repair history
Hi all, I have owned this 99, ext cab, since it was new. I currently have 170, 000 Kms on it.

Back window seal (first week)
Starter to battery, whole cable (no slack)
Starter connector (3x) (tow truck once)
Starter
Solinod
Battery (to end my corrosive problem at the starter)
tie rod ends (tow truck)
ball joints
light switch not fixed
tire wrench not fixed (I have a cap)
Oxygen Sensors - 2
exhaust manifolds
dip stick
front brake pads (2x)
valve stems (aluminium)
parking brake cable (left)
check engine soon (cleaned MAF)

The U-joints still look good, the brake shoes are great, however, the honey comb in second cat on the driver side does rattle a bit.

The cabin light switch never was fixed. The ford dealer was about to fix it under warranty, but they got the wrong part in, and I just didn't feel like waiting again. Besides, they scratched the panel trying to get it out with a screw driver. (haynes explains how to do it right!)

PS don't ever let the wind catch your door

 

My '99 E150 van with a 4.2L (42K miles) has a Leaking Pinion seal(how$$ much?).Is this a Ford problem? I'll be going in for a Road Force balance job to figure out a freeway speed vibration.Lately,I've been getting a PO455 dtc.It clears out with a scanner,but also it returns.Tried the gas cap swap. It seems my MPG is less. Maybe, it's time to check the plugs.Should I watch for the leaking gasket issue? Or, did they resolve that from '98 on?

 

Hey everyone...

I've owned my '99 Reg Cab 4x2 5spd 4.2 for right at 2 years now, purchased used w/12,000 miles and now has 81,000 miles on it. I live in rugged Southern New Mexico, and I show no mercy on my trucks (Fords are the only ones that will take it!!!). I have had almost ZERO issues with this truck, and have made only a couple minor modifications.

In regards to that rattle w/the heat shields-I don't think it's the heat shields. I had a god-awful rattle that was so annoying, I thought my throughout bearing was almost gone. Upon getting the truck up on a lift, I discovered that it was the whole exhaust rattling, and after a closer look, discovered that a mount nut was missing completely. It was located on the single bolt attaching the exhaust system to the mounting bracket located at the rear of the transmission, bolted between it and the frame. I am positive that this nut must have rattled off, because I replaced it two weeks ago, and that awful sound has disappeared 100%.

I would suggest taking 15 seconds to inspect this mount that is located at the rear of the transmission, where the exhaust wraps around and meets itself. Perhaps mine was an isolated issue, but I am also extremely abusive to this awesome truck. Let me know if ya'll figure it out...

Frank Orphey
Las Cruces, NM
forph@comcast.net

 

2001 4.2 5Speed 4x4 50,000 miles

2 Emissions sensors under warranty
1 Tailgate Lock

Other than that, I've change the oil 10 times . . . . .

 

Well the snow has finally gone away...hopefully till next winter and I got a chance to crawl under the truck and figure out wtf was making my exhaust rattle. When I had it at the dealership when I blew my clutch and then I got it back I knew something was wrong.....so it turns out that after they put the exhaust back up onto the truck they forgot about the bracket that is one the pipe and bolts into my chassis. One bolt did not have a nut on it at all and the other nut was half off. Tightened the one and replaced the other.....no more rattle woooo-hooooo. Pi$$es me off that I didn't fix it earlier though....

 

While my truck has 81xx miles on it and about three weeks ago it started leaking fulid out of the rear end, Ford took care of that, beside that only oil changes.

 

Good to hear, taylor981...I'd be willing to bet that the bolts you are referring to serve the same purpose as the ones that I lost the nuts off of, as well...perhaps a design flaw? I am awfully hard on this truck, though, and it wouldn't surprise me if I hit a hard bump just right and flexed the truck in a way that the nuts loosened up a bit...glad you got it fixed, because I had the same rattle, and it really was AWFUL...

 

With mine, the CD player went belly up and the intake manifold gaskets were replaced (air was getting sucked in and causing a whining sound). Right now, I'm disappointed with the mileage (averaging 13 in the city) and the throttle response. From a stand-still, I hate losing to minivans!!

All in all, I like my truck. Hell, I drove my '90 Ranger for 13 years. But, this new toy could be better.

 

1997 F 150 4.2L 5 spd SuperCab 145k miles
Hmm, let's see.

Headgaskets.
Left rear backing plate because it rusted to nothing.
Right axle seal, which kept that backing plate from rusting.
Left cat due to rust at flange. O2 sensors while I was in there.
W/P due to recall. Or was that front cover seal? Can't remember.
W/P because it was found to be leak during HG job.
Left tie rod end because it FELL OUT while wife was parking at work!
Viscious bottom end noise if revved above 3 grand.
Leaking back window.
Horrendous wind noise.

That's about all I can think of now. And the CEL is on again!

Still, for the little maintainence I do and the work I do with it, I can't complain TOO much.

Jeff

 

I too also had an exhaust rattling problem. It turned out to be one of the two engine lift points that are bolted on with the exhaust studs. Simply these are big brachets with hole that are used for lifting the engine out of the truck. Good thing FORD used nice strong bolts that broke from who knows and caused the brackts to rattle at low RPM. Just get a huge extension and socket(forgot size) and get to the bolt on the exhaust manifolds from the wheel wells. Took all of 5 minutes to remove both of them.

 

Only one problem: pumping $$$ into my truck replacing things that don't need to be replaced. I lost count but the tally should be around 10K worth of replacement OEM and aftermarket parts.

 

Damn man, that's alot of $$$$.

 

I have several friends with the 4.2 5-speed. They are very impressive for a V-6! One of them has 180k miles on it and still going strong, and he rags on that truck hard!

 

I bought her new in 1998, has 139K, great truck although starting to show her age...

New clutch @ 105K
New rotors @ 63K
Spedo broke 2x, finally replaced whole cluster after 2 years w/no spedo (they even threw in a tach)
Camshaft position sensor replaced @120K

New problem has me perplexed: no heat in the AM, cannot regulate engine temperature...replaced t-stat 2x in a week, still no joy...I haven't dived into the Haynes manual yet, but is there a heat sensor at the block that may need to be replaced?

All in all, had the truck for 7 1/2 years...good buy.

 

i only put 14000 miles on my truck (exact same as yours) before i traded it in. i didn't have a problem with it, i just wanted more power, so i traded up for the 5.4.