Ford 4.3 V6 opinions

Looking at a runabout, 98 Ford F150 4.2 5 speed manual, not for towing, is the engine any good?

I can't type today, 4.2 liter

Steve

I remember driving those trucks, same year, with both the 4.2 and 4.6. 2WD with automatics. I thought the 4.2 was a bit quicker, and other guys agreed. Construction fleet, we had tons of these things and the 4.6 from those years in the truck was pretty slow.

So, I think it's just as valid of a choice as the same era 4.6, whatever that is worth to you. Would rather have the 305 power '88 Chevrolet 1/2 ton 2WD I drove through a lot of highschool.

I drove an extended cab long bed F150 with the 4.2 and 5spd for a few months towing a landscaping trailer and two commercial mowers. It performed just fine.

I'm pretty sure the 4.2 is a variant of the 3.8 used in the base Mustang of that era.

Yeah, the 4.2L is a variant of the 3.8L that Ford has used since the early 80's (at least, don't remember if they used them before that). They did have some issues, but if they're well maintained they last. My dad bought a fleet truck with 92k miles and a bad engine about 10 years ago, and an engine with 32k miles. We swapped it out and he's been driving it ever since, and the only problem he's ever had was that the rear end (that was howling when he got it) went out a few years ago. We swapped it out with one we got from the U-Pull for $100. It's a '97 4.2L, 5 speed, regular cab, long bed. I've used it to tow my Rabbit 1600 miles(round trip) to the Challenge every year that I've brought it down, which I think was '02, '03, '04, and '08. They are quite spunky for what they are. A friend of mine followed me down to the challenge in his '02 GMC Sierra 1500 4.3L auto, and I could pretty easily pull away from him, and his truck was empty. He was shocked to find out the Ford only had a V6.

My dad bought a 99 work truck with a 5 speed. It pulled lawn equipment every day and I beat the E36 M3 of it. Its still going today with 200K+ and original clutch. In fact I'm about to move all my furniture with it. Great motor IMO

I had a 4.2 5sp F-150 at the same time I also had a 300-I6 5sp F-150.

The 300 truck felt the same amount of slow no matter what it was doing. The V6 truck felt very snappy unloaded, not so much with a full bed.

I remember driving those trucks, same year, with both the 4.2 and 4.6. 2WD with automatics. I thought the 4.2 was a bit quicker, and other guys agreed. Construction fleet, we had tons of these things and the 4.6 from those years in the truck was pretty slow.

Ive had the exact same experiences. I vastly preferred the 4.2/5spd trucks to the 4.6/autos.

I like the motor a lot. Its pretty strong and pretty reliable, and you can even make a lot more power out of it if you so desire.

My in-laws have one with ~245k on it, seems just great. In fact, im secretly eyeing that truck...

I find i prefer it to the chevy 4.3 by a decent margin (and the trannies are better). I still have a soft spot for the ol' dodge 3.9. Doesnt make as much power but i find it more fun to work on.. but some people dont WANT to work on their motors, so take that as you will.

i had one, a 98, for 7 or 8 years, with the 5 speed. it was peppy enough, but it was no hot rod. the 4.6 made more power and got better mileage, i think mine was rated 18hwy, and it would get 18.5-19 with the opened up exhaust and intake on it. the 4.6s would get around 20 stock with the auto.

they had a reputation for not being very reliable, was ok. intake manifold gaskets can fail and bend rods around 140k. the battery and alternator both let go right at about 90k.