check your rear end might be the problem bearing in wheel or gears
as far as the pinging try a higher grade of fuel i had a 97 that did that so i started running 89 octane and it stopped

 

186,492 as of ..... right now!

Brakes been replaced maybe 5 times, drop the oil every 2500 and fluids as needed but less than recommended no doubt. Still hauls a big boat every year too without a hiccup. Plugs 2x but OMG - thats about it. Seriously. Amazing actually. Or maybe not as I somewhat expected it too.

Fairly tight too which is truly shocking in this Land of PotHoles big enough to eat a Jetta.
And like all here --- made some Exxon Execs mighty fat. 11.6 mpg in town and about 15.8 hwy. Has not deviated ever more than 1 mpg ... even trailering the "beast".

But despite my washing the baby 3x a week that damkit rust finally showed on lower door panel and rear bumper this winter. And the leather seat on drivers side needs to be covered as it ripped thru.

So I am at the crossroad - pour a few bucks in and hope for another 50K or more or move on. Love the beast I do so its a tough call. Thoughts from other old timers here?

 

Got 115000 on mine. Has not run right for the last 30000 lol. Shoulda got a chev

 

Just traded in my 97 with 195K on it...

 

Just rolled 270,000 today!! Pretty excited hahah had to bust out the camera!!

 

Got 109,000 only replaced 1 plug and one COP passes inspection every year.

Plan on changing the rest of the plugs next month when the weather breaks.

Still runs like brand new used it for towing the last 8 years.

I have replaced brakes, tranny filter and fluid, and all other maintenance items, when I say 1 plug and 1 COP that is the only trouble I had to fix, it threw a CEL.

 

Rolled past 200k on mine just last week.

 

MY 97 F150 4X4 has 169,899 and is still running strong even tho it has leaking intake gaskets and is only running on 7 cylinders for now. Will have fixed soon.

 

Those 4.6L engines they made in 1997 were some strong engines!!! I see a ton of high mileage F 150's from that year

 

My truck just rolled over 100,000 miles a couple weeks ago while driving too Oregon. The odometer is currently reading 104,897 miles. So far the the onle things i've had to replace were a dead battery,axle seal,window regulator and spark plugs. The brakes have only been changed once it the 100,000 miles and i'm about too change out the original struts and shocks. My truck is an 04 new body stlye with the 5.4 v8. This truck has takin me to Oregon and back twice and too Utah and back once. I can't so anything bad about how it's treated me and she still runs like the day I bought her.

 

Just hit 100,000 2 weeks ago in my 2006 5.4, Its been a great truck so far and I'm ready for the next 100,000.

 

2004 w/ 102000. So far I've replaced 4x4 actuators, ball joints, brakes, and just recently a transmission.

 

Dude, it is a tough call you definatly got your $$ worth out of that truck and at this point it is worth more to you than the amount of money a you would get if you sold it. A few bucks is one thing but once they start to nickel and dime you it adds up fast and you might as well be throwing that money torwards a new truck. As hard as it is to move on sometimes it is not economical to keep these things. Set a price point, once repairs go past that then move on. The last thing you want to do is throw $500 into it and then have the tranny or engine go. I learned that mistake about 14 years ago when I dumped close to 3 grand into my 88 with 215,000 on it and only got another 15,000 miles on it. I mean 3 grand got me another year on the truck which is still cheaper than a years worth of payments, but now that I look back I probably should have thrown that 3 grand torwards the down payment on a new one.

I dont know your situation but what my dad never sells/trades his old trucks because they never give you enough for them. His old truck becomes a Home Depot Beater that he does only what is neccassary to keep it going and the new truck is a Sunday Church Truck. It keeps the new truck nice for like 2 or 3 years until the Beater dies or gets to a point where repairs are not worth it, then he does the single truck thing for a few years until it starts to get tired or Ford is running a good deal.

 

F150....here ya. It's a struggle here. Yesterday I was thinking time to move on...then I thought to what? Thought of a payment makes me shudder.

You may have hit it - if I set the cash meter and get close to it, that's it. Only thing that might flip that idea would be if I don't use it but to tow a couple times this summer. A car is holding more appeal as I age.... hard to get me out of the wifeys car sometimes after I swipe it.

The thing I know is I'm not buying new again as I won't be here on this earth long enough to get my moneys worth again.

So I'll toss out another question here - out of last 3 years, say '07 to current model, is one year maybe better than another?? Other than price of course

 

traitor haha

high five on that one, way to keep-er runnin strong

im around 153k give or take a bit haha