I have a tranny leak in my 2004 F-150 5.4L 4x4 truck. I hear funny noises when I am at stop lights like "whoomp" and loud sensor "clicking" noises. I notice a small trail of fluid when I pull into my drive way when I stop and back in. My 36/36000 warranty is up, but I only have 5500 miles on this truck. I have never been rough with this truck, and I have never towed anything eigther.

Also my engine sounds like the cam phasers are making noise. I have 3 things rattling when driving down the road. This truck has vibrated at 55-65 sense I bought it. I only get 10.5 miles to the gallon, and had this truck into ford 4 times sense I bought it for other things. All maintenance was through ford's service department. I believe I bought a lemon and I am not very happy about my stupid decision about buying this ford truck.

What would you guys do about this situation?

 

I don't want to start an Internet war, but you sound like a jealous Dodge owner....lol

Personally, I'd buy another one, and drive it more so I could get any possible bugs worked out of it before the warranty expires. I've had my 08 a month, and already half the mileage you have.

 

how often does your truck actually get driven? and for any appreciable amount of time? I can pretty much guarantee you that 90% your problems are due to the truck just sitting

transmission leak - seals dried out since they weren't being exercised and lubricated
vibration - is a 04 and early 05 thing. Ford spent alot of time fixing this and it seems to be wheel and driveshaft related
engine noise - the cam phasers are another 04/05 issue, why didn't you get it fixed under warranty?
bad MPG - try driving the truck and clearing out the gas tank...actually drive it


last year there was another guy on the forum who had an 04 also...about 8k miles and pretty much in the same situation as you. While I'm sorry your experience hasn't been great, I think alot of it falls back on you. How far out of warranty are? if it's just a few months, the Dealership/Ford may actually deal with you...expecially with your low mileage

 

Doesn't your truck have a 5year/60k drivetrain warranty. My 06, bought used in Oct 06, has been in the shop over a dozen times(14 or 15 actually). Rattle in door, numerous seals, rear ends(two + seal), brakes -both front & back, EATC replaced, 4x4 motor and a few other things. Everything has been handled under warranty.

Recently w/ 36,500 the pinion seal started leaking. This was handled under the 5year/60k drivetrain warranty. The truck now has over 46k and the pinion seal looks a little wet, again- I'll change my oil next weekend and inspect it more closely then. If it's leaking again it'll be back in the shop right away. I don't think I would be so calm about trips to the dealer if they weren't a 5 minute walk from my house

Even with all the above, I still trust the truck to get me there and back- in style.

If your seeing fluid drip everytime you back up I'd get the tranny looked at ASAP. It will cost a lot more to fix a broken tranny than replace a leaking seal.

Your gas milage will probably increase once you get a few more miles on it.

If your really unhappy - sell it. w/ those low miles it's bound to have good value as a down payment on a another vehicle.

Good luck in whatever you do.

Tim

 

2004-2006 model F-150's have the standard 3yr/36,000 mile warranty.

the 2007 + models got the better warranty. since you bought your truck used, I'm thinking the original owner bought an extended ESP from Ford. those things transfer over when the vehicle is sold...unless you cash 'em in

 

Well Mr C PU Slayer I have to say that having travelled in excess of 100,000 miles in 3 years and not had half the trouble you have had I suggest we exchange trucks, deal--------- no deal ?

 

Sounds like stale fuel to me as far as the engine goes. Rotted seals and broken down fluid in the tranny.

How much do you want for that lemon in it's current condition? I may come pick it up and releive you of your burden. Can't be worth much to you.

 

My 06 came with a 5yr/100k mile powertrain warranty(w/deductible) which I didn't pay anything extra for. Unfortunately, if I'm interpreting the Oasis report correctly, mine doesn't transfer to a new owner. Ford changed their beyond 3/36k warranties in July of 06, I believe.

 

I bought my 06 brand new on October 10th, 2006. It has the 3yr/36k warranty. I then bought the Premium ESP 6yr/75,000 warranty with $50 deductible on top of it.

I can only think of 2 things going on here.

