jousley

Hey everyone, first post... I finally decided to sell my jeep - and was offerred 9K. Talking to my cousin, who is a Ford guy, owns a shop and can get everything cheap - he has convinced me to buy an F150. I've gotten great info from him, but he's a mustang guy and wanted to ask some questions from guys who are driving and working on these trucks.

I'm planning on buying something between 2002-2005 - and hopefully a V6 as I live in Los Angeles and will mostly by a street truck and could use the better MPG. I will do some light offroading maybe 1-2 weeks out of the year, but mostly desert and trail riding - no rocks or anything. I just wanted to throw this post out there and get some advice from everyone who's willing to contribute. A few questions:
1. My jeep is pretty tall and I like the feel of being able to see the road over other vehicles. I was looking into the F150 lifts available and was thinking something around 4-6 inches would be great - did some research and what I found was - a suspension lift if you are going to be doing serious offroading is a must - but if it's light offroading and mostly a street truck, you can use spacers and blocks or torsion key reindexing lift (?) to get that height - first wanting to know your thoughts on this?
2. If i go for the 4-6 inch lift based on your above comments, what wheel/tire size will give me a nice look which looks like it was meant for that height - I'm going for something that looks clean - that's all.
3. What are some basic items (since I can get them at a discount) that would be beneficial for MPG, and the overall good running of a bit older truck - ie. cold intake, etc. and what things should I pay close attention to when purchasing an f150 in this year range.
4. I would like to add aftermarket goodies as well.. ie. step bars, led lights, AM grille, etc etc. can you direct me to your favorite dealer?
5. Lastly does this make good sense with what I'm thinking about doing. Will lifting a truck 4-6" with a V6 gonna be a drag for a mostly street driver - or will it get the job done? will the bigger tires- prob 33's be a big drag on the engine for freeway(traffic) driving? or is it ok. will the ride quality with a non-suspension lift be acceptable?

just looking to tap into your personal experiences and gain some knowledge. Open to all responses and opinions. Thanks for the feedback in advance and I hope to add some significant posts in the future to support others in this forum.

Thanks again.

J.

Pity7700

first off, go with the V8 theres not much gas mileage difference between the two plus your wanting to mod it anyways, cant worry about mpg that much lol.

a suspension lift would be nice, i would love to have one but a body lift will get you what you want and is fine for off roading. unless youre doing some serious ****! lol Torsion keys are a no-no, crank your stock keys. with aftermarket keys it allow you to over crank the bars which could lead to damage to the front end and wear the bars out.

ride quality on my truck, 02 4x4 5.4 tosion crank and 3" body lift, is fine. its a truck, i just put some new shocks on and it feels great. honestly i felt no big difference after installing the body lift.

getting a v6 and putting a 6" on it with 35s or 37s will be shat! getting a V6 f150 youll proably have 3.31 or 3.55 gears anyways.

i would stick with a body lift and torsion crank, maybe an extra leaf in the rear. 33s are pretty small for both lift options, itll look like shat with a 6" lift. i had 33s on when i first put my body lift on, looks crappy.

3" body, torsion crank and 35s. youll be set. unless you got some money, go with a 6" and 35s or 37s but i would reccommend going with a 5.4.

hope this helps.

b316

if you are all about MPG, try a 2011 3.7L V6, 2x4. This is your best bet for truck ability and MPG. Take it for a test drive and see how high up you are before putting in lifts and spacers.

You can always make small modifications to it, to get you better MPG or low end torque.

As for off roading depends on how much and what kinds, if its dry desert than I don't see why 2x4 would be a problem. Though don't take my word, I don't know tons about off roading.

jousley

thanks for your posts. appreciate it. B316, can't afford a 2011 - looking for something older. don't want to have another car payment. Pity7700 - thanks for the advice. I think I saw something on youtube about the torsion crank - can you provide any links/info? I was hoping for a V6 for the MPG - and don't need to go with a six inch lift - maybe a 4. I think I need to look at some more pics to see what it would look like with either. Maybe 33's won't look good with a 4" lift? i'll look at some pics. thanks again.
Any other advice is appreciated.

J.

Pity7700

33s on a 4" wont look any better than 33s with a 3" body lol its just too small. you can try do a search on here for torsion bar cranking, im sure theres oodles of threads bt it aint hard. just take measurements from the center of the hub to the higest point of the wheel well. get under the truck and turn the bolts clockwise to raise and counter to lower. do a little at a time until you ahve the measurement you want. i cant remember how much a 1/4" turn of the bolt equals in lift. just make sure both sides are turned an equal amount.

there aint nothing wrong with an older truck, i love my 02 and wouldnt trade it for a new one. just rmember when looking that the 04-08 3v engines are the truck with the 2 piece spark plug problem. just a heads up. doesnt mean you should turn away from that year, it can always be fixed. like i said before i dont think the v6 f150s get much better gas mileage than the v8s.

southportandford

Get a 4x4... Trust me I get stuck all the time because I am a 2x4... But I live on the east coast so I have no deserts

RocketMedic

Have you considered a Ranger?

Wanted33

Welcome to the forum. While lookin don't discount the 4.6L engine. These are tough little motors. I've owned several, and had no problems. They still get decent gas mileage also.

06screwlariat

Also to help you out the 1997-2003 and 2004-2008 F150s are completely different trucks. From the sound of how much money you want to spend your probably going to want the older body style. However the 4.2 V6 is most commonly found in regular cab long bed 2wd trucks. So finding a V6 may be hard. I would consider looking at the 4.6 V8 and possibly the 5.4 V8 as well. The 97-03 use torsion bar front suspension, whereas the 04-08 have coils with shocks inside of them up front.