This would be my first Ford truck so looking for any insight into common issues I can be on the lookout for in regard to this used truck.
2018 F150 XLT SuperCrew 5.5 ft bed 4x4 <<<<-----Fixed the year mistake!
5.0L V8 OHV 32V Flex Fuel
10 speed Automatic 4WD w/Tow and Plow pkg
116k miles
1 owner
It’s at a small dealer near me. They painted the undercarriage which I hate when they do that. It has rust as expected but doesn’t seem to be out of the ordinary for around here. Is there any specific area I should inspect that is common rust concern on these?
I am not big on the Flex Fuel or Auto Start/Stop “features”.
Is this V8 an AFM design?
Any issues with the 5.0L in this year F150 I should be aware of or things to check?
Appreciate any perspectives here and advice on inspecting it…
2018 5.0L DOHC 32V
or
2008 4.6L SOHC or 5.4L SOHC??
You can delete the start/stop..
And the flex fuel really doesn’t affect anything if running regular E10>… My 1999 Grand Caravan was flex fuel, would never know it if you never read the gas door or looked up the VIN engine code…
I think 2018 was the 1st year to run the 10 speed, so cutting teeth issues…
I think they had high oil consumption issues, I think it was 2018 and 2019 were the worst years for using oil…
Agree with @davesmopar on all this. The 5.0 is not an AFM engine. Like any modern engine, it does not like deferred oil changes.
And this engine holds a LOT of oil. 9.5 quarts, I think. If this is like the Mustangs it has a low oil switch in the pan. Like me, you will likely never see it.
The flex fuel sensor is a passive device and measures fuel permittivity, and maybe fuel temperature. That seems like a small issue. I imagine that you won’t race the truck or add a turbo (well, YOU might ), so running E10 isn’t an issue since that’s the default.
Yes, 2018.
How the heck did I screw that up??? No need to answer
That’s great! Thanks.
They have the CarFAX and it appears the first few oil changes were on a 10k schedule and then no further entries. I assume the owner decided to do them and if there’s 9.5 Quarts, I might understand why.
Nope, this is just for winter commuting and home driveway plowing.
It’s an XLT Supercrew w/optional 5.0L, 10R80 and factory tow package. That is critical info for the next paragraph
Ran into the first issue. Noticed some drippings on the second drive with it and on the next drive, it was a significant leak. Small puddle pretty far back from engine compartment so crawled under to look. Coolant. Not being familiar with Ford, I initially thought it must be for a rear seat aux heater. Nope. It is a hard line for the transmission “cooler”. They pipe coolant to the cooler adjacent to the transmission. One of those lines is severely corroded but the all others look pristine. Prior owner tried to hide issue with some spray on undercoating.
Now for the fun part. Good luck finding that specific line, online. There are variants for the various configurations. That is after you even find the details for the factory towing package. At one point, I’m under there and see the good line still has the factory part tag on it. Viola! (sic). Fortunately, I get a clear pic of it taking the shot blind. Nowhere to be found online. I did uncover a series of super-cessions to a new part number that matches the line. Yay.
This is a good point- I usually remove those tags when doing my own work. From now on, I’ll leave them there for the next person!
Now the fun part. I get the line disconnected but there is absolutely no way to remove it without pulling the axle or removing a cross member. Neither of which is looking like fun. The line is also $100 with significant discount. So I’m thinking, why not cut it in half, trim it up and install a section of heater hose to replace the corroded section. The rear end was already a hose going to the cooler inlet. Found some nice silicone heater hose for high(er) temp applications and used the forward section of the line with the “quick” disconnect. Another cruel joke BTW. It is neither quick or easy to disconnect even though I have a tool for it.
You might ask, why not take it back to the selling dealer and make them fix it? Well, my experience is not good with such things, They tend to do lousy work when forced to spend money after the sale. Or find lots of other things to jack up the repair to offset their part of the cost contribution to fixing it. I may go back and present them with the cost of the parts and ask for them to split it with me. Good deal for them considering it’s my labor and a lot less expensive than the OEM line…
You have just found out precisely why I’d rather buy an old vehicle with high miles for a cheap price, versus buying a much newer vehicle for a lot more money at a dealer. The reason is because unless you are willing to pay close to MSRP for a “certified” model, both options have the same warranty (i.e. none), and both will require you to spend money and effort on repairs and deferred maintenance. In fact,buying an old truck with over 200,000 miles has been quite the bargain for me. I paid about $2k for it, and spent about $2k on new tires and other repairs when I bought it, and drove it without any major expense until earlier this year when I paid about $3k to rebuild the suspension and replace the steering rack. How much would I have spent on loan payments on a newer used truck over the past 5 years? And what about repairs and maintenance?
Just found out? I’ve been buying used vehicles for 50 years! and fixing them myself to boot.
It’s a crapshoot with any used vehicle. I go into it with my eyes open understanding that things will crop up and no matter how experienced or diligent you are, stuff is just going to happen that you may not have anticipated.
For the most part, I’ve come out way ahead buying used stuff. I have bought a number of new vehicles as well. There’s a lot to be said about the peace of mind and other hard to quantify benefits of owning new as well. I could have went and bought a brand new truck cash outright, but I’m old school in some ways and $50k-$70k for a truck is not going to happen for me…this is my replacement “beater truck”
Car I got has new radiator. And trans cooler line had seepage at fitting. After tweaking fitting I found rust pin hole in line under new radiator. Seems touching an old line is not good.
By the same token, if it is compromised enough to start leaking after it has been handled or disturbed, then it was probably destined to fail on its own pretty soon anyway. I’d rather find it at a time of my own choosing than to have it fail at a later date that might not be as convenient. Sucks either way but one is less sucky
My 1999 Grand Caravan was flex fuel (option), I’d never seen flex fuel at the time, Nashville didn’t get E85 until late 2008, I am not sure when we got it in my local area…
Still not at every pump, maybe 1 or 2 per station, but not all at the ones I would use anyway…
I have yet to put E85 in anything ever.. Now if I had a boosted fuel injected fun car tuned for it, I would run it…
Maybe they only built flex fuel trucks. I bought a car in 2017 and looke at an Impala. IIRC it was flex fuel. We don’t have E85 pumps in Central Maryland either.
I am not aware of any federal requirements for petroleum distributers to offer E85 in all areas.
However, during the last 30 years auto manufactures have been offered CAFE incentives for manufacturing alternative fuel vehicles. While few buyers are interested in alternative fuel vehicles, Boomers will continue lamenting the 1973 OPEC fuel shortages (there is no harm in being prepared).
Nope, there are a few states that have zero E85 stations.. Maine, Vermont, NH, Montana, and surprisingly some that have less than 10 E85 stations like Washington, Oregon, and some more on the upper east coast area…
), so running E10 isn’t an issue since that’s the default.
Nope, this is just for winter commuting and home driveway plowing.
