# What to know when purchaseing a 5.4 F250



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

Looking to make a truck purchase this spring.... Basically the truck in the pic is what I'm after.
2007 F250 5.4

What problems do I need to watch out for?


----------



## Spool it up (Oct 30, 2012)

carfax it , check obd codes . i believe that is a triton engine .


----------



## randomb0b123 (Jul 14, 2010)

cracked exhaust manifolds


----------



## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Brake lines,trans lines .


----------



## 07F-250V10 (Jul 18, 2011)

Check the right rear brake. If they havent recently been reaplaced it will be toast.


----------



## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

dont buy it if it has been a plow truck in the past


----------



## randomb0b123 (Jul 14, 2010)

also check for power. wait........ 5.4s dont have any power nevermind


----------



## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

One of our trucks is an 06 with the 5.4L and as of yesterday it has 60'ish K on it. The only things we've had to do to it was replace the exhaust studs and gaskets one it one time and a couple years later (last month) we had to replace both exhaust manifolds, studs and gaskets. Both times it was after towing our skid steer and some other things on the trailer long distances. We put a K&N air induction with air filter on it and a programmable chip when it was new, other than that it's been problem free and its towed or pushed snow since it was new. 5.4L's might not have a ton of power but ours has done everything we've asked it to do. I wouldn't shy away from a 5.4L, they are solid engines!


----------



## framer1901 (Dec 18, 2005)

Just curious on why the right rear brake? Just changed ours this year.


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

07F-250V10;1542760 said:


> Check the right rear brake. If they havent recently been reaplaced it will be toast.





framer1901;1543131 said:


> Just curious on why the right rear brake? Just changed ours this year.


I was wondering the same???


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

Brian Young;1543089 said:


> One of our trucks is an 06 with the 5.4L and as of yesterday it has 60'ish K on it. The only things we've had to do to it was replace the exhaust studs and gaskets one it one time and a couple years later (last month) we had to replace both exhaust manifolds, studs and gaskets. Both times it was after towing our skid steer and some other things on the trailer long distances. We put a K&N air induction with air filter on it and a programmable chip when it was new, other than that it's been problem free and its towed or pushed snow since it was new. 5.4L's might not have a ton of power but ours has done everything we've asked it to do. I wouldn't shy away from a 5.4L, they are solid engines!


Thank you! This is some great feedback!


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

randomb0b123;1543045 said:


> also check for power. wait........ 5.4s dont have any power nevermind


I have the powerstroke for serious power when needed....Thumbs Up The 5.4 is going to be towing a 20' hardscape tool trailer & plowing snow in the winter. Something the 5.4 is more than capable of doing.


----------



## weckel5984 (Sep 2, 2011)

like all fords watch out for the oil pans being rusty. i have a 5.4 and love it for light and medium work but have a powerstroke for the heavy lifting


----------



## unhcp (Jan 20, 2010)

I have had 3 of the 5.4s, check the manifolds, check for the lifter tick, find out when and if the spark plugs have been changed, check the tranny lines, I would check the rear diff cover for rust. I would also check the bed mounts for rusting, also check the sway bar links and suspension!


----------



## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

IMPORTANT IS

how old coolant?
Have oil been changed? Motorcraft oil filter or aftermarket filter?
Peek in oil cap with flashlight look at camshaft while it idle do you see oil splash on it?
Check exhaust pipe if it black it been running rich need fix.
Look harder in coolant they do had issue with oil get in coolant.
Ask owner what oil they use? 5w20-5w30 is ok but 10-40-20W50 isn't OK.

I will disagree with anybody over KN air filter. I wouldn't dare put that KN air filter on my fleet. I use stock purolast or motorcraft so I can know dust not going pass though air filter and get in engine ruin cylinder then it suck tons oil.

I never have issues with exhaust manifold or studs on mine but I don't drive like employees while tow heavy load and drive across water puddles. When you have common sense don't ever drive across water puddle those will break studs quick. Learn hard way when I did with my Explorer. 


Inspect rear axle brakes. I have 2 with defective brakes cause they wasn't maintain by previous owner so it was cost fortune to fix them. They got rusted and seized.


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

unhcp;1543278 said:


> I have had 3 of the 5.4s, check the manifolds, check for the lifter tick, find out when and if the spark plugs have been changed, check the tranny lines, I would check the rear diff cover for rust. I would also check the bed mounts for rusting, also check the sway bar links and suspension!


The lifter tick. Is that a common thing? I've heard a lot of Ford gassers tick. Is that what that is?


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

Milwaukee;1543297 said:


> IMPORTANT IS
> 
> how old coolant?
> Have oil been changed? Motorcraft oil filter or aftermarket filter?
> ...


Thanks!!! This is a great check list of things to watch for!


----------



## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Milwaukee;1543297 said:


> IMPORTANT IS
> 
> how old coolant?
> Have oil been changed? Motorcraft oil filter or aftermarket filter?
> ...


