My brother has had a 99 dodge ram since it was new, and has stuck countless dollars into it because it is a piece of junk. It was just a bad year for the dodges back then.

As it would figure everytime something would go wrong he would bring it to me to fix, and I would tell him if he had a ford he wouldnt have a problem right now.

He is considering buying a new F150. Being the newest ford truck I own is an 88, I was just wondering if the new F150's are as reliable and rock solid as my 88 is?

I know there is a problem with a steering wheel shimmy on the new ones. Are there any other epidemics going around on it? How about the 5.4 engines? I told my brother that the 5.4 would TOTALLY BLOW his old 318 away in power and reliablilty (and probabaly gas mileage). From driving a 5.4 in an F250 it seems true, but how about in the F150? What does everyone think?

I dont want to talk up ford and have it be as big of a piece of junk as his dodge is (I know this is extremely unlikely however).

Thanks
-Peter

 

I have an 04 and dont have the 'nibble' *knock on wood*, so it is not an issue on them all. As for the 5.4 the plugs sticking are a problem sometimes and have tendency to break off and thus creating a larger problem. As for the power of the 5.4. A tuner would really wake it up, but not bad stock. I havent had anything major be an issue with mine at all, and I'm at 46k.

 

Well, I just traded my '05 Supercab on Sat. for a Supercrew.
My '05 had two persistent problems:

Clunk in rear (in the shop three times for it: lube slip yolk, replace drive shaft, replace clutch packs)

4wd wouldn't engage and hubs were making bad clunking sound (4 times in the shop to replace the actuator solenoid). I got stuck in the snow twice because of that.

Add to that, the issue with the plugs on the '05s, and I had enough.

I was close to handing in my Ford loyalty card and getting something else, but many here have had no issues with their trucks, so I'm giving them another chance.

The new one has the same 3.73 ltd slip rear, and it doesn't clunk. Good start. I haven't tested the 4wd yet.

 

In my 2000, I have replaced the upper ball joints/upper contro arms twice. I have had 3 spark plugs eject themselves( all fixed with inserts now) 2 bad coil packs, one transmission and 1 injector. The newer 3valve engines dont eject plugs anymore, but I think the front ends are still weak. My truck is lifted 3 inches so some of this is my fault. although i changed shocks and did the proper alignments and kept the driveline angles correct.

 

They've been good from all I hear from owners personally the only thing is to be sure and change the spark plugs every 30 or 40 thousand miles.

 

Most of the 5.4L I have been around are some of the most reliable motors you can get, that being said sometimes there is a bad apple in the bunch.

 

I have a '07 Screw with 4200 miles on the clock. I have a small clunk in the steering when it is in a odd position turning but overall I would recomend these trucks to anyone. So far I am glad that I bought mine. The power is plenty unless you are planning on drag racing. The fuel economy is good, compared to the size of the truck ( Average about 14.5 around town ). I think the plug issue was dealt with by '06 but not sure about that. Haven't found anything yet to truly complain about. I drive it every day and can't wait to drive it tomorrow! Good luck !!!

 

No Problems With My 06 Or 07

 

Yeah i think they are pretty reliable but i know for sure some 2004s had there share of problems but thats with any kind of new year redesign vehicle after that they got the kinks worked out i test drove a 06 supercab XLT 4x4 5.4l with a 3.55 limited slip and man it had some good power

 

Guy at the shop next to us has been a Dodge man all his life. His Dodge is of about the same year or maybe a little newer than the one you mentioned. We were outside chatting with him a couple of weeks ago and asked him how he liked it. He said it was going to be the last Dodge he ever bought and his next is a Ford.

As to reliability, I have a tough time answering that! I'm biased, obviously.

My engine has been great. Ride quality is super. Handling is great. Fit and finish is great. Interior is great.

Problems? Well, mine doesn't qualify because I've modified it so much that the warranty is out the window. (to those who mod their vehicles a lot, take this to heart: it should be your problem not the dealers if you take the route I did)

a. Random misfire problem that I found to be a bad coil. My fault on that one. I have performance after-market GMS coils and got water in it.
b. Transmission: complete toast at under 20,000 miles. My fault again. Its supercharged, and tuned to the hilt and my driving has burned the clutch pack. No stock tranny will stand up to 400 rear wheel horsepower for long unless you baby the truck. Its getting a performance tranny built for it now that should stand up to 600 HP.

 

I love my Ford. Had it two years and 25,000 miles. No major issues for me just changed the brake pads the rear pads were pretty low so I changed them all to ceramics I couldn't take the dust. Now my only complaint is gone. As for the engine I got the 4.6 and it is enough power for me. It is a proven engine Ford has been making for years. I would talk Ford up to your brother IMO they make the best truck on the road and they seem to be making them better every year.

 

Cool. My brother is the kind of guy who likes to drive his truck hard and doesnt like to have to deal with a bunch of annoying little problems. If he notices his truck is doing something funny he usually asks me about it and then gets it fixed. Sounds like FORD it is then!