What a lemon.. 1996 Ford F150

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70DartMike

70DartMike

Too many projects
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What a frustration. Bought the truck 2 years ago for $6300, everything worked, no rust or dents with a little over 140K on it. 1996 Ford F150 shortbox, 4x4, 5 speed standard, 302. Right off the bat, tranny started making funny noises, only in 4th and 5th gear, but.. rattling noises.. couldn't ever figure out what it was. Then clutch master cylinder cracked. Then wiper motor went.
It's got 202K on it now, and so far..
1) Heater doesn't work at all, just blows cold air. Doesn't sound too bad, but I just did a 3 day drive starting in -50C and destination is 0C.
2) Fluid line from clutch master cylinder down to clutch leaks only when it freezes outside, so you have to continuously add DOT3 to the MC until the truck has been running for about an hour and is warm, or you have no clutch pedal.
3) Window seal leaks.
4) Door locks are f*cked.
5) Check engine light recently came on.. now I'm definatly no master at mechanics when it comes to electronics.. which is why I prefer anything with a carb.
6) The newest problem.. I'm driving through a mountain pass just outside Golden BC, and I am trying to make it to Vancouver Island BC. Check engine light comes back on, and all of a sudden it feels like I'm driving over a rumble strip, but there isn't one there. Then it stops, then starts again, then stops. Pull over, look underneath, obviously everything looks to be ok. Keep going (I'm in the middle of nowhere, and its -30C, why would I want to stop..) and then rumble strip noise again, then BAM and a nice rubbing sound, and truck is being pulled to the left. OK this feels like a seized calliper. Then rumble strip noise again and check engine light. OK this also feels like the ABS is having problems, and activating when I haven't even pushed the brake pedal. Push the brakes, truck pulls hard to the right.. Don't push the brakes, truck is all over the road and into oncoming traffic. Lets keep in mind this is in the dark, and the roads are covered in ice and snow. So.. keep driving, get all the way to a motel in Chilliwack with this problem, then next day all the way home. Mmm the smell of burning brakes.

And before you go saying 'Should have bought a Dodge', trust me, I wanted to, but didn't have the 10K to fork out for an early 90's Cummins Diesel Power Ram.

Anyone want to buy a truck?..

96FordF1504x4.jpg
 
Not a bad looking truck, but sure seems to be high maintenace. I had a similar truck, dependable as a rock, but rusted bad. Developed strange driveline vibrations. Turned out to be front axle ujoints.
 
high maintenance the thing has 200 thousand on it....he drove it 62 tho...Things are going to break especialy at -30...
 
chasduster said:
high maintenance the thing has 200 thousand on it....he drove it 62 tho...Things are going to break especialy at -30...
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The brake thing was the only thing that happened during -30, and I only drove it for two days in -30.. all the other problems occured in normal temperatures.. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't really think 200K is high mileage, when its mostly highway mileage.
Just my thoughts though.
 
Newer vehicles are designed for 150,000 miles with normal maintenance, 200K is becoming the norm, but as they age, they will break

I think you paid too much for a 11 year old truck with 140,000 miles. but maybe in your area it might be the norm

For the age of the truck, I would say you are still doing good.

As far as heat, is the radiator full of antifreeze? I worked on my sisters K car that only blew warm air, turned out that the heater core was restricted. i blew air thru it and it had heat again.

Now with the temps you are saying you have, did you block the radiator? this might help make it heat up.

You wanted a dodge, don't think you would want mine. I wouldn't want to drive it in below 0 weather much. have to plug it in, takes for ever to warm up and have had the stupidest stuff go wrong. I love my truck and cannot afford to get a new one, so I fix the stupid stuff and keep driving it. I try to do the mainenance to keep it on the road for many more years.

1995 2500 club cab 8' bed 4x4 with cummins diesel and 122,000 miles
 
The truck is 14 years old with 200k Miles on it.... with that said look at the 4wd Axle shaft u-joints for sure...And are those 4wd hubs automatic or just manual?? I have had problems with the the auto/vacuum hubs in the past....
 
Antifreeze goes flat like beer LOL!Maybe time for a flush or could be a bad rad,just rotting away.Good Luck!
 
That sucks man, my dad had one of those w/ a 351 in 96. He still misses that truck. He had it till 05 and it ran great. Even got decent mileage for what it was.
 
It just comes with older vehicles, the fords are good trucks, shot i had to push my old Dodge at 6:45 this morning to the gas station(about 1 block) cause it ran out because of the stupid pos gas gauge, which still read it had gas in it. That the joys of daily driving a 74 Dart in 35 degree weather with no heat! This thing really is a Lemon!!lol
 
You need a new gas tank sending unit for your dodge 58 buck on epay, easy fix. My 69 dart used to get stuck at 3/8 of a tank, so anything under a 1/2 a tank and you were guessing.



