New to me 2000 F150. Typical quirks and fixes?

[Frank]

While I have had fox bodies, I have never had a Ford truck or any modmotor before so this is all new to me. This is my first truck from this century. I needed a get-me-by truck and picked up a 2000 F150, 4.6 auto last night.

Is there some condensed list somewhere I can get up to speed quickly on what are common ailments with these trucks? It has had new plugs in the past year, but it feels like it has an occasional miss. No check engine light, but I haven't had any chance to run codes yet.

Aside from cosmetics, it seems pretty solid. I have one headlight that is really dim and the oil filter adapter has a slow leak, but otherwise pretty clean underneath.

[Juiced4v]

Make sure this is fixed. I had mine burn to the ground.

Ford recalled 1994-2002 model year F-150 pickups, Expeditions, Navigators and Broncos in September 2006 because of engine fires linked to the cruise control switch system. That recall was the fifth largest in history.

The brake fluid in the recalled vehicles may leak through the speed control deactivation switch into the speed control system electrical components, potentially corroding them and leading to fires, the company said.

There've been a series of recalls to fix similar problems in other Ford truck models.

Shelton said he is not a greedy man. He was only asking Ford for the value of his 1994 Ford Explorer and damages to the driveway.

"My daughter narrowly escaped the fire," he wrote. But he considers himself lucky. "If she had been driving down the road minutes later, she would have died as a result of the fire."

After more than 150 reports to ConsumerAffairs.com of Ford trucks catching on fire for no apparent reason, many readers and owners of the Ford trucks have adopted a new self-defense tactic: they no longer park the vehicles near their house or in their garage.

[johnboy]

Head over to f150forum and check it out. Good guys, lots of info. I've been a member since I picked up my 08 about 5 years ago.

[JC316]

Heater core, window motors, leaky back glass, the cruise control module, water in the spark plug holes when it rains, and the odometer not working are the more common issues.

[Trip McNeely]

I've had about 5 recalls for my 2016. What is it with Fords and the inability to keep water out of the cabins of their vehicles? I've about had it with modern Fords.

[Shaggin Wagon]

I've had about 5 recalls for my 2016. What is it with Fords and the inability to keep water out of the cabins of their vehicles? I've about had it with modern Fords.

I've never seen so many Fords with water leaks, its quite comical, or sad, not sure which....

[Trip McNeely]

I've never seen so many Fords with water leaks, its quite comical, or sad, not sure which....

I thought it was an isolated issue with my 2006 Mustang, and here we are with a 10 year newer truck now and same shit. I'm really looking hard at the new Rams. A few more months and I'll have my truck paid off and I think I'm done.

[Frank]

Heater core, window motors, leaky back glass, the cruise control module, water in the spark plug holes when it rains, and the odometer not working are the more common issues.

Ha! Yeah, I stumbled upon your youtube run down. I have an intermittent miss. Thinking its one of the coils. CEL is on hindering my ability to get it inspected and registered.

[Frank]

My old 95 GMC the rear pinion bearings gave out just short of 350k. I want to put it back on the road though. Just more comfortable to me.

[shumpertdavid]

Coils are a common failure. If it's a light miss then it may not have flagged a specific cylinder with a trouble code yet. There are ways to narrow down the problem cylinder if someone has access to a scanner that will let them look at the Mode 6 data and test i.d. 51 or 53 (I can never remember until I'm on that screen)

As stated above, the heater cores go bad from time to time, if you have to replace it I strongly recommend replacing the blend door as well. Whomever does the work will be looking right at it when they do the core replacement.

If it has EGR, the DPFE sensor fails from time to time and will set a code for low or excessive Egr flow depending on how it fails.

All in all they are great trucks.

[JC316]

Ha! Yeah, I stumbled upon your youtube run down. I have an intermittent miss. Thinking its one of the coils. CEL is on hindering my ability to get it inspected and registered.

That was one of my early ones and I really didn't cover a whole lot. Very likely the coils. Get on Ebay and get a set for cheap, my dad put 100K miles on a set without issue, all for the price of one from a parts place.

[Frank]

Upon closer examination this weekend, I found that the previous owner paid a cheap "mechanic" to replace the plugs. 4 coils are loose because the bolts are broken off or not tightened down at all. At this point I am not even convinced all 8 plugs truly got changed, so I will be doing them again. I suspect the 2 not tightened (like an 1/8" of gap between the coil and the head of the bolt) are cross threaded so I don't wan't to make it worse. At least 1 broken one has enough shank I might be able to grip it with vise grips, but I'd still need to chase the threads. Are these bolts really that fragile to break easy or just someone was extra careless?

SONOFA....

[blandnuts]

I know I had a few that were messed up. Person before me used the wrong socket too. Hopefully, you don't end up having issues with the plugs/heads...

[JC316]

Upon closer examination this weekend, I found that the previous owner paid a cheap "mechanic" to replace the plugs. 4 coils are loose because the bolts are broken off or not tightened down at all. At this point I am not even convinced all 8 plugs truly got changed, so I will be doing them again. I suspect the 2 not tightened (like an 1/8" of gap between the coil and the head of the bolt) are cross threaded so I don't wan't to make it worse. At least 1 broken one has enough shank I might be able to grip it with vise grips, but I'd still need to chase the threads. Are these bolts really that fragile to break easy or just someone was extra careless?

SONOFA....

Very common on the mod motor. Nearly every one I've ever owned had at least one issue with those bolts.

[krazy kris]

I know there was a few years they would blow plugs out of the damn motor. A few people I know have had to have them fixed several times.