At a Crossroad with My F-150; sell or keep?

[panthermike]

Regarding my 2010 F-150 with the 5.4; having a hard time deciding if i should keep it or trade it in.

Some may have seen my thread about the longblock being replaced at 103K(now 106K). It was in the shop for 52 days for that one. So why am I asking this question in the first place?

The good:
-Reman longblock (not Ford but builder claims they use AER)
- Truck looks great and I love the interior

The Bad: I feel like I am constantly chasing a couple of issues with it
1. Miss at idle and under load, also seems to miss under heavy acceleration
2. Light knocking sound from a deadstop (goes away after about 15mph)
3. Bad vibration in OD around 1-1.4K RPM
4. Lots of little stupid things; right blinker doesn't turn off on its own, blend door occasionally makes some noise. These are pretty small and tolerable/easily fixable.

Regarding the misfire; i changed the plugs and boots before the motor replacement to no avail. Multiple fuel cleaners just in case. Also was hoping this may fix the vibration in overdrive (#3) which can apparently be caused by misfire. Now I have read the coil may be the issue. So if I keep the truck, I would replace the plugs as well the boots w/ coil springs and clean the contacts. This is the recommendation on a Ford forum. If that failed, then off to a mechanic to see if a misfire is read. The truck has never had a CEL or any stored codes.

Regarding #2, this is something that I never noticed prior to longblock replacement. I've read about Slip-yokes being an issue with this gen F-150 but I don't anything to compare to. Apparently Ford's answer to this, assuming that's the issue; is to grease it. The greasing is a temporary fix and must be redone according to most accounts.

So there's my crossroad with this truck; I can get about what I owe on trade. Of course I would be adding some debt by getting something a little newer/lower mileage, which is not desireable.

Or I could keep it for now. Replace plugs/boots/springs and go from there(replace coil(s) if needed). Also would hope this would fix issue #3, which is pretty severe at times. As far as the possible slip-yoke or whatever is causing #2, maybe get it checked out and hope a mechanic can replicate it.

Any advice from fellow bitogers on what they would do? I need a vehicle that I can payoff quickly AND not be a constant problem child. Not looking for bashing or anything, just honest opinions about the truck/situation.

 

[diyjake]

If you are planning to replace it in the near future, might as well do it now instead of sticking more money into it or fix the issues and driver it for another 100k+ miles

 

[demarpaint]

I'd get rid of it. W/O actually seeing/driving it, It sounds like it has all the makings of a money pit.

 

[AITG]

Paid for is worth a lot. Fixing everything may only be the cost of two or three payments on something different. Nothing that's bothering you is all that expensive compared to a new trans or a set of tires. JMHO.

OTOH, it's your money, you get to pick how you spend it.

 

[CKN]

That's an issue when you put a new motor in-but the rest of the truck has issues.

Mis at idle-is something that could be any number of things-and you could spend a long time chasing it. Mis fires without codes is a real PITA. Could be a ground issue-somewhere........

It sounds like it's giving you a headache. If you can afford to replace it-that's what I would do. You can't have it both ways however- a newer truck puts you in debt-the old one gives you anxiety-you choose.

You could probably get a decent truck with less miles for the mid-20's if you are looking to buy used.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by AITG
Paid for is worth a lot. Fixing everything may only be the cost of two or three payments on something different. Nothing that's bothering you is all that expensive compared to a new trans or a set of tires. JMHO.

OTOH, it's your money, you get to pick how you spend it.



Its not paid for "I can get about what I owe on trade."

I would fix the issues. You will need to fix the anyway to get a decent sale price.

Why did the block need replacing?

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted by demarpaint
I'd get rid of it. W/O actually seeing/driving it, It sounds like it has all the makings of a money pit.


Yep, sell it and find something more reliable.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Wow, you are in a tight spot.
I like keeping them alive.
New trucks, for me, are too nice to use as trucks.
I loan my old Tundra out all the time; it is on loan right now.
Not sure I could do this on a new one...

On another note, you can do real well on a 2019 right now.
An F150, SuperCrew 4WD with the 2.7 or 3.5 EcoBoost sounds real good to me.
I hear that 10 speed is real sweet.
Is it in the budget?

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by AITG
Paid for is worth a lot. Fixing everything may only be the cost of two or three payments on something different. Nothing that's bothering you is all that expensive compared to a new trans or a set of tires. JMHO.

OTOH, it's your money, you get to pick how you spend it.



Its not paid for "I can get about what I owe on trade."

I would fix the issues. You will need to fix the anyway to get a decent sale price.

Why did the block need replacing?


He is talking about trading it in- a dealer may very well payoff the truck to sell him something different even with the issues. Of course-this is uncertain until he tries to make something happen.

