2000 f150

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4x4 with the 4.6 litre engine. 120 000 miles, all things being equal should this be a half decent truck? I been lightly worked but not abused but I dont know the service history. What do you think? Are these durable motors and transmissions?
 
We had quite a few at work.

Power steering pumps are LOUD and go out often in the 4x4.

Plastic interior is real poor (esp ANYTHING in the door and head light switch area)

Engine is pretty good (we have a few that are left and they are close to or over 200k) and transmissions are pretty good.

Our OCI is iffy lube every 7-9k and transmission drain and fill around 50-60k.

They ARE used at work HARD. A lot of idling and slow 4x4 use.

Overall, good truck. I think the Chevys we have are better. The Dodges did not last period (TONs of transmission problems)

We went over to Toyota starting in 2004. Still with Toyota and now buying Chevy and Dodge again.

Take care, bill
 
I owned a '97 Expedition 2WD with the 4.6L for 6 years. Here's a list of repairs that mine had:

Pitman arm at 65k miles - $130 at independent repair shop
Transmission shifter solenoid at 75 miles - $440 at Ford Dealer
Rear axle seals around 110k miles - $175 at independent repair shop
Removed upper portion of intake manifold to clean EGR passages to clear CEL - $15 Parts - Repair done by me

The Expedition always consumed oil. I changed the PCV valve and grommet with Motorcraft parts around 100k miles, which decreased the amount of oil consumed. Keep an eye on the oil level, and keep it topped up.

Not sure what type coolant the '00 model F150 used, but it might be a good idea to change it. The coolant in my '97 was run way longer than it should have been (by me), and as a result clogged up my heater core. In late winter 2007, I paid a repair shop $75 to do a good flush of the lines, and re-fill with coolant. The heater worked OK from then until I sold it later that year.

All in all, I was happy with my Expedition, and I think you will find similar results with an F-150, assuming it hasn't been abused too badly.
 
I have 4.6 in my Merc GM and the engine is very reliable. 210,000 miles and the engine is still stong. No telling how long it will last.
 
The tune up is very expensive,the book says 3 to 4 hours to change spark plugs.The plugs will break off and there is a TSB on this.Warm the truck up least an hour and turn the spark plugs an 1/8 of a turn and pour down Ford's engine cleaner down the spark plug hole letting it soak in overnight.Plus the rotors have to be cut with a plasma cutter most of the time if it is a 4x4.The front brake rotors are rusted in and the only way to get them off is cut them in half with a plasma cutter buying new rotors
 
Originally Posted By: wafrederick1
The tune up is very expensive,the book says 3 to 4 hours to change spark plugs.The plugs will break off and there is a TSB on this.Warm the truck up least an hour and turn the spark plugs an 1/8 of a turn and pour down Ford's engine cleaner down the spark plug hole letting it soak in overnight...


That TSB applies to 2004-2008 F150 with the 5.4 3v engine only. Before 2004, some engines were spitting spark plugs.
 
Power Steering pump noise (common on basically every Ford) can be rectified by a fluid flush (in my experience) with M1 ATF. Do a few changes to get all the old junk out and the noise should go away in about a week.

The 4.6L and 5.4L are very strong, same goes for the 4R70W and 4R100 transmissions.

I have no gripes about interior or door panel quality, but ours have all been Eddie Bauer trim Expeditions, which I imagine are different.
 
My cousin had two 1998 4.2 automatic XLT F-150s. They were used as work trucks and were very reliable. They didn't have any problems really. One racked up about 200K miles before being sold, the other was totalled by a guy who worked for my cousin and was driving drunk. My cousin replaced the wrecked one with a 1999 5.4L. The 1999 had a bad leak from the rear window in heavy rain, but other than that it didn't have any problems I can remember. It had over 100K when it was sold in 2002 or 2003.

A friend of mine also has one of these trucks. A 1998 4.6 automatic 2WD. Maintenance is poor at best. The truck is lucky to have the oil changed every 10K miles (dino). There's no telling if/when the transmission fluid was last changed, and I'm pretty sure none of the other fluids have ever been changed. The truck has around 120K miles now and runs great. It has never broken down. The rotors are warped and the CEL has been on for a while for a PCV hose, but the truck is very reliable and runs incredibly well. I can't explain it. The owner beats the [censored] out of it too.

To sum it up, I wouldn't worry. Overall, these are very solid trucks. Ford sold millions with that body style between '97 and '03/'04.
 
The 4.6L motor is the most reliable one for that model year.

Tune up is EASY, all 8 plugs are right on top. Plugs are 2 bucks a piece.

The motor will run forever with regular oil changes.

I would check the smell and color of the transmission fluid, make sure it is not burned smelling or looking.

The PS pump gets noisy when the fluid gets burned up in it. Flush it with mercon V, and that usually solves it.

Great truck, mileage is usually 14mpg.
 
Overk1ll,
I also use M1 ATF in my PS pump and it works great. Never had a noisey pump or failure on Fords.
 
Go for it.

My brother has an 01' has the 5.4 but there's 180K on the clock and hes never had any major repairs and he's terrible on maintenance, truck runs really well though.
 
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