I am considering helping my son buy his first car (loan + Interest). He wants this 2002 F-150 XL 4*4 with a 4.2L engine with 127,000 miles on the clock. Seems in decent shape. I know the owner and he has had lots of intake problems with it. He has had the intake removed and cleaned multiple times from Ford Dealer as well as numberous other electonic repairs (Coil pack, etc). I can tell by the repair receipts. Should I be worried about this engine/mileage combination? My son drives 2 hours away from home to go to school? It would be good for him to learn about cars/engines, etc, but I would sleep better knowing it is a reliable vehicle. Any input by those owners out there would be appreciated ?

 

I've got 173k on my 03 4.2, the only intake issues I've had is new plenum gaskets and isolator bolts at about 120k. I'm on my 3rd coil pack, 3rd set of plugs, and 2nd set of plug wires. I've replaced all the idler and tensioner pulleys once. I've had 2 BG intake cleaning jobs done - once at each plug change. Uses 1 quart of oil every 6k.

With reasonable maintenance the engine should last well over 200k.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Kinda hope that my kid can do some minor repair work himself to learn something about how this truck works. I've seen a lot of posts on here with 200k + miles, so that is encouraging. Thanks again