Buying a 2001 F150 with 251k on the clock. Crazy or reasonable?

[ClangClang]

Long time lurker here. I've been slowly biding my time, following all the build threads with a mixture of envy and longing. I'm about to ready to jump in though and could use a quick sanity check.

A friend of a friend is selling his 2001 F150. Super Crew. 4x4. 5.4L V8. Pretty good shape overall, some dings and dents here and there. Drivers seat has a big tear. Otherwise seems to be OK from a quick glance. In the past 18 months, the truck has:

- New-ish tires (about 10k miles on them)
- New Spark Plugs
- New Coil Packs
- New radiator
- New thermostat
- New belts and hoses
- New water pump
- Block flush, removed freeze plugs, replaced with new ones
- New Front End Alignment
- New ball joints
- New shocks
- New battery
- Upgraded Bluetooth Stereo, door speakers, Rockford Fosgate Amp with Kicker 10’s
- New Brake Calipers Front and back
- New Brake Pads front and back
- New Parking Brake Shoe
- Brake fluid flush
- Tinted windows
- New axle seals
- New Door Lock Actuator
- New Multi-Function Switch
- New Pitman Arm
- New Cruise Control Switch

I am about to buy a fixer-upper house with the wife. The plan for the truck is to spend the first ~8 months using it as a work truck to shuttle supplies back and forth as we finish the reno on the house, then start building out the truck after. Intended use for the truck: Overlanding in North America, no extreme off roading, no rock climbing. Lots of 2-4 day camping trips, often accessed by Forest Service roads. Accessing backcountry skiing and ice climbing in the winter - fairly remote objectives, often in very bad weather. Regardless, it will still be on road 95% of the future miles.

So if anyone has some wisdom to share, I could use some help with the following:

• Decent price?
• Is a truck with 250k on it just going to be a money pit going forward?
• Anything specific with this year/model/drivetrain I need to pay special attention to?
• Anything else you can think of!

Much appreciated!

 

[kojackJKU]

I have a 2003 F150 screw. It does not have half of those miles on it, but the way I look at things, If it was well maintained, and in good condition, go for it. I love our truck and drive it lots. Only issue with mine is the A/C pump has givin up the ghost. Damn it get warm!

If you are not going crawling etc, leave the suspension alone and just upgrade the shocks to something good. I run Monroe reflex monotubes with great success. You can fit 285s on the truck with no lift. Get a truck cap for the back after your finished your house. It works great for keeping stuff out of the weather. Just remember, you can't sleep in the back of the truck with a 5 1/2 ft box. So either a RTT or just a good ground tent are a must. Other than that....gas oil and go. I am adding lighting on mine, a bunch of rear cargo items, and new wheels just because. I am also looking at getting a lance 650 for the back since they are made for 5.5 to 6ft boxes for trucks. If I find one for a good deal, then I am adding some heavier swaybars, airbags etc to take the extra weight.

 

[UHAULER]

I bought an 03 supercrew about 10 months ago with 244k miles. I needed a cheap commuter for a while. It now has about 260k miles. I love driving it. It actually rides good and doesn't rattle/squeek. I suspect mine has had an engine replacement at some time because it has the yellow wrecking yard marking paint on it. If the price is right go for it.

 

[ExplorerTom]

I have basically the same truck in Expedition form. I have 198k miles. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across country.

All the replacement parts mentioned seem good. If the coils were Motorcraft, those are the best as aftermarket can be problematic. The 5.4L is a good motor. It's not crazy fast or powerful, but when maintained it'll run forever. This guy drove his 1.3 million miles:
http://www.millionmilevan.com

Because of age and all those heat cycles, brittle plastic parts (coolant connectors for the heater core, vacuum lines.....) might be your next area of concern. The blend door in the dash for the heater might be an issue (but it can be fixed inexpensively). The heater core itself is no cake walk though. The windshield is known to leak which allows water to collect in a "cup" that has the ECU in it and certain things start acting weird when it's wet. If it has the A4WD setting (the pickups might not) then it can be problematic but usually the "brown wire mod" solves it.

Depending on price and condition it could be worth it.

 

[kojackJKU]

I was lucky, I knew my truck since new. A friend bought it new, and I sold him building and got the truck thrown in with the deal! good score. Complete service history, all highway driven used for his work as an insurance adjuster.

 

[SDDiver5]

Take it to a mechanic and get an inspection and opinion. I have 230k on my 4.6L 98 F150. Still going strong but it also showing its signs of being old.

I think if you're just going from Home Depot to your house for 8 months it will be a perfect truck for that. I'd be a little hesitant to take it out anywhere very remote.

Use it for your reno then get something with lower miles.

