Junk Ford F150...
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6. My uncles F150 made it until 80k at least before the rear end, motor, and transfer case blew...
Trade in time. I think the 14 Subaru's are nice.
Did your uncle ever service the rear end or transfer case? if not, serves it right to explode. Like others have said, boxer engines are not known for their quiet/smooth idle either, expect to be driven nuts again.
Thanks for the rant, I guess.
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6. My uncles F150 made it until 80k at least before the rear end, motor, and transfer case blew...
Trade in time. I think the 14 Subaru's are nice.
Did your uncle ever service the rear end or transfer case? if not, serves it right to explode. Like others have said, boxer engines are not known for their quiet/smooth idle either, expect to be driven nuts again.
Thanks for the rant, I guess.
Most of the older Fords I have been around are more noisy than other brands. Seems like it is just the way they are and they seem to last for people I know.
Would you rather have a rusted out, sludged-up, unintended accelerating, and higher trade-in value at resale piece of junk import(this is just a joke BTW don't reply to it)?
In all seriousness, I would try several other dealers who will offer better goodwill to the truck and certainly report whatever safety issues were encountered to the NHTSA so that injuries/fatalities may be avoided with a recall.
In all seriousness, I would try several other dealers who will offer better goodwill to the truck and certainly report whatever safety issues were encountered to the NHTSA so that injuries/fatalities may be avoided with a recall.
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
We have two 5.4's in the family right now with 168,000 miles on them (each). Other than one launching a plug, they have been bulletproof.
It's the luck of the draw, sometimes you just get a lemon, regardless of brand.
My son works in the garage door biz and they run Ford pickups. I must say they get GREAT service out of them despite a few foibles.
The Net seems to amplify the few problems most modern vehicles have these days.
Other than in my fleet a Ford seems to do just fine for most...
We have two 5.4's in the family right now with 168,000 miles on them (each). Other than one launching a plug, they have been bulletproof.
It's the luck of the draw, sometimes you just get a lemon, regardless of brand.
My son works in the garage door biz and they run Ford pickups. I must say they get GREAT service out of them despite a few foibles.
The Net seems to amplify the few problems most modern vehicles have these days.
Other than in my fleet a Ford seems to do just fine for most...
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I might try a regional service manager, explain the problem, elderly father etc. May not do any good but you have nothing to lose, especially if you have, or the dealer has service records.
Did he take in to the dealer about the noise before it was out of warranty?
Yes two times that I know of.
He is tired of the truck, I'm going to talk to him this weekend but I think its on its way to getting traded.
Service records are spotty because I would say about 1/3 of the oil changes were done at the dealer, the rest he did himself and kept no receipts.
I might try a regional service manager, explain the problem, elderly father etc. May not do any good but you have nothing to lose, especially if you have, or the dealer has service records.
Did he take in to the dealer about the noise before it was out of warranty?
Yes two times that I know of.
He is tired of the truck, I'm going to talk to him this weekend but I think its on its way to getting traded.
Service records are spotty because I would say about 1/3 of the oil changes were done at the dealer, the rest he did himself and kept no receipts.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Interesting. For the oil biz in the VI, ford trucks are entirely what is in use because of their toughness. The original V6 F150 that was the transition over from toyota hauled more pallets of four 55 gallon drums of oil over more severe terrain that is ever seen in the states, and is still operating well in severe service in severe terrain.
The super duty 250 gets worked even harder, and the V8 F150 has been really good too, other than plastic trim rotting in the sun.
Bummer yours have been so bad. Id never buy one as a commuter truck, but as work trucks, theyre pretty darn good in service far beyond what goes on in the states.
I'm shocked as well since this truck is a light duty commuter/ daily driver. I would never expect much trouble out of it, because its just not stressed.
OTOH we beat the living heck out of our GM work trucks and they don't complain much.
Interesting. For the oil biz in the VI, ford trucks are entirely what is in use because of their toughness. The original V6 F150 that was the transition over from toyota hauled more pallets of four 55 gallon drums of oil over more severe terrain that is ever seen in the states, and is still operating well in severe service in severe terrain.
The super duty 250 gets worked even harder, and the V8 F150 has been really good too, other than plastic trim rotting in the sun.
