Hey guys, my dad and i have been talking about the 5.4L engines problems and were both convinced its not a good engine. A plastic intake manifold on the new ones, WTF? My dad has one in his 2000 F250 service truck and to him its a piece of crap that drinks gas and has no low end torque. despite its an OHC engine it doesnt seem to be very efficient also. and he also told me about the spark plug problem that happened to the 5.4L in a friends truck. something about the threads messing up and the spark plug falling into the engine.

I just want to know what you guys think of the 5.4L, because most of you might drive one everyday. if you can shed some light on my negative views of the 5.4L go right ahead. Feel free to share your experiences with this particular engine. peace out. -Mat

 

Well i dont drive one everyday but i would think that the 5.4 would be a dog in the F250. I mean its alright in the F150 but add the extra weight of the F250 and that thing has to be straining. Also the 5.4 in the in the F150 gets well from what i have read 13-15mpg, then to throw on the weight of the F250 i can only imagine. I have read a lot of positive posts about the 5.4 and people like it but i dont think it belongs in the F250. Although since you already have it in the F250 maybe you could buy a tuner to help it out a little, that way maybe you could get a little more low end torque.

 

My daily driver is a 2007 5.4L (see sig). It's a great truck.

Yes, the V-10s and Power Strokes have more power, but I don't need more power.

I tow 8-9000 pounds regularly without any problems. That trailer pictured weighs 3500 pounds, it's usually full of early 60's full size Pontiacs (HEAVY CARS). With that load, the truck has no problem getting up to speed before the end of the on-ramp and can easily maintain the speed limit.

The 3V 5.4L (2005+) has more horsepower than a mid-90s 460. It has 365 lb ft of torque with 80% of that torque available just off idle. Combined with the Torqshift automatic (5R110W) it makes a great tow vehicles and a wonderful daily driver (except for the fuel mileage, but that's the price you pay).

If you regularly tow over 10,000 you might want to consider a larger engine, otherwise take a test drive in an F-250 with a 5.4L and a 4.10 differential (standard diff in 2008) and judge for yourself!

 

The 5.4 is an excellent TRUCK engine. The early 5.4 had a problem with spark plug blowouts but I think that was due to people not taking the time to change the plugs properly because they are a pain to change.
As for your dad saying that the 5.4 has no low end torque, I think he is confusing the effects of torque and horespower. The 5.4 is known for its low end torque but the trade off is the horsepower at the top end, the 5.4 doesnt rev as fast as the 4.6 so in an empty or lightly loaded truck the 5.4 doesnt really blow away the 4.6, now when the trucks are towing 5000lbs or have 1000lbs in the bed that is when the 5.4 has the advantage.
The 5.4 gets about the same gas mileage as any other v-8 that is about the same displacement. Plus how good do you think the gas mileage is going to be for a 5000lb vehicle that is over 6' tall? Every 1/2 ton truck I have owned has gotten pretty close to 15mpg average.

 

Lets see, pretty much all the modulars have plastic intake pieces and I am betting all engines in general these days do. The only problem I have ever since with them is in the early 4.6L's where they can leak in some spots. If you are expecting to pull with a F250 a 2V 5.4L is about the worst thing you could get, also if you want mileage a F250 in general isn't a good idea to get. The spark plug issue is with EVERY modular engine made up to '03 and it appears the '04+ even have some issues. With that said the biggest problem is usually the person who maintains the truck, they either leave the plugs in too long or they over torque them when they put new ones in and strip the threads the next time they are removed. I have somehwere around 200K on mine and finally had a plug blow out a few thousand miles ago, other than that I have had no problems with it and would gladly run any similar sized pushrod engine with the same mods I have. When I bought mine I test drove a '96 SWB F150 with the 351 and the only reason it was as good a performer as the '97 was the 4.10 rear it had, mine only has 3.55's. I am still glad I went with the 5.4L, I doubt the 351 would have held up as well to 220K miles.

 

There aren't too many new engines out there without plastic intake manifolds any more. They are lighter and don't absorb heat like aluminum does. They still use aluminum for the coolant crossovers.
My 5.4L has been trouble free.

 

The 03 in my sig is my daily driver . On average I get around 12 mpg ,not the best but hey its not an escort. I have no issues towing cattle trailer and cattle (total weight around 8000) on a semi-regular basis. I have to agree with Redford that if you are towing over 10000 the 5.4 is not a wise choice , Below that it is plenty capable of hauling the load. Only negative issue I have is 3 exhaust studs have rotted off ,but I still don't have a leak and until I do it won't get touched.

