I am currenlty looking to get out of my 98 Expy 4.6L and into a 03 F150 4X4 Super Crew. My Expy has been fairly flawless, 180K miles, other than regular maintance (rotors, pads, axle seals etc.) no major repairs. My stomach tells me its time to sell the Expy. My fear is the tranny. No problems at this time, but dont wanna drop $$$$$ for a vehcile that is only worth $6K.

So my question, the vehicle I am looking at is an 03 4X4 S-Crew, 5.4, 3.73 rear end FX4. It has 34K miles and they want $19,500. What should I be looking for (ie leaky head gasket, etc.) Can I expect to get the same reliabilty I got from my Expy? I dont want to assume that Ford had resolved spark plug blowout issue or head gasket problems for 03.

 

With regards to the spark plug issue, Ford did change that in 03. So now the thread depth is much greater. I don't recall for sure, but I think they changed the head gasket style since then. Personally, that was one of the reasons I bought my 03 Screw this spring.

I have a buddy that has a 98 Expy AND a 2002 Screw. The one complaint he has is the SCREW doesn't turn as sharp as the Expy. Has a larger turning radius. Personally, I don't know. Just thought I would mention it.

 

The Screw has a longer wheelbase than the Expy. That explains the larger turning radius.

 

Yea, the Expy has a great turning radius, that I will miss. 92merc, any issues with our Screw to date?

 

I haven't had any. They change the master cylinder design from what I can tell, so I've avoided the cruise control fire issue for now. So with that, my '03 has avoided all the "major" issues of the previous year.

But I'm going to wire up a 5 amp fuse in the hot side of that cruise switch anyway when it warms up. That and my warranty will be gone by then anyway.