The 5.0 coyote is far from a solid engine. A 2 second Google search turns up some pretty disturbing information. Knocking to cracked blocks. Ford needs to find a engine that works and STICK with it. All they been doing is fixing one problem and creating another. There's a reason Chevy has stuck with the 5.3 for several years.

http://www.f150forum.com/f68/5-0-engine-knock-120864/

 

I bought my 97 F150 in 2001 for $17k with 62k miles on it (5.4, 3.55 gears). (this pic was taken probably around 2010 BTW) I towed a #5000 TT with it every summer since 2002 and it never left me stranded.



I drove it to 255k and traded it for my brand new 13 in January 14 for a lousy $2,000 + $1,500 Ford Trade In bonus... (would'a kept the damn thing if I had a place to keep it at home.. )

I wouldn't touch an 04-09 5.4.... Been here too long and drank the Kool-Aid for those years, so no way...

My 13 Eco has been great for the first 25k miles so far..

I did buy the Ford ESP for 100k miles, so there you go.. I've never bought an extended warranty for anything before...

Used Chebby's cost just as much as used Fords and Dodges, so take your pick and hope for the best!

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Interesting there isnt much love for the 04-08 models. Had a new 05 4.2L for 40K miles and only issue was the window motor. Have had my 08 since new as well and has a Roush supercharger with 61K miles and only issues I have are the window switch sometimes and cold weather TSB but can't fix that since it messes up steering when the weather is warm apparently. 2wd truck in CO with a supercharger that I drive year round, who says you need 4x4 in the snow...people with ****ty tires that's who.

 

Dang trucks are expensive in the US. I have a 2007 extended cab 4X 4, XLT. If I was going to sell it I would be very lucky to get $6000. Its all original no aftermarket parts 92,000 miles. Not a dang thing wrong with it.

7 stud wheels.

 

Looks good! Repaint those wheels recently?

 

Yup painted them shortly before that pic.

 

I used to have the same style wheels in the 6 lug pattern. Had to paint them yearly to keep up with the rust, that's why I asked. Good job, they look brand new.

Sorry to side track, back to the subject...

 

They need it again. Just for the heck of it I am going to try a truck bed liner coating this time. If it don't work...........it don't work. LOL

 

Plastidip them.

 

Don't let these guys scare you off of an F150. Oh, and hi, I live in northern Utah too. North Ogden here.

My personal advice for your particular situation, whether or not you stick with an F150:

-Buy a truck that is bone stock for the purpose you are looking to use it for. Any trucks that have suspension lifts, leveling kits, bigger tires, etc.; all that stuff does put a toll on steering components and they tend to wear out or fail faster than a truck with no modifications. And towing anything with a lifted truck that has worn out steering/suspension components sucks.

-Buying from a private seller will generally save you some money. Always take anything the seller says with a grain of salt, unless they have records to prove it or you can tell by seeing it with your own eyes. It's always a good idea to have a mechanic look at the vehicle, whether you are buying from a private seller or a dealer. Especially if you are on a budget, which you are. Don't forget these are approaching ten years of age or older and who knows how they've been treated up until you've seen it. The last thing you want to do is pick up a "cheap" truck and end up immediately having to put hundreds to thousands in repairs you didn't know you'd have to do in that first year of ownership.

Advice for buying an F150:

-Avoid 2004/2005 F150s with the 5.4L. These years were the ones that tend to have issues with the cam phasers. This is a particularly expensive fix. Sometimes the owners/dealer will state that the cam phasers have already been replaced, but I personally would ask for the paperwork trail for that. You can tell if it's currently having issues by how it sounds. If it sounds like a quiet engine, even for a V8, it's fine. If it's noisy, ticking, or kind of sounds like a quiet diesel; cam phasers are going out. This is a sound that will be prevalent no matter if the engine has been warmed up and idling for a while or if it's a cold start. It's a hard issue to hide. The issue is not prevalent with 2006/2007/2008 5.4L V8's as far as I know. On the other side of things, there are owners out there that have had the cam phaser issues and never replaced them and guess what? Trucks are still running around just fine, with over 200k+ miles on them. They're just noisy.

-Spark plug issue. Yes it's a pain in the butt. Sometimes it can be expensive to have the dealer or mechanic replace them. There's currently a class action lawsuit against Ford for this; what it will do is help cover the costs of any spark plug change that costs you more than $300. Not the entire cost, mind you, but a good chunk of it. Would I let it scare me away from buying any 5.4L? No.

-IWE Solenoid failures. Yes, I've personally been a victim of this. If your 4WD doesn't work, this is most likely the cause. It's a cheap part and it's super easy to replace, but make sure the new one you pick up has the rain hood on it otherwise you can have another failure in the future on your hands.

-On the issue of 5.4L vs 4.6L. The 4.6L is definitely the least problematic of the two, and if you're looking for better gas mileage from a daily driver, you'll pick the 4.6L. For me personally, there's not enough of a difference in gas mileage for me to pick the 4.6L over the 5.4L. On the subject of towing... I live here in Northern Utah too, just like you. What a lot of these guys don't see is just how hilly/mountainous our area is. Quite honestly, both engines are dogs when towing anything that acts like a big wind sail. I pull a 7x14 enclosed trailer that weighs up to 4000lbs when loaded up, and my truck always need to downshift when pulling any hills at highway speeds (I have the 5.4L). If I pulled a flatbed with the same amount of weight, I wouldn't struggle as bad. But neither one is not capable of going the speed limit or higher on a somewhat flat stretch of freeway. But any amount of long, steeper hills, they both struggle to keep the speed limit unless you're completely floored (which I generally won't do while towing). Maybe the 4.6L will be a few seconds later clearing the top versus the 5.4L, but who cares. Semi's struggle on these big hills too, pulling them at 45mph when the rest of traffic is going 75-85mph (I'm talking about some of the mountain passes I-15 passes through going south to St. George). Any small block gas V8, minus maybe the newest offerings from the manufacturers, are going to struggle pulling a big wind sail up in our mountains at our altitudes. That's why diesel trucks are so popular here.

If you tend to stick to backroads while pulling your travel trailer, you won't even notice any power issues. Yeah, you'll know it's back there. But you'll be able to keep speed just fine with either engine if you wanted to.

Oh, and on the subject of gas mileage by the way, you are not ever going to get close to 18mpg with 2004-2008 F150 unless you specifically buy something that's geared for highway traveling, is a 2wd, and is not a 4dr crew cab. It just isn't going to happen. I get about 12 in town, 16 on the freeway and I'm generally a slow driver in the truck (I keep my need for speed attitude for the motorcycle). I keep to the speed limit on I-15, which is 70mph until you get past Payson going south, and then it's upped to 80mph. I do have lower gears (numerically higher), but my RPMs at these speeds are still at a relaxed 2000rpms. But I also only have an extended cab truck, which weighs significantly less than the supercrew.

Good luck in your search, whatever you decide.