Hi

i used to own a 98 toyota tacoma 4x4 that was involed in the masive recall on the frames and needless to say it is gone now i had that truck for 178,000 miles, i was hoping to put 200,000 on it before turning it in but when toyota checked the frame there was 5 spots behind the ext cab that had rotted out

im looking at buying a 95 f150 4x4 ext cab with 161,000 on the ticker
they want 3500 for it

i have looked at the truck 3 times now and test drove it twice
the only things i have found wrong so far is that the driver door doesnt close properly and you have to slam it shut realy hard
there is a little sepage from around the oil pan gasket
the truck always pulls to the right and you have to turn the wheel a half a turn to the left to correct it

what i have found that is good is that all the fluilds look new
the rear shackle hangers look ok and still have plenty of meat on them
both of the fuel takes work
the 4x4 and manul hubs work propery
the radius arm bushings on both sides have been replaced
the engine and tranny both are working great even with the milage it has

what i need to know is if there is anything else that i need to look at and what kind of milage can i expect out of this truck before the drivetrain gives out
any info will greatly help me with my decission

 

If you have to slam the driver's door, it has likely been in a wreck. Especially a problem if it pulls to one side...possible frame damage. Take it to a body expert...spend a little money getting it checked out now to prevent a bigger problem later on.

 

i did not know the rear shackles came with meat on them.

take it to a mechanic and have them put it on a lift and check everything out.

 

I own a 1995 F150 4x4 ext cab. I bought it for the same price you are looking at (almost a year ago), but mine had about 132k on it at the time. It had the same thing with the driver's door. If it's the same ordeal as mine, it can be fixed with new hinge pins (They come in a set with washer insert things that are made of a softer metal. Often these inserts wear out and become oval shaped, causing the door to sag and not close correctly.) You can pick them up at any local car parts store. You just have to be a little patient because you'll end up futzing with the door for about half an hour or so. I don't know if you can Carfax something that old to see it's history of accidents, etc. Not sure...

As far as pulling to the right, I would assume it just needs an alignment. But if you have to turn the wheel that much, it's possible it could be frame damage from an accident. Either way, it would be a good idea to take it to a local shop for them to just check it out.

If you do end up going through with the purchase, I'd encourage you to talk them down on the price. I feel like I could have paid less for my rig after I shopped around some more after the purchase. Don't make my mistake, especially if it has the issues you've listed, and 161,000 miles.

As far as other issues: (You probably know a lot of this, but I can say it anyway) I've heard Ford 4x4s had some difficulty with their Auto-locking hubs. If this one has manual hubs, it's likely they are replacements, which is good. I'm unfamiliar with factory manual hubs, but I would assume they are alright. As far as motors, this is fairly subjective on my part but... if it has a bulletproof 300 (4.9 liter) that mileage should be fine; with a 302 (5.0) it might be getting a little tired; 351 (5.something..8?) it should be fine; 460 (7.barf), hell if I know, but it took a lot of gas to get that many miles out of it, it's probably fine. Transmissions: check the code inside the driver's side door sill to see what it's got under it. I'm unfamiliar with the automatics, but I've heard good things about them. As far as 5-speed manuals, assuming I'm correct, that year either has the M5R2 or maybe the ZF S547. The M5R2 is a dumpy tranny made by Mazda. That's what I have. It works, but can leak through these rubber plugs on the top.... whole nother story... but overall they work. Just keep fluid in them. The ZF is made by Ford and it's pretty solid.

Past that, your guess is as good as mine. Good luck buying.

I don't know what shackle hangers are, but I like meat.

 

Have them check that meat to, it might be bad by now

 

with the shackle hangers i mean they still have plenty of steal to them
my dad used to work at a dealership and would see these trucks and the rangers come in all the time with the shackle hangers rotted threw and the springs shot up into the bed
i don't know why i didn't think of this before now but i just kbb.com the truck and it only came out on trade in value to be 2150 in fair condition
i do beleave that SeaFoam is right about the door because it does sag a little when its opened
as far as it pulling it could be because the passenger front tire is worn a little more than the driver side (i think it was on the rear to long and was rotated to the front) and that it never had an alignment after the radius arm bushings were replaced

 

you do know we were just messing with you, right?

$2000 or so sounds about right.

figure it may need a $200-$500 to get it in shape.

depends how they did that bushing replacement.

i would have a mechanic check it on a lift if i was thinking of buying it.

good luck and welcome to fte.

 

well i was just making sure every one was on the same page

 

Good advice offered here. I would certainly try to talk that price down a bit. Good luck.

 

the answer for your duplicate posts question:

the hook up for the obd I i under the hood.

 

i will probly go and look at it again tomarrow and see what kind of price i can get them to agree upon
might even take it home if the price is right

 

Find out if that oil pan is leaking(rusted thru) or just needs a gasket. Neither is fun to do and a shop will get you for $500-$600. Depending on what you want the truck for, towing, work, or just the average daily driver, the 5.0 is not a real workhorse. A 5.8 doesn't get much worse gas mileage either. The worn out front tire is probably BECAUSE of the alignment being off. The trans is either a 4r70w or a e4od. Ask if it's been rebuilt. They seem to go around 150k if not maintained well.

 

welp i didn't get to go and look at the truck again
been raining here all day and i do not want to crawl around the truck with it raining

from the looks of it when i crawled under the truck the last time it is the pan gasket. the reason i think it is the gasket is because it is wet around the entire pan gasket area when the bolts mount it to the motor
it really isn't that bad of a leak, it might just take tighting the bolts to get it to stop

all the truck is for is the weekend running, if is snows and the spring time mulch runs (maybe some off-roading on the side)
here in northern kentucky when it snows they never realy know how much will fall. twice last year they called for a light dusting and by lunch there was around a foot on the ground
i bet the tranny has never been rebuilt but i do not know for sure becasue the previous owner will not return my calls and the car lot doesn't know anything about it other than it was well mantained

the first time i test drove the truck they couldn't even tell me if it had gas in it