old truck daily driver

[casey]

going back to a pre 80's daily driver, I've been using a 1991 f-150 and that thing is the biggest peice of s#it, call me dumb, but all that sensor s#it and computer crap, is beyond my knowledge, fuel pumps in the gas tank, throttle positioning sensors, cheap aluiminium transfer case, cheap slave cylinder, every knob on the dash, breaks, ignition switch in the steering column broke, I could go on and on, just ranting, I spent about 800.00 on the air conditioning system, and it still won't work right, this b!tch has got to go

[GMCjunkie]

keyword: Ford

LOL.. Good luck finding your new driver.

[Denny]

F.O.R.D. They don't name them Fix.Or.Repair.Daily for nothing. Hope things go better for ya, I know what ya mean, I hate vehicles that are constantly messing up.

[lunatic]

[Longhorn Man]

F- one fix me

[cdowns]

YEP, i know how you feel i had that same feeling when i had a POS dakota that's how i got my 71 figured i'd be way ahead if i'd just spend that monthly money on a vintage truck that had stuff in it that i knew about and could fix myself have'nt regretted it atall

[Randy70C-10]

They circled the problem for ya.

[bobs409]

Sounds to me like the smartest thing to do! What you describe (and more) is exactly why I don't own or like newer vehicles. The make doesn't matter anymore. Their all crap.

When they built them, they didn't want people fixing them. They prefer you buy another new one. The more stuff they put on them, the more that can and will go wrong. They make alot of money off of selling those little sensors and black boxes.

Buy an old truck and stay with the K.I.S.S. system. (keep it simple stupid)

My daily driver is my 69 stepside and it does everything I ask of it. And the newest vehicle I own is a 72! (and it's staying that way) And I get compliments on my daily driver. Not many can say that. :p

[old Rusty C10]

i had a 1989 f 250 that did the same kind of thing and thats why i got rid of it. I bought a 99 ranger then ( brand new) which hasnt given me any problems to date with 73000 on the clock now, and after beating the hell outta it regularly it still runs great
when she starts falling apart ill go get a new silverado(if they dont make em look more putrid then they already do) but i figure ill get another three or four years out of it

[1969 GMC]

hmm my dad has a 96 Ford F-150 4x4, and it's a pretty decent truck. one of the radio preset buttons fell off, and the dashpad is cracked, but thats about it. the 4.9L six is a great engine, 103k and still goin strong. I have heard of these engines lasting 200k-300k miles.

[Longhorn Man]

the 4.9 can take some abuse, we have 2 F-150 trucks at the shop for delivery trucks, one with 350K, the othere has only 110K. Both run pretty good and I honistly wouldn't hesitate to drive them anywhere long distance.
Everyone knows I am fairly open on automotive brands...but I am still not a huge fan of the F-150 truck. Too many things that I don't like...the main one being that stupid front suspention design. Pain to work on, and not that good of a ride. They started it back when our trucks were new and they just put the axe to it and chainged it.

[1969 GMC]

yeah the TTB live axle design is kinda silly...and not much better of a ride than a solid axle, which are more reliable and stronger. if money were no object, i'd torch the front axle off and put a solid dana 44 up there, put a 9 inch with a limited slip out back, ditch the mazda 5 speed and aluminum transfer, and swap in a heavy duty 5 speed and a np205. that would be a slight improvement.

[casey]

I totally agree with you guys on the 4.9L, they do last forever, but that ain't the problem, its all the crap attached to it, and heres just on more bonehead thing they did they put a styro foam pan gasket on it, they blow out, now you can imagine how much fun that is to change, you pretty much have to pull the motor. I had a trottle body gasket go, it was so cheap a gasket it looked like condom material, the idle revs up and down at idle, it surges at 1500 rpm, ford tells me the computer is programed wrong, and I need a new updated one, see what I mean, you want me to tell you more, next time if you fell real daring walk up to a ford and have a good look at the back fender wells you can hear them rusting, I've seen 97 fords with rusted out fenders what the hell is that, ok I'm done

[67cst]

casey i hear ya, my step dads work truck is a 94 f150, it has well over 300,000km cause he uses it for work, but he has blown 3 oil pan gaskets and tons of u joints have been replaced...he is looking for something older and stronger, and a lot more heavy duty

[Truckhead]

I'll take a 93' to 95' Ford lightning anyday as a driver. There great trucks, i used to own one, made the mistake of selling it to payoff some bills.