 

I have a 07 5.4l screw its only got 10k on it but I really don't have any complaints about it. I agree with everyone else its a good truck motor good low end where it should be I have been getting 14mpg lately, but that is down I was getting close to 17 maybe it the the winter blend gas like everyone was telling me plus I am changing oil and air filter this weekend to see how that helps. It has plenty of power too many people are getting sucked in by those HP # they are great and all but tough dependable is more important to me so far I don't really see anyone that's doing it any better than Ford IMO.

P.S. All modern truck engines have plastic intake parts and they work fine so no worrys there.

 

I bought a S/Crew King Ranch 2WD with the 5.4, and I thought it was a darn good motor. I bought it with 35000 miles, and drove it for 3 trouble-free years to 85000 miles, and it never missed a beat. That engine would probably have gone well over 100,000 miles, but I needed a bigger truck. I put an ARE cover on it, and if I was real careful on the highway, I could get 18-19 MPG at 65 MPH. I got 20 once, on one tank of fuel. Most of the time, and very consistently, I got 17.5 at 70 MPH. I originally was going to buy an F250 with the 5.4, but found a good deal on a V10. The 5.4 will pull, but I needed a pickup rated to pull more than the F150. The 5.4 pulled the camper fine, but the 3.55s were lacking. Gear it right, and it would pull almost anything, I imagine.

 

Im sure that the 5.4L works great for all of you. I have heard of 97-03 ford trucks running as many as 150000 miles on them with no major problems, but to me older V8s will last longer, because they are simpler and low tech. the more simpler the engine design, the less things that can go wrong. For example we have a '98 dodge caravan with a 3.3L V6 that has 189,000 miles on it and still runs fine. the dodge 3.3L is a simple low tech pushrod engine. I see many caravans still on the road today that seem to run forever. I dont know everything about cars, i am just thinking logically. the more simple a desigh is, the more efficient it is. new trucks are computer controlled with all kinds of sensors, and computers and crap. where as my old 79 ford 5.0 had none of that hi tech crap and took more abuse than any new 5.4L could stand. The guy who owned it before me drove it hard, i drove it hard upon occasion, and the guy i sold it to still drives it today, and that 79 probably had more than 200k when i got it. is your 5.4L still gonna be on the road when its 30 years old? I doubt it, a slim chance. i dont mean to be cold and i dont have any beef with anyone on here, im just expressing my opinion. I am a very analytical person, i just believe logic makes the most sense in some cases. New trucks arent for everyone, and im one of those people. im just not sold on these new trucks. You have to understand where i come from, i thought my current '91 f150 was a big step up from my previous '79 F150. anyways sorry if i offended anyone, and thanks for reading. hope to hear from ya.

 

I saw a post on here where someone went over a million miles on a 5.4l no rebuild and I beleive it was the original trans also. The motor if maintained properly will easily out live the rest of the truck.

 

million mile van.com, check it out.

 

The 5.4l is good for a flatlander as I see it my brother has a '02 150 for bopping around town and a daily driver not one complaint and in the high country no load okay throw a camp trailer and gear behind it you better not be in any sort of hurry and hope you brought a lunch. My 86 5.0l will run it to death side for side and my 91 351W runs circles around them both. But as always if the truck and motor fit your needs then it is the truck for you.

 

I've got an 02 F-150 w/ 5.4 and 4wd. I put the tuner to it and it came alive. 12mpg instead of 10 and the tires burn rubber that never happened before. The 3.55 gears need to be at least 4.10s. It hauls anything it can hold and still has good acceleration.

 

The Modular engines are extremely tough and take a helluva lot of abuse.I put my previous '98 4.6L(the 5.4L's little brother) through total hell for 210K miles towing my 30ft travel trailer all over the place,and towing my car on the trailer back and forth to the track. It's never hiccuped on me,and it's had the **** run out of it repeatedly-I never took it easy on that truck. I've owned old 302 and 351's before,and I've never got the kind of service out of either of them that I have the Modulars. They're actually very simple engines,with proven designs in the valvetrain and the crankshaft support/engine block design are far superior to the old pushrod stuff,and they will last far longer making more hp/tq per cubic inch than the old pushrods.
JL