1997 Ford F-150

Lariat Standard Cab Pickup

4.6L 281Cu. In. V8 GAS SOHC Naturally Aspirated

Automatic

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Clear

GAS

History: I bought this truck used from Kayser Ford in Madison May ’01 with ~38,000 miles, it was a Georgia vehicle. Five months later I lost my job due to 9/11 and I was forced to sell it. In ~March ’06 I bought the truck back from the same guy I had sold it to! It had ~117,000 miles on it at that time. Today it has ~153,000 miles and aside from what I’ve listed here it is in great shape, it’s my daily driver and it has never let me down. It has the limited slip differential which has proven to be just fine in our Wisconsin winters (three sand bag tubes in the bed usually). Extra non-stock items include…rubber pickup bed mat, Lund pick up bed tonneau cover, 2” receiver hitch wiring for flat or trailer brake systems. Comes with service & repair manual CD and most of the known repair paperwork. Why sell it? I’ve purchase a used Explorer to handle periodic ‘seating for four’ requirements of my new job and while I had been holding onto it for my son to drive he’ll also need a vehicle that seats four. What is wrong with the truck besides it only being able to seat three? Interior: 1. CD#2 in the 6-CD deck eats CD’s, avoid that slot as it is a trick getting the CD back out! 2. The cover over the cigarette lighter outlets won’t stay closed, and I think one of the two outlets is intermittently not working, that or my GPS is on the fritz. 3. The headliner sags slightly, hasn’t gotten any worse in two years. The root cause was a minor leak in the rear sliding window which required a whole new rear window assembly replacement! THAT was an expensive repair which I’m told is fairly common w/ ‘97’s with the sliding window option. Fear not, I replaced it with the redesigned version. 4. Recently the key remote fob won’t work the door locks and I suspect it is more than just a dead battery. I’m using the key. 5. The center portion of the leather seat has gouges from previous owners time, not sure what caused them I suspect a metal lunch box. 6. The side mirror remote switch won’t move the mirrors in two of the four directions. Probably needs to be removed and sprayed with switch cleaner or replaced all together. 7. The ignition switch has been replaced so the ignition key is different from the door lock. You can have a locksmith adjust the cylinder to be the same but that is costly. 8. While it hasn’t happened in months the combination of overfilling the gas tank and not getting the cap on tight will cause a check engine light error. Once you go through about ¾ a tank and refill it (without overfilling, and get the cap on right) the error light resets. This was annoying until I figured it out. Dealer tried to sell me a whole new gas tank filler tube assembly for $450 just before the gas tank strap recall came out. I replaced the problem gas tank strap and have a new spare for the other strap...just in case. 9. It has two very small windshield chips that have been repaired with that special resin technique. Neither is in the driver line of sight and they’ve been there for years with no change in condition. Exterior body: 1. The rear taillight lens is cracked 2. Surface rust has starting on both the rear quarter panels near the rear bumper (see photos). Left is worse than the right. Wish I would have put the mud flaps on sooner this could have been avoided. I think these spots can still be easily repaired with just surface work in the spring. 3. Some rust pits beginning on chrome bumper near license plate. I rust polish most of it out annually, this photo is at its worst from rust dust bleed. 4. The bottom edge of both doors where the outer skin is folded over the inner skin has the beginnings of rust. I’ve scraped it down primed and painted the bottom of both doors. Rather than painting them tan I painted them black. This can’t be seen from the outside and it doesn’t stand out when the door is open as the truck is two-tone black on the bottom anyway. The outside viewable lower edge of the door is still fine. Again, had I added the mud flaps earlier this could have been avoided. 5. Small dent left quarter panel behind the mud flap, very minor. Caused by split firewood chunk flipping up when driven over. 6. Front chrome bumper has a dent behind the license plate. Chrome is intact just dented. 7. Plastic under the front bumper is dented, photo shows this well. I suspect the dent could be popped out the crack of course is there to stay. 8. The front vertical wall of the pick up box has a small dent in it from when the roto-tiller slid forward at a mild stop. Everyone is entitled to one stupid moment hauling guy stuff, this was mine. The two photos show it pretty well. 9. Rear tail gate and box show some wear and minor dents from use, pretty normal stuff. 10. Worst spot is a patched area right side lower left corner of the cab at the door edge (see photo). These trucks rust out here, but this was caused by a landscape bolder that, when brushed in the dark of night while juggling hot coffee pushed through the already thinning body metal in that spot . My fall repair is creative but crude (metal bread pan tin & bondo) not very visible from a distance as it is in the black space. The edge of the door was affected slightly (see photos). There is a scuff that continues on from that spot back towards the right rear wheel opening, but it is minor. I fixed this fast due to winter coming on with full intensions of finishing it off better come spring. 11. Typical nicks, scuffs, and door dings you’d see on a 15 year old vehicle, photos are of the worst spots. What has been replaced recently? Fuel system idle air control motor & throttle assembly cleaning 08-23-12, tires 03-30-11, serpentine belt, alternator & starter 8-1-10, spark plugs & wires (high end ones!) 7-26-10, rear window assembly 6-2-10, headlight bulbs & lens housings 5-27-10, battery 7-11-09, ball joints & control arm 7-18-07, gas tank strap recall 5-27-10, A/C compressor 6-15-07, speed control recall 9-14-06, muffler from header pipe back 3-3-07. Front & rear brakes at 128995 miles, assorted little stuff, I like to keep my cars in good order and I’ve only driven 36K miles in six years. Paperwork and mileage on all this is available. Previous owner didn’t do much other than brakes, tires and shocks as I recall (no paperwork on that).