Ford F-150 Problems

tdehner · February 2001

Good possibility it is the torque converter clutch solenoid.

Your Ford Auto Tech,
Terry

Keep Driving Fords!

tdehner · February 2001

The shudder is abnormal. I would have to say that the pressure plate isn't adjusted correctly or has weak spring tension.

Your Ford Auto Tech.
Terry

tdehner · February 2001

If the truck came with P235/75R15 tires I would go back to them. The decal on the door tells you the correct tire size. This will dramatically affect the fuel mileage. The speedometer will also be affected. The larger tires will get better fuel mileage on a very flat open highway though. City driving with these large tires will strain the engine and transmission considerably.

Your Ford Auto Tech,
Terry.

wbolding1 · February 2001

Im thinking about buying a 1997 f150 xlt extended cab 4x4. It is a automatic, has 55000 miles, and has the 5.4 engine. Id like to know about gas mileage and good and bad stories .What should I look for . Are they good vehicles or should I stay awy.

johnf150 · February 2001

Hi guys, 1st time ford truck owner. After my trucks has ran for twenty miles or so I notice a strong oil smell from the grill. does the oil port have a vapor release or is this something I should get checked. 1999 f150 5.4L 4x4 27,050 MILES

emale · February 2001

tdehner,

why does the 5.4l v/8 in my 01 s-crew have so much of a gurgly/raspy sounding intake noise on acceleration? just wondering as i have owned quite a few new vehicles in the last decade and not one of them made this "sounds like a junker with 100k miles on it" noise.

also, i often times can here popping noises coming from my truck when i'm pulled up next to a building with the engine running and driver's window down. where is this coming from? i haven't been able to track it down.

thanks...

johnf150 · February 2001

After a close visual inspection and no sign of A fresh oil leak and whatnot, I have determined that the oil smell may be just a hot radiator. AREN'T YOU GLAD I SHARED ALL THIS WITH YOU GUYS,.... SHEEEEZE. HEY TERRY (FORD TECH) WHY DOES SO MUCH LIQUID COME OUT OF THE EXHAUST PIPE DURING MORNING WARM-UP?

noller2g · February 2001

Check far back as you can on both side of the motor under the valve cover and above and below the exaust man.

5.4's are notorius for leaking oil at poorly machined head/block junction.

Check out www.f150online.com and read all about it.

Greg

1labdg · February 2001

Has any one had a problem with metal stress cracks around the window jam on the passenger door. I was told by the dealer that this is common in the 99's. He said the more customer who call 1-800-393-3673 the better chance of a recall. I thought it was a rock chip at first and touched the area up. Little did I know it was a crack in the metal. Of course it was 2000 miles out of warranty when I brought it to their attention. No luck from the Customer Service kept. They have it on record. Please call if you experienced the same problem.

frisco3 · February 2001

In response to message 49 above I have been advised by my mechanic that both my oil pan and all 4 rims are rusting through because of improper prime and paint. He indicated this is a common problem on l995 Ford trucks. One of my wheels is leaking air, after about 3 years of rusting. This truck also has never been off road!

wbolding1 · February 2001

Can anyone help . Just recently purchased a 97 F150 SuperCab 4x4 with the 5.4 engine and the rubber bushings in the front steering parts squeak like crazy when you turn the steering wheel. Tried to grease them and saw there were no grease fittings. Tried spraying them good with WD40 and this did nothing . Had it checked at a front end shop and they said everything was in great shape and that they could do nothing to stop the squeaking. Anyone else had this problem ? Any ideas how to fix it ?

jeffreymn · February 2001

The question is not "which f-150s develop door cracks?" it's "which f-150s don't develop door cracks?

I've read about and observed these door cracks on at least 1/2 of the 97 and 98 f-150s on used car lots. Ford is working on a fix--I don't know if they have one yet. f150online.com has tons of info on this.

toyhunter · February 2001

Hello everyone, I am very interested in the F-150 Supercrew cab. I have never thought about purchasing a ford truck before. My father had a 1987 ford ranger XLT 4x4 which gave him nothing but headaches. I am unsure if buying a ford is the right thing to do. If anyone would like to tell me about there experiences with ford trucks I would love to hear them.
Thanks.

