Considering picking up a 2004 Ford F150 XL 4X4 for my kid. It has only 75,000 miles on the 4.6L V8. You guys seem to have a lot of history and knowledge on pick up truck engines. Is this a good one? Anything to be weary of?

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

I put 94,000 miles on a 1999 Ford Expedition with a 2v 4.6 with zero engine problems. Ford has had some issues with stripped spark plug threads in their Triton V8 heads leading to a spark plug or two doing a Saturn V imitation.

Generally a good engine. I've seen some with over 300,000 miles. Early ones had issues with valve seals leaking, but that was fixed rather quickly. Then there were some with an intake manifold leak and spitting out spark plugs. All those issues should have been fixed by '04 unless you've had your spark plugs changed and over tightened.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Good vehicle.... Don't take a 5.4 even if its free.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Thanks guys. The biggest downside is 14 MPG city. But the kid wants 4x4 and I know MPG will not be pretty with any of them. I'd rather see him in a Tacoma 4x4. I'll let you know if I pull the trigger on the Ford.

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

Lol, I bought that when it was new. I believe 04', f150 LWB.

Went through 3 differential clutch packs under warranty,

cam phasers failed when out of warranty. Never did fix it, the truck sounded like a diesel. Sold the truck 5 years later with 125k , it didn't make it much longer after I sold it.

I never changed the spark plugs.

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

If i wanted to get my kid a 4wd I'd pick something with a lower center of gravity ....like an outback perhaps.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

4x4 in South Carolina? What for?

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Muddin'!

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

I'd love to get MPG like that. The wife's 89 F250 gets around 9 in the city. Heck...the 05 Tahoe gets 12 in the city, on a good day.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Thats rough. My parents 98 tahoe got pretty good mileage on road trips. Not sure about the city mpg though. Too bad that car was such a piece.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

We've been pretty lucky with the Tahoe in the 4 years we've owned it...steering box, fuel pump, and basic maintenance items have been the only reasons for garage visits. I can get almost 20mpg on the highway if I'm driving it, 18.5 when the wife drives it.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Thanks for all the input, guys. We narrowed our search to 4.6L F150's, but didn't find anything worth making an offer on. Then we found an '06 Taco 4x4 with a moderate lift kit.

Here is a pic of a happy kid:

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.