hey just signed up! few questions
 

hey whats up, just signed up to the forums
anyway ive owned a 98 f150 for a little over 5 years now, its been a great truck, just passed 100k miles last week, only things that i have replaced in my ownership have been a u joint, front rotors/calipers once, so i cant complain, the only thing i hate about it is its 2wd and a v6, it does alright though, its only saving grace is its a 5 speed so it handles light loads decent,
anyhway ive been thinking of upgrading to a 4.6 4x4, the only reason id get the 4.6 is because of the manual tranny, i know the 2004+ are much better trucks, but for some reason i just love the 98-03 styling, espeiclaly the fx4's with those nice wheels, anyway, i was wondering which years i should stay away from, if any? what problems to look for in any year? and just a couple questions like how do they do towing/hauling? and what kind of mileage can u expect on average towing say 2k pounds vs empty? either way i doubt it could be worse than my v6, it gets horrible mileage once you put a few pounds in the back

Okay, I will try to answer a few of your questions. Welcome to the board by the way hope you enjoy it like I do. I have a 4.6 4x4 ext cab. I do tow with it, I have a 6x12 cargo trailer full of tools that I haul and it does great. I have also had a big dump trailer on once and it did well better than exepected. Mileage is around 14-17 mpg depending on how you drive. Towing, around 10-14 depending on the load. I have an auto tranny though, so I would expect little better #'s with a manual. With a few mods you can get some more power out of the truck so that isn't really an issue. I can't say to stay away from any years, just normal problems nothing major. My truck has 140K and a buddy of mine has 224k on his so they run for a long time. Hope this helps you. Ask more questions if you like.

They don't do too bad pulling - I've had a really big heavy car trailer behind my 98 Xcab 4x4 4.6 and it pulled it just fine. Kept it out of overdrive, but you shouldn't have a problem. My idiot buddy pulls big tanks full of liquid nitrogen with his poor 97 4.6, and naturally its a little sluggish pulling them. Not really any years to shy away from - the most common problem I've heard from them is the trucks sometimes like to shoot a plug outta the head. I've replaced a lot on my truck, but that has to do with neglect from the previous owner. I do about 11-12 mpg in town, but she's at 100k so its due for a tune. On the highway it does considerably better, 15 mpg and better. Keep 'er maintained and keep your foot out of it and it'll last you a long long time.

thanks for the replies
wondering a couple more things... do you know which rearends are available in the 4.6 4x4 manual? and do all fx4 models come with a limited slip rear?
is the same tranny used in the v6 and v8 manuals? how well do they hold up to power if you start modding the 4.6