98 F150 report

Hi,

I've got just over 100,000 mi. on my 2-wh flareside pickup now and it
still runs with a tight feeling like it was new ... no rattles, squeaks
and the engine is quiet.

I've put on tires, brake pads, wheel bearing, seals, shocks, rotors,
wipers, starter, fuel
filter, plugs, doing the work myself so it wasn't too expensive. It
still has the original battery and air filter element. I also had the
intake gasket replaced (a little more significant).

One problem I had early on was the parking brake cable would stick on on
the right back wheel. This caused the truck to vibrate violently when
you got up to speed after using the parking brake. It would then work
itself loose and continue on ok. Of course the dealer couldn't find it
... they just kept rebalancing the tires. I found it myself when I
stopped one time when it was vibrating and smelled the brake burning.

The intake gasket leaking will first cause a symptom of a film of oil in
the antifreeze reservoir. The next step is it will sputter on starting
and you will notice the coolant level has gone down a bit. Beyond that
you will get coolant leaking into the cylinders and possibly engine
damage. Of course the dealer will keep telling you there is nothing
wrong with it, but fortunately I researched the symptoms on the internet
and just told them to replace the gasket ... fortunately before damage
was done.

The radio never was any good at bringing in distant stations .. FM's ok.
The heater doesn't put out heat like some other trucks I've had. Right
now the cruise control's disconnected while I'm waiting for the part.
The original tie-rods are still holding. It goes about 19 mpg and both
the engine oil and the trans. oil don't
really look that bad at the specified changing interval. You have to
keep greasing them caliper pins so the front brakes will release all the
way. Also check the serpentine belt tension pulley will move freely on
it's spring as I had that seize up and cause weird noises from the belt
area .. a little bit of oil sprayed in behind it fixed it.
Would I buy another Ford. Don't know yet ... will see what the next
100,000 is like.

CTT