guy down $300 to a final price of $1300.

I test drove the thing a couple times and there was a bit of shudder over 65, and most of that has mostly gone away after I got the tires balanced & roatated, plus I'm guessing that the spark wires & maybe the cap & rotor were original, as they were BADLY in need of replacing so I've done that too. It was still a bit herky jerky in mid range speeds so i also ran some injector cleaner thru and that sems to have mosly gone away.

I got this truck for the occasional load of brush & dirt, and maybe across a field or two to haul a deer, but it's primary use is going to be in towing my 16 foot fiberglass boat. If I put 5k miles on in a year I'll be pretty surprised.

I'm pretty sure that the ball joints and U-joints are quite worn and might be in need of replacing, but I'm wondering if it's the kind of thing I need to do soon or if it can wait. I'm sure that if I take it to a mechanic they'll tell me to get them replaced, but how big a deal are they actually? I called a local mechanic and he said that it'd run about $850 or so to replace the ball and u-joints but I'm sorta wondering if it's worth spending that much on a $1300 truck, especially when you think about the fact that the springs and shocks are proably just as worn.

My overall plan is to keep this truck for quite a while so eventualy I figure I'll have to replace them, or should I just drive it till the thing dies then get it fixed?

What else should I look into replacing/serviceing for longevity of a vehicle like this?

 

There's been a few threads lately about the timing gears made out of composite material that wear out. Maybe you could replace those two gears with steel ones so you don't loose the engine?

 

I would do the rear shaft u-joints if you are going to tow. Even having it done should be in the 100-150 range. Cheap insurance. Normally you will only be towing in 2 wheel drive anyway, and most of the time (odds are) the truck was not run in 4 wheel drive much. So the front u-joints you can check by wobbling the shaft....but odds favor them being OK.

Brakes are a MUST check if you are going to use it for towing, Maintenance item.

Belts, hoses, filters etc.

If the differential grease/trans fluid have not been changed (probably not) I would change them out.

Other than that (most of them maintenance items) Just run the codes to make sure nothing else needs changed out.

Enjoy the truck and welcome to the group...Good bunch of folks here.

Jim

 

The belts, hoses & filters seem to be ok, but i'll probably do what you say and have the rear u-joints done. I had been told a while ago (for a car) that many times youre better off leaving the tranny sealed up. Or are these designed to have the fluids changed out?

Are codes read off the check engine light?