I am thinking about buying a 1997 F-150 with a 4.2L with 128,000 miles. The truck is in beautiful shape, and it runs smooth. When it is idling it has a light tapping noise. As soon as you step on the gas it goes away. Does anyone think this could be a major problem?

 

welcome to FTE the tap you hear is from the oil pressure relief valve...its not serious...however you may want to bring it in as i cant hear it from here to tell u thats what it is...thanks

 

Thank you for the warm welcome. That advice helps a lot. I Really like this truck, and the sale price is only $5,500.00 so I wanted to make sure that tapping noise wasn't something unusual.I am in the process of checking to see if it was taken in for the recall on the gaskets. Do you own a 4.2L?

 

Welcome to FTE.
I agree with James. The slight ticking noise in the front of the engine is caused by the oil pump. This is common on the 4.2 and there is no need to worry. The 1997-early 1998 gasket issue is the only real concern, and I see you are checking on that. $5,500 seems like a good price.

 

If the gaskets haven't been replaced do you think I should just forget about buying it? I think if they were going to go they should of went by now. I priced replacement and the Dealer told me around $700.00. Another question is do I drive it until they go, or replace them before hand?

 

well that depends if you want a$700 bill or a $3000 bill when the gaskets go... your engine will soon go with it

 

PattyJ,
Another welcome to FTE and another who can vouch for the ticking sound. Mine has always done it (2000 model w/ 129,000 miles).
Why not offer to split the cost with the seller. Get a quote from the dealer, present it to the seller and if he agrees to know 1/2 the price of gasket work off the selling price, you will buy the truck.
If you do buy it, I would have the gaskets replaced. If you wait for one to go, you could get REAL unlucky and trash the motor with one turn of the ignition key.
Best of luck and let us know what you wind up doing.

 

Has anyone ever seen anything factual indicating the percentage of 97 – 98 early 4,2’s that had the gasket problem? I would tend to agree with PattyJ, if a faulty gasket was going to cause a problem I would have expected it to do so before 128,000 rolled up on the odometer. For that matter I think I’ve heard of a couple 2000 or newer models that had similar problems. It’s like the 5.4’s blowing sparkplugs out of the head. Sounds pretty serious, but how many really have the problem? If you do a search it seems like a lot, but I suspect the actual number of problems is very low in relation to the number of 5.4’s out there. The same might be true for the 4.2’s.

 

hey guys i just remembered something....i have a buddy who owns a car lot here...he has a 97' lariat 4x4 v-8 for $4500.00 i was gonna buy it but i dont need gasket trouble or a 5k$ toy...i agree with brian about the splitting the cost thing

 

I spoke to Ford and they said there was a recall on the gaskets in 97. I am got the VIN, and I am going to call and see if they were ever replaced.

 

I called the dealer and they said it the recall either done or it has expired because they said there wasn't any outstanding claims on the truck. I purchased it on Saturday, and love it. It does need a little work like an exhaust leak, and it sounds like the catalytic cover rattles, but other than that it runs great. Thanks for all the help.