I,m thinking of purchasing a 1997 f150 with 270km,s and the truck is mint 4x4 loaded. I need to know what to look for when purchasing this make and model. Any help getting me into this truck before i buy is appreciated.

super cab truck, finished in teal with a grey cloth interior, has a 4.6L V8, 5 speed manual transmission, air, tilt, cruise, p windows, p locks, p mirrors, am/fm cassette, aluminum wheels, tow package, manual shift 4x4, 60/40 split bench seating, third door entry, 270,000Hiway KMS. Guys asking $3500, would that be a fair deal here. Also does this truck look like it might have a body lift doen or is that the stock ride height.

 

I,m thinking of purchasing a 1997 f150 with 270km,s and the truck is mint 4x4 loaded. I need to know what to look for when purchasing this make and model. Any help getting me into this truck before i buy is appreciated.

super cab truck, finished in teal with a grey cloth interior, has a 4.6L V8, 5 speed manual transmission, air, tilt, cruise, p windows, p locks, p mirrors, am/fm cassette, aluminum wheels, tow package, manual shift 4x4, 60/40 split bench seating, third door entry, 270,000Hiway KMS. Guys asking $3500, would that be a fair deal here. Also does this truck look like it might have a body lift or is that the stock ride height.

 

look and smell for leaking antifreeze, smell the dipstick for the transmission (if it smells burnt get away) truck looks good, but looks are deceiving...

 

Check the rockers, bottom edges of the doors, all four bed corners on the outside, and the lower edge of the tailgate for rust. Other than that,these trucks are really pretty solid.

270kms is roughly 167k miles and if it has been taken care of it will go to 250k or 300k miles without too much worry. Around here trucks like mine that the rockers are gone on and have around 200k miles will sell for between 2500 and 3000 so i would say 3500 for that isn't out of line if it really is as good as it looks.

Also I would say no body lift, maybe the torsion bars are turned up but that might just be the angle of the pictures.

test drive it and listen for any ticks from the motor, the exhaust studs like to rust out on the 97's and 98's and you get this really awesome exhaust leak when the motor is still cold.

 

Garbar,
If that truck had about 80k fewer miles and was an automatic, I'd say that $3500 is a GREAT deal. I know a little something about reselling F150s and have done the market research. The wholesale value for this particular truck is in the neighborhood of $1700-$2200. Estimated retail is about $3325 average, so the price isn't too far off the mark. I'm basing these figures on Manheim.

In terms of what to look for (a completely incomplete list ):
- Watch odometer carefully to see if numbers turn easily. Hit reset on trip meter and see if resets easily. Worm gears are notorious for breaking.
- Run heater and make sure good, hot air coming out. Do same for A/C. Move temp **** from hot to cold several times. Blend doors routinely break at the point where the drive motor shaft slips into the blend door (fairly easy to replace if alternate procedures followed).
- Check to make sure cruise works. Looks like you've been on this forum for awhile, so you probably already know about the problems with cruise.
- Listen/feel for ANY ticking on the timing chain cover. Those cheap plastic tensioners tend to wear out and disintegrate.
- Check for any leaks around valve stems on the intake manifold. Cracks are not uncommon and sometimes go unnoticed.
I’m thinking that you’ve been around enough F150s to do a good bumper-to-bumper inspection.

Oh, if you give me the VIN, I can check the records for you, unless you’ve already done it.

Cheers,
Scott

 

Man!!! I just noticed that you said kilometers! Oops!

Everything else still applies...

 

Yea, that's 167,000 miles and it looks like it's been taken care of. The Manual trans is rare, - that option was for fleet/company vehicles in the past. Side note: Some would rather have a standard over an automatic. It's personal preference and/or depends what your using it for. There's advantages.

No lift, it does have a good stance, -the true 4x4 stance... IMO lol. My 98 sits the same way, -factory.

The engine is most likley sound if I had to guess. Nothing to look for there, just lift the hood and look for anything out of the ordinary. Most of all listen to it, they should purr like kitten @ idle. Smooth and quiet, rpms @ idle should not fluctuate at all, not even a little with the modulars.