johnf150 · February 2001

THANKS GREG! FOUND OIL LEAK DRIPPING DOWN TRANSMISSION HOUSING. I COULD ALSO SEE OIL SPLATTER ON EXHAUST MANIFOLD HEAT SHIELD. I Couldn't FIND A BULLS EYE TOPIC @ F150 ON-LINE THOUGH.

reybeast · February 2001

I hope terry can help with this one. I have an '01 supercrew with the 5.4L, and on cold starts, the rpms shoot up to 1950rpm, no exageration! I have seen it hit 2000 rpm on some mornings, what should it really go up to on a cold start? Warm starts are not a problem, it hits somewhere about 14-1500 rpm. Any ideas?

homey7 · February 2001

Those cracks seen SO small. Is it really a problem? Like is the door gonna break?

lariat10 · February 2001

I HAVE A 2000 SUPER CAB WITH THE 5.4 AND IT ALSO IDLES AT ABOUT 1900 RPM WHEN COLD AND THEN DROPS DOWN TO ABOUT 800 WHICH SEEMS TO TAKE FOREVER TO HAPPEN . MY 5.4 HAS A ROUGH IDLE TO IT DOES YOURS. TERRY CAN YOU ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS.

reybeast · February 2001

our truck idles pretty smoothly, just that initial startup bugs me...

doyeaco · February 2001

I am looking at a used regular cab 4x4 f150 with the 5.0l automatic. I do not have much experience with older fords. Can anyone tell me what they think of this year, any known problems, benefits? I would be using it strictly to haul my two horses (trailer and horses would be about 5950 lbs, loaded up, and for various home improvement projects. Will this work okay? What is the tow capacity on it? I had a newer dakota -98 with the 5.2 and it always did fine, it did have the tow package on it from the factory though. I would have to put a weight distributing hitch on the ford. Anyway, any info would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

jayvee · February 2001

are performance parts availble for the 4.6? I am in the process of buying a new F-150 super cab XLT and would like to know what is offered for this truck. thanks

kit1404 · February 2001

Depending on the price - these trucks carry a premium where I live, that should be a very good truck for you. Of course, it always depends on previous history, maintenance and drivers - guess you know something about it already. The old 302 engine was possibly the best engine Ford ever built - OK maybe the new engines will be great too. I had a 1985 F-150 4X4 with this engine that I sold at 175,000 miles with no problems, my husband has driven a 1994 F-150 with this engine that he traded at 100,000 miles - neither engine ever had a problem and returned very good fuel mileage and very little oil usage. Plus they are strong pulling engines - we used the 1985 to haul a ski boat all over New Mexico up and down mountains and long grades. It pulled it really well. The only engine I have driven since that pulls the same and gets better gas mileage is in my 1999 F-150 4X4 with 5.4 - hope it lives as long as my last truck, think it will.

bigsnag · February 2001

Does a bear $#!& in the woods??? The 4.6 is the engine that has been in the Mustang for the past 5 years. Many of those parts can be used on any 4.6 including the ones in trucks.

alukats · March 2001

Does anyone know if any of the "VChips" do anything for gas mileage and or performance? I did a catback on the exhaust and it did nothing but give me 2 tailpipes.

bigmaha2 · March 2001

Anybody else but me have vibrations in drive train that start at 60mph ? Ford has replaced chewed up ring and pinion gears in rear at about 2000 miles, but now at 3000 miles it's starting up again.

talltail · March 2001

In reponse to #75 ....... Have the service dept. check the driveshaft. My '98 vibrated so bad that it shook the running boards. They changed U-Joints & yoke before they tried balancing the shaft. They found that the shaft was bent. No trouble since.

doyeaco · March 2001

Thanks for the advice, not sure if I will get it or not, but it helps to have some insight on those vehicles, the price is around 8800.00 and it looks like it is in great shape, have not driven it yet though. We will see!

batonrouge1 · March 2001

I have a 2000 F150 4X4 with an automatic transmission and the small V8. At 3,000 miles the transmission went out and the dealer had to order a new transmission from the factory. Now at 6000 miles it's back in the shop again for a transmission problem. Has anyone had similar experience.

batonrouge1 · March 2001

I have just tried Ford roadside assisantance and waited 3 1/2 hours to find out that they couldn't get anyone out to transport my Ford Pickup to a dealership. I waited an hour and a half the next morning only to find out that they couldn't get anyone again. The vehicle (fortunately) was at my house, less than 10 miles from a Ford Dealership. I'd be interested in hearing other similar experiences you may have had.

