I believe I know the answer to this but will ask anyway. I have an opportunity to buy a 2007 Lariat SuperCrew 4x4 with 270K on it for $3500. I've owned Ford trucks/Expeditions all my life with the 5.4 so I know with PROPER maintenance they will run forever. I does have a rough idle however and my KONNWEI scanner indicated a fuel system problem and a P0001 pending code. I done my own work for most of my life and believe it's a fairly straight forward issue to resolve. Truck is pretty nice and will need tires and a complete detail but that's it as far as I can tell. The issue is it's 3 1/2 hours away and I'm not going to pay to have it shipped. I've been a member here for 8 years so I can handle honest feedback. My question: I think I want to try and drive it home but still haven't quite been able to make up my mind. What say the members here?

 

I suppose if it has made it that far then its either very lucky, or previous owners have taken good care of maintenance.
As long as you are aware of potential issues with phasers/timing tensioners and you are comfortable I guess if it fits your needs and you have the cash, why not go for it...
What is the fuel issue you think is going on with it, fpdm crapping out?
When I was in my 20s I'd go for projects like this without thinking too much, but now I'm in my 40s and have kids I have much less time for chasing down projects.... hell I can barely keep up with the ones I already have...

 

I'm 73 and retired so time isn't a problem. There's no ticking just a slight rough idle. Therefore I eliminated my thinking that it could be a phaser/timing issue. I hooked up the scanner and it showed fuel system issue with a P0001 PENDING code. I'm beginning to think it's a injector issue and if that's the case I should be able to drive it home OK. I'm trying to determine if I can get it to set a code so I can clear it long enough to drive it 3 1/2 hours home. Truck is pretty nice especially the interior and only needs new tires. The person that currently has the truck has had it for 3 months, doesn't speak english and isn't mechanical and just wants it gone. The previous owner was the original owner according to my AutoCheck report. I'd love to contact the him but the current owner doesn't know the PO's name. It seems to take an act of God to find the PO's name especially since he's in an adjacent state.

 

This would make me super skeptical (ie why cut it loose after 3 months). I would go into it assuming that the seller bought it, learned something bad about it, and is now looking to pass the problem on.

If you decide to still still pursue it, I would recommend planning to spend a lot of extra time test driving it before paying/committing. Would put a lot of miles on it, get it fully up to temp, do lots of stops, starts, shutoffs and restarts , idles, highways speeds, etc. basically try to simulate all conditions you can prior to purchase (ie to see if bigger gremlins present themselves).

I tend to not be scared of miles if getting from a person that you can talk to and get a warm fuzzy feeling for maint history and honest assessment of current condition. Seems to not apply here.

Good luck. Please post update.

 

Went for a second look at the truck yesterday and drove it. Much worse than before. No way it would make the drive home. Don't need extensive repairs to fill my time so I passed on this one. The search for the right continues. Thank you to those who offered perspective on what to check I really appreciate it. This is a great forum!

 

sounds like a wise decision and appears you dodged a bullet,