The condition of the body is MUCH more important. Being in the snow belt, engine and trans will long outlast the body of these trucks. At 167,000 miles, it's at the point where rust will start bleeding thru the panels. Easiest way to tell how bad that is, - look behind the rear wheels at the inside of the bottom bed panels. The bottom panels, cab corners and rocker panels are what rusts out first.

If they aren't to bad, that's an EXCELLENT buy for your area and climate. VERY rare to find a clean one that is that old. Up there anyway.

It looks great IMO.

 

I remember when that color first came out, it's my favorite color. Sounds like it's an early 97, since you said 4.6. Does your area use salt on the roads like ontario does? If so check the underside very closely for rust, also check the body for body filler over rust, "hack n pack" rust repair. Overspray will tell you if it had some hack n packings.

 

if that manual is the Mazda/Mitsubishi transmission (M5ODR2 or variants), it is quite likely to need replacing soon. a fair number of them suffered from premature mainshaft wear and shifting issues.

 

I cant believe how clean it looks for a Canada truck. Id have a shop you trust or if you want you can to check all the fluids. Make sure there is no foaming in them. If you can put it on jack stands and check your bearings and ball joints.

 

Looks like it was well taken care of or even garaged. Rear of the bed could be rusted and under front of body like mine is. Other than that I have that exact same truck except mine is a reg cab and it has been a great truck for me so far!

 

Notes taken guys and thanks , i,ll check everything that was mentioned , will be looking at it tomorrow to have a look , it,s one of my favorite colors and it is a 5 speed which it another reason i,m digging the truck .

Ausamijo i,ll grab that vin and repost it back here if that,s all good and is much appreciated.

The engine bay is clean as seen here.

 

Better jump on that before someone else does. It's looks to me like it was a little more than just taken care of. Like, taken care of by someone whom really cared about it, -and ENJOYED doing so.

Those are the best finds for sure.

I wouldn't worry to much about little things, -of normal wear and tear type. Like I said before, the body. Look at those lower panels behind the rear tires. They can look very sweet and purdy on the outside, BUT, if rust is close to showing thru at that location, you can be sure the rest is not far behind.

If the body is half way decent on the inside (have to expect some rust), mannn, -grab it!

To pay for a body fix is very expensive and hardly worth it because at a certain point the cancer spreads so fast, you'll never catch it.
Even when fixing all that yourself, it's very time consuming and its always worse than you think lol. IMO, fixing ANYTHING else on that truck is easy.

It looks great so far, -that's for sure.

 

Crap! - Slipped my mind. The 97 4.6L's had what's refereed to as a "Burr Problem" @ the passenger head (robot inflicted). That one can cost yuh. So, crawl under passenger side by the starter. Look straight up and at the outside rear corner of the head. A little below that as well(on the block).

If wet, it doesn't matter what it's wet with, just if it's wet. Then there's a problem. One that worsens with time, -to the point you have to fix.

BUT, - If it looks as tho it was wet in the past and just stained from that, -then disregard, -it's been fixed.

All PS heads had the problem for that model year. Just that some were worse than others. Some leaked right away, some started leaking a 50k, some never leaked.

That's something to check out anyway.

 

Here's my 97 from about 2 years ago. Still looks like this too! So, the stance of yours is right for stock. Mine is totally stock. I've got the 16" wheels, where yours are the 17". But, looks like we have the same height tires.

If your exhaust exits in front of the pass side rear tire, it's an early "97". Mine was OEM with the exhaust behind the rear tire (3/97 build date). I've got 240,000 MILES on it today. 2 years ago, it had around 215,000 MILES on it.

I've owned it since 2001 when it had 63,000 miles on it. Been towing the TT in my sig for the last 10 years and still own it too! Mine came from Saskatchewan and was imported to the US. It was completely undercoated when I bought it... Not sure when it was done, but I've got no rust and it's been in the Pacific NW since 2001!

If the 4.6/5 speed is what you like, go for it! If someone offered me $3500 for my truck, I'd laugh at them and tell them to get lost! I paid $17,000 for it in 2001!

My engine looked like this after a week long camping trip eating dust...



After an hour or so of cleaning it looked like this..



That one you are looking at looks like a nice ride and I hope it passes your due diligence!

Mitch