1. My dealers screwed me by saying I only have a 3yr/36k
2. Different parts of the country had different warranty terms

are you the original owner also? because nobody had a 100k warranty until mid-year 07 (Dodge started it)

 

First of all, I am a Ford fan and fan boy. I have had fords most of my life. 1980 f-250, 1990 F-150, 1989 ranger, 2001 Edge ranger, another 2001 offroad ranger, and now my 2004 FX4 F-150. And you call me a Dodge fan. *Sigh* I just wanted to to tell everyone of my experience of my 2004 F-150 FX4 4x4 Screw. I know I am very unlucky, this is not the typical Ford experience I am use to because I have had many Ford trucks and have never needed to take any of them into the dealership for anything other than oil changes, scheduled maintenance, and recalls.

Transmission Leak- I drive my truck at least once or twice a week. Most of my driving is done with my work Ranger, I just do everything I need to do before I go home after work. I told Ford Service Department there was noise coming from the tranny or rear-end, I turn a corner and give it .25 or .5 throttle and I some times hear a clunking noise. They said they couldn't hear it and they didn't do anything about it.

Vibration- I told Ford 4 times about this and they have done NOTHING about it. I'm not an ***, and I sure don't treat people like one. You know the saying, nice people finish last. So I guess I will remain a loser.

Engine noise- I just started 1 month after my lousy 36/36K warranty was expired. I didn't buy the extended warranty because I knew that I would have very low miles on my truck after 5 or 6 years (less than 10K). Who would have thought that Ford would have this many problems with the 2004. I sure in the hell didn't, especially after only 5500 miles! Guess it was a bad decision of my part, and it is going to cost me dearly because of it.

Bad MPG- I do drive my truck, I fill it up every month or 1.5 months. I use to get 13.5 MPG until ford fixed my stalling issue at red lights. Now I get 10.5 MPG and ford didn't do jack about it. I told them 3 different times when I had it in there for other things.

There are times I drive my F150 for only 2 or 3 miles per week. Then other times im going 30-50 miles one way. It all depends. This is my personal vehicle for recreational use. I bought a 2001 Edge Ranger and it was my rec. vehicle used the exact same way as my current F150, and my tranny never leaked, and I had 5800 miles on it before the lease was up. Most of my mileage is done on my offroad Ranger, which is my work rig. I just do everything I need to do after work before I go home. But If I do decide to go some where when I get home, then I get into my awesome looking f-150 and drive in style!

 

I didn't call you a Dodge fan. I said "you sound like a jealous Dodge owner". There was a Dodge poser on here complaining about a Ford he supposedly owned.

 

It's all good F0rdzTuff. It was my fault for getting defensive. I do remember that post your thinking of though.


Well, now that I came to realization that this is my own doing for not driving it more so the bugs can be worked out. I guess I will see what the dealership will do for me. I do have a few questions in case the dealership sticks strictly to the contract and don't help out.

What are the pros and disadvantages of the 07 or 08 F150's 5.4 Ecab/Screw 4x4's? Do these models have their own unique problems, are the bugs worked out of them? Are the manual transmissions still hard to find? How are the diesel models and what type of gas mileage would be expected out of them?

 

stick is out unless you get the v-6...and the 2009 will not offer stick at all

otherwise, the 06+ trucks are pretty much bug free. there are a few who get stuck plugs, but the rest of the issues have been ironed out

I can get 15+ mpg in the city...if I want to. but the truck ain't any fun to drive then. most people see 12-14 mpg city

no diesel in any 1/2 ton yet...and the 2009's are getting the 4.6 2v, 4.6 3v, 5.4 3v...so expect more HP/TQ

 

• The rear-end noise seems to "sound" like the TSB issue relating to Clutch packs. I still need to get mine done. The fact that it happens on low-speed turns during acceleration, makes it sound even more suspect.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/fulltext/show_article.php?tsb=06-4-4

• The Vibration... also sounds like a TSB that has been hitting a few other "older-model" users.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/fulltext/show_article.php?tsb=04-1-6
https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...p?tsb=05-26-24
https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...hp?tsb=05-13-1
https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...hp?tsb=06-12-3

...if its a vibration/nibble at the wheel only you may want to check this out.....https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...hp?tsb=04-25-7

 

Only problem I had was the e-brake cable stuck (lubed it myself) and my A/C cycling switch was bad, so they switched it out. Steering was really sensitive for the first 1000 miles, but now it tracks normal. (or I got used to it) Tinted the front windows, threw a flowmaster 50 series SUV on it, Rhino Liner, and a Toolbox. Next step will be a leveling kit, and I'm done.