mcp

Hey folks - new guy here. Well I broke down and bought my first Ford truck ever... a '03 F150 supercrew xlt 4wd.

I've always been a GM guy, and at heart I still am.... but was in dire need of a good used 4wd, and this came along so I got it. So far, I like it alot. Been fixing up a few things here and there, mostly minor nit picky items. Overall it appears to be a solid truck and everything works and is in good shape. Has high miles, but its a 3rd vehicle for me... so that didn't concern me at all.

I've been reading up alot here the past couple weeks, decided to join up. Already found a few things that helped me with my new truck. From what I've been reading, it appears I stumbled into buying a model that has a pretty solid rep. Happy about that. Looks pretty nice too.

Looking forward to plugging in and learning about this dang Ford thing...

Martian

What engine? The 97-03 engines are nearly bulletproof, especially the 5.4.

mcp

It has the 4.6, auto trans. Runs very well, knock on wood. LOL
Interesting as when I was searching... the 4.6 seems to have a pretty solid rep also in those years, from what I've read. Regardless... that is what I have

Martian

Oh they both do, don't get me wrong. I only point out the 97-03 5.4 because the 04-08s also have the 5.4, but the top end components are different in the 04-08 and it takes a little work to get them to a 100% solid bet

mcp

Good to hear. I know from experience, the last year in a model is typically pretty solid, vs the first year of a new model. So far so good, put a few hundred miles on her...

Has a broken dipstick tube which I found super odd. Broken right in half by the manifold. Not sure how a dipstick tube gets broken. ?
I ordered one... looks like it might be a tricky install, doesn't look like alot of room to maneuver. Haven't done a ton of searching yet, but not much comes up that really lays out the easiest way to do it.

Martian

Dipstick tubes break more often than you'd imagine... mine has to be replaced, too. Your BEST bet would be to spend $20-25 at your local parts store and buy a repair manual. That will be gold when you need to do stuff.

speeddemon0712

Welcome and congrats!

Some first year models can be reliable too. My buddy has a 97' with the 5.4 and 250k miles on the stock motor. Transmission was replaced at 149,500 miles (we had a bet that it would need something major before 150k miles, I won by the skin on my teeth haha). It's been a pretty solid truck though, considering he inherited it from family at 100k miles, and the first 100k miles were not exactly taken care of.