Looking to buy a used truck, couple questions
04-01-2015, 11:49 AM
#1
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Looking to buy a used truck, couple questions
Hi all,
I'm new to the forum, my name is Megan and I'm from the Philly burbs.
I'm currently looking to buy a used F150 to use mainly as a "work" truck...mostly just hauling hay and lumber for random projects around the house. I had a couple explorers when I was younger but am mostly a jeep person. I was wondering if there were any things I should look for specifically and how easy they are in general to work on myself. I taught myself a lot with my jeep, and even managed to do an engine swap with the help of a few friends so I'm fairly mechanically inclined but have only really worked on jeeps.
I'll be going to look at a 94 v8 tonight with regular cab and 99,000 miles on it. Are there any issues that anybody has had that seem to be a problem for that year? I'll be doing a lot of research on here as well, just wondering mostly about how easy they are to fix and any big things I need to keep an eye out for.
I'm new to the forum, my name is Megan and I'm from the Philly burbs.
I'm currently looking to buy a used F150 to use mainly as a "work" truck...mostly just hauling hay and lumber for random projects around the house. I had a couple explorers when I was younger but am mostly a jeep person. I was wondering if there were any things I should look for specifically and how easy they are in general to work on myself. I taught myself a lot with my jeep, and even managed to do an engine swap with the help of a few friends so I'm fairly mechanically inclined but have only really worked on jeeps.
I'll be going to look at a 94 v8 tonight with regular cab and 99,000 miles on it. Are there any issues that anybody has had that seem to be a problem for that year? I'll be doing a lot of research on here as well, just wondering mostly about how easy they are to fix and any big things I need to keep an eye out for.
04-01-2015, 12:51 PM
#2
1994 F150 XLT 5.8L 2wd
https://www.f150forum.com/f10/what-l...6-f150-278425/
I've got over 300k miles on my 94 5.8, still has original engine and trans with no rebuilds.
Biggest things on these trucks are:
*Cracked/brittle plastic vacuum lines-super easy to pull and replace all of them in <30min
*Fuel pump failure/crossfilling- mine are still original but they were both used all of the time, unlike others who would just mainly use one tank and let the other one sit.
There is a whole list and a half of would would be recommended to do to these trucks but I will wait to get into that until you actually pick one up.
I've got over 300k miles on my 94 5.8, still has original engine and trans with no rebuilds.
Biggest things on these trucks are:
*Cracked/brittle plastic vacuum lines-super easy to pull and replace all of them in <30min
*Fuel pump failure/crossfilling- mine are still original but they were both used all of the time, unlike others who would just mainly use one tank and let the other one sit.
There is a whole list and a half of would would be recommended to do to these trucks but I will wait to get into that until you actually pick one up.
04-01-2015, 01:09 PM
#3
The quick inspection list : Gas tanks leaking ?
Steel brake lines corroded ?
Rear spring mounts (front and back) rusting out ?
Box rails (underneath the box) rusted ? Wheel wells ?
Cab mounts, floor, rear lower cab corners solid ? Floors usually rust from the inside out so any rust on the floor you can see from underneath is a caution sign.
Rad saddle mounts (to the frame, look from underneath)
Broken front coil springs
Those will be most of the most common things specific to the truck. The rest is pretty basic to most vehicles ; ball joints, steering, brakes, exhaust, tires, leaks or no leaks, running, driving, shifting etc.
Trucks this old, I usually look at the asking price and see if I can see that much worth of newer parts hanging off of it. If so maybe it'll be an ok deal. Sometimes it's better to pay a little more for one that doesn't need repairs - save some grief down the road.
Not requiring bodywork is definitely a plus.
Steel brake lines corroded ?
Rear spring mounts (front and back) rusting out ?
Box rails (underneath the box) rusted ? Wheel wells ?
Cab mounts, floor, rear lower cab corners solid ? Floors usually rust from the inside out so any rust on the floor you can see from underneath is a caution sign.
Rad saddle mounts (to the frame, look from underneath)
Broken front coil springs
Those will be most of the most common things specific to the truck. The rest is pretty basic to most vehicles ; ball joints, steering, brakes, exhaust, tires, leaks or no leaks, running, driving, shifting etc.
Trucks this old, I usually look at the asking price and see if I can see that much worth of newer parts hanging off of it. If so maybe it'll be an ok deal. Sometimes it's better to pay a little more for one that doesn't need repairs - save some grief down the road.
Not requiring bodywork is definitely a plus.
04-01-2015, 03:55 PM
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Thanks for all of the suggestions, I'll be taking a list with me when I go look at them. The nice thing is I don't need it immediately so I have the luxury of being able to really look around and be picky. I figure I'll be willing to put out about $2500 max for a truck this old unless it's got a ton of new parts or rebuilt engine/trans. Anything more than that and I'll just get something newer. My jeep wrangler is a 1990 so I'm pretty good at knowing what to look at on the older vehicles, just trying to figure out what issues are more specific to a ford. I also figure I'll do a complete tuneup on whatever I get so I'm looking into all of that info on here as well. Thanks again 
Last edited by mugzz819; 04-01-2015 at 04:07 PM.
04-02-2015, 10:43 PM
#6
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I always thought the transmissions are the weakest link in these trucks. Some people have had good luck with them, I had to replace mine at 150k. If it is automatic, check for a trans cooler. If it doesn't have one, add one if you buy it. I'm at 323k now and putting near 800 miles a week on it. If you keep up the maintenance, and don't dog the truck all the time, it will run forever.
04-03-2015, 09:09 AM
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That's good to know about the trans, thanks! I don't plan on doing anything crazy with the truck and I'm good about regular maintenance so I'm hoping I have the same luck as most of you and it'll run forever! Now if we could just get all these ridiculous scammers off craigslist so I can see trucks that actually exist rather than stuff that will be shipped as soon as you send thousands of dollars because they're "at an army base for training" 