i am losing my mind HELP!!

dodgedifferent2

dodgedifferent2

hung like a stud field mouse and
Ok so my boss currently has a 1999? (double check it) four door ford f150 lariat auto 5.4l, 2wd and loaded to the hilt that she is considering to sell and i am debating on purchasing it. The only reason i am considering it is that the mileage is at 054000 kms (33554 miles):shifty:

It has been indoors since it was purchased and rarely has seen sunlight since new. It has never been towed or idled for long periods of time. Maintenance has occurred, for the few mile it has seen. but from sitting i am sure the tires are a bit flat spotted and maybe the fluids would need a change out to get rid of the moisture

is it a worthwhile purchase? how are the 5.4's? anything major go wrong with these trucks?:hmmm:

Its mainly the mileage that i am considering and if the price is right i would sell my 03 dakota and hopefully recoup the cost of the f150 the only thing i would miss is the 4wd but how often do i really use 4wd? (maybe a few times in a year):hmmm:
 
Other than breaking exhaust manifolds and spark plugs in half and randomly shooting spark plug/coil assemblies out of the cylinder heads, they're pretty solid engines as I recall. However, when either of those occur, and it is a matter of when, you'll want to have some time set aside for the repair. The exhaust studs will break, and you will need a special plug removal/rethreading tool for the broken plugs. When the plugs pop out of the cylinder head, the only way to properly fix it is to pull the head, but Dorman/Motormite does make a $60 "workaround" kit for it, which involves a $25 spark plug (replacement cost, there's one in the kit). You'll also want to go over all the vacuum hoses/lines/elbows with a fine-tooth comb; they're notorious for rotting and some of them are dealer-only parts.

None of these are mileage-related issues. The manifolds are poor castings and their mounting studs gall in the block, the plug location is a complete design failure, and the vacuum stuff rots off due to age regardless of use. If it were my nickel, I'd tell the seller you want a tune-up done before you buy; if the spark plugs don't come out it's on her to pay for the repairs (and it's more than likely it will end up with the Dorman repair in it).

Those are the issues that spring immediately to mind. Other board members that work on them every day will know more about common failure points.
 
They like to rust, but with that mileage you might not be worrying about that for a while yet.

It's not worth much on a lot, is it selling for a decent price?
 
The 99 5.4 doesn't have the 2 piece spark plug that requires the removal tool. It does however spit the plugs out occasionally. With the milage that low you shouldn't have a problem with the plugs. Just replace them regularly (when the engine is cold) use anti-seize, and TORQUE THEM TO SPEC. No more No less! Use Anti-seize on the 8mm head bolt that holds the coil to the intake and change the spark plug boots when you do the plugs and you will be fine.

It's the three valve engines that have the 2 piece plugs with all of the problems. If you change the plugs before you hit 80,000 miles and fallow the same steps as above you will be fine on those too.

As for the manifolds, The heads of the bolts rust off and they leak. Replacing them isn't fun but it isn't imposable. Just takes time. Most of the time, once the manifold is off you can weld a nut to whats left of the exhaust bolt and they will back right out. I've only had to drill a few. They are easy to get at if you remove the inner fender for access.

I had a '98 f250 SD shop truck that I put 480,000 miles on and it got 100,000 more as a back up truck. It got sold and I see it now and again but I have no idea if it's still got the original engine in it.

After that one I was given a 2003 that I put 300,000 on before I left that job. They still use it.
 
I know there is a special tool for the spark plugs on the two-valve 4.6/5.4 engines... I must be thinking of the back-tap deal for after the plug shoots out. I also know the bottom of the ceramic can get stuck down there and there's something to remove that as well. As far as the mileage v. how stuck the plugs are, well, that's more an issue of time. Aluminum and steel will gall together without any input whatsoever; you could probably strip it out on a crate motor if it's 15 years old. I sold a lot of exhaust manifolds (and one set of expensive shorty headers) to owners of that engine.

I knew about Stretch's work truck(s) as well, but I figured I'd let him chime in. I also know of one with 300K+ miles on it that's been badly neglected (60K of that is with no plug in #7, including towing). Other than the details mentioned, they're actually pretty bulletproof. They don't make enough power to hurt themselves.
 
Yes there is a tool for installing the inserts on the 2 valve engines. It's also used on the 3 valve engines. The tool for removing the plugs in the 3 valve engines also removes the ceramic. I like the 4.6 and 5.4's. they make me lots of money!
 
i happened to be standing in the local ford dealers show room getting the bosses other vehicle serviced so i asked the local owner of the dealership.
They changed the spark plug design at some point for the 5.4l

the f150 i am looking at is a 2000 model and i know that in 01 it was a different design, not sure if that helps or hinders. I didnt ask about 2000 because i didnt realize it was a 2000
 
Actually, there was no change in 2001. The change to the design came with the cylinder-head change to the 3V engine in 2005, excepting the F-Series which got it in 2004--only on non-Heritage models, as the Heritage still had the 2V engine. The change is not a good thing; the design went from decidedly bad to much worse. There is no "good" 5.4L (or any modular Ford V8) spark plug design, only varying degrees of bad. The 2V version is a Yugo while the 3V version is a Trabant. Both suck, but you're much better off in the Yugo. :D

Being that the one your boss has is a 2000, at least you won't need to know which engine plant built your 5.4L just to buy a freakin' oil filter. :doh:
 
2 valve engines plugs don't come apart in the head like the 3 valves do. The just spit the spark plugs out of the head and take the threads with them. When they spit the plugs out the coil is lunched out as well. If the intake manifold is plastic rather than aluminum (they came both ways) the coil takes its mounting boss with it. If that's the case you have no way to bolt the coil down.
 
so it sounds like this 01 exploder i have with the v6 i need to make go away?.....shame its a good lil 2dr that was given to me...runs like a swiss watch but has electronic 4x shift issues
 
well its a friend of mine who got deployed....it was given to me with the intent to destroy it as he had invoces for it needing something to the tune of 4k in repairs...turned out it doesnt need but maybe 1 thing they said....the brakes are a lil warped the rear pinion seal leaks a lil but mostly the electronic 4x shit doesnt work at all..160k on the clock...i was going to put a lil money into it and just keep useing it till he gets back ..so he has something to come back to that he can drive imediatly while he waits to get something else..but if these engines are that bad im reconsidering the sell it or blow it up.

i was specificly told sell it if you can and keep whatever, keep it, or destroy it and get me vid of you destroying it
 
Is it the over head cam 4.0 V6 or the push rod V6? The OHC is a pile of shit. It has 4 timing chains and there are zero timing marks. Ford tools are required to set them up. There are 2 kinds of OHV 4.0's. Those that are going to have the timing set fail and those that have failed.
 
Just remember when ordering parts to indicate that it's an Explorer Sport. Totally different car than an Explorer, believe it or not. :doh:
 
yeah i know...i went hunting for a gem and a 4wd modual...2dr exploders just dont exist in the wreckers...and the 4dr parts are entirely different pin counts, locations, plug count...got annoyed real fast
 
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