Buying new Bug Out Vehicle.

[xjosh40x]

I found a good deal on another BOV. It's a 05 Ford F150 single cab 4X4 with the 5.4 with 106,000 miles. I already have a 09 F150 Lariat 4x4 crew cab and I love it but it's my everyday truck. I have a 96 Cherrokee 4X4 with inline 6. I love that jeep but I saw this deal on the truck and didn't want to pass it up. Well during the test drive I noticed it sounds good in idle and starts off with good power. But once you get to a incline in terrain it losses power. It had new spark plugs and exhaust manifold. I'm wondering if it could be a cylinder misfiring. I don't know a lot about engines and don't want to buy the truck and get more trouble than I paid. Any help would be helpful.

[Grizz123]

do some research on "ford spark plug problems", they have many of them. I had a 98/99 f250 superduty that started blowing spark plugs at 136k miles, thats when I started researching the problem. I checked with my mechanic a year ago when I wanted to buy a new truck and he said the ford spark plugs are falling apart when people try to replace them, this leaves half the plug in the cylinder and you need to remove the head to get everything out.

[xjosh40x]

We'll I helped the guy change the plugs. They were tough but after several hours of soaking in creeping solution they pulled out without any breaks

[hunter63]

Had a problem with my 99 F-150......was a bad plug and wire which has a coil in it.
Kind of the same thing....ran OK with out too much load, but started breaking up on a hill or trying to pass...

Each plug has the same set up, about $120 each.....so changing all 8 out is about $900 bucks.

Manual said 100K for plug change.......most problem would have been avoided if changed earlier.

The '99 has 125K on it now, and has been running good.

[Rick]

$900 for plugs?! Jeeze Luise. I'm getting ready to upgrade and was thinking Ford but not for that kind of money. That's nuts.

Take the truck to a mechanic and have him/her inspect it. It will run you about $50 or so but could save you thousands.

[hunter63]

Thing is you can hire a guy to "plug in the computer" and really get an idea of condition and problem right now.
That what I would do.

[natertot]

$900 for plugs?! Jeeze Luise. I'm getting ready to upgrade and was thinking Ford but not for that kind of money. That's nuts.

Take the truck to a mechanic and have him/her inspect it. It will run you about $50 or so but could save you thousands.

No, not $900 for spark plugs. It will cost you about $40 dollars for plugs. What hunter was referring to was the coil for the plugs. Ford uses a "coil on plug" system. Instead of having one big coil pack and running plug wires from it to each spark plug, there is an individual coil with spark plug boot attached to it that pops onto each plug itself. This eliminates plug wires entirely and if a coil fails you are down one cylinder and can limp the truck home versus being entirely broke down and having to get it towed. A new coil in the aftermarket realm will run about $50 each. If you do everything yourself your are looking at about $450 and an hour of your time. Ford, however, recommends that the coils only be replaced if they fail. They are not replaced as a regular routine maintenance item.

I, myself, am I fan of the coil on plug system. If you were thinking Ford, don't let the plugs deter you. You'd be passing on great vehicles over nothing.

[hunter63]

I like my Fords....bought the 1999 new still driving it.......then bought a 2008.

Not that I have anything against other brands....just the Ford guys always seem to give me a better deal.

My next on in maybe 2018...new every 10 years or so.....will look at Ford's first.

[natertot]

I agree, Hunter. Fords do have a good deal per the dollar overall and Ford trucks are tough trucks that seem to last for quite a while. In fact, this past summer I traded off a Dodge with 76k miles on it to get a Ford with 88k miles on it. The quality of the Ford over the Dodge is astronomical!

I do like Fords the most probably because I went to the Ford mechanic school right out of high school and that is all my family has owned besides the occasional JEEP. I must admit that have nothing but good things to say about the Honda's and Nissan's I have owned either. I have had two Dodge's and I can promise you that I will avoid them like the stinkin' plague for many years to come. I have had fair dealings with GM products. They have tend to have electrical related issues and I am good about tracing electrical problems, but will choose a Ford over GM because of that. If GM would ever get the electrical issues sorted out, they would be a tough contender against Fords in my book.

All this of course is my opinion and based on my experiences. At the end of the day, it is about the "deal" though. Gotta vote by the checkbook if ya know what I mean.

[hunter63]

Always go with deal....Ford truck seem to ride better, even the F-250...Chevys ride like a "truck" ....LOL

Kenosha has a lot of Dodge and Jeep products as a lot of the town worked for Chrysler....even had a bunch of employees move to Cleveland (I think) when Jeep moved.
So, lots of employee discounts, so heavy presence in the area.

For a long time you could get a new Dodge Truck with a 1 year, 10K mileage for like $200 bucks......guy drove for a year, turned them in....and were shipped to China, Japan and points west as "Used vehicles".....duty was way cheaper.

[natertot]

Yeah, when Chevy said "like a rock" they were directly referring to their suspension! I can see how all the presence of Daimler could overwhelm your area. A 10k Dodge truck for $200? I would risk the plague for that!

