stateprez

I'm about to purchase an '04 Super Crew and thought I'd post up for some reassurance.

It's a 4x4 with 40k miles. Leather interior, they said it was the "Altitude Package". It's a 1 owner (owned by a church) at a dealer. Interior looks brand new, has a few nicks and dings on the outside. I've talked them down to 12.5k.

The only hitch is that it has the rear-end whine at around 40 mph. It actually doesn't do it on the highway to my surprise. So I'm aware I'll have to possibly put 1k in it for bearings.

Good deal? Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance.

Montano

Did I miss the model ? I just purchased my '04 FX4 SCrew a couple months ago, with 40K, leather, and everything else listed below. Not sure I've heard about any rear-end whine though.

Things I learned after I bought it:
Spark plugs are going to be fun to change.
CD player is junk.
4x4 has issues.

Aside from that, I love my truck and am glad I got it

stateprez

Yeah sorry, it's an XLT.

Thanks.

wxmcpo

Yeah get the dealer to change out the plugs for you prior to purchasing or you could be left with a potentially very expensive repair bill in a couple of years.

stateprez

What's the deal with the plugs?

I've read it's a pain in the *** to replace them. I've beat these guys up pretty good already with a new battery and knocking off for the rear end, so I'm thinking they'll tell me to take a hike with the plugs.

What am I looking at to have a dealer do it?

Thanks for the replies.

jhunt47

Due To The Three Head Design They Changed The Spark Plugs And They Tend To Break Off In The Head And The Rear End Noise More Than Likely Is A Ring And Pinion Kit That Is Installed This Cost Around 1400.00 Dollars Would Try To Get Both Of Thses Fixed Before I Bought Them There Are Tsbs For The Rear End And Spark Plugs So The Dealer Should Know About This If Its A Ford Dealer

stateprez

Yeah, unfortunately it's not at a Ford dealer.

I've called every dealer service department in town asking about the rear end noise. From what I gather it's a pretty common problem, but they all seem to act like they don't know what it is.

I'm taking it to a former Ford tech that works at an independent shop next week. Hopefully he'll be able to guide me here.

Can anyone tell me from the trim level if it has a factory amp in it? I've got an aftermarket h/u I'm planning to put in it.

Thanks again.

torqgasm

just a heads up the ford dealer changed the plugs in my 04 and it cost about 450 bucks if that helps

wxmcpo

That's because they didn't actually break any of the plugs off in the head. Had they broken off one or two or even more inside the head they remove them utilizing a special tool. If that doesn't work and they actually have to pull the heads you would have been looking at a repair bill in the thousands vice hundreds.

To the OP I don't care how much I'd have to ping on the dealership to do work prior to me purchasing a vehicle from them. If I'm going to give them thousands of dollars for a used vehicle then I am going to ensure I get exactly what I want or I'd be walking. If they refuse to do something to the vehicle prior to me taking delivery of said vehicle then they can keep the vehicle and I'd look elsewhere. Sorry, but I simply would not take the chance with having to pay not only over $1k for new bearings, but also thousands more for a plug change down the road. You may never have an issue with the plugs and they may come out fine when it's time to change them and you pay your $450 and walk, but you have to decide if that's a chance you're willing to take.

stateprez

Would you trust a GM dealer to replace them without breaking off?

Being that it is at a GM dealer, they are reluctant to do much work on it, short of putting a new battery in it. I'm pretty sure they'd rather sell it to someone who doesn't know about these issues, so I don't know where that leaves me.

I'm going to have the independent Ford tech check it out Monday, so I guess I'll take it from there.

On a side note, they do put a 3 month, 3k mile warranty on it. Then again, I'm not sure where that leaves me if I buy it with prior knowledge of these issues. Not to mention it's not a lot of time for something to go wrong.