Bummer yours have been so bad. Id never buy one as a commuter truck, but as work trucks, theyre pretty darn good in service far beyond what goes on in the states.
I'm shocked as well since this truck is a light duty commuter/ daily driver. I would never expect much trouble out of it, because its just not stressed.
OTOH we beat the living heck out of our GM work trucks and they don't complain much.
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Waiting for the Ford fanboys to come to the rescue...
It always happens if anything negative is said about a Ford.
My dad is a Ford fanboy, he has owned and driven an F150 since the mid or late 70's. My Grandfather started with flat head Ford's.
This is very disappointing for him, I mean he took a vacation and stopped by the Ford truck factory with my mom last year!
Waiting for the Ford fanboys to come to the rescue...
It always happens if anything negative is said about a Ford.
My dad is a Ford fanboy, he has owned and driven an F150 since the mid or late 70's. My Grandfather started with flat head Ford's.
This is very disappointing for him, I mean he took a vacation and stopped by the Ford truck factory with my mom last year!
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Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6. My uncles F150 made it until 80k at least before the rear end, motor, and transfer case blew...
Trade in time. I think the 14 Subaru's are nice.
Did your uncle ever service the rear end or transfer case? if not, serves it right to explode. Like others have said, boxer engines are not known for their quiet/smooth idle either, expect to be driven nuts again.
Thanks for the rant, I guess.
Yes the truck was serviced, he is a big Amsoil fan.
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6. My uncles F150 made it until 80k at least before the rear end, motor, and transfer case blew...
Trade in time. I think the 14 Subaru's are nice.
Did your uncle ever service the rear end or transfer case? if not, serves it right to explode. Like others have said, boxer engines are not known for their quiet/smooth idle either, expect to be driven nuts again.
Thanks for the rant, I guess.
Yes the truck was serviced, he is a big Amsoil fan.
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Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6.
What year was the 5.4?
By "diesely sounding", you mean?
No my friend had a 5.4 that did this, this is the 4.2 V6 and even warmed up it idles like [censored]. I'm mechanically inclined enough to know a problem when I hear it.
Said 4.2 has lifter issues, and I don't have the time or inclination to dive into it and figure it out. It doesn't sound like a bottom end knock.
If I had to keep it on the road I'd probably yank the heads and send them out, check the cam and the lifters which sound bad. The motor is low mileage and has had the oil changed so I'd expect it to be clean inside and the bottom end should be fine.
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is the second diesely sounding F150 we have experience with, the first was a 5.4, this is the first V6.
What year was the 5.4?
By "diesely sounding", you mean?
No my friend had a 5.4 that did this, this is the 4.2 V6 and even warmed up it idles like [censored]. I'm mechanically inclined enough to know a problem when I hear it.
Said 4.2 has lifter issues, and I don't have the time or inclination to dive into it and figure it out. It doesn't sound like a bottom end knock.
If I had to keep it on the road I'd probably yank the heads and send them out, check the cam and the lifters which sound bad. The motor is low mileage and has had the oil changed so I'd expect it to be clean inside and the bottom end should be fine.
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Originally Posted By: Cmarti
The 4.2 v6 has had problems with the intake manifold . The manifold will leak coolant into the front cylinder. First sign is a knock, with very minor coolant loss. this is major and you canlose the engine. The thermo-plastic plenums struggle in the cold and allow air leaks arond the individual cylinder intakes resulting in a lean code 174 & 171. 2007 should have the better gaskets that were supposed to be immune to the temp change and resistant to the dirty egr/pvc system. This is all a pain in the [censored] couple hour job,but roughly a 100$ Gates manifold gasket kit.
While in there, clean the egr port for each cylinder. I added a catch can in the pvc line. There are highly detailed instructions available at the ford truck forums. These leaks were common and occured in both 4.2 trucks I have owned. Finally, it is a pushrod motor and tends to clank a little cold. Good luck to you and your father.
X2, there were issues, but it would be very unusual on an '07.
Ford made millions of these engines. Some will go bad early. Others go 300K+ with nearly no problems.
