Ok guys picked up up this 03' truck on a pretty good deal. not too knowledgeable about f150s let alone a v6:/ going to atleast keep the truck til spring so i can redo my backyard but would be nice to have a truck in general. ive always been a bit wary of 90s early 2000s fords and i havnt heard much good about this 4.2 either. so like i said got the truck for a steal with bad brakes. no biggie re did those and its running ok ish. needs new tires for sure, belts slipped on one of them most definitely. last owner is a friend and told me he just threw cheap tires on last year. only other problem ive experienced (and he told me about) once in a while the truck turns over, fires up and just dies right out. its only happened to me once and after a try or two i can pump the gas a bit and get it going. he said he put dry gas in it and the problem went away for a lil while? didnt get too many details on it from him yet. i figured air intake problem over gas but what do i know.

so yea sorry if this is just a bunch of rambling just looking for some experienced incite on the truck in general and my current lil problems? think i should just ride it for a couple months and sell it im sure i can make quite a bit more than i bought it for. or do i have a truck thatll last me a couple years?

putting new plugs and wires in it this weekend and probably trying and do some checking on the intake/ vacuum lines. anyone know the specs for testing the AIC? other ideas? also mileage is at roughly 160000 and just clocked the gas mileage on the first tank of gas around 12 mpg

 

Use Motorcraft plugs and wires. Examine the coil pack for cracks and carbon tracks. Remove the throttle body and IAC, clean them. Change the fuel filter.

That was the 97 and 98 that had gasket issues. The 03 is rock solid, the only common unexpected issue is the plenum gaskets and isolator bolts.

 

Get the codes checked and tell us what they are. How many miles are on the truck?

 

I'll look into the bolts and gasket.
Right now I'm roughly at 160/170000 miles. Did get the good motor craft plugs and wires. Probably try n do the fuel filter too but I always have a hard time breaking those damn things loose.

 

When the plenum gaskets and isolator bolts need replacing, you will get codes - either lean codes or IMRC codes. It will still run - but the idle will be a bit rough and it will be down a bit on power. That shouldn't cause starting or stalling issues.

Pumping the gas does absolutely nothing on a fuel injected engine. You may want to test the fuel pressure, there's a Schrader valve on the fuel rail, should be 28 to 40 psi. Parts stores generally have loaner gauges.

 

Yea I have a cheapy 30 dollar code reader. Got no codes from it so far. Will check pressure this weekend.

 

Know anywhere I can find a good throttle body tear down/cleaning tutorial? Seems like it's difficult to find anything that's specific to the 4.2.
Also is buying a manual worth it? Just feel like there's too many different engine types for it to be very specific. Suggestions?

 

There is a manual available on this site. Do a search.

 

Manual:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/19...ir-manual.html

Read to the end for a good link.

TB cleaning:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ar...ttle-body.html

That's for a V-8, the V-6 shouldn't be too different.

 

Awh. I was all excited for the free Manual... doesn't seem to be there anymore though. Unless I'm doing something wrong.
Cant open anything through mobile or my pc.

 

Use your PC.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B52...hvNUYyaXc/view

On the upper right, click the Download arrow.

 

Who ever told you the 4.2 isn't a good motor is full of it. Granted it won't win many races, but it will take care of you if you take care of it.

My 03 4.2 has right at 350,000 miles on it. Just had to do a water pump (couldn't put more than 146,000 on it).

In addition to the TB cleaning and plugs you might want to clean the MAF also. Good luck with the new truck.