kbelisle · March 2001

I have a 01 screw with 5k miles. It went into the shop today for the 4th time. It pulls to the left. They replaced some parts (not sure what they were) and aligned it and it still pulls to the left. It is most noticible in the left lane of the freeway. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so what did they do to fix it.

pirelli · March 2001

The noise you hear is coming from the upper ball joints. You have to buy a needle point grease injector , it adapts to a grease gun. You can inject grease directly into the boot. In colder weather the grease thickens and the noise becomes apparent, I am sure people out west dont have this problem. I have the Triton 4.6 which i replaced at 72,000 miles, the cast iron block aluminum head, is a crap design. My brother inlaws Triton 5.4 lasted 90,000. My brothers dodge Magnum 3.9 aluminum head cracked at 32,000 miles. Cast iron and aluminum are to different metals , expanding and contracting at different rates. Trucks should all have cast iron engines. By all means take the extended warranty you will be using it.

mccaugheyt · March 2001

I have similar vibrations in Automatic 2000 F-150 Super cab. Been fighting with the dealer that is telling me this is normal. My vibrations start at 40 mph to 65 mph. I don't think this is normal and am appealing to the Ford company. Actually they already replaced my 1999 F-150 super that had the same problem... Think Ford needs to rethink this one and correct the problems. There are others out there like us regarding this problem. On my 2000 series they did a lot of work and said it was a 90% improvement, but I don't see the change. This came in the format of a letter from a Ford Engineer. I have had everything from tires rotated to an overhaul on the rear differential. Anyone out there know what I can do about this "abnormality" or the Ford Company?

bigsnag · March 2001

Kind of a broad statement about iron blocks and aluminum heads, don't ya think? Many people have 100K+ on the new mod motors with no problems. Lots of other companies have the same combo with no probs. Maybe you guys are just bad luck??

bigsnag · March 2001

I think you are the only person who has had problems with vibrations in the new Fords. Are you sure you don't have a Shakerado? Just kidding. Have you checked the driveshaft? Sometimes they can get bent in shipment and cause a vibe.

bitgeek · March 2001

I would like to hear from others who experience brake vibrations from 1997 F-150's. My problems started at about 25,000 miles and the dealer turned the rotors at that time. The vibration returned and the rotors were replaced under warranty at 28,000 miles. This worked for until about 38,000 when the vibration returned but not as bad. Just annoying really until about 70,000 miles when I replaced the pads and had the rotors turned. No, at 76,000 miles the vibration has returned again. Is this typical and have other F-150 owners had similar troubles?

azkhan · March 2001

Very similar symptoms...Have had the rotors turned and new brake pads
installed 3 weeks ago at 32K. My mechanic said that the left front brake
pad was worn to the rivets....Bought the truck at 22K miles and there
were no symptons until I detected the "grinding". The problem returned
last week and the truck has been with my mechanic for the past two
days as he works to figure out what is causing it....His last phone
message said that he believes it may be related to a suspension
problem...I am hoping it is something minor that is cheap to
correct. This is going to be my first and last FORD; I liked this
truck but cannot afford to have it in the shop so often....I will
pay more for Toyota

pastorst · April 2001

Anybody had the problem with a 93 F150? Three of us all have had these pans rust out. All had the famous Ford gray paint. Any easy fix other than to lift the engine to change the pan? Had another wierd one, in 2 wheel drive the transfer case just cut out. Took it to the shop and they said the "magnets were dirty" cleaned them and no more problem.

rjohn4 · April 2001

rjohn4 · April 2001

rjohn4 · April 2001

We had transmission problems with a '99 F150, 5.4 auto. Noisy, as in howling, transmission which was overhauled and then replaced. The problem was not corrected and the truck was replaced with a 2000.