I work on many Ford and GM trucks daily. Honestly, I can't tell much of a difference at 200K-300K between a GMT800 or 900 and a '97-'08 F-150. Either one is just as likely to have the CEL on. GM is more likely to have a broken center console, but power windows/locks are hit or miss with either. A V8 Ford might blow a plug, but a GM might need the LIM done, or knock sensors, or a water pump. I have seen a blown out plug on an '06 5.4 held in place with pieces of paint mixing sticks shoved between the coil and fuel rail. Transmissions can go either way, but the 4L60E seems a little more trouble prone than the 4R70W and 4R100.
All that said, few vehicles can rack up the miles like a 1980s-current Ford or GM truck/full size van.
The 4.2 v6 has had problems with the intake manifold . The manifold will leak coolant into the front cylinder. First sign is a knock, with very minor coolant loss. this is major and you canlose the engine. The thermo-plastic plenums struggle in the cold and allow air leaks arond the individual cylinder intakes resulting in a lean code 174 & 171. 2007 should have the better gaskets that were supposed to be immune to the temp change and resistant to the dirty egr/pvc system. This is all a pain in the [censored] couple hour job,but roughly a 100$ Gates manifold gasket kit.
While in there, clean the egr port for each cylinder. I added a catch can in the pvc line. There are highly detailed instructions available at the ford truck forums. These leaks were common and occured in both 4.2 trucks I have owned. Finally, it is a pushrod motor and tends to clank a little cold. Good luck to you and your father.
X2, there were issues, but it would be very unusual on an '07.
Ford made millions of these engines. Some will go bad early. Others go 300K+ with nearly no problems.
I work on many Ford and GM trucks daily. Honestly, I can't tell much of a difference at 200K-300K between a GMT800 or 900 and a '97-'08 F-150. Either one is just as likely to have the CEL on. GM is more likely to have a broken center console, but power windows/locks are hit or miss with either. A V8 Ford might blow a plug, but a GM might need the LIM done, or knock sensors, or a water pump. I have seen a blown out plug on an '06 5.4 held in place with pieces of paint mixing sticks shoved between the coil and fuel rail. Transmissions can go either way, but the 4L60E seems a little more trouble prone than the 4R70W and 4R100.
All that said, few vehicles can rack up the miles like a 1980s-current Ford or GM truck/full size van.
I owned this Ranger long before I started working on cars daily, but I would buy another one tomorrow if I ruined the current one. They are reliable, and when they do break, they are usually easy to fix with excellent parts availability. In 12 years, the longest downtime my truck has had for a repair is a couple hours. I have only owned it since 2008, but my parents owned it from new until they sold it to me.
There is nothing particularly special about them though. I also own it because I like the size, interior, etc. There are plenty of other vehicles with similar reliability/ease of repair.
There is nothing particularly special about them though. I also own it because I like the size, interior, etc. There are plenty of other vehicles with similar reliability/ease of repair.
The Rat is my first Ford in nearly 30 yrs. I have had no trouble with its 4.0 push rod V6. I started with flathead V8 and early OHV V8s Junk, compared to the 4.0. Ford I 6s were also known for their quality But the Ranger.design wise, was engineered entirely for assembly and sale. Other than a few drain plugs it has no "service-abiliity"
I was looking for a 4wd T100. I settled for a '94 Ranger project. Most of the stuff it needed was normal 20 yr old car stuff. But replacing the needed parts was waay more difficult than anticipated. I joined a Ranger forum and kinda wish I hadn't. Holy cow, heads cracking, plugs spitting and 6 hr plug R+Rs, leaky intakes.Luckily the 4.0 is largely immune from these troubles.
I think a lot of the trouble, though, is the shop you're taking it to. As it is out of warranty, maybe an indy shop would be better.
I was looking for a 4wd T100. I settled for a '94 Ranger project. Most of the stuff it needed was normal 20 yr old car stuff. But replacing the needed parts was waay more difficult than anticipated. I joined a Ranger forum and kinda wish I hadn't. Holy cow, heads cracking, plugs spitting and 6 hr plug R+Rs, leaky intakes.Luckily the 4.0 is largely immune from these troubles.
I think a lot of the trouble, though, is the shop you're taking it to. As it is out of warranty, maybe an indy shop would be better.
