Feedback Ford F150

[pais]

   Thinking about buying a used F150. I like the '06-'07 reg cab model, short bed, 4.2 V-6.
    Anybody have or had one? What did you think?
    Son started driving so I gave him my '96 Ranger and I found a nice used 2000 Avalon. Love the car but getting in and out is a PIA. Hurt my left knee at work and this issue presents a problem. As much as I love the car, I enjoy a truck. To be honest I don't wanna go back to driving the Ranger. It's not a whole lot higher than the Avalon. For the life of me I do not know why Ford could not put tilt wheel in those trucks. I bought it 4yrs ago for $1500 w/99k on the 3.0 V-6.

[Jersey mike]

as far as the body, check the usual rust spots;
behind the rear tires
the rocker panels abd doors.
and the under carriage

as for the engine, the "6" is a tough engine.

you'll be able to tell if it was well taken care of.

the worst part of Ford's IMO is the front end. Be sure to check the ball joints and shocks.

[pais]

Mike,
    Body wise, rust free, truck is in good shape 94k on the clock. My biggest concern is reliability of the motor. I know what ya mean about the Ford front ends. Oddly enough had to put some $ into frontend of Ranger before son could drive it.
     Only other thing is it's a standard trans. Not sure I wanna go back to grinding gears. All my driving is  around town.

[t-man403]

Well if this counts I have been driving an 05 Lariat since 07 and have 300,000Km\190,000mi on it with only one problem which would not be a problem in the 6...."cam phaser". I have been driving for well over half that mileage with the engine light on due to that problem but all mechanics say to just drive it and forget about it, which I have done. No front end issues at all. Tires, battery and that's it. I'd buy another Ford in a heartbeat!

[Jersey mike]

the standard trans is something you tolerate, hate or just drive.

if there's slop in the linkage, that should be easily repaired and not very expensive, but if you don't want to use a stick then that's a deal breaker.

Ford's 6cyl are highly reviewed in their trucks. I believe at 100k miles Ford recommends plug change in their engines so you will be due for new sparkplugs and if you're really into preventative maintenance you could put in new coil packs too. Each cyl gets it's own coil over plug.

back in the day when ford was running the straight 6, I believe they were 300hp those engines were used in everything from dump trucks to pick ups and were almost indestructible.

[big d]

The first pickup truck was a 99 6 cyl. 5 speed short bed reg cab. That engine was incredible. I used it to pull my plow guy out of a ditch. His truck was loaded with sand in the bed and the plow on it. He slid down the embankment sideways. Was parked on the side of the road and slid down. With it snowing and 4" of snow on the road I was able to get him out. He was a gm. man all his life. He just bought a ford for his good/family truck cause he was so impressed.

[cookiedough]

If the price is right and well taken care of and you like driving it, go for it.

You should be able to pick that older Ford up pretty darn cheap since not too many people are looking for a regular cab pickup truck much anymore.

I hear what you mean about a tilt wheel not having one.  I was interested in a new 2016 dodge ram 47K msrp crew cab 6 1/2' bed truck outdoorsman or big horn pkg.  mid-level to upper trim without leather.  It has tilt wheel, but NOT telescopic and found it VERY uncomfortable to reach the steering wheel since I prefer my seat further back than most and with shorter arms having to extend too far to drive with 1-2 fingers like I normally would like to (LOL)   

Heck,  20K msrp cars have telescopic and tilt wheel, why not a 47K msrp dodge truck??  UNREAL!! 

[BF]

'97 Expedition w/the 5.4 v-8, about 250,000 on the odometer....I say about because the speedo went out for awhile.  Shows 207 now.  Other than tires, front brakes several times, rear brakes I think only once, two alternators and a new liner for the enterior roof, that's about it.  Zero rust on the truck and we live close to the Gulf of Mexico.

Before this truck, I drove a Bronco for 14 years.  Zero rust on that truck also.

Next truck will either be a Lariat or a Platinum edition F150 (if I don't cave first and buy a Vette  )

[robin]

I have an 04 f150 and just got a shock for a repair seems that they have a 2 piece drive shaft that meets in the middle with a carrier bearing and wouldn't ya know that the carrier bearing went bad and you cannot buy just the bearing you have to buy the whole drive shaft $1200 from ford
So i went on the f150 board and found that you can buy one aftermarket on E-bay for $479 shipping included
Something to think about a lot of fords have a vibration around 40/50 miles an hour no one can explain it and ford won't recognize it as a problem.
My 2 cents

[sandy]

I have an 04 f150 and just got a shock for a repair seems that they have a 2 piece drive shaft that meets in the middle with a carrier bearing and wouldn't ya know that the carrier bearing went bad and you cannot buy just the bearing you have to buy the whole drive shaft $1200 from ford
So i went on the f150 board and found that you can buy one aftermarket on E-bay for $479 shipping included
Something to think about a lot of fords have a vibration around 40/50 miles an hour no one can explain it and ford won't recognize it as a problem.
My 2 cents

That vibration is usually the slider portion of the shaft. If you disassemble the shaft and clean/regrease the splines, the vibration goes away. Ford's original grease gets hard and needs replacement.

[robin]

I have a brand new shaft and brand new grease and still have the vibration so I don't think that is the problem.

[art]

Drive shaft could be out of balance but you would have to disassemble it and have a drive shaft shop check it out. I had one rebuilt for my 30' motorhome for $250, center bearing and u-joints. F150s, I have an older one (93) that I bought 3 1/2 years ago for $1500 an now have about $4000 into it for new AC ,tires,brakes,shocks,clutch and bed shell. I'd hate to part with it but I may since the engine is getting tired. I'm not sure which one will give out first, me or the truck.

[J.Mencalice]

Mike,
    Body wise, rust free, truck is in good shape 94k on the clock. My biggest concern is reliability of the motor. I know what ya mean about the Ford front ends. Oddly enough had to put some $ into frontend of Ranger before son could drive it.
     Only other thing is it's a standard trans. Not sure I wanna go back to grinding gears. All my driving is  around town.

Clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing at 94k may bear some inspection if there is no record of them being replaced recently.