The 2000, with 10,000. has had two problems:
(1)At the parked position, the transmission would not shift into gear, and a valve was replaced. (2) the transmission would shift into gear, apparently, but not engage--but then would engage and bolt backwards. This happened twice and after weeks in the shop the transmission was replaced. No positive account could be given for the problem. I have driven Fords for years and never had any transmission problems. Has anyone else had similar problems?

smatt11 · April 2001

I have a 99 F-150 5.4L, 22.5k miles, 4x4 and have noticed a louder "resonance" noise around 1800 RPMs. I would not call it a vibration, but it is annoying. I will look into it and let you know... I think i may just be normal

What little service that I have had from ford has been far superior to what I have received from Dodge.

dodgeram10 · April 2001

For your information the Dodge 3.9 V-6 has cast iron heads just like all the other Dodge truck engines. If you people want a good truck go buy a Dodge.

fschaff · April 2001

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I have a 1997 F150 with the V-6. At 44,000 miles it developed a coolant
leak. Although it was out of warrantee,Ford elected to repair it because
this is a chronic problem with this engine due to the type of gasket used in
the original assembly. The repair, with a metal reinforced gasket solves
the problem.

During the course of the repair the dealer found coolant in the engine oil
due to the leaky gasket and Ford authorized the dealer to install a new
engine at no cost to me.

A couple of weeks after the new engine was installed, I took the truck back
for some rattles and squeaks coming from the engine compartment. A baffle
and the serpentine belt were the respective causes of these noises. I paid
about $300 to have this fixed. (I know I could have squawked about it, but
I just got a new engine for free, so I figured I'd just pay the money and
forget about it.)

So now, about 2 months and 1800 miles go by and I notice a new noise coming
from the engine. A ticking sound. It sounds like a bad hydraulic lifter,
occurs only under load, as in accelerating from a stop sign, and not when
the engine is revved slightly in neutral. After the engine warms up it
subsides (mostly). Also, the engine has developed a slight oil leak.

Now, I can't stand oil leaks so it was going back to the shop for that
regardless, and while it was in I asked them to check out the ticking sound.
They just called me and said "Your crankshaft has about a quarter inch of
slop." Ford has already authorized another new engine, it will arrive in
about 3 weeks.

This entire episode seems bizarre to me. Two factory crated engines?
Should he dealer have noticed the "slop" before or during the install?
Should I look into a deal from Ford on trading the truck in? And what is
crankshaft "slop" I know a little about engines... (and before someone else
says it, I will "knowing a little about engines is exactly the wrong amount
of knowledge.") and I thought crankshafts were highly accurate machined
parts, second only to the valve train in precision.

Has anyone else had this happen? What are your impressions?

dariosantiago · April 2001

I am considering buying a 1997 f-150 ext. cab flareside 4x4 lariat. It has 155K miles on it, but the asking price is only $10,900. Any advice on potential problems or things I should look out for? Any counsel you could give me would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

sttoheaven · April 2001

I purchased a 1996 F-150 recently and was wondering if anyone has had any brake problems with this truck? My brakes have been squealing since I drove it home. It has been back to the ford dealer twice and they say there is nothing wrong with it and that it is just the new mettalic pads. It is very irritating. Is this normal and if not how do I get it to stop?
Thanks in advance

bluecrew · April 2001

i recently picked up my 2001 supercrew from dealer. Looked truck over at dealership, as it was parked in the shade & thought the truck finish looked good. When i got home & was checking the outside of the truck out I noticed where the sun was shining on the drivers side door, there where swirls showing up that were not noticed in the shade at the dealer ship. Has anyone else experienced this, & what can be done to fix it. The swirls look like they came from an electric buffer, and have the appearance of being deep in the finish, hopefully they are in the clear coat & not the base coat!

hoppy5 · April 2001

Anyone else have problems with oil leaking in a 98 F150? It LOOKS like it is coming from the extension housing seal. Any Ford mechanics out there that can offer any advice? Ours has 20,000 miles on it.

ccotenj · April 2001

point me to a link that has a f-150 maintenance schedule on it?

thanks.

-Chris

pepper32 · April 2001

Just had the passenger side headgasket replaced (leaking oil), 4.6 Romeo with 13500 miles.

komives · May 2001

Have an F-150, 1993 6 cyl. 4.9 with 5-speed. Scanned computer with a KOER test on my Auto X-Ray scanner. Trouble code 213 appeared "Spark output circuit open" What components should I check to find the trouble? The Chilton manual lists the code as well so the trouble code is a factory code. Any help on this will be certainly appreciated!!

bezojr · May 2001

I thought I saw something about this before, Has anyone else got a small crack in the sheet metal at the rear of the drivers door window? I don't think I am that aggressive with the door that it would fatigue like this.

Ford F-150 Problems

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