Hey everyone, I am new to this forum and am excited to get all of your advice and tips! I have a 97 f150 with a 4.6 and 202,000 miles on the clock and counting. However, as expected with any high mileage vehicle, I have noticed a pretty significant decrease in my trucks performance. I can really feel the truck having to work hard, even just cruising at highway speeds. I was wondering what the best steps would be to take in order to make my truck run more like it did 50,000 miles ago. I have recently put new spark plugs and wires in the truck, so any other tips on what to clean or replace would be much appreciated!

 

You could clean the throttle body and EGR to start. I've heard it makes a difference and looking at my truck with only 97,000 on it it looks pretty dirty in there.

 

Check for damaged vacuum hoses and replace as necessary to eliminate vacuum leaks. Change the PCV valve and inspect that hose for damage. Make sure your air filter is not restricting air flow and the MAF sensor is clean. A clogged fuel filter can also affect performance so change it if not changed during past 30,000 miles. The throttle body and EGR valve as recommended above are also important.

 

Do you have any recommendations on how to clean it/what to clean it with?

 

You take it off and clean it with a wire brush or chip away the crud build up with a screw driver or similar tool. Do not use solvents as these will destroy the diaphragm. Make sure you inspect the tube from the manifold to the valve and the mating surface is clean when you re-install the EGR. The valve should move freely when you are done and the tube should be free of obstructions. Also make sure the vacuum line that attaches to the diaphragm is not damaged.

 

With 202 on the clock and running you might think about doing a valve job with everything else recommended above. I would suggest doing a compression test first just to verify there isn't a worn ring issue.

 

i bet those injector have seen better days...hows the trans fluid? try dropping in a can of restore in the oil..check the rear fluid level also...hows that fuel filter?

 

Awesome, thanks guys. My truck is currently in the shop getting body work done, but once its out I am going to hop right on these recommendations. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

A good way of cleaning would be to use Power Foam by Amsoil. You start your truck and let it idle. Spray the entire can of it into the throttle body. Turn it off for 10 minutes and hook everything back up. The are finding that B-12 and Seafoam are actually damaging older engines due to it be so corrosive. Don't get me wrong. I love B-12 but I won't be sucking it through my motor anymore.

 

I have an 01 with somewhere around 77-78k on it. Was my grandfather's truck before me and I have no clue what he did as far as maintenance is concerned on the engine. So far I've had the oil changed a few times as needed and most recently, had the trans flushed (feels a lottttt better now). Safe to assume that the above recommendations (minus perhaps the valve job) are a good idea for me as well, given my lack of knowledge of what my grandfather may have done?

To OP: sorry about jacking your thread but, since my topic is relevant I figured I could borrow a post or two...