74 DART' said:
It just comes with older vehicles, the fords are good trucks, shot i had to push my old Dodge at 6:45 this morning to the gas station(about 1 block) cause it ran out because of the stupid pos gas gauge, which still read it had gas in it. That the joys of daily driving a 74 Dart in 35 degree weather with no heat! This thing really is a Lemon!!lol
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I feel for yah.
I was just telling my brother how my tahoe is the worst car I have bought,
I got it for towing and as a family ride... but when i bought it at the end when i drove it i found out the rearend was out. So they said they would get me another one if i installed it. so i did.in the rain, by myself haha.
Then the power windows went out, and it stopped running and started having fuel problems,and then stopped starting, and then the heater/ac went out,and windshield wiper motor broke and and stopps in the middle of the windshield haha.
Time for it to roll off a cliff... im getting rid of it a.s.a.p
 
For the heater, check the heater control valve near the firewall on the pass side. The is a vacuum line that connects to the top, see if its still connected. if it is plugged in, check while the truck is running and heater is on if there is a vacuum source. No vacuum No heat.

Ian
 
Sorry to hear of all of your problems with your '96. I had several Ford trucks before buying my current '95 Dodge Ram 2500 V10.
The last Ford truck I had was a '77 F250 Supercab with a 460. Gave it to my son to drive when I bought my Ram. It went well over 200K without the heads ever being off the engine before he finally junked it last year.
The only engine work it ever needed was several water pumps and a timing chain.
My current V10 Ram is now over 150K but still running strong...and thirsty.
 
Alright guys, sooo I pulled the drivers side brakes apart, pads still have about 75% on them, so thats good. Just waiting on someone to come home so I can check the caliper. But my main question is this..
The rotor has a lot of play in it. I've never worked on a vehicle with a front differential with manual locking hubs, so I don't know the amount of play it should have, but is this sounding like a wheel bearing problem now? From what I remember when doing front discs on the Dart, the rotor didn't wobble back and forth, it just spun. The rotor in the truck is spinning, but also wobbling back and forth.. if this makes any sense, please help?
 
sounds like the wheel bearings. if they are loose they will also cause all sorts of brake/steering issues. i pounded my old Ranger hard for years and had very little trouble with it. dropped a 302 in it and the truck saw the rev limiter off road more times than i can count. jumped it, swamped it, you name it. one sore spot was the wheel bearings. cooked more than a few sets.
 
i believe your tuck is an obd II, if that is the case and the wheel bearings are loose that is probably what caused the abs light, as well as the erattic steering and rumbling.....if it is the wheel bearings be thankful they are of the tapered type and not the sealed hub like my chebby has, that damn hub was over $300.00.
 
Pretty much expected items and wear items at 200K miles. Unless that truck had amazing maintenance... those things can and will happen.
Now for it being a lemon? No...it was just used too much when it was new.

good luck with it.

-RPM
 
I know you are frustrated but anything that has over 200K on cannot be called a lemon. Your truck has averaged about 14k miles per year and has lasted 14 years. That's pretty darn good, in my opinion. I've crushed a-bodies & e-bodies with a LOT lower mileage (years ago please don't blast me for crushing old Mopars - who knew).

I guess your main beef is the fact that you spent a lot of money for the truck and thought you'd have a lot of trouble free years ahead of you. You need to bear in mind, the 62K you've put on it the last two years are basically 4 years worth of mileage. Plus, even if you scrapped the truck, you've only spent $0.10 per mile on the truck. Try doing that with a newer one...

That being said, I paid about $750 for my '92 Dodge Ram 150 and even though I've had to replace a head and a few other things so I have less than 2 grand in it but still, I know I scored a good deal. It has been my daily driver since June 15th and has never left me stranded. I plan on selling it soon to buy something that can haul me, my wife, and our 3 kids so that we don't always have to drive her mini-van. Given that, I figure excluding gas, my truck will have been free for the past 6 moths since I will easily get out of it what I have into it...
 
The wife has a 1995 Full size Bronco. This is her 2nd Bronco (Her Choice, not mine) We have had nothing but issues with these trucks. The 1st Bronco 96' had the 5.8 V8, @ 92K, the engine went kaput the fan spun off of the front of the water pump and ended up embedded into the radiator while she was on the highway. Had the truck towed home tore it down only to find it also blew a head gasket. The front brakes on her 96' were a nightmare every time you step on the brakes, it feels like the front end was shaking off. Nothing loose in the front end, found out that the problem was warped front brake rotors. They were a ***** to replace, Removing the front hubs is a time consuming job. So we got rid of this truck, and what does she do? Finds a 1995 Full size Bronco 5.0 V8,85K Bought this truck and first thing it needed was the transmission rebuilt, $1800.00 later the truck was on the road with a rebuilt transmission, so it was OK for a couple months then the brake shimmying started. Replaced the pads, helped for a little while then started right back up. Then the starter went. Meanwhile the truck was making all sort of banging and creaking noises underneath. I crawled under to take a look and both front radius arm bushing brackets were cracked and the radius arms were barely anchored to the frame. These are riveted on from the factory. Found a new set on Flea Bay and replaced both front brackets and bushings. Installed a steering stabilizer on the front steering to try to stop the shaking in the steering wheel. Then in July of this year 14 months after the trans rebuild the transmission lost reverse and started slipping. Called the shop that did the rebuild, no help, guy told me 12 months or 12,000 miles. Since it had been 14 months I was out of luck. Luckily, my next door neighbor is an ASE mechanic who rebuilds transmissions. Truck has gone through 2 heater cores and 2 water pumps and replaced the clutch fan also in a year. Had the transmission rebuilt for $800.00. Then had to order new front rotors, got the slotted front rotors in hopes that they wouldn't warp from heat. So far so good. just 2 weeks ago had to order the rear spring shackle hangers which are also attached to the frame by rivets. (Duh) Ford engineering. No frame rot but the suspension brackets rusted like tin can metal. Needless to say I will NEVER EVER buy another Ford. I told my wife next truck will be a Dodge. NO MORE FORDS!!!!!! Truck is running good now but I will probably get another report of something going wrong as a result of this post, I would not be surprised.

