I ran across this site trying to find anything I could about repairing a wrecked 1998 F-150 3 door 4-wheel drive that my teenage son wrecked this week. He knows nothing about it & I know less! The first thing he has to do is replace the steering column & ignition. His dad is no help! He is really insistent on fixing this himself because we don't have the 3k we were quoted to fix it with! How difficult is it to change out the steering column & ignition? If anyone knows of a website that can offer the help I need please let me know.

 

If you really don't have a clue, you should at least have a qualified mechanic look the truck over and determine what really needs to be fixed. I don't think you'd want your son out driving an unsafe vehicle that could kill him or someone else.

Next, I'd get a F150 repair manual, maybe a Haynes Manual (http://www.haynes.com/) and see how far you can get with that.

Sounds like you might be getting in over your head, but there are alot of people on this site that can help. You just need to be able to ask specific questions, and if you have a digital camera, pictures always help!

Good Luck!

- NCSU

 

He does have a couple of friends that have rebuilt their own trucks & one of them works at a GM Dealership & is taking vo-tech classes to become a certified GM mechanic. These guys are offering to help as much as needed. But they are still teenagers & thats probably one of the things I am concerned about. I tend to research everything to death. There were some changes he had been saving his money to make to the truck anyways....the 3k estimate didn't include any of the changes & he wants to just do everything at once & not redo anything that would be repaired. If that makes sense!
BTW he would die for your truck!

 

I understand what you're saying... Why spend money to repair something if he just wants to upgrade it later on.

How bad was the wreck? What kind of damage was there? Will this truck be his daily driver, or just something for fun?

Thanks! It's taken me about 4 years to get my truck the way I want it, and I think it's almost done (until I fork over the cash to supercharge it ). Tell him not to be in a rush, besides, depending on how many miles are on the '98, he may not want to invest all his hard earned money into a vehicle that might only last a few more years. Take that cash and save it for a newer truck.

- NCSU

 

How bad was the wreck? Not too bad he was going to fast on a dirt road he has been on all his life, hit loose gravel on a curve took out a small tree. The county had just dug all the gravel out of the ditches & put it back on the road. No one was seriously injured just sore. He's the only one that went to the Dr. just cuz his chest still had the steering wheel imprint on it the next day.

What kind of damage was there? The steering wheel is flush with the dash & the ignition was messed up by the gear shift. He will have to have the airbags replaced or a new dash. He will need a new front bumper, possibly a right front fender & hood. Windshield, headlights, nothing major was messed up.

Will this truck be his daily driver, or just something for fun? He's a junior in high school & this truck needs to get him through college! We are poor, poor people! The truck has about 120,000 miles on it & he is the 3rd owner. We know the first 2 owners & they took excellent care of it.

Thanks for the advice so far! I am sure when we start on it we will have plenty more questions!

 

Doesn't sound like it was too too bad.

I'm sure you'll find the help you need here, I'm not that familiar with pre-2004 F150's, but I'm sure someone here will be able to help you through the repairs.

- NCSU