Got a question? Am in the market looking for a mid size or full size truck am not going to be towing or nothing like that is mostly will be to take big kayak to fishing spot and come back in the bed of the truck looking into frontier , f-150 , Tacoma , but want to keep good mpg cause will be my everyday drive to work vehicle with 10k cash am located in south Florida if that matters What should I look for if you can help me out
I'd go 1. If you can afford it definitely Tundra 2. Frontier
If you want the F-150, I'd stay away from the 5.4 3 valve V8 and stick to the 4.6 V8.
the early ones are the bad ones
You have commented this on peoples comments like at least 10 15 times Car Wizard says its all of them Mod Man says its all of them I'm not sure where you are trying to go with this.
This kind of reminds me of the GM small block V8’s with the early cylinder deactivation systems or AFM (GM’s term) that used to fail a lot in the early years of implementation but over time got better and fewer issues; however the issues never died out completely and still existed (just with less frequency). We also don’t recommend any of those engines on this forum unless you replace the AFM hardware (which is $3,000+$. It’s one of those things were for most of us it’s not worth the risk of getting a later model F-150 in that generation with the 3V 5.4L V8 even though the issues were less common. And/or if someone does still want to get it, just be aware of the issue (that it can happen but not guarantee), set aside $6,000+ for a new engine just in case, and move on. But, I like to keep our forum members out of any potential trouble in the first place.
Nicely said Mr. Walker
This mechanic is partially correct, however, evidence from many vehicles stands against his personal opinion. Complicated engines have complicated inherent issues and the 5.4 3v triton is no exception. The problem with the 5.4 3v ... comes down to one single gasket.... thats right... every 5.4 3v and the 4.6 3v experience upper valve train failure because of one single, small gasket, located behind the timing chain tensioner.
When this gasket starts leaking (around 100k), the RH cylinder head becomes starved for lubrication, and the mechanical bits of that head start to fail. The same is true of ALL Ford 3v modular engines, as they contain the identical timing components.
Anyone owning a Ford modular engine, which has reached 85k, should consider having the timing components updated, prior to the tensioner gasket failure occurring. Its an expensive job to replace these components, but it will assure, many hundreds of thousands of miles of operation in the future. With the revised components, fleets are seeing 350 to 400k from these engines.
So the engines are not "Garbage" as this video proclaims, but they do have an inherent design failure in the timing tensioner gasket
Look up Makuloco, he repairs many of these 5.4 engines which continue to run for hundreds of thousands of miles......
Engines with inherent design issues should be avoided - end of story. Moving on......
who in their right mind would buy a truck with an 'inherent' defect that requires an expensive fix in the first place, when you can just buy something else?
Ikr from a consumer view you buy a car and you drive it why would you put yourself at such financial risk?
Day Walker said it, if an engine has a major defect, don't buy a vehicle with it.
Don’t get me wrong there are people who don’t mind taking on those vehicles with issues, but they have a big passion for their vehicles, they know the vehicle inside/out and all its shortcomings really well, and want to make it better so they fix them in the aftermarket. Also, they have money in their pockets. But the vast majority of people are not like them, and if they are posting a question here on this forum about what truck/vehicle to get I am willing to bet they are not like those folks I mentioned - no offense to anyone. They would have already done all their homework and research and know exactly what they are getting themselves into. I know plenty of them, but they are not your average car buyer. Anyhow, case closed!
What I'm saying is that on this forum the answers are more given towards the average person who doesn't have that much money or wants to DIY for everything.
For the average person I'd avoid the F-150 with that setup.
4.6l 3v has the same issues
solution, don't get the 3 valve motors
ford f150 or toyota tacoma
Well, those are the three trucks that Scotty recommends most frequently - for what it's worth, you could probably get the best gas mileage for the Frontier, and you are more likely to find a decent one for $10k. Good luck, trucking and fishing!
Honestly the Frontier seems to actually be a decent truck. It will definitely be the cheapest option between the 3 you mentioned. Of course the Toyota is going to be the top spot but it will also be the most expensive. I’d disregard the F150 if I just needed a good kayak/ put around truck.
If you want good fuel economy, get an SUV and a roof rack for the kayak.
You know it's interesting, everyone says avoid the Ford 5.4 3-valve, but watching the surplus auctions here my state has been selling off 2007 and 2010-2011 pickups with this engine that still run and go with anywhere from 150,000 to 250,000 miles on them. They don't sell for a lot, under two grand usually, but they do still seem to drive okay.
10K is not a lot of money if you want a clean, lower mileage or a large truck right now. You might have to look at trucks that are 10-15 years old to find one in your price range. Why demand is so high I don't really understand.
My dad has a 2013 F150 with a 5.0 I think (not the three valve deal) and it will get close to 20 highway in 2WD, at least if the monitor is to be believed. I would expect a 2WD to do better.
I don't find it surprising that only the survivors make it to auction. Nobody is saying that 100% of them fail.