I'm going to pick up (no pun intended) an '02 XLT (crew cab, not screw) with 300k miles on it tonight. I had an '03 crew cab with the V6 for a while in the past but it never needed anything except plugs and to fix the overdrive button wiring so I'm not familiar with failure modes on these.

I haven't seen the truck in person yet. It's through a friend who know his stuff about vehicles. It runs and the price is very right plus I need a truck for at least a year while I remodel a house.

Question about: the tailgate, which won't latch closed. I looked around online and it seems to be a simple mechanism to diagnose and maybe fix. What I can't seem to find is if the tailgate will fit in the back of the cab.

It will determine where I park the vehicle tonight - the difference of an hours drive because I can't store the tailgate in my apartment - Dirty Truck Parts would make the lady of the house less than settled. If I can take the gate off and put it in the cab, I can avoid the extra drive to the house (two hours round trip). If it wont fit in the cab, I don't want to park at my apartment lest someone thieve the gate for scrap.

Also general model-specific pitfalls to watch for in an 02 with 300K? It was a daily driver for someone who then bought a new 150 to replace it, and they took reasonable care of it. It's been parked for a while. I will assume it needs to have all the fluids changed (engine oil, transmission, rear diff, brakes, coolant) and the gas tank straps checked for recall, I figured I'd take it to a local Ford place for a checkout and fluid changes (Buss Ford in McHenry, Il - I've had good service from them in the past).

What else to look for?

 

Are you sure you don't mean a SuperCab (scab) (extended cab with suicide doors)? A "screw" (SuperCrew) is a crew cab.

 

Yes, it is the super cab configuration. They are both "crew cabs" and I didn't know the nomenclature is scab for the shorter version. I know it's not a screw (it has the suicide doors as did my '03).

 

If it's a Flareside bed, the tailgate should fit in the cab - a Styleside may be tough. It probably will if you stick it in the rear seat, you may have to angle it.

 

Thanks for the input.

It's a Styleside. Since I don't know what the actual problem is I'm guessing that I may be able to open it up and get the issue sorted out on the spot if it's just lack of maintenance on the latches or handle. I'll take a toolbox and some white lithium spray grease with me when I go get it and give it a shot.

 

I'm on the fence about getting this truck now. The price is really low, below wholesale because it's through a good friend, and I know I can't get a truck that runs for the price anywhere.

A true testament to the nature of this F150 is that it has stuff that is worn out but it still has service left in it and could be kept going despite 14+ years of road salt and being driven far enough to go around the Earth four times and then to the moon.

It has a Knaack toolbox (with key!) that is in good shape. In and of itself this raises the value of the truck by a couple of hundred dollars though I have no need for such a toolbox.

It took a while to get the hood open as the latch was stuck pretty good. We gave it a trickle charge while we sorted out the latch on the tailgate, which was just plain old bone dry. A little lube and it was latched. Then we started it up and the old Triton ran perfectly. The low battery caused it to run a bit rough at first but it smoothed out after a couple of minutes. Then we figured out that the hood latch wouldn't lock the hood down.

We drove it around the neighborhood with the safety latch on. The old workhorse warmed up. Steering is fine. Driveline is smooth. A wheel bearing complains about old age the same way I do when I get up in the morning.

Then we worked on the hood latch. The locking pawl was mostly frozen. I applied a penetrating lube and worked it back and worth for a bit until it was freed up, then worked it some more until the latching spring could pull it into the latch. Then a hit of lithium grease, now it works again and should for a while.

Here is what isn't stopping me from getting the truck: Not the miles (333k +). Not the wheel bearing noise. Not the rusted out hinge on the tailgate or the rusty cab corners or the missing spare tire (stolen while it sat in a decent neighborhood, the way things are nowadays). It wasn't the pfft-pffft-pfft of the exhaust leak, or the check engine light (bad O2 sensor).

For sure the paint on the back seat (it was a painters truck) made me want to push the already very low price lower. The seat behind the driver is glued together with paint. The surface of the seat is like stucco, it would tear up anything on it.

All that stuff could be dealt with given a little time and a little money.

But I don't have time for a project truck, dealing with career and a new lady in my life and having a house that needs a lot of work before it's livable or sellable dumped in my lap by my ex (and my tools got moved to my buddies house an hour in the other direction, not that he'd mind having the truck up on stands in his garage while we sorted it out).

If I was settled, I would just take the old horse on and keep it running until the tinworm finished it off (Chicagoland uses that nasty new chemical mix, it takes a toll). This is the quintessential beater. The heater works, and it even gets F.M. on the radio.

At least I helped my buddy sort out what the truck needs. He likes to be 100% up front when he sells a vehicle and he's armed with the knowledge of whats needed.

Decisions, decisions.