Originally Posted By: andyd
The Rat is my first Ford in nearly 30 yrs. I have had no trouble with its 4.0 push rod V6. I started with flathead V8 and early OHV V8s Junk, compared to the 4.0. Ford I 6s were also known for their quality But the Ranger.design wise, was engineered entirely for assembly and sale. Other than a few drain plugs it has no "service-abiliity"
I was looking for a 4wd T100. I settled for a '94 Ranger project. Most of the stuff it needed was normal 20 yr old car stuff. But replacing the needed parts was waay more difficult than anticipated. I joined a Ranger forum and kinda wish I hadn't. Holy cow, heads cracking, plugs spitting and 6 hr plug R+Rs, leaky intakes.Luckily the 4.0 is largely immune from these troubles.
I think a lot of the trouble, though, is the shop you're taking it to. As it is out of warranty, maybe an indy shop would be better.
I can't think of any Ranger that takes 6 hours to do the plugs on, even the 8 spark plug Limas. Plugs on mine take 30 minutes if you take your time.
Spark plug spitting isn't something I've heard of happening on Rangers. What engine have you heard of this happening on, the Duratec? Most Ranger engines have cast iron heads, so spitting a plug would be very unlikely unless there was some installer error.
The only Ranger engine I know of that was prone to cracked heads was the 2.9 V6, and that was last used 22-23 years ago.
Leaky intakes happen on everything.
The only thing that really scares me with my truck is if the heater core goes out. That is one job on this truck I really do not care to tackle at all, nor do I really want someone else disassembling my entire dashboard. Most everything else is pretty straightforward and accessible. Changing oil, trans fluid, and diff fluid are super easy. All filters are easily accessible and can be changed in a few minutes except for the trans filter. Serp belt takes 5 minutes. Battery takes 5 minutes. I had the radiator out and in in about an hour.
Some of it may just be what you are used to though, and I learned on Fords. As far as serviceability, most Toyotas beyond a Corolla or 4 cylinder Camry (pre-canister filter) would not be my first choice, in particular the trucks. Toyota likes to put oil filters in interesting places, then cover them up with about five or six skid plates. 4WD 3.4L Tacomas and 4Runners are the absolute worst. The only real favors Toyota gave on those trucks were auto trans and differential drain plugs. They did seem to make up for it with the 4.0L though. Still, not all (or even most) Toyotas are service/repair friendly.
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
The Rat is my first Ford in nearly 30 yrs. I have had no trouble with its 4.0 push rod V6. I started with flathead V8 and early OHV V8s Junk, compared to the 4.0. Ford I 6s were also known for their quality But the Ranger.design wise, was engineered entirely for assembly and sale. Other than a few drain plugs it has no "service-abiliity"
I was looking for a 4wd T100. I settled for a '94 Ranger project. Most of the stuff it needed was normal 20 yr old car stuff. But replacing the needed parts was waay more difficult than anticipated. I joined a Ranger forum and kinda wish I hadn't. Holy cow, heads cracking, plugs spitting and 6 hr plug R+Rs, leaky intakes.Luckily the 4.0 is largely immune from these troubles.
I think a lot of the trouble, though, is the shop you're taking it to. As it is out of warranty, maybe an indy shop would be better.
I can't think of any Ranger that takes 6 hours to do the plugs on, even the 8 spark plug Limas. Plugs on mine take 30 minutes if you take your time.
Spark plug spitting isn't something I've heard of happening on Rangers. What engine have you heard of this happening on, the Duratec? Most Ranger engines have cast iron heads, so spitting a plug would be very unlikely unless there was some installer error.
The only Ranger engine I know of that was prone to cracked heads was the 2.9 V6, and that was last used 22-23 years ago.
Leaky intakes happen on everything.
The only thing that really scares me with my truck is if the heater core goes out. That is one job on this truck I really do not care to tackle at all, nor do I really want someone else disassembling my entire dashboard. Most everything else is pretty straightforward and accessible. Changing oil, trans fluid, and diff fluid are super easy. All filters are easily accessible and can be changed in a few minutes except for the trans filter. Serp belt takes 5 minutes. Battery takes 5 minutes. I had the radiator out and in in about an hour.
