I'm considering buying a 98 Mountaineer, 5.0, AWD, AT. I haven't seen it yet, but the pictures look promising. I'm planning on looking at it tomorrow. Also, is there anyway (without) jacking it up to verify the AWD is working properly? I'd appreciate any and all thoughts on what I should be on the lookout for on this year/model. thanks

 

I have a friend who has one and he loves it. Not sure as to what you need to look for when testing the AWD feature? Is there a CEL present? If so then check that first. And make sure you have a CANOBD II scanner. The standard OBD II scanners won't work on those trucks. There should be a test program that you can run on the computer for those trucks to check the AWD. Not sure. Worth checking on though. Other than that I'd say go for it. Good luck!

 

I have a 98 5.0 with awd. I love it. The only downside is about 15 mpg around town. I think awd is great I have had 4wds and like awd much better. I dont know how to check it other then take it for a drive on gravel and try to spin the tires a little bit.

 

I bought a '97 5.0 AWD February last year and we thoroughly enjoy it. 14-15 MPG around town, a hair over 20 on the highway. There wasn't anything major wrong with it when I bought it, just the stuff that comes with a 12-year-old 160k-mile truck--needed new shocks and a couple bushings, fluids, etc. The CEL light came on a couple months ago, turned out to be the O2 sensor, had the water pump replaced at the same time since it was leaking a bit. It's a bit rough on the highway, great on dirt roads and snow/ice.