[Eddie H.]

I work on Fords for a living.

That's the reason I own 3 GMC's

** And as Forrest Gump would say " That's all I got to say about that" :p

[72 2wd Blazer]

Casey, I'm not going to pile on it being a Ford (although that is probably the problem), but not all newer trucks are garbage. I have a '96 Silverado that I bought used in Dec. 99 with 42,000 miles. It now has nearly 96,000 miles and all I've done to it so far has been a starter, alternator, front brakes, and tires. It's been a pretty solid truck and it has the 5.7 liter / 350 Vortec power.

[ddsmith]

all I've done to it so far has been a starter, alternator, front brakes, and tires.

Okay my time to speak up. As far as I'm concerned GM is guilty of putting crap in their truck and car also. Here is why I've come to that conclusion. I've replaced so many GM alternators that it is obviously a poor design. This may be caused by lack of cooling air and other issue but the point is they don't fix the problem. They hope your car or truck will be out of warranty so you have to foot the bill. That is crap in my book. The automobile manufactures should be glad to warranty vehicles for no extra cash for 5yr/100,000 miles if they built the car and trucks right. They are not stepping out there to do that so you know they cut corners and hope it doesn't turn into warranty work. I think the car makers ideal life expectancy is just past your last payment. They use to engineer cars to last now they engineer them to break at the apropriate time. I own 4 GM cars/trucks, 1 Ford, and 1 Mitsubishi and it doesn't matter who the maker is it's the same story.

[cableguy0]

i agree with ddsmith i work on these hunks of sh!t every day and almost every new vehicle i see is a hunk of sh!it no matter what badge is on it the sad thing is as much as i hate to say it the big 3 need to follow the example of there japanese rivals because the jap cars are the only truly reliable almost totally problem free cars. but as a mechanic and not a chevy guy ford is having lots and lots of problems with there new engines grenading they are total junk in my honest opinion not that gm is too much better but im gonna say ford is at the bottom

[ChevyDude]

.....and if you spell it backwards you get:

Driver Returns On Foot

[EdB]

I have a cap that reads: "I had rather push a Chevrolet than
own two Fords." I use it on special occasions. As hot as it
has been lately, I think I would put a sack over my head and
ride rather than push though.

EdB

[ChevLoRay]

has many meanings, like Fartin' Old Rebuilt Dodge, for one. Man, when you consider that, it is weird. Of course, if you know your history, you will remember that Horace Dodge (of Dodge Brothers) was building the transmissions for the Model T, for Henry Ford. But, Henry (being the shrewd businessman that he was) specified the sizing of the box that would be used for crating the transmissions for the "T", and the crate (when disassembled) yielded the correctly-sized boards that became the floorboards of the "T".

It matters NOT which manufacturer you like, or dislike. Any of them can be faulted. I have a 2000 Tundra, that has had front brake problems...and there is a history of that with Tundra owners. In addition, I've had to have both exhaust manifolds replaced...thankfully under warranty. The cost of two manifolds, with O2 sensors, etc., was nearly $2K! If it had been coming out of my pocket, I would have gone to JBA headers.

Vortec 5.7's from 96 and up, have inherent problems with the intake manifold gaskets which fail. They are a plastic-looking material and their failure results in coolant leaks. The heater hose fitting on the intake is also easy to break. But, plugs are easier to change that on a Ford V-8.

Dodge's? I am burned out on Chrysler products. Their quality control problems of a decade past, have deleted them from my choices.

Japanese vehicles are my choice, although reluctantly. Why else would I have bought a used car, with 196000 miles, and been happy to do it? Yeah, its a Toyota, with the 5S-FE engine (2.2L). Totally reliable, even with that many miles.

[dinnut]

lol. damn fords always need repairs. even the new ones. why this one wouldnt start the other day.

[Blue4x4]

I thought it was FAST ON RACE DAY ?

[Eddie H.]

Found On Road Dead

Fix Or Repair Daily

Flipped Over, Rider Died

Factory Ordered Recalls Daily

For Old Retired Dudes

** Help me out here