[hunter63]

Lots of people did but the lease was so restricted, that you couldn't hardly drive it.

No caps, covers, trailer hitches or bolt on anything....Strictly a boulevard cruiser.

[natertot]

yeah, I that would kill it for me. I buy a truck to have a "truck".

[crashdive123]

I used to be a Chevy guy. After the bailout I became a Ford guy.

[Rick]

Thanks, Nater. I understand the difference now. I'm leaning toward Ford because of the quality and because they were the only company to not take a bailout. That says something to me about the company. I'm not a fan of the interiors. I think real survival requires a certain decor but hey, I can overlook that.

[xjosh40x]

I took the truck to Auto Zone and have them plug up their computer but the only codes it was showing was the Gas Cap wasn't on tight. And when I told the guy there must be something else that I was loosing power he said it was because the truck has chrome exhaust tips. Freaking idiot. I knew better than go there.

[tjwilhelm]

I'll probably catch some cr@p for this; but, I highly recommend Toyota. Even though it's a Japanese company, both the Tacoma and the Tundra trucks are built in the USA. I've had Toyotas for decades and they've all had near zero need for repair with minimal maintenance. I've traded them all in with between 200,000 and 300,000 miles on new or newer/low-mileage vehicles.

My last two have been Toyota 4Runners (I know, I know, this one is built in Japan). I bought a new, 2004 4Runner in late 2003. When it hit 260,000 miles I traded it in on another 2004 4Runner that only had 90,000 miles on it.

I did a suspension lift on it, upsized from 17" to 18" wheels, and upsized the tires with some beefier 6-ply Toyos. I don't "play" with it off-roading; but, I have taken it off road to see what I can expect from her in an emergency.

Toyotas are a bit pricey; but, you really do get what you pay for. I've been VERY satisfied and have great faith it will do what I ask and realistically expect if and when the need arises.

[kyratshooter]

I used to be a Chevy guy. After the bailout I became a Ford guy.

That is one of the reason I am driving a Ford right now.

Strangely enough, it is the reason many of my friends are driving Fords.

Plus I have a long history of satisfaction with Ford products.

I drove a 1962 Ford pickup until 1993, drove its replacement Ranger until 2007 (500K miles), The late wife drove her Escort for 20 years and replaced it with an F150.

I must admit there were also 6 Jeep products in the drive through that time. But I would be hesitant to buy a Jeep product at this point. They are now nothing but a rebranded Dodge, waiting for the first opportunity to fall apart. I'll have to rebuild the current Cherokee until there are no parts left.

[Duece]

I have owned one from pretty much every major car company,and while i have some favorites that i always look at first,dodge then ford then chev.,i have owned some fantastic foreign cars,i once bought a 81 bmw 328 i for 150$ body trashed head cracked,i drove that thing for 2 yrs on that head,sold it for 150 guy who bought pretty much rebuilt body with bondo and bagged the crap out of for another 3 yrs and no one ever fixed the head gasket lol but for best bugout vehicle i would say early 80s chev suburban with 6.2 deisel or 1982 dodge 4x4 ram shortbox pickup with 360.older bro owned one we used for hunting never ever sawa truck thatwould go through that much crap.i picked older vehicles for the ease of repairs,lack of major electronics and wealth of parts.where i live if u chked 5 farmyardsyou would find one or both in the junk pile or the foeld

[natertot]

I'll probably catch some cr@p for this; but, I highly recommend Toyota. Even though it's a Japanese company, both the Tacoma and the Tundra trucks are built in the USA. I've had Toyotas for decades and they've all had near zero need for repair with minimal maintenance. I've traded them all in with between 200,000 and 300,000 miles on new or newer/low-mileage vehicles.

My last two have been Toyota 4Runners (I know, I know, this one is built in Japan). I bought a new, 2004 4Runner in late 2003. When it hit 260,000 miles I traded it in on another 2004 4Runner that only had 90,000 miles on it.

I did a suspension lift on it, upsized from 17" to 18" wheels, and upsized the tires with some beefier 6-ply Toyos. I don't "play" with it off-roading; but, I have taken it off road to see what I can expect from her in an emergency.

Toyotas are a bit pricey; but, you really do get what you pay for. I've been VERY satisfied and have great faith it will do what I ask and realistically expect if and when the need arises.

I have nothing against Toyota's personally. I have never owned one because they have a reputation of being a very great product but with more "lemon's" than the average car company. VW has this same issue. Also, for both Toyota and VW, when something does go wrong the parts will cost you out the hind end even in the aftermarket relm. Some parts are dealer only and when you need them they have to order them from overseas which makes you have to wait for them for ever. Also being that you can only get them from the dealer, they have no competition and set the price to that. "You need it, I got it, no one else can get it. Now, pony up the cash".

I know many folks have had them and racked up over 200k on them. I know way more folks that have done that with Ford, GM, Honda, and Nissan and if you need a part it isn't that big of a deal to find them our get raked over the coals on their price. Just my opinion.