 

[p nut]

Take it to a mechanic and get an inspection and opinion. I have 230k on my 4.6L 98 F150. Still going strong but it also showing its signs of being old.

I think if you're just going from Home Depot to your house for 8 months it will be a perfect truck for that. I'd be a little hesitant to take it out anywhere very remote.

Use it for your reno then get something with lower miles.

I agree. For local shop runs, probably a good vehicle. For overlanding in remote places? I would invest more time and money to get it baselined. And that may or may not be worth it, depending on the condition. 250k miles is a lot of miles, whether we're talking Ford, Toyota, Honda, or whatever. Go into it with eyes and wallet wide open, with enough set aside for major repair bills.

 

[Ivan]

seems like all the major stuff has been replaced.

From experiece (see sig), buy a bigger transmission cooler (I'm about to swap in a 40k gvw cooler). The 4R100 is a great tranny, but heat will end it quickly. Only other thing that comes to mind is the radiator: not all of the F150s and Expeditions came with a two row radiator like they were supposed to; if the new one is a single row, that's a waste of time. Same with the fan clutch if that wasn't replaced with the water pump.

Oh, and I dont know about your market, but I'd offer 5k. If all of that checks out, I would just max out the keys, get a 7700 series leaf pack, and some 35's, and just enjoy it.

To out it into perspective: there are enthusiasts out there buying land cruisers and 4runners with 200k + miles and drivig them across the country. You'll have a truck you can rebuild at the local O'reillys.

I'd rock it.

 

[Buddha.]

It would probably do what you wanted it to do. If it was me though id have to get it real cheap to justify it. You could get a $1000 2wd f150 for the home depot runs and it would work better for that purpose than the taller truck with the little box.

 

[Nathaniel0712]

I say go for it as long as it checks out ok. That is a near bulletproof drivetrain as long as it has been carded for and not abused. Talking to the owner and getting their vibe goes a long way. My last 3 Ford trucks have all had over 300k and I have NEVER been left stranded. That said, they have all been 7.3's and I went through them completely (inspecting and replacing anything necessary) before putting too much trust in them. Things break here and there on an older vehicle whether it has 100K or 300K. I just bought a Tahoe with 215,000 miles as a daily driver and after getting a good feeling from the owner, seeing that it had been maintained over the years via records and visual cues including a mint interior (with a professionally repaired drivers seat) and taking a short test drive I drove it 200 miles home and took a 1,000 mile trip the following weekend after doing nothing but an oil change.

If he's a good friend he won't sell you something he doesn't trust.

Trust your gut ...and your eyesight.

-Nate

 

[rayra]

Sounds like the only thing not refreshed is the transmission, there isn't much left to go wrong. If the price is decent sounds like a good vehicle to start with. Just expect / start budgeting for the trans replacement.

And since you say you are buying a 'fixer upper', I presume that means you are handy enough to turn wrenches on the truck on most anythign else that turns up, or at least know enough to tell if a mechanic is trying to gouge you. So I'd say go for it, if it's the type of vehicle you want.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Just expect / start budgeting for the trans replacement.

Not to start a Chevy vs Ford flame war, but I've noticed on this forum transmission failures seem to be common with various full sized Chevys (I only visit this board that has Chevy traffic). But on the Ford side of the fence, transmission failures don't seem to be near the norm as they are with Chevys (and I've been in the Ford camp frequenting many different Ford model specific and general Ford truck forums for 7 years). At least from my vantage point.

 

[Buliwyf]

Not to start a Chevy vs Ford flame war, but I've noticed on this forum transmission failures seem to be common with various full sized Chevys (I only visit this board that has Chevy traffic). But on the Ford side of the fence, transmission failures don't seem to be near the norm as they are with Chevys (and I've been in the Ford camp frequenting many different Ford model specific and general Ford truck forums for 7 years). At least from my vantage point.

Our Fleet Ford transmissions are holding up far better than the GM's. But I don't blame that on the GM transmission, I blame bad setup and ignorant GM engineers.

Many of those trucks are Express vans and 2wd fullsize trucks with pathetic open diffs. Spinning tires on snow and then slamming the driveline to a complete stop when you hit dry pavement is hell on a transmission. I'm convinced that if the GM had better tires and 4wd they'd last longer like our Fords. I also feel that they are programmed poorly. The Ford programming on my F350 is way smoother and more often in the correct gear than the GM was. My Express van was always hunting for the correct gear.

Many of the GM's are lacking ATF coolers as well. And the ones that do, rot quickly and leak. That ain't exactly good for transmissions either.

 

[Buliwyf]

I'd recommend pulling the starter and alternator and get them rebuilt at a good auto electric shop. Good cheap insurance there.