Payton Gannaway

Hey guys,

So, long story short I am looking at getting a truck and due to the budget I am looking at the vast majority of trucks will be in the 100k - 125k miles range. From what I have read that seems to be perfectly fine assuming the truck was maintained well, but was wondering about any specifics to the 2009 F150 I should look for. I found a nice 09' King Ranch with right at 108k miles, the 5.4L engine. Is there anything specifically I should look for when test driving / checking out that trim and year?

Thanks for all the help.

Wanted33

Welcome Payton. You are correct, if the truck has been well maintained you should be fine. And the 4.6L has a proven reliability, and is basically bullet proof. I've owned 4, and have one now that I bought with 89K miles. All have been great.

bwFX42006

Didn't know they offered the king ranch with a 4.6L V8. Are you sure it's not a 5.4L V8?

Payton Gannaway

Dealer has it listed as a 4.6, and from what I can find at least in 2009 there was a 4.6 offered.

bwFX42006

Pop the hood. A 4.6 was offered but I thought it was only available in the stx or xlt packages.

Payton Gannaway

Yeah you're right, it's a 5.4. Any issues with that?

bwFX42006

Depends on how well the maintenance was kept up. The 5.4s had phaser issues but the later versions of the 5.4L were a lot less issue-prone. Take it for a test drive and listen for the phaser rattle/knock. I test drove a 2010 raptor with the 5.4L a few months ago and it had around 88,000 miles on it and it was smooth as butter. The maintenance was kept up on it, so if you could get the service records that will help you make a decision.

Payton Gannaway

Excellent thanks, what does the rattle sound like?

bwFX42006

You'll know when you hear it, usually under a light acceleration you can hear it, especially when going through a drive-thru.

Payton Gannaway

So apparently the guy did most of his own maintenance, all oil changes and fluid changes etc. That good or bad?