I am considering purchasing a 1996 F-150 Inline 6 with a 5 speed manual transmission. It has very reasonable mileage for a 15 year old truck and the owner insists that he has been meticulous regarding its maintenance. Is there anything I should look for? Are there any inherent problems with this year or model? Thanks.

 

just look for leaks, most common on the I6 is the lifter cover on the side of the motor.by the distributer.
rust the rear wheel wells like to rust, along witht the back of the front fenders. and the inside and outside of the rear cab corners.
fuel pumps in these tend to go out alot. or the bleed back valve sticks open.

check the slop in the shifter.

tire wear. the fronts are hard to keep aligned, and they tend to eat ball joints too.

check for play in the u-joints

on some of the older trucks the brake line under the cab rubbed and rusted so i would check them out.

these are just some of the things right off my head.

 

X2 on ball joints. take a nice long test drive, listen for weird noises that make you uncomfortable. Find out about AC / heat etc etc. look at how rusty the frame is. If you can get under the truck and inspect the general state of the bottom side of everything.