I just purchased my first truck today! I been on the hunt for an F150 for about 2 months now. I finally came across a 97 step side single cab. It's a v6 with a 5 speed. Has over 270k and still runs strong, but had a hard time keeping the idle.

Few questions:

What is the shiftpoint (redline) of this motor? It has an autometer tach in it, but did not come with a tach from the factory.

The odometer is not working. But the speedometer works just fine. I'm use to working on old school (early 80s) Japanese cars which have speedo cables to control that. What controls the odometer on these?

It drives smooth at speed, but does not want to hold an idle. The check engine light is on and I'm going to run the code on it. But I'm wondering if there any common problems with these trucks that I should check first?

Will post pics soon!

 

I've only had mine a month or two, but I put a new motor in it and have been doing a ton of work to it so I know it decently well so far. Some common problems I have read are IMRC bushings going bad, and vacuum leaks due to gasket failure on the upper intake manifold. I don't know how similar your truck is to mine since I have a 2002, but on the 02's there are a bunch of gaskets in the upper intake, so they fail after a while. Other than that I read the shift indicator breaks, but there is an easy fix for that if you ever need.

 

I have read and researched alot about the 4.2's because mine is constantly challenging me to diagnose and repair minor problems (that come with age and miles).

A few common problems with this engine that I have encountered
-EGR circulation/ sensor problems
-At that many miles you probably have an O2 sensor out somewhere (there are 4)
-Bad COP
-Cracked intake manifolds are common for these trucks
-IAT sensor/ MAF sensor (not a common problem but mine did crap out...)

and a few more little things that I will probably remember after I hit the "submit reply" button.

My guess for rough idle at that many miles will be bad COP or EGR problems.

Best of luck =)

 

not much advice but good luck. I have always shifted by feel and sound I dont like having high rpms I shift when the noise raises in pitch.

 

97 & early 98's have the infamous hydrolock issues because the lower intake gaskets would fail and allow coolant into your cylinders. Also, your suspension parts are prone to fail because of the lack of grease fittings. Other than that, I haven't had any problems with my 97 4.2

 

rough idle is usually associated with vaccum leaks,spark plugs, or other mechanical idle control valves/sensors

 

Any ideas on why the odometer isn't working? Is it a cable or sensor type? Or something else?

 

I don't know much about how the odometer works but I have had my gauges out and I know it is electronic, not mechanical.
Maybe the motor that turns the odometer numbers is burnt out?

 

As promised, here's a pic o the truck... I think I got a great deal. Stole this one for 1500 and it made the hour and a half drive home no problem. It does have that idle problem. But i am confident I will take care of that.

 

score dude! I love the paint