Hey Paul,

For what it's worth, I just bought a 2000 F150 extended cab 2wd with a 5.4. I had 77,000 on it when I bought it, and for the first 4000 miles or so I was happy. Then the rain came. Every time it rains, I foul coils and spark plugs. I'm on my 13th coil and 4th set of plugs. The recent rain here in SoCal also revealed the fairly common rear window seal leak, which my leather interior doesn't like. Fuel economy sucks, to the tune of 12mpg, probably expect the same or worse on a 4x4. The 4 doors don't seal right, and in windy conditions at highway speeds, air sneaks past the upper drivers door seal and whistles like mad. The tailgate lock is sticky, and it was on every F150 I test drove. Also look out for that cruise control issue. The fellas at my local dealer (which is the highest volume Ford dealer in the USA by the way) say the parts won't be readily available until at least July, but probably more like August. I paid WAY less than $16,900 on eBay for my truck, so I can't complain too much, but the little stuff is starting to suck. My '62 F100 with the original wheezy 223 is more reliable in the rain.

My Rangers never gave me troubles though... the good ol' days.

 

The little stuff is the reason i'm getting away from the ranger, but it sounds like i might have that same problem with this.... you're starting to scare me, lol. When i test drove today the cruise control wasn't disabled or anything, does that mean it wasn't affected, or that the dealer doesn't know about it? i guess i'll ask when we talk to them tomorrow. I was only getting 15mpg in the ranger, so thast not too bad.. i'll probably be going easy on it anyway, used to 150hp ranger, lol.

i guess we'll see how it turns out..

-paul

 

Don't forget that when someone has a problem with their truck they let everyone know about it. I have a 2002 5.4 supercab bought used with 20k, now have 40k and have had ZERO problems.

 

My 98 F150 Supercab Lariat @ 75K miles is great, I've had it for two years and 30K miles later. The weak spot probably is the subpar braking. At first I was skeptical, and brought it up to dealer and brakes shop. They said it's normal for F150's in that model. I got used to it afterward. The engine is great, zero problem on it ever since, am very pleased with my experience. I'm getting the 2002 Supercrew shortly, decided to stick with the 97-2003 generation. I'm selling my 98 Supercab, and I'm going to miss it dearly, I hope I won't regret it.

 

I bought my 97 w/ 38k on it, it has 101k now. No problems other than a heater core about 2 months ago and the cruise deactivation switch went out last spring.

 

Bought the truck last night, loving to so far, also bought an extended warranty for 3 years. Don't have the little 'clicker' thing that opens/locks the doors and has the pannick button, but i can get used to that, thats my only problem. Other than that i'm loving it, later tongiht i'll probably ask what axel i have, but i forgot the axel code that was on the door, it chirps around turns, i don't know if its a limited slip or me not being used to v8 yet.

Thanks for all the help guys!
paul

 

You can get the 'clicker' also known as a 'key fob' on ebay, I've seen them sold as low as $5, highest I've seen one is $30. Somewhere on here there's instructions on how to reprogram it to work with your truck too, it's not hard at all. You don't have to open the clicker up, the instructions go something like press the door lock/unlock switch 8 times then press unlock on the remote... I don't know exactly, but it's something like that.

Congrats on your purchase, I think overall you'll be pleased with the performance of your 00' F-150. I had a 1997 2wd Lariat Supercab with the 4.6 engine, and it ran perfect all the way up to 171k miles when I plowed it into a ditch in wet weather. Oem ball joints were still good too, of course it was 2wd but for a long time I ran a 3.5" spindle lift with 31" a/t tires and offroaded it as well, never breaking a ball joint.

Currently I'm in a 1999 Lariat Supercab 2wd with the awesome 5.4l engine with 3.55LS in the rearend. The truck is awesome and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

 

Ok guys i just lost the whole message i just wrote so i'm going to try to write it again..

So i was sitting at a stop light and dodge with his duals pulled up next to me and wanted to race, so i say, waht the heck, new truck, lets have some fun with it.. i was keeping up with him all the way through first.. but then when it came time to shift to second it woudln't.. it just hung there right aroudn 4500 rpm and wouldn't shift.. this isn't normal is it?

Then when it finally did decide to shifty i got a nice big chirp from the belt. I tried it a couple of times with the same results each time, one time the lights dimmed out when it was revving.

Also did it tiny burnout and its looking like a limited slip.

Starting to lose my faith in fords.. my first two vehicles and this one is starting with problems already.

 

[QUOTE=VintageBlueOval]Hey Paul,

For what it's worth, I just bought a 2000 F150 extended cab 2wd with a 5.4. I had 77,000 on it when I bought it, and for the first 4000 miles or so I was happy. Then the rain came. Every time it rains, I foul coils and spark plugs. I'm on my 13th coil and 4th set of plugs.

VintageBlueOval, You've almost described my story completely. I bought my 2000 F150 EXT CAB 2wd / 5.4L w/ 73,000 last January (04) for $14,500 9" lift, 35" BFG's and I was happy for about the first 5,000 until it developed a mis that I can't seem to square away. See "Misfire" for details. Are you serious about 13 COP's and 4 sets of plugs? I also live in SoCal (San Diego) and it never crossed my mind. The rain that is. No codes so I don't know what to do with it.

Sean

 

You bought the warrenty, now make them fix it. Make sure a tech rides with you and show the problem to him. Don't let them tell you that there is nothing wrong. Be a complete A-hole if you have to.

I'd never have the suprise that you do as every vehicle I test drive gets the old standing still, then floor it to 90 or so. I got 2-3 gears of rubber in my truck .

I live in N. Kentucky and it rains here about once every 2 minutes and I've never had any COP problems or window leakage problems.

As far as mileage goes, I average about 12-13 city and 15-18 highway.

Mike

 

I'm willing to beg the laggy shift is probably from the computer not knowing your driving habits. Unhook the battery, turn on the lights (they shouldn't come on) and re-connect it and then drive the truck the way you usually drive (whether that be like a grandpa, or lead-foot). The computer needs to know your driving habits in order for the electronic automatic transmission to shift correctly.

 

i actually figured thats what was going on, because it seemed to be getting slightly better the more i drove it, prior to this i hadn't floored it at all and the computer was used to me driving like grandpa i suppose, there is still a lag after disconnecting the battery but not nearly as long, it just feels like it revs for 1-200 rpm too long, its hard to explain, maybe thats just how it is.


thanks,
paul

 

Ok, tranny seems to be good now.

what is axel code h9?

thanks,
paul

 

H9 is a 3.55:1 limited slip
rear end.

 

ouch. So i guess my dad would have me in a race in his 95 f350 standard cab with a 5.8 and a 4.10 limited slip?

How much worse would the fuel milage get with a 4.10? My ranger had the 4.10 in it and i got 15mpg at best. I'm not sure what i'm getting with this yet, but i spent 42.00 to fill it up today and that hurt, lol. I guess i'll get used to it..