I traded in a truck with the very same issues-mis - fires. It had less than 40,000 miles on it. NO ONE COULD FIX IT. It was so clean the dealer gave me high book for it. I have no idea if they fixed it or not. The only thing I do know is that sold it the first weekend after I traded it in.

 

[supton]

That's the problem with big high dollar repairs--it's often followed by a slew of others. Everything's a gamble...

If you want it to be something that isn't going to nickle and dime you, then I'd vote with moving on. I'd also look at if you truly need a truck or if something smaller (and cheaper) would do the trick. If you do need a truck, well, you're stuck, good trucks cost money--and when they get older, just like everything, they need work. At that point, do you buy something older with a new set of problems but is at least paid off? or go newer and take on the loan? Hard call.

 

[wdn]

Did you have to change the coil on plugs, or the injectors yet? You want to talk about a money pit. And just 100,000 miles on it.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by diyjake
If you are planning to replace it in the near future, might as well do it now instead of sticking more money into it or fix the issues and driver it for another 100k+ miles


Agreed. It's a bad penny.

 

[krismoriah72]

Someone down the road is going to fix whats wrong.. either a small lot, or the dealer that you sell it to.

Financially its more sound to keep what you have. "What i owe" is that including the cost of the long block? if not then you will be out the cost of that on the trade.

My vote would be to find a shop to give you an estimate.. then go from there.

You probably wont fix it on a forum.. its gonna need good diagnostics.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Someone down the road is going to fix whats wrong.. either a small lot, or the dealer that you sell it to.

Financially its more sound to keep what you have. "What i owe" is that including the cost of the long block? if not then you will be out the cost of that on the trade.

My vote would be to find a shop to give you an estimate.. then go from there.

You probably wont fix it on a forum.. its gonna need good diagnostics.




I believe there are issues (very rare) that are so intermittent, unpredictable, etc., that trying to get them diagnosed is a futile effort. This is speaking from personal experience-after taking a vehicle to three different guys who" if they can't fix it nobody can" types.

 

[Tman220]

Dang, I was going to come in here and tell you to dump that 5.4 (3 valve bomb) before it turned into the turd they can be, except it has already been successful in screwing another person over.

With that being said, even with the reman engine, I would still dump that truck with the nickle and dime stuff you already mentioned and recurring spark plug, injector, coil issues that can make the most loyal 5.4 owner buy a chevy.

I know the 5.4 has treated millions of people perfect, but its still a stupid engine! All the years Ford produced the modular engine, they had coil issues, spark plug issues, timing chain tensioner, valve timing actuator, oil pump problems from practically day one, to the day they died which ford refused to fix!! In the case of the spark plug issue Ford failed to fix the issue and arguably made it worse! I know they all have their problems but these common problems just happen to be extremely expensive for the average person that needs to bring their vehicle in to get fixed.

Anyway, that is my rant, do what makes sense to your wallet.

 

[wag123]

I wouldn't discount the possibility that at least some of your problems are transmission related. Ford trucks are known for having transmission problems, ask me how I know.

 

[panthermike]

Appreciate the input guys!

To clarify on the trade in; I do owe $15K on the truck. I would get around that for trade, so break even.

Jeff, I wish a new F150 was in the cards, but looking for a lower budget than that.

Kris, thanks for the tip. I'll call around for estimates, just need to find a shop that can look at all of the issues.


Just out of curiosity; what does everyone think of the Ram 1500's with the Pentastar? It would fit my needs and there is a dealer here currently listing 2019 Classics at 14K off. So a new one 4x2, quad cab would be 23,800. I had a '16 w/ the 8spd and Hemi. I know the trans is good but not much experience with the Pentastar. Only downside is that most come with 3.21 axles which are rated at 4660 towing capacity.

 

[addyguy]

Pentastar is a great engine, very strong for a V-6 in a truck.

Wouldn't waste my time with a 4X2; most want a 4X4, so trade/resale is easier.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by addyguy
Wouldn't waste my time with a 4X2; most want a 4X4, so trade/resale is easier.
The OP lives in Phoenix. Unless he plans to go desert running in the truck, 4WD is a major waste of money where he lives because of both the higher upfront price combined with higher operational expenses for something that is not needed there. Granted, a 4WD truck will sell for more money than a 2WD truck used, but because of where he lives he will never make-up the difference that he spent. Obviously in Canada, the situation is far different.

 

[Dinoburner]

Three years ago we were in a similar situation with the 95 in my sig. Trans needed overhaul and a bunch of nickle dime stuff. The shop that rebuilt the trans asked about the other stuff that I have always done myself. We calculated the total divided by the number of payments at what a new truck would be per month and went ahead with all the work and have not regretted it. If at that time new truck fever had struck we would have traded.