New engine or new vehicle ?

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BlackCoffee

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When I rebuilt the engine and transmission, replaced a few air conditioner parts, and did a lot of updating it ran about $5K with my own labor. Just a couple of things I worry about. First, just because you live in the south doesn't mean you don't have rust. Most of the rust is from water that does not drain after a rainy drive. The radiator support rusts because it allows water to pool near the mounts. The inner and outer rockers rust because water gets inside and sits there. Same thing with the square cross members. I would really inspect for rust, got to get it up on a rack and do a real good look at things. The second concern is that one day, a part will fail and no replacement exists. I was lucky enough to get a few things at the junk yard that weren't available anywhere else. I don't worry about the drivetrain, that is in good shape and you can get most parts associated with the engine, transmission, axles, wheels, brakes, and steering. It is the 2nd gen electronics that will cause problems.
 

SEPTIC PROFESSOR

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Dude, you know it's time to sell it for scrap, and then you'll have a few bucks in your pocket, lots of
other guys stop the bleeding that way.
 

Gumbyalso

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I agree with driving it until it dies and selling it for scrap vice putting a new engine in an '03. I have a 2000 5.4L I've had since new with 330K miles on it. I've done about 95% of the work on it. The only engine work was a new intake manifold at about 210K. They're plastic and they crack. I've been running Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak at every oil change for at least the last 100K with some Pennzoil Platinum 10w30. No noise, no leaks and gets about the same mileage it always has. The transmission has never been touched other than fluid & screen changes every 30K. The ABS control unit broke once, but I had it rebuilt for about $120 over ten years ago and it's worked fine. Rust is an issue especially around the radiator, rocker panels and roof and I'm slowly losing the battle to keep it under control. I will drive it until it quits, but I agree that parts are getting harder to find. I tried to find the original PCV valve (EV-238) and found that Ford does not stock them. And try to buy some decent original green coolant... You have to order Valvoline Zerex Original Green if you can find it. My wife has an '11 which has the 3V 5.4L. It has 203K and has had zero engine or transmission issues. Other than the seat heaters has had almost no issues at all. We will drive that one until it quits as well. Given the current chip shortage and new & used car market, I would drive whatever you have as long as you can (or until you have to put a motor in it).
 

rjdelp7

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You didn't mention what is wrong with the engine. This era and 1st gen are good to 300k-400K miles, easy. The 1st gen were on list in the the top 10, for vehicles to last. Ford used simple engines and esp, the transmission were very stout and well built. The transmission in the 1st gen have a massive, 4 speed truck transmission. With normal light driving, will last. The no frills 2V V8, will eat gas, but keep going. Buying 'new' doesn't prevent repairs. There are plenty on this forum, with bad cam phasers and a car payment.
 

Frank Swygert

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Depends on the condition of the vehicle and how much you like it. I have about $18k plus many hours of labor in my 1963 Rambler Classic wagon. Newer drivetrain (Jeep 4.0l EFI and auto OD trans, 88 Jag IRS), newer seats, etc. ... customized but still looks period. If it wasn't replaced it was rebuilt. I did this in 2003 and still have the car. Reliable, would drive it cross country tomorrow. But I keep tow insurance on it because a break-down is possible. I started with a near perfect body that needed very little rust repair and stripped it down and put it back together the way I wanted though.

If you have other issues than just engine, or you not dedicated to keeping it long term don't start. I've rebuilt a couple older Ramblers as i was driving them in the 90s. For a while an old vehicle still in apparently good condition will seem like it's nickel and diming you to death. Be prepared for that! I've bought one or two that people just got tired of fixing little things, only to fix a few more and be done for a while. I also kept one i rebuilt in the mid 80s for 14 years -- long enough to have to start the renovating process all over again since it was a daily driver all those years.

Modern vehicles are a lot more complicated, harder to do all this and more expensive. But it can be done. How much is your time worth, and how much do you like the vehicle and doing some of the work, and what are your capabilities? Another consideration is how much you can spend. If you can afford payments on something newer that frees up your time to do other things, but not much help if you can no longer afford those things since you have a $500 payment (and higher insurance costs).

No one can make these decisions for you. What works best for you may not work at all for me...
 

joethefordguy

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i found a low mileage police package second generation a couple of years ago for right at 5 grand. It is in near new condition (I speculate it was an admin or command car for a fire department) so i intend to keep it maintained. i expect to see hundreds of thousands of miles out of it. I anticipate putting engines, transmissions, etc. in it over time.
My comparison is the cost of a new vehicle, or even a used one in at least as good condition as mine. payments seem to run about 6 grand a year or so. so far, all the maintenance, including tires, brakes, some upgrades, gas and oil - everything but insurance - including the original purchase price, has cost me just over 13 grand for an excellent 4x4 with 107,000 miles on it.
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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That and the car transmits to the manufacturer every few minutes. Your data is only as safe as the least trust worthy employees with access to the information.

1. It isn't transmitting anything unless you're allowing it. Data transmission requires an internet connection that is either coming from Ford (you're paying for it) or your phone.
2. Who cares?
 

Lee_H

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Question should center on 'how is the rest of the truck'? The engine is a biggie to replace. Is this a work vehicle? Anything special that is hard to move to another vehicle? I stopped anything newer for me at 2004 due to the engine going from 2 valve to 3 valve (far less reliable and repair-able). I know the spark plug thing exist but can be worked around. New eco-engines are being blown up with trailer test on youtube as well. No replacement for displacement rang true I guess. Very hard to justify replacing a vehicle part by part, unless restoring it all at once. Transmission, axles, computer, four wheel drive transfer and rusted body parts all make up the package.
 

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