Advise needed on used F-150

[jtc001]

I'm looking at a used F-150 for my son who has a very limited budget. The vehicle is a 1994 F-150 standard cab, 2 wheel drive with the straight 6 and 135K miles. It has a new clutch. The truck ran well with no engine noise. I have three questions:

1. Front end - are these noted for needing ball joints etc?

2. Antifreeze - the fluid was low - are these engines prone to cracked heads, head gaskets etc?

3. Finally, whenever the fuel tank is switched, the engine dies even though the guage indicates plenty of gas. Is this a costly fix?

Any thoughts appreciated. My son and I are fairly good mechanically.

[klitis340]

a friend of mine has the same truck he bought it new in '94 never had problems with front end or motor. was the truck sittin for a long time? that could be the cause for the fluid being low or the owner never checked the rad. my '88150 has dual tanks rear never worked when i bought it in '01 tellin myself i'll fix it, " no time" 2 tanks are nice but just need one to run. when you switch tanks listen for pumps. or could just be out of gas, fuel guage could be bad. or just a fuse, but if all checks out with truck but the tank, you could always tinker with it in spare time and still run the truck. untill you fix it. good luck.

[Austin8214]

The engine in that truck is bullet prof. It is by far the best engine ford ever made. I have heard may stories from people with 250,000 and more miles on them.

[kenwood guy]

im looking for an f 150 but 99 and up any good advice for me v6 or v8 miles ranges?? and price??

[andy2005]

Originally Posted by jtc001

I'm looking at a used F-150 for my son who has a very limited budget. The vehicle is a 1994 F-150 standard cab, 2 wheel drive with the straight 6 and 135K miles. It has a new clutch. The truck ran well with no engine noise. I have three questions:

1. Front end - are these noted for needing ball joints etc?

2. Antifreeze - the fluid was low - are these engines prone to cracked heads, head gaskets etc?

3. Finally, whenever the fuel tank is switched, the engine dies even though the guage indicates plenty of gas. Is this a costly fix?

Any thoughts appreciated. My son and I are fairly good mechanically.

1. Typical Ford. F-Series trucks are known to by hard on ball joints.
2. Not sure, could be no one ever checked it, I wouldn't be overly concerned with this.
3. Let me guess, back tank that doesn't work. I've seen three older Fords where the back tank either leaks or has some other problem. It could be various things, anything from a blown fuse, to a bad pump or switch. Personally, i wouldn't worry about it.

[who fan]

The 300 six is the best engine Ford made in my opinion. I had a 93 with the 302. My truck had corosion problems more so than mechanical. If you live in the rust belt look close at the rear spring shackles they are riveted to the frame they are knowen to rust trough and crack. I replaced mine PITA! Look at the oil pan on engine they blister up and rust through thats what drove me to sell mine. Look at radiater core support they rust at frame mounts not as common as other two problems but still a problem. Never heard of oil pans or spring shackles rusting out before I owned this truck.Very common pre 97s rust belt. Mechanicaly mine was a good truck. My truck ran rich $20 temp senser. Fuel presser regulators are common to replace.If taken care of the six cylinder will out last the truck.
Fuel pump may be bad in the one tank. There is a diverter switch that could be bad for the second tank. Fuel pumps are expensive for fuel injected vehicles, and are convenently mounted inside the gas tank.

[kenwood guy]

what do you mean by rust belt??

[who fan]

Originally Posted by kenwood guy

what do you mean by rust belt??

Northern states where tons of salt is used on the roads in the winter time. this starts a whole new set of problems on certian models. Someone from the south may not understand problems unique to this area. My 93 Ford was terrible for rust. oil pan rear leaf spring shackles. Other makes fair better. 92-96 Fords were bad underneath no so much body wise.

[stang805]

the f-150 forn end is a little hard on suspension components, but, it is also one of the toughest front suspensions anyone has made, the I6 is a tough and durable engine, as for the fuel thing, cant be anything too serious, good truck

[jtc001]

Well, we purchased the truck. The upper ball joints had a little play in them, so we replaced them all - short money if you do it yourself. In addition, the center link on the steering had a joint with a little play -again, short money if you do it yourself. We also did the quick tune up (air filter, plugs, dist cap and rotor). It passed inspection without problem (including the emissions test on the dyno). The spark plugs that we pulled were all uniform light brown - a good sign.

The antifreeze has held up since filling, so no problems there.

As for the fuel pump, we tested the switch - it tested fine. we may just leave it alone for a while. I see fule pumps listed on ebay for approx $85. That will be good project for later on.

The trailer hitch went on last night (my son pulls a trailer with his lawn mowing equipment). Next will be the sound mod's and it should be fairly complete.

Thanks for the advise.