Having just lost my 98 Explorer to transmission failure I am buying a 99 F150 with 4.2L. Truck looks beautiful with excellent 10 ply tires, new tranny and clutch at 70K (103k NOW), gas tank straps replaces and it runs good. It did throw a light on the intake gaskets though. No sign of coolant loss or change in oil consistency. Am going to have fixed with friends help. Mechanically I'm a Red Green in training and am overwhelmed at prospect of doing this myself. Am retired and disabled because of vector borne disease so have limited stamina and recall i.e., advanced CRS. Am long time Ford fan and my only auto nightmares were made by GM. BTW, Am outdoor enthusiast and enjoy guns, knives and shooting although just targets now.
thanks,
Mc

 

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it!

 

Welcome Sir: I too am an outdoorsman but just fishing.

 

The outdoors are my life!

 

Welcome to the site! Be sure to take some pics of the truck and post them up! Those 4.2s are pretty reliable once you fix the intake gaskets, though the majority of those cases were 97-98 models.

 

According to the local Ford techs this engine was made after the gasket issues had been addressed. Am going to have checked out and fixed if it's truly a problem. It runs and looks great. Will take some pics soon.
thanks for the welcomes.
Mc

 

A 99 will have the improved gaskets - all engines built after 1/16/98 have them.

 

Mcshot. Welcome to the site. This might make you feel better about your 99 4.2. I have 195.000 miles on my 4.2. Its a good long lasting motor. I have had some sensors go out but never any engine problems. The tranny lasted me only till 190,000 miles ;-). Look around the this site and you will hear of even of more mile on the same engine.

 

I have CRS too. Wait...what was I typing?

Oh yeah; Welcome.

 

welcome to the forum!!

 

Enjoy the welcomes and comments. No definitive word on what is going on yet. I'm hoping for a sensor problem but will do what is necessary as I want this beauty to last. My dog Spike and I gave it a test run today. His only complaint was he missed his console seat. All else passed with flying colors including the brightness of the "service engine soon" light - not to downplay its importance.
mc

 

Update: After studying various threads on engine codes and leaks (coolant and vacuum) I proceeded to unhook the negative connection and checked the vacuum connections and coolant level. The coolant was down so I added antifreeze to the cold level. I took it for a 10 mile ride and no "service engine light". It sat for several days while I was out of town and I took it to town to get oil change stuff. All was well until I left the store and the light was on. No leaks, runs perfect and coolant level unchanged although although dirty as is oil. Could I have a sensor problem? When the previous owner had the light checked out it was for PO171 and PO174. Is it time to tape over the light and drive on?
Thanks,
Mc

 

this should help.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v8...they-mean.html

seems like its a vacuum leak

 

See if it's the same codes or something different.

 

SS, Thanks for the link - read it all and saved the picture. Will resume vacuum leak search tomorrow. This site is a treasure trove of information and deeply appreciated. BTW, Alpena was home.