Faults:
First, my exhaust manifold on the driver's side wheezed. There is a fair amount of rust present. Aside: when I was looking to buy my truck, I noticed a lot of trucks of this year with this problem.
Transmission went out at 135,000. I had it rebuilt with a heavy duty shift kit and with synthetic oil.
Gas tank rusted out; it cost $300 to replace it. My second tank rusted out not long after; I haven't replaced it.
The starter went out around 145,000 miles.
My automatic locking hubs went out around 150,000 miles.
I replaced the shocks just recently and it rides a lot better.
Last week, the garage replaced my ball joints, front seals, and front disc brakes. ~155,000 miles~
General Comments:
It's high-end power lacks, but the trade-off in gas mileage is OK. This truck is a Super cab short box with a topper. It also has a visor. Best mileage: 18 mpg. Worst mileage: 12 mpg. Wind really affects the mileage.
My first fixing experience with it was a rusted-out spark plug that left the threads in the block. (I thought that first spark plug didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before. ;) ) Advice: change spark plugs before they get too rusty and use anti-seize in the threads of the spark plugs.
The body seems very rust-prone, especially the tailgate, wheel-wells, and door areas. They salt the roads pretty good around here, so what can you expect?
I've put in $3,500 in repairs in three years, 32,000 miles. All in all, I'd say that it was well-built for the use it has given. I've been trying to care for it as best I can, but it's the nature of the beast to suffer aging problems.
Everything in the cab still works like it should. The dash rattles a little.
The engine doesn't use oil, so I use a good synthetic brand:Amsoil.
25th May 2010, 12:23
I know what you mean by harsh Minnesota conditions. I live in Stillwater and am glad to know that a 1995 F-150 holds up. I am about to buy one, and thanks for the review.