My family has owned this vehicle since April of 1989, and it has given us hardly any problems.

Features:

The F-150 at this time (and until their total redesign in 1997) came in various levels of luxury. The lowest is "custom," followed by "XL," and finally the "Lariat." It was available in both four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive, and was a standard rear wheel drive. It is recommended as a half-ton truck, but we have used ours to haul over a ton, and it was fine.

Engines, unless specially ordered, were straight-6 cylinders. The 150's were all made with four-speed manual transmissions.

Capabilities:

For a 4x4, this is an excellent vehicle, especially for hauling heavy loads. In 4L (the lowest speed of 4x4), top speed is 25 mph in fourth gear doing over 3000 rpm. The truck can get itself out of anywhere.

The maximum highway speed that the truck should do is 65 mph, because it is only a four speed.

Problems:

Two days after we bought it, it inextricably simply quit to function right in the middle of the road, forcing a tow and a week at the mechanics. The problem turned out to be a bad wire connection.

We have replaced the clutch twice, but this is probably only because it is so old. (By the way, if you find yourself driving one on a paved road, don't bother with first gear-- just start in second, it's about as low as the first gear on your average car. Also, you cannot put the truck into first gear if you are not at a complete stop.)

Recently, the solenoid went bad and had to be replaced (if your car won't start, or makes a bad grinding noise at the start, as if you have turned the key too far, it is probably a bad solenoid).

Occasionally, after about an hour of driving at 65 mph, the rpm will not drop after the clutch is depressed; I have no idea why, but if this happens, just turn off the car and wait about ten minutes.

As with any car, the key to a long life and only a few problems is regular maintenance: get the oil changed every 5000 miles or so, use the gas (octane level) and oil that the manufacturer recommends, and keep it clean (to prevent rust, mold growing in air vents, and air filters clogging up).

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.