i've found a 2005 f150 for a decent price and a bit over 140k miles on it. the seller says it needs cam phasers and it stalls when it warms up. i'm thinking there has been enough wear on the timing components that the solenoids are plugged.
that being the case, it's not a smoking deal, i'd need to tow it 100 miles to get home, what would it be worth? at what point would the engine be toast?
i miss having a truck, never had a ford, and for the most part they appear relatively easy to work on

 

Unless you are a mechanic, I would suggest you factor in a new engine into the price of the truck.

 

no sir. not a mechanic, but i am pretty mechanically inclined. if it sounds like it's just replacing cam phasers and vtc solenoids that should not be a problem, but i've only been reading up on these engines for a couple of weeks
at this point i just don't know the engines well enough to identify if it's those two things. i suppose checking oil pressure may be a starting point

 

I think if you can't factor in the cost of a rebuilt engine, I'd take a pass.

 

You could not even give me that truck for free... The 3v 5.4's have more issues than the 2v versions and I drove a 2v to over 255,000 miles in my old 97 F150 and it was still running strong when I traded it for the 13..

Lots of folks don't like the little Ecoboost engines either... So, pick your poison..

Good luck, Mitch

 

2005 was the worst of the 04-08 trucks which were all pretty high maintenance......

I'd pass on it sight unseen, knowing no details of numbers

 

thanks for all the advice. it sounds like the wisest path would be for me to look for another truck

 

If you buy a 2004 thru 2010, look for a 4.6L with 2 valves or a 4.2L v6. Those are great engines. the 5.4L is a crap shoot