1997 Ford F150 XL from North America - Comments

Wow whoever said there battery lasted 10 years I've never ever heard of that before I've been working on trucks my whole life must of been a dang good one wow.

I own a 1997 F-150 4x4 4.6L with 99,000 miles. I have had very few issues other than the transmission slipping a few times which was fixed by changing the oil and the engine idling rough sometimes. I recently have been hearing the ring and pinion gears humming, and have just discovered the transmission front seal leaking. Overall I am very happy with this truck. (i also have had the body tearing issues on both doors by the windows as mentioned above)

I own a 97 F150 4.6 5spd, 3 door 4x4. Bought it new, it has 202000 on it now. By far the best truck I've ever owned. List of things that I've replaced or repaired:

Radiator, epoxied tubes let go at 150K.

Alternator, brushes wore out at 125K. (I use the winch alot, which could have caused this)

Door ajar light and dome randomly stayed on... finally found the fix, the electrical switch inside the door latch gets jamed with dirt and old grease, a little WD40 and it works like new again.

Original clutch, trans, transfer case and pumkins, changed the fluids at 150K.

Original ujoints front and rear... still tight.

For it's 200K birthday, I've redone all BJ's, tierod ends, wheel hubs and bearings, installed a 6" Fabtect lift and 35" BigO XT's. I'm in love all over again. Drives like it's new again. I would buy another one in a heart beat if something happen to mine.

Hi, I own a 1997 Ford F150 4.2 V6 5 speed super cab. I bought the truck used in 2006 with 42,000 on it; now 175,000. I have only replaced the front brakes and the battery. Otherwise, it is the best truck ever.

I run the truck hard every day. It gets better gas mileage than a V8, and all my friends with Chevy trucks with the 5.7 cannot beat me. I will never own nothing but a Ford.

1997 F-150, 4x4, 3 door, 4.6 liter. I have just over 89,000 miles on this truck and am rather disappointed in it and Ford. This is my 7th or 8th Ford truck and the only one that is a money pit. The rear wheel seals have been replaced, inner and outer tie rods, pittman arm, rotors and drums, several sensors (and the check engine light is still on), various minor engine oil leaks that keep the engine bay a mess, one power mirror that quit working, sagging rear suspension, quirky transmissions shifts and unexplained rough idle at times. This truck gets driven approximately 40 miles each day (20 miles each way) to and from work, on the highway. It is a dog and only gets 11.25 MPG. This is definitely not like the Ford trucks that I used to count on.

The fella that said don't buy a newly designed truck is way off base. What should happen? Ford leaves all newly designed vehicles on the lot until they get the bugs worked out years later. That was a pretty poor excuse for poor design and engineering.

I have a 1997 Ford F150 4.6 4X4 with only 75000 miles on it, and have been very pleased with it. I would have bet it would have gone 200,000 with no problem. Took it out the other day, went 3mi. and it blew the head gasket. No warning at all. What a let down.

I have a 97 F-150 4x4 4.6 automatic. Its up to 96,000 and has never had any major problems, the engine and transmission are still in great condition. My only concern with this truck is that it seems to be developing a lot of rust on the undercarriage, to the point that it may no longer pass inspection in the years to come.