piss on Ford.jpg
 
dustermaniac said:
The wife has a 1995 Full size Bronco. This is her 2nd Bronco (Her Choice, not mine) We has had nothing but issues with these trucks. The 1st Bronco 96' had the 5.8 V8, @ 92K, the engine went kaput the fan spun off of the front of the water pump and ended up embedded into the radiator while she was on the highway. Had the truck towed home tore it down only to find it also blew a head gasket. The front brakes on her 96' were a nightmare every time you step on the brakes, it feels like the front end was shaking off. Nothing loose in the front end, found out that the problem was warped front brake rotors. They were a ***** to replace, Removing the front hubs is a time consuming job. So we got rid of this truck, and what does she do? Finds a 1995 Full size Bronco 5.0 V8,85K Bought this truck and first thing it needed was the transmission rebuilt, $1800.00 later the truck was on the road with a rebuilt transmission, so it was OK for a couple months then the brake shimmying started. Replaced the pads, helped for a little while then started right back up. Then the starter went. Meanwhile the truck was making all sort of banging and creaking noises underneath. I crawled under to take a look and both front radius arm bushing brackets were cracked and the radius arms were barely anchored to the frame. These are riveted on from the factory. Found a new set on Flea Bay and replaced both front brackets and bushings. Installed a steering stabilizer on the front steering to try to stop the shaking in the steering wheel. Then in July of this year 14 months after the trans rebuild the transmission lost reverse and started slipping. Called the shop that did the rebuild, no help, guy told me 12 months or 12,000 miles. Since it had been 14 months I was out of luck. Luckily, my next door neighbor is an ASE mechanic who rebuilds transmissions. Truck has gone through 2 heater cores and 2 water pumps and replaced the clutch fan also in a year. Had the transmission rebuilt for $800.00. Then had to order new front rotors, got the slotted front rotors in hopes that they wouldn't warp from heat. So far so good. just 2 weeks ago had to order the rear spring shackle hangers which are also attached to the frame by rivets. (Duh) Ford engineering. No frame rot but the suspension brackets rusted like tin can metal. Needless to say I will NEVER EVER buy another Ford. I told my wife next truck will be a Dodge. NO MORE FORDS!!!!!! Truck is running good now but I will probably get another report of something going wrong as a result of this post, I would not be surprised.
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lets see, find it almost impossilbe for the fan to have come off, unless someone left it loose, they thread onto the waterpump in the reverse direction of rotation. warped brake rotors, gee that has never happened to a mopar has it? rubber radius arm bushings wore out, mopar strut rod bushings have never worn out have they? blown up trans. and dead starters must be Ford exclusives also. heater cores and water pumps? lets see, how many have i replaced on my mopars over the years. come on man, aint like the truck was new, and it also sounds like someone does not know what maintenance is. i have an f150 with over 250k miles, and have had none of the issues that you have had, but then again when i do a brake job i cut the rotors, flush the coolant on a regular basis and understand that bushing and starters do go bad.
 
inkjunkie said:
lets see, find it almost impossilbe for the fan to have come off, unless someone left it loose, they thread onto the waterpump in the reverse direction of rotation. warped brake rotors, gee that has never happened to a mopar has it? rubber radius arm bushings wore out, mopar strut rod bushings have never worn out have they? blown up trans. and dead starters must be Ford exclusives also. heater cores and water pumps? lets see, how many have i replaced on my mopars over the years. come on man, aint like the truck was new, and it also sounds like someone does not know what maintenance is. i have an f150 with over 250k miles, and have had none of the issues that you have had, but then again when i do a brake job i cut the rotors, flush the coolant on a regular basis and understand that bushing and starters do go bad.
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Water pump was not loose, the bearing was so smoked that the shaft broke free from the pump, It was fine until the fan broke loose and spun into the radiator. As for the bushings,- yes they do wear out but I did not expect a southern truck to have the brackets crack like they did.When we bought this truck the brackets looked ok from a visual inspection standpoint. The truck is maintained on a regular basis so maintenence is not an issue. Yes, Mopars also have issues with the suspension, transmission etc.... Just found it odd that both trucks had issues with the front braking systems and after reading up on this issue on the web, these trucks did have issues with the brake rotors warping. My wife does not go 4 wheeling with her truck, She drives it to work and around to do her errands etc...I am not saying that I hate this truck, just that it has had issues, and both of our Bronco's while regularly maintained have had similar issues.
 
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