Hello I recently bought a 2005 Ford F150 XLT that I believe is pretty rare as far as F150’s go. It has 53,000 miles and I am the 2nd owner. The reason I believe it is an uncommon truck is because it is an XLT with many options and has the 4.2 V6 with a 5 speed manual transmission. In my search for a ford all of the manual transmission pickups were stripped down base models with no chrome and crank windows.
I have done several nationwide auto trader searches and found no other xlt with a manual trans.
The 5 speed was only offered for three years in this body style before they discounted it in 2008.
Has anyone ever seen a manual transmission truck that is similar to mine?


Here’s some details and photos of my truck.
2005 F150 XLT regular cab 8ft long bed
4.2 V6 5 speed manual transmission
53,000 miles.
3.55 limited slip axle
Color: 2 tone Dark Stone & Arizona Beige. Tan cloth interior
Power windows, locks, mirrors, cruise, factory bedliner , 17 chrome wheels , keyless entry

 

Not sure how rare it is but my uncle has the same set up in silver

 

A factory built truck is not rare. It doesn't matter what options or packages you have... The "rare" days went out in the '60s, unless you're talking about a hand built vehicle.

It is a nice truck though.

 

Wow, that thing is immaculate. Nice score. Last summer I picked up an '05 FX4 extended cab 6.5 ft. box. 5.4, 3.73 LS, max. towing/cooling, 35 gal.tank, leather (maybe that's standard), basically as loaded as an FX4 gets. It had 48,600 miles and could have passed as new. Every morning when I get in it I smile because of what a nice truck I happened upon. As far as rarity, your truck is fairly rare in terms of numbers produced but unfortunately that's probably going to exactly nothing to its dollar value. It was produced in small numbers because it was a low demand item. I hope I didn't give offence because I certainly don't mean to. Its a beautiful truck and you were lucky to find one so clean with such low mileage. Its one in thousands to be sure.

 

I guess I should not have called the truck rare. What I really meant is that it is hard to find and an uncommon truck. I am guessing that whoever was the original owner had to special order it. I bought it from a dealer and drove over 400 miles to get it. But it was exactly what I wanted so it was worth it.
I know that it being uncommon does not really have anything to do with the value. It being a stick shift probably makes it worth less or at least harder to sell because not as many people know how to drive one now.
I am happy with my Ford. It has been a great truck in the few months I owned it. I also had a 79 F250 straight 6 that was a great truck a few years back.

 

I have to admit, I wish the 4.6 in my truck had been available with a manual transmission... No such luck.

 

It's certainly a rarely built type. But that was also because alot of people that bought such a setup just moved bulky light goods. For any real work the 4.2 was horribly anemic, the 4.6 and 5.4's were the motors of choice, and for the most part they weren't manuals.

 

Nice truck with low miles! Enjoy it! I like a manual transmission, but they are hard to find.

 

Thanks for all the compliments. Yes manual transmission trucks are very hard to find I looked for several months before finding this truck. Ford, Chevy, and Dodge all stopped offering standard shift trucks in either 2007-2008. If you want to buy a new pickup with a standard you have to go foreign.

 

5spdxlt; just wondering how yours shifts. Mine has always been hard to move the shift lever and reluctant to go in or out of gear. It just varies - some days it shifts fine while others its like pulling teeth. Other than that, I'd say the truck has been fine. I bought mine new and its one of the base models. However, with all the standard features, like A/C, PS, 4-wheel power disc brakes w/ABS and load apportioning, its definitely not a 'stripper'. I'm just getting tired of the Mazda 5-spd and have definitely decided that my next truck will be an auto trans. There's a reason these trucks are rare - the 4.2L is less powerful than the 4.6 but gets the same fuel mileage, and its really not that much fun around town with the manual trans. 1st gear is pretty low. But I must say the V6 has been completely trouble-free and is a quiet, free-revving engine with lots of torque. Interestingly, I can hear the cam 'come in' at exactly 2500 RPM, like a switch was thrown - there's a little 'moan' from the intake. Guess its cammed low for torque in the usable RPM range. But there's one thing I don't agree with posted above, like you need a V8 to do any 'real work'. It may be a lot more work for the driver shifting gears and maybe going slower up steep hills when towing heavy loads, but the truck will work. Otherwise, you won't have any trouble carrying anything you can get into the bed. Really, the brakes are more important than the engine size, and the brakes are great on the truck, automatically shifting more braking to the rear as the load increases.

 

My truck shifts good all gears are easy to get into and smooth. The only thing that I have noticed with mine is that the shifter rotates. The shift **** seems nice and tight but it is obvious that it is slowly rotating over time.

The only complaint I have about the trans is that it is hard to go slow in reverse. Besides that I am happy with it.

The only other manuals I have owned were old trucks with 4 speeds. They had granny gear first which I sometimes miss but I have to say I like the 2005's hydraulic clutch much better than the old manual clutch.

My truck is just my daily driver and I dont do much towing so I am happy with the 4.2 engine. Plus from what I have read it has a good reliability record.

 

I've had quite a few manuals; Trans Am, Sunbird Formula, Escort GT and an S-10. It almost has to be the clutch dragging, but the clutch doesn't engage until the pedal is halfway up - hard to see how it could be dragging with the pedal on the floor when shifting. Guess I'll have to do the test - get the rear end off the ground, put it in gear but hold the clutch on the floor, then see if the wheels turn.
I checked the trans fluid and its clear and full - these boxes take Ford Synthetic ATF.


Your truck should last many years with reasonable care. I only have 16K on mine - it mostly sits in the driveway.

 

My shift **** came loose shortly after I bought the truck. I just epoxied it back on, but now I wish I had bought a new/better ****. I'm sure its the **** that's loose on yours - no way the lever can rotate. As for bucking in reverse at slow speed, its probably leaning out. It should do the same thing in 1st gear if you try to hold say 5 MPH. Mine does the same except I haven't tried going slow in reverse. It does it cold or hot. I'm starting to wonder if it might be a good idea to clean the MAF sensor. When you change the air filter, look in the big tube toward the engine and you'll see the sensor with some wires in it. You take the tube section out and spray the wires with MAF Sensor cleaner - don't use anything else and don't touch it with any object. I've never done mine and some say it should be done every oil change. That seems like overkill, but maybe every other change or 12 months. Even if this doesn't fix that little problem, it won't hurt anything for the sensor to be clean.
The next suspect would be the throttle body.

 

It is funny that you talk about the mass air flow sensor. After watching an episode of goss's garage on motorweek about it I cleaned both my maf and throttle body a few weeks ago. It was an easy job and I could see some dirt that had built up on the throttle body so im sure it was needed.

There is nothing wrong with the reverse on my truck I just believe it is geared a little fast for backing up.

As far as the shift **** goes I have tugged and twisted on the thing and cant get it to move but some how over time it rotates. I guess I will wait until it falls of then glue it on straight.

 

The insert that shows the shift pattern used to rotate on my 1997 F-150 ... it used to drive me nuts, and I never figured out how to fix it. Eventually, I just learned to ignore it.