1989 Ford F150 Lariat 5.8

Summary:

Very reliable and never has left me stranded

Faults:

Nothing mechanical has gone wrong with this truck. Things like the seats are worn on the driver side, and the pulleys make noise.

General Comments:

It runs strong gets good mileage for a old truck about 11mpg. I installed a 3" flow master exhaust, K&N Filter, and a Vortec Cyclone. Will melt the tires if you want it to. Very happy with this truck.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd August, 2006

22nd Aug 2006, 15:12

Just curious, but what would your idea of "bad" gas mileage be?

8th May 2009, 09:47

351w EFI are damn strong motors. They will take anything you throw at them. I had a 302HO pos blow the intake when I was racing an 07 Mustang!

1989 Ford F150 Custom 4.9L inline six

Summary:

Does what I ask her to do, but..

Faults:

79,000 Front brake overhaul (calipers, rotors, caliper pistons, tie rod ends)

81,000 New paint (recall)

90,000 Replaced tensioner pulley.

111,000 Overhauled brake calipers and replaced rotors. Replaced fuel selector valve.

105,000 Replaced clutch and slave cylinder, resurfaced flywheel.

112,000 Replaced EGR sensor and throttle body. Ignition switch replaced (recall).

117,000 Replaced accelerator cable (it just snapped on the freeway one night!).

118,000 Replaced alternator/regulator.

126,000 Replaced clutch pedal ("z-bar") and master cylinder.

134,000 Replaced gasket between shift tower and transmission (required dropping transmission) and replaced bolt between frame and transmission.

135,000 Speedometer bounces. Replaced speedometer cable, but to no avail. I'll just live with it.

135,000 Replaced cracked pedal pivot bracket. Replaced both u-joints.

136,000 Replaced/rebuilt clutch plate, disk, and leaking slave cylinder. What the...?

139,000 Replaced water pump, thermostat, starter, and oil pan gasket.

150,000 Replaced main rail fuel pump.

172,000 Replaced radiator.

178,000 Dash supports for clutch pedal broke. Dash support was obsolete and had to be fabricated, though I probably could have gone to a junkyard. Replaced clutch master cylinder.

188,000 Replaced oil pan gasket, oil sending unit, oil pump pick up screen, and rear main seal (plus clutch cover, disc, and throwout bearing because hey, you've already got the thing apart).

207,000 Replaced front rotors.

225,000 Heater core needs to be replaced. Sending unit for rear gas tank hasn't worked in a couple of years. Gauges are iffy.

General Comments:

I've got bigger than stock tires (31.5's, which are not big at all by today's standards), so although my odometer reads 225,000 I've probably got about 250,000 on the truck.

Now, the above list hits the major points and leaves out some of the smaller, more esoteric problems.

I'm quite sure a poltergeist has taken up residence in my truck's electrical system, though thankfully the problems are mostly of a nuisance nature. Ford electrical is, well, Ford electrical; 'nuff said there.

The recall paint job began peeling about 6 years after they repainted. Maybe I should have washed it more, but I think it should have lasted longer anyway.

I have to admit that I have driven this beast as much like a sports-car as is possible for a full-sized truck, meaning lots of hard braking and hard cornering (dual shocks up front make for a rough ride, but prevent sloshiness through the turns). Not much gitty-up off the line with the straight six, but she really does corner like a champ for a 4x4. The point here is that I could have avoided many brake repairs by driving like a normal person.

I don't do a lot of off-roading, but do find it necessary to use four wheel drive every month or two, either in the back-country or working around the ranch. She's capable, but you have to know her limits. She's nice as a four-wheel drive workhorse, but doesn't like playing on Jeep trails.

I've put a lot of money into this truck over the years (I figure about 13 cents per mile in repairs, maintenance, and tires over the last decade), but I've beaten it and neglected it and it keeps on running. I pretty much trust it to do what I ask it to do. I still drive 100 miles round trip to work and back every day, but she's starting to lose power and it's about time to buy a car for commuting and save this ol' girl for real truck work. I'd like to see 300k miles.

Call me old fashioned, but I'll always love my bench seat, manual windows, 5-speed standard, wing windows, and vinyl interior.

Would I buy this truck all over again? Yes, but I'd treat her a little better the second time around.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th July, 2005