Looking into buying a truck
 

Hey guys, I know this is a Ford forum so I'm going to get a lot of Ford lovers on here but I just wanted to ask what you guys recommend...I'm trying to decide getting a Silverado or F150 after this semester of school and can't decide which I should choose. I always get tripped out buying vehicles with a high mileage but I've heard F150's and Silverados last pretty long even with a high mileage. My budget is between 10-15k and I've found that the 04-08 F150's usually sell in this price range but usually have a high mileage. What would you guys recommend I do?

I may be a Ford lover, but there are some things about the 04-08 F-150 that I don't like. In general, they are a very solid truck - they are built a LOT beefier than a Chevy. However, the 5.4 liter 3 valve engine has issues that I personally do not want to deal with. If your performance expectations are relatively modest and you just want a reliable truck that will run almost forever, you cannot beat one with the 4.6 engine. If you buy a 5.4, I wouldn't touch it without a spark plug change as part of the deal and you need to listen to it idle and run. If you hear ticking and/or clattering, walk away - it needs cam phasers, that's about a $1600 job. It may well run forever with noisy phasers, but then again it may not. The 05 5.4's have leaky fuel injector issues which can hydrolock the engine, there's a 11 year/120k mile extended warranty on those. They all have issues with the fuel pump driver module corroding, but that's a relatively inexpensive and easy repair - they cost about 60 bucks and takes about 15 minutes to change, it's attached to the rear axle housing.

Alright thanks man! So basically it would be better to get a 4.6 liter rather than 5.4 since I don't really care about performance expectations? I definitely would rather have a Ford than a Chevy. Thanks so much for the information over the 5.4 liters. I would've never known and might have been faced with lots of problems if I hadn't put this question up.

The 5.4's in the 03 and earlier body style are rock solid, as are the trucks.

If you are looking for a basic truck - standard cab 2wd - you could also look at the 05-08 with the 4.2 V6, you can even find those with 5 speed manual trannys if you prefer. Those are excellent deals - even a low mileage 08 is well under $10k. Ford sold quite a few of them as work trucks and the 4.2 is an old school pushrod engine that's almost indestructible - very similar to the 4.3 in the basic Chevy.

I'm looking for a good 4x4 truck as I'll need it for my ranch. I don't really know how to drive a manual so I'm looking for a good truck that I can take off road and pull trailers with ease. Are you familiar with Chevy Silverados at all? I'm looking into an 05....here's the link http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

New Truck
 

Alright!!!! :goodbad:
Thank God I found this thread...
It's been a long time since my last post here. So far my truck has been a great investment. Even though its a 1997 4.2 V6, thanks to all the information on these forums I was able to deal with the engine/gasket issues on time and it hasn't hydrolocked yet. Almost 173,000 miles.
The sad notice is that I have to part with it... my family is growing! I have decided to buy an Extended Cab or a Super Crew. Trust me, if it wasn't for the cabin space, I would drive this thing into the ground for the next 10 years...just to let people know what a good truck can be.
I visited my local dealer looking for a 2007 & Up ExtCab/Screw with the 4.6 V8, and I got a good offering from the salesman on a new 2012 one with the 3.7 V6 engine.
I'm now worried about the new 2011 & Up engines... I don't know if there are any issues with them.
Everything I have read on these forums points at the 4.6 V8 as being very reliable and powerful enough within its class... BUT I have not been able to read ALL the posts on this board, of course, so there may be issues that I'm unaware of.
I'm in no rush to buy a brand new one, I can deal with a good used truck since I'm good at doing repairs/maintenance work on them.

What do you think? Should I just go after a new one or should I keep looking for a good used one with the 4.6 V8 engine?
I just want my next truck to last at least 15 more years before I go on to the next one.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all,

Robert

Bolton - how heavy are your trailers and what's the altitude where you are? Do you need/want a regular, extended, or crew cab?

Robb - we haven't heard about any issues with the new 3.7 V6, and the 5.0 V8 is also a winner so far. If you want a 4.6, I'd suggest a 07 or 08. I don't know if you can get a 09/10 Screw with the 2v 4.6 and the 4.6 3V has cam phasers.

I just came back from checking another used 2010 STX, cab plus. It has the 4.6 V8 but I don't know which one of the two. Actually, I thought there was only one version of the 4.6 V8, didn't know about the 2v/3v stuff. The build date was 04/10, 46,500 miles on her, but it looks like there might be a serious issue with this truck. It was given as a trade-in for a Hyundai(?!) and I am starting to think that the truck was parked in a place that flooded with about 3-4 feet of water since there was too much strange debris underneath.
I have a question: when I put the key in the ignition, after a few seconds, all gauges jumped simultaneously all the way to the max measurements and then back to zero. Is that a common trait on these trucks? Mine doesn't do that.
Thanks again for all your help.

That truck has electrical issues. It's a common symptom of a weak battery.

If it has a 4 speed auto (PRND21 with OD button), it's a 2v, if it has a 6 speed (PRNDM21) it has a 3v. I believe most of the STX's were 2v.

Mmmm... even if the price is very good, I don't like electrical issues. Its harder for me to diagnose them.
I think I will consider a NEW CabPlus with the 3.7 V6... we'll see...

Thanks again.

This gets better and better...
I found another good deal, this time on a pre-owned 2010 F-150, 4x4, cab plus, 22500 miles, 4.6 V8 engine.

GLC... sorry to abuse of your knowledge again...

Is there anything wrong with the 4x4 or the transfer case? I was not considering buying a 4x4, but given its a very good deal, I might as well go with it.

Thanks

The 4x4 system is reasonably reliable. I'd bet that this truck has the 3 valve engine, what's the 8th character in the VIN?

I will check tomorrow the VIN's 8th digit. Is there any numbers/letters that I have to be aware of?

So far the posts that I have been reading do not address any issues with the cam phasers on the 4.6, only on the 5.4. Is this correct?

On the last conversation I had with the salesman, it seems that this is the truck I'm looking for, option-wise.

Hi!
I did a test-drive today. The VIN is 1FTEX1E(W)8AFAxxxxx. The (W) doesn't have the parenthesis, I added them to identify the 8th character.
I noticed two things:
1- a strange noise(like a flapping noise) coming from the air ducts when I turned the air conditioning system on. It sounds like something is hanging near the air ducts and flaps and keeps hitting like plastic on plastic.
2- a click-click sound like the one made by a relay, coming from the center of the engine, I think it is something like the following thread:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...9-4-6l-3v.html

Possibly the Vapor Management Valve... but I'm not sure.

I found the factory window sticker using this link: http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Numbe...cker/Ford.html

On the sticker it says that the engine is the 4.6 L V8, 2V, 4-speed OD tranny, (should be the 4R75)?

Other than that the truck is fine, the engine feels powerful (when compared to my 4.2 V6, of course) the 4x4 is the one with the small shifter (not electronic) and it feels solid, VERY STRONG, too. I tried all 2H, 4H, 4L, they work just fine. They were a little difficult to engage at first, but they worked fine, and disengaged OK.
I was happy overall with the way it feels...

Please let me know whats with the 8th character VIN... :think:

Thanks

That confirms 4.6 2 valve. I don't think it has a 4R75, I think it's a 4R70. TRANS code on the door jamb sticker would confirm this.

With only 22500 miles you would still have factory warranty left, unless it's over 3 years. Bumper to bumper is 3/36. Powertrain is 5/60.