Hey guys, this weekend I went to look at a really nice 2002 f150. My uncle came along because he is a mechanic and mainly works on fords. Anyway we looked it over and its beautiful, thinking it was the perfect first truck, we took off the oil cap and theres a white milky residue, of course blown head gasket was the first thing that came to mind. we checked the coolant for oil, there was none, we also checked the oil and it looked good, not brown like it had coolant in it. We drove it and it started great and didnt smoke. The truck had been sitting at the lot for about a week in the first good coldspell we have had down here in alabama. Its also been raining a good bit. So my question is, is the truck good to buy? Is the milky residue just because its been sitting a few days. I know it will be sold quick because its low miles and very clean, sorry for the long writeup but i wanna get all the information across.

 

ive had that on mine before. its just condensation

 

It's Normal, special more so being at a dealership. Since the vehicle is most likely run a very short period of time per drive cycle ie, - moving it around, short test drives, cool weather all add up to engine not given the time to burn off moisture/byproduct in the crankcase completely. Yea, don't let that discourage you away from a nice truck.

However, I would wipe it out and change the oil if you purchase it regardless. Clean the PCV valve as well. This won't happen when the vehicle is driven normally.

Buy it, sounds nice.

 

Thanks for the help! I hope this week goes buy fast, cant wait to get it!!

 

The condensation on the oil fill cap is normal and I wouldn't be concerned about it. But I would be more concerned over the issue with the short plug threads in the heads for that year model. I'd have Uncle go look it over again looking for inserts from a plug repair. Sometimes the repairs hold and sometimes it's at the cost of new heads...and that ain't a cheap fix. Personally, I'd look at 2004 and new trucks with a 4.6 if you want reliability.