Ok I'm looking at a few trucks, sadly the one we went to go buy yesterday was sold even after sending an email letting the dealer know we were going to come back on wensday to finalize things and discuss the take home details, so oh well they sold my business to another dealer I suppose.


Anyways fast forward to today, I am looking at 2 trucks primarily they are pretty much exactly the same, with minor things that are different being one is auto and one is manual and one has CD player the other does not, and one has a tool container of some type behind the seats, anyways I know the 4.2 seems really good based on the three test drives i have done so far (1 in the automatic 2 in the manual, what I want to know besides the inherent issues with the 5.4 ticking and the phaser cam issue(s) that I read about are there any other issues I should be aware of such as the manual having issues towing or the the 5.4 or 6.0 exploding in a ball of flame (Have read a post or to on that) or is the 2.4 the best way to go? I want to make sure which ever truck I get will not only have the power to tow things but I want to have as headache free as possible, I expect to be doing general maintenance on which ever truck I get, but I just don't want a truck that might explode in a ball of fire or find out the 2.4 is not strong enough for general towing duties or what ever I may use it for day to day.


The truck mainly will be a daily driver but if needed I want to be able to tow things (say a 4 door car to a dealership) if I need to.

Sorry if this is a long post but I just want to be sure I am making the best choice as the truck will be replacing my 1995 F150(in sig) and I know all of its history and have worked on it my self!

Thanks for the info And all the help I am glad this place exists as I would have been lost and unsure of a lot more!!! I hope once I get my new to me truck I can start learning more and become helpful to others in return!!

 

I would look for a truck with the 4.6 2 valve if I was in your situation. Adequate V8 power and excellent reliability. The composite intake can crack on those but no timing component or spark plug issues like on the 5.4.

I know some owners love their 4.2 V6's and while I have drove many, I've never owned one. My grandfather's absolutely gutless 4.3 Silverado has kinda soured me on naturally aspirated V6 trucks. So I may be underrating their power. Personal preference only.

 

ok, I have test drove two V6 4.2L truck (one auto and manual) and both seemed great engine wise, and personially I am looking for a bit better fuel economy then what my current truck is getting (and I love my truck but its at the time when I am needing to move on I guess) and I am just concerned about the ticking of the 5.4 or exploding fireballs of either 5.4 or 6.0 would you have any recommendations of things I should look at with any 4.2 5.8 or 6.0? mainly what are the "weak links" in any of these trucks that I could expect a repair to be due as for a used truck?



as for the intake, are we talking the plastic filter box/tube area or the intake manifold of the engine? im assumeing the latter but just wanted to clarify to be safe

 

Yes the intake manifold itself some year models would crack around the thermostat housing. What year ranges and models are you looking for? The 6.0 is a diesel that is in super duty trucks and the 5.8 was not put in F150's after 96.

 

The 4.6 will blow plugs out just like the 5.4

 

Depends on the year. Only the models with PI heads. Not a problem on the 11th gen 04-08 F150's and maybe some late 10th gens depending on when exactly the changeover was made. Sometime in 2003 I believe.

 

Any of the 2v 4.6 will do it.

 

I'm looking mainly at 2005/6 to 2008 and as far as the "pi heads" what should I look at to determine if it is a pi head? Is there a specific vin code or anything like that I can use to figure out if any truck I'm considering is one (so I can drop it from my list)?

I also looked at a second truck (the red one) and it was a 5spd Manuel with 6.5 bed wish it was an 8' but oh well

as for the 5.8 part, that was a typo, ment 5.4 on that, my bad

 

The PI or performance improved heads were installed on the 5.4 F150's in 99 and the 4.6 F150's in 2000 or 2001. Up until 2003 these heads had 4 threads to hold the spark plugs in. In 2003 they were revised with 8 threads to address the plug blow out problem. PI should be cast into the head under the part number. The repair kit is about $50 so if it does happen it's not exactly the end of the world.

I have not seen a 4.6 2v in an 04-08 F150 blow out a plug. I've read about it on the internet but have not seen it in person. I've been around plenty of these trucks over the years so if it was very common I'm sure I would have seen it a few times but that certainly does not mean it can't happen.

 

I have a 4.2L in an '04 Heritage (old body style) with over 170K miles and the only thing I've done to the engine for maintenance (other than changing plugs/wires/coil pack/coolant flush) is change the intake isolator bolts & gaskets.

 

should i be concerned with any specific issues with any 2005 to 2008 F150 (or up) truck?

Im at the moment considering a 4.2L auto F150 with very high mileage (250k or more) inve taken it for a test drive and it ran very smooth and even did some hard stopping tests and the dealer does use it to move boats around that they have for sale, they just recently replaced the alternator and S belt on the truck, so aside from the possibility of a tune up I feel it may be a good truck for me.


thoughts?

 

Well here is another one, looks good mileage wise, but had some minor damage (see pics on dealer site), was told the damage was on the right side of the vehicle but the picture show it's on the left so that has me a little concerned and wondering, what are your thoughts on this truck?

http://www.kainford.com/used/Ford/2006-Ford-F-150-versailles+ky-7b79438d0a0a00654f919aa3dceefc83.htm

 

The 4.2 has historic problems with intake and timing cover gaskets; I would avoid that engine. Although the 2V 4.6 can potentially blow out plugs, they seem to do so far less than the 5.4 and 6.8 2V engines--consider the number of 4.6's out there in trucks, Crown Vics, Town Cars, etc.

If you want to pull anything, forget about the 4.2. And note that the 2V 4.6 will usually give better gas mileage than the 4.2 in the real world.

Good luck,
George

 

Thanks George, I have decided at this time I'm hanging onto my truck as I know it works and it's a good runner!