So I must have no common sense and it should never be driven in the rain right? to avoid puddles of course. Funny, both times mine went bad were on dry thru-ways during the winter. To the OP.... Problem is they get too hot while basically maxing out there performance for long periods of time, they warp, stretch and crack the cheap studs. They usually break off at the manifold and IF your lucky you can still get something on them to remove the complete stud. Most of the time you end up replacing the manifold, gaskets and studs to the tune of 500-900 (or more depending where you take it and if they use OEM parts). Good news though, if you have an Advance Auto Parts store near you, you can buy a "aftermarket" manifold which seem to be nothing more than an OEM cleaned up and the surfaced shaved so everything is nice and level for 95.00 compared to Ford's 300.00 or so each! Another thing, these new 5.4L's are 4 valves per cylinder versus the older 2 or 3 valve per cylinder (its been so long I can't remember what they were) but the old style kept blowing out spark plugs through the tops of the cylinders but thats a thing of the past. I worked on these things weekly years ago and I never heard or seen oil in the coolant, not saying it never happen but I never saw it. About the only other thing we've had to do, and it is common is ball joints, if you plan on running a plow on it expect to replace them every other year. One last thing I remember is check the oil dip stick tube where it bolts to the head, when we replaced the manifold we took off the dip stick tube and where they weld the bracket to bolt it to the head rots away letting dirt right into the engine, other than that just check maintenance records and all the obvious stuff.


----------



## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

Brian Young

Care to explain why I found THICK BROWN SLUDGE inside tank. It was common issue from early 5.4L to mid 2002 not sure exact. When they finally update head gasket issue that was LEAK on passenger side.

It was look like this


----------



## unhcp (Jan 20, 2010)

Mid-Ohio Scaper;1543528 said:


> The lifter tick. Is that a common thing? I've heard a lot of Ford gassers tick. Is that what that is?


The tick could be bad manifolds or lifter problems, the cam phasers go bad causing the tick


----------



## Polarismalibu (Sep 20, 2012)

Spark plugs snap on the 5.4


----------



## f250man (Jan 28, 2005)

I have a 99 5.4 in my super duty and the only issues I have had is a bad manifold gasket and a head gasket passenger side leaking oil on the exhaust. it has 254,000 miles on it and it has plowed and haul trailers since i bought it with 40,000 on it. I would buy another if I didn't want a diesel


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

f250man;1543970 said:


> I have a 99 5.4 in my super duty and the only issues I have had is a bad manifold gasket and a head gasket passenger side leaking oil on the exhaust. it has 254,000 miles on it and it has plowed and haul trailers since i bought it with 40,000 on it. I would buy another if I didn't want a diesel


254,000 miles says a lot! Thanks for your post. I had a hunch that the 5.4's are solid trucks that had a couple of common stupid problems. 
There are some really great lists of things to look for when buying!! 
Keep em coming if someone missed something.


----------



## Fordman2011 (Dec 24, 2012)

Exhaust manifold bolts and spark plugs. I have a 99 superduty with a 5.4. And it is a damn good motor! I use it to plow with and I also use it to pull our 28 ft 4 ton 5th wheel. It has done more than I have ever expected it to and I love it!!


----------



## Fordman2011 (Dec 24, 2012)

O and another thing. I'm not sure what year fords they were on but at the bottom of the doors are a plastic strip. RIP THOSE OFF!! All they do it stop stuff from coming farther up the door but they hold moisture and will rust out your door. I thought I had a rust free truck until I ripped those plastic strips off and I was pissed!!


----------



## Shop's Lawn (Nov 9, 2008)

depending of certain years but 07-08 should be good I think. I have a 2001 5.4 and have now blown out 2 spark plugs out of cylinder but we have a 2003 with over 300,000, no spark plug issues- have had fuse panel block go bad, 4 alts, one starter, two wheel hubs and 4x4 elec motor and thats it with that many miles. 2008 5.4 truck only issue so far is leaking axle seal.


----------



## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

Shop's Lawn;1566510 said:


> depending of certain years but 07-08 should be good I think. I have a 2001 5.4 and have now blown out 2 spark plugs out of cylinder but we have a 2003 with over 300,000, no spark plug issues- have had fuse panel block go bad, 4 alts, one starter, two wheel hubs and 4x4 elec motor and thats it with that many miles. 2008 5.4 truck only issue so far is leaking axle seal.


I've been hearing more and more about spark plugs blowing out of the motor.....
Anyone know what model years this is happening to?


----------



## Fordman2011 (Dec 24, 2012)

Mid-Ohio Scaper;1566555 said:


> I've been hearing more and more about spark plugs blowing out of the motor.....
> Anyone know what model years this is happening to?


99,2000,2001 seem to be the years that have the most problem.. My 99 hasn't had a problem yet but from what I read a lot of 99 owners have


----------



## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

spark plugs that blew out were late 90's and early 2000's. then in 06 or 07 for sure, they changed the design and now you cannot get the plugs out!!! I have done a handful of them, they are EXPENSIVE to replace plugs in. basically, the plug snaps of at the threads, you have to buy a special tool and hope like hell it works to crush the porcelain, tap into the tin body, and pull it out without ruining the threads in the head. or dropping the remnants of the plug into the cylinder. Ive done a few at my shop using matco's tool and aside from them taking FOREVER i have been successful. Best Ive done is 6 out of 8 came out without breaking. worst was 3 out of 8.

along with the cam phasers, they go bad and it sounds like a diesel. ive done that job once, with the timing chain wedge that cuts the labor time in half, but stress levels to give you a hear attack if it slips out and the timing chain comes off and youre screwed. i wont do another one, if someone wants to buy the tool i dont want it anymore.

and again the exhaust manifolds. JUNK. 

and lets see.... coolant, best thing to do with ANY ford is drain the coolant and replace with a mix with anything extended life antifreeze. ford failed in the coolant dept, so did gm with that dexcool garbage though. I still run green stuff in my rigs.

and all ford trucks have problems with the rear calipers and slide pins seizing up. way of life with them.


----------

