Picked up a used 1998 F-150 4x4 with 220k miles, 6 months later it looks and drives like a different truck

Got it from a guy outside Reno who had it parked for 2 years. Started with a deep clean and fluid changes, then got into rust repair on the cab corners and rockers. Threw on some takeoff AT tires from a buddy, swapped the old leaf springs for some add-a-leafs, and replaced the worn steering box. Night and day difference - it rides smooth now and the 5.4 actually pulls strong. Whole build cost me $1,200 in parts and a lot of weekends. Still need to do the front wheel bearings though. Anyone else taken a beater and turned it around without spending crazy money?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_kim6629d agoMost Upvoted

Ngl, that '98 F-150's 5.4 Triton is a solid engine but you gotta watch out for the spark plugs blowing out, it's a known issue on those. Honestly, $1,200 for all that work is a steal, most people would blow that on just the rust repair alone. Tbh, you should tackle those wheel bearings soon, they can mess up the whole front end if they go bad.

kaigibson29d ago

Not really a steal when you're just fixing Ford's design screwups.

ross.lily28d ago

$1,200 for rust repair alone? (laughing but also crying) Man, I'd be thrilled if I could get just the cancer cut out of a northern car for that price. Around here, body shops won't even touch a frame that's got the brown death spreading for under two grand, and that's just to slap a patch on it without any blending. Sounds like the previous owner really dodged a bullet on this one before you stepped in.