High Mileage Birds (how reliable?)

[wm_sorg]

Hi Guys,

This my first post to the forum. I have seen some good pricing on high mileage birds lately. I have narrowed my search to a few birds with the 4.6 drivetrain with mileage ranging from 111k to 146k.

I am looking to get about a year or so out of the car. However I want the car to be reliable. I plan on doing regular maintenance when I get it. Are there any issues with the 4.6 that I should ba aware of?

How about suspension, etc?

If the car was reasonable maintained, how much life does it have left in it? Any high mileage birds on the forum? Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Regards,
BILL

[Rolling-Thunder]

I have 196,000 miles on my car, and most everything is original. This includes engine, tranny, driveshaft, hub bearings, bushings, etc.

What I have replaced so far is;

1. Both outer tie-rods.
2. radiator.
3. strut rod bushing
4. rear springs and shocks (upgraded to the heavier sport springs/shocks)
5. Brake pads and rotors (obviously)
6. three piece-cat. converter assembly

some things to "look out" for;

1. Tranny/ torque converter condition. Look at tranny fluid, too
2. Head gasket leak, passenger side rear (4.6 only)
3. U-joints.
4. Cat. converters. (may need replacing)
5. Broken springs (check all four)


Just some ideas, based on my own experiences.

[wm_sorg]

Thank you for your response. That's some great miles. Did you buy it new?

What mileage did the car have when you replaced those items?

How well do the ball joints hold up? Does it have them on all wheels because of the IRS?

[Rolling-Thunder]

When I bought it, it was one year old, and had 20,000 miles on it.

The three-catalytic converter piece was changed at 110,000 miles.

The radiator was replaced around 130,000 miles.

The left outer tie-rod went at 190,000 miles (they are greaseable)

The shocks were fine, just wanted the Sport spring'shock combo.

Both left side springs were broken, but at the very bottom.

There are no ball joints on the rear, front only, upper & lowers.

Mine are still the original ones.

[wm_sorg]

Thanks again. Does it still drive tight? Any looseness in the steering box? Are the water pump starter and alt still original? Sorry for the questions I have no experience with these cars.

[Rolling-Thunder]

Yes, it still drives tight.

Now that you mention it, I did replace the water pump at 193,000 miles, but only because winter is approaching. It was still working fine, and did not leak.

The starter is original, as is the alternator. I did replace the voltage regulator.

[wm_sorg]

That's great reliabilty. Is this common with theses cars? How hard do you run it? How difficult was it to change the water pump? How tough was it to change the spark plugs? I think I am going to pick one up.

[Rolling-Thunder]

The car is my daily driver, and I put about 25,000 miles (mostly interstate)
a year on it.

My car is not an exception, but you should give this car a good once over, and have a mechanic look at it too, before you buy it.

My 85 Cougar LS with 5.0 v8 gave me 220,677 miles, with original everything.

be sure to visit www.tccoa.com, and study up more. In the forums section, use the search button to check the mileage experiences posted there.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

[Birdman93]

From personal experience, a 5.0/AOD is more reliable than the 4.6L/Auto-whatever combination.

Lots of issues with that later tranny.

When I bought my 93, it had 80K-in two years I put over 100k miles, and only did tuneups and a water pump.

This weekend, I lost the OD band-at 215k miles.

[Rolling-Thunder]

Originally Posted by Birdman93

Lots of issues with that later tranny.

There are a few things you can do to improve the life of the 4r70w tranny, which is what is in the 94's and up.

1. Flush out ALL the old tranny fluid, and switch over to MerconV (Ford TSB advises this to cure TC shudder)

2. Install an auxillary tranny cooler. (Heat is the enemy here)

3. Upgrade the 1-2 accumulator and springs. (94 & 95's were problematic)

4. Replace the MLPS (94 & 95's were problematic)

5. Install a 96 or newer tranny pan and filter. (this has a deep sump in it)

NOTE: 96 and newer tranny's are improved over the 94 & 95

6. Modify the tranny per the Tech Articles over at www.tccoa.com
These modifications were reccomended by the Ford engineer that helped design the tranny.


Not to argue, but the 4.6 is leaps and bounds better than 5.0
4.6's have run routinely up to 200,000 and 300,000 miles.
There are plenty of Ford and aftermarket performance parts available to increase the horsepower of the motor.

One of the newly discovered upgrades is to swap in a 2002 Ford Explorer motor.
This all aluminum setup offers way more horsepower, and is lighter than a PI'd motor.

[Birdman93]

I have yet to see ANY 4.6L go over 200k without a major problem-the 5.0L I have has run 215K with oil changes, tuneups and one water pump-never had an intake crack on the 5.0L.

I also have a 72 Econoline van that has over 450k on the original motor/3spd manual transmission(302)-oil changes and tuneups, and one water pump on that motor as well.

Like to see a 4.6L copy that feat.

[Rolling-Thunder]

Originally Posted by Birdman93

I have yet to see ANY 4.6L go over 200k without a major problem.

That's cool. I'm at 197,000 right now, so you practically know of one at this point.

There are members over at www.tccoa.com with 200,000 - 300,000 miles on theirs'.

Plus, NYC has lots of them, in YELLOW painted Fords...lol

A more interesting question, how many 3.8's have made it that far?

[wm_sorg]

Well. I almost had it but I got out bid at the last moment. I am mad because this one was real clean. I have a line on another 94 that needs a y pipe to the cat. I suspect that this will be in the 400 range if I do not do it myself. This one has 162K on it. I will be looking at it this weekend.

[Rolling-Thunder]

Didn't realize you were bidding on these cars.

Hope you have a chance to inspect them before you accept title.

Otherwise, it's just a roll of the dice...............good luck.

[wm_sorg]

I will. I found one here locally. Still knid of a gamble with the high miles.