1996 Ford F150 XLT from North America - Comments

My 1996 F-150 5.0 has been a big disappointment. The 4-wheel drive is out for the second time. Poor gas mileage and an uncomfortable ride. I changed the transmission fluid and some type of valve (resembled a mushroom) dropped in the transmission pan--I couldn't find where to replace it. I have about 74000 miles on it. Poor acceleration--transmission seems to work hard during acceleration. Brakes grab especially during wet weather. My 1983 I-6 had 190,000 miles and ran great. That's why I bought a 1996 but I hope I'm finished with Fords for a while.

I own a 1996 xlt f 150.. I've owned it for about two years already. I currently have 191000 and it runs like a true ford. add ons to the truck have been a k & n air filter kit. Headman headers, two new performance cats, two flowmasters, true dual all the way out to the side of the truck... drives great and gave me no problems when driving from houston tx to san diego california... the most reliable truck I have ever owned... gas mileage isn't the best I must admit. and I have had a problem trying to program the truck with a hypertech after market power programmer... 302 is one of the best engines ford has made... I average a good 18 mpg in the city and on highway it runs a solid 21 mpg... the add ons realy make a diffrence. before when it was stock it gave me close to 15mpg in the city and 17 on highway.. my heart remains with ford why cause its the best in texas...

I'm not sure where all these negative comments come from. I'm still driving a 1996 F-150 XLT with the 4.9L I-6.

The truck looks and runs like new with 230,000 miles on it. The engine has never been touched. The only things I've had to do are brakes, shocks, ball joints. Clutch is still original.

I owned a 1996 Ford F150 XLT 5.0 auto from new to 2004. Great truck for me. I pulled a boat and trailer and had no trouble with power. Never had a problem other than normal maintenance. It never caught on fire so I guess I'm lucky.

The stock tires were very bad on wet roads. I replaced them after 40,000 miles with Michelin XLT's which worked great.

Sold it with 133,000 miles and the new owner is very happy with his purchase.

I have a '96 F150 XLT I6 with 48K miles, bought new, and it's a total waste of money. I have had nothing but problems with this truck.

Engine light comes on in cold weather, one cylinder will not fire in cold, terrible gas mileage, had to replace directional due to a short. ($400) Clutch slipping, 4 wheel drive went out and had to fix. Hard time getting it out 4 wheel drive.

I went to get some warranty work done on it at a dealership three times for loud winding noise in the drive train, and was told that was normal in short box trucks. I then took it to different mechanic and he said that the rear differential spider gears were not lined up properly and would cost $1000 to fix. I took it back to the dealership and explained that to them and they said that I voided my warranty by taking it to another mechanic.

I will not ever buy another Ford truck as long as I live. I grew up with Ford trucks, but it only takes one and bad mechanical support to drive me to go another manufacturer. Time to buy a Toyota or Nissan.

I ran Ford Trucks all my life... and still continue to.

Right now I have a 1989 Bronco with 158,000 miles on it.. ugly as sin, but a great plow truck.

A 1989 2 wheel drive F-150 with 273,000 miles on it, engine doesn't even burn oil and the body don't have hardly any rust!

A 1996 4x4 F-150 that I bought at 105,000 miles and ran it virtually trouble free for 10 years, now it has the check engine light problem and loss of power, poor gas mileage. My think tank of mechanics says it might be blocked converters... it also blew an exhaust leak in the manifold gasket... which seems to confirm this. If anyone has had any experience with blocked converters on these, I'd like to hear from you...

Just picked up a used 1999... I haven't driven it enough yet to weed out any issues, but it seems to have a front end vibration at 50mph range. Maybe a wheel or tire problem, hopefully nothing more.. all the joints are good?

My older ones are all 4.9 straight 6's with 5 speed manual tranny. That was the best combination Ford ever made. 302's had issues and not really any more power for the extra gas they used. New one is the V-6... just don't have a power, hopefully it'll hold up so I can get my money out of it. I wish they still made the 4.9.

Hello all.

Its great that everyone is being open about their experience with these trucks, it helps give potential buyers a handle on what they might be buying.

My mother's family has been collectively driving Ford trucks and cars practically since the first one rolled off the line.

To be fair my dad started life as a full out GM guy. After he married mom and started to drive his father-in-law's Ford products, he was convinced to buy one himself - 1983 F250 Supercab longbox with a 351 and 4 spd. It outpulled his 83 GMC 2500 reg cab 350 and 4spd routinely. After that he has been buying Ford trucks for over 20 years now. I grew up in a red 1983 F150 Supercab and a 1992 F150 Supercab, and both trucks have given us 400,000+kms and close to 20 years service collectively.

First the bad, Fords 302, 351, and 400 small block Windsors are notorious for blowing a piston @ about 200,000kms (at least in our harsh Canadian climate). We have put new engines in both are trucks as they both served well past 300,000km each. We figure over 10-15 years a $3000 repair bill once is acceptable maintenance, given that we have virtually zero other problems beyond basic maintenance.

Second, the front twin I beam is one of the smoothest and hardiest suspensions known to man. It served well over 30 years in the Ford truck/van lineup. It is prone to wear tires out quicker than A arm style suspension, but takes a hell of a beating along the way.

Third, if you own a Ford, the leaks are free... just add oil (s) and forget about it.

Fourth, older Fords are a little harder on gas but the power payoff is worth the compromise IMO. Compare a 302 with a 305 Chev and it's clearly day and night... in fact we have dusted off many of a 350 powered GM with our many Ford v8s.

The Good:

The most reliable vehicles my family has ever owned. My uncle has had a GM and a Dodge in the time we have had a latest Ford. He laments the day he left the Ford village. The 83 GM aforementioned had thousands upon thousands of repair bills in the years we owned it... and the body was completely shook off. I can't deny the years of service from the general around our place, but we got tired of bodies that shook off by 200,000km and low payload capacities. At least at 200,000km our Ford chassis were still worth putting a motor into... we couldn't say that for the many Chevs and Dodges we have owned as well.

I have tried to be fair to all makes represented here, but if there is any question were our loyalties lie, my dad is currently shopping for a 3rd 10 year old Ford F150 (we buy them low miles and older).

Thanks and happy motoring!