Some of it may just be what you are used to though, and I learned on Fords. As far as serviceability, most Toyotas beyond a Corolla or 4 cylinder Camry (pre-canister filter) would not be my first choice, in particular the trucks. Toyota likes to put oil filters in interesting places, then cover them up with about five or six skid plates. 4WD 3.4L Tacomas and 4Runners are the absolute worst. The only real favors Toyota gave on those trucks were auto trans and differential drain plugs. They did seem to make up for it with the 4.0L though. Still, not all (or even most) Toyotas are service/repair friendly.
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
That, I wholeheartedly agree with. I hope the new generation of GM trucks will be just as straightforward to work on.
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
That, I wholeheartedly agree with. I hope the new generation of GM trucks will be just as straightforward to work on.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
The GM trucks don't have the engine under the dash like a van?
That's one thing I never cared for on Fords. The engines are set back so far in the things that it's impossible to get to stuff on the back of the engine.
You could easily put two 5.4s in a row in the engine bay of our 01 F350.
As far as basic maintenance goes, doing things on a GMT800 truck may be quicker/easier than anything else that has been on the market in the last 20 years. There's tons of room everywhere, everything is accessible, and things are generally straightforward on them. GMT900s are pretty good in this respect too. The pushrod engines leave a lot of room under the hood. I hate doing maintenance on Modular engine Fords in comparison...spark plugs and oil changes are much worse on the Fords (messy filter location unless it has the factory relocation under the bumper).
The GM trucks don't have the engine under the dash like a van?
That's one thing I never cared for on Fords. The engines are set back so far in the things that it's impossible to get to stuff on the back of the engine.
You could easily put two 5.4s in a row in the engine bay of our 01 F350.
I find to many Ford probelm-child trucks with little to no support. Don't get me wrong (many are good) but a lot are lemon/dogs.
My family only uses GM for farm vehicles for that reason.
That being said, a close family friend went with a '12 F350 D and it was a nightmare. Brand-new and and could not make it to 10K without serious problems. The dealer did a lot of work but when it came down to replace the entire fuel system and a lot of other related issues, the dealer/corporate would not honor the warranty. During a cross-country livestock towing event, something happened with the engine receiving fuel(I wish I knew more). The dealer was stumped for a while and then said it did not know but replacing the fuel system. Another week past and nothing. My friend got the vehicle back and it still had the same problem. Eventually the dealer took it back and they had a talk. For whatever reason, the dealer decided that if my friend wanted it fixed, they would cite that "vandalism" happened if my friend wanted to commit insurance fraud. Keep in mind, the issue happened during a long cross country trip so the truck was not sitting around "waiting for" someone to tamper with it... unless they could do it at 65mph. If they did not want to play the insurance game with the dealer, they would not do any more warranty work on it citing some mess. Contacted corporate and they did nothing. No lemon laws for this vehicle. The truck set around for another year trying to get it resolved. It has been about 2 years now, but it s fixed enough and runs the last I heard but is has been a "experience" to say the least. Our guess is that when it was in for some warranty work, the dealer really screwed up something before the long trip and then tried to hide behind "vandalism" to cover their rear-end.
My family only uses GM for farm vehicles for that reason.
That being said, a close family friend went with a '12 F350 D and it was a nightmare. Brand-new and and could not make it to 10K without serious problems. The dealer did a lot of work but when it came down to replace the entire fuel system and a lot of other related issues, the dealer/corporate would not honor the warranty. During a cross-country livestock towing event, something happened with the engine receiving fuel(I wish I knew more). The dealer was stumped for a while and then said it did not know but replacing the fuel system. Another week past and nothing. My friend got the vehicle back and it still had the same problem. Eventually the dealer took it back and they had a talk. For whatever reason, the dealer decided that if my friend wanted it fixed, they would cite that "vandalism" happened if my friend wanted to commit insurance fraud. Keep in mind, the issue happened during a long cross country trip so the truck was not sitting around "waiting for" someone to tamper with it... unless they could do it at 65mph. If they did not want to play the insurance game with the dealer, they would not do any more warranty work on it citing some mess. Contacted corporate and they did nothing. No lemon laws for this vehicle. The truck set around for another year trying to get it resolved. It has been about 2 years now, but it s fixed enough and runs the last I heard but is has been a "experience" to say the least. Our guess is that when it was in for some warranty work, the dealer really screwed up something before the long trip and then tried to hide behind "vandalism" to cover their rear-end.
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