1998 Ford F-150

Pickup Truck

4.6L 8 CYLINDER

Automatic

1FTZX1767WNA30482

Clear

RWD

Gasoline

1998 Ford F-150 4.6L V8 SOHC 16V Super-cab. NEEDS ENGINE WORK. I am not a mechanic but will do my best to explain what has occurred. I have been hearing air gurgling in the heater core for about 8 to 12 months. I also noticed that heater has not been as hot as previous winters and the heat just blows out luke-warm air. A couple of weeks ago the truck over heated. The temp gauge quickly went to hot while I was sitting at a stoplight. As soon as the hot light came on, about 20 seconds later the temp gauge dropped quickly and went back to normal. The degasser tank on the radiator overflowed a bit and sprayed some fluid out. I dumped more 50/50 mix and thought it was good to go figuring it was low on fluid. Yesterday I started the truck to warm it up before work and it did it again. I came out to go to work and the windshield was not defrosted. Instead, the truck overheated and blew a lot of radiator fluid out into the driveway. The temp gauge was on hot, and the SES light was on. I shut the vehicle off. I am a AAA member so I had it towed to the shop. The owner / mechanic of the shop filled it with coolant and ran it for 45 minutes with no problems. He did a pressure check on the coolant system and found no leaks. The mechanic thinks that there is probably a compression leak. This puts air into coolant. He said there was evidence of a slight amount of moisture inside the oil cap. They measured the engine compression and the passenger side was fine but the drivers side was on the 80's. Whatever that means. The mechanic thinks that there is either a bad head gasket or a cracked head allowing the coolant to be burned off with the exhaust and /or adding air to the coolant system, thus the gurgling that was heard in the heater core. Again, I am not a mechanic, but am doing my best to re-create what I was told. I trust the mechanic and have found him to be an honest person. With repairs to the top of the engine (heads) being estimated between $2200 to $2500 I must say good-bye to my truck. I have owned it for a little over 5 years and have really had no problems with it. I really hate to part with it but I cannot justify the repair costs. However, I think that this would be a great vehicle for someone that is mechanically inclined and can fix themselves. I drove it to work today with no problems other than the heat is not that hot. The mechanic warned that it will over heat again if the fluid gets low, and to keep my eye on it. The good news is that it can probably be driven some distance should you decide to purchase it. Since I have owned the truck I have put 23,000 miles on it in a little over 5 years. In the last couple of years I had new brakes and rotors on the front and replaced the tires. Within the last year replaced the brake lines going to the rear brakes as well as replaced the leaf spring shackles. One of the shackles rusted and broke last wither and the spring went through the bed. I screwed down a piece of tin with tar on it an sealed it to fix the hole that was created. It is shown in one of the pictures. The bad: I took a bunch of pictures and have tried to point out every flaw that comes to mind The clear coat is flaking off on the passenger side of the truck and on the top of the bed cover. See pictures There are rust holes on the lower rear quarters panels on both sides. See pictures There are some flaws in the body / paint on the passenger side. See pictures. Very small dent on the tailgate. See picture The patch where the leaf spring went through the bed. See picture. The good: The truck runs and drives very well and feels very solid. It runs down the highway without shaking or drifting. The steering is tight. The interior is clean. The AC has always worked very well. I have the title. Please email me with any questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer them. This vehicle is sold as is. Thanks for looking.