Hey, I loved my 400... but the 460 pulls A LOT stronger than the 400 ever did and with the 4 bbl carb as long as I don't stomp it and open the secondaries it is about the same as the 400 with the 2 bbl. Guess I just gotta disagree with ya on that one.

 

Stomping a 400 is FUN...
Stomping a 460 is downright SCARY! What's gonna break loose first; the driveshaft or the tires??? (even with 3.25 gears)
Mark

 

ford never built a 70's model 4x4 with the 460. on the flip side of the coin i owned a 96 f super duty powerstroke 4x4. ive been told they were never built in a 4x4 version. does any body have the facts. i have no history on that rig.

 

I dont trust 460's , I know that the 400 got way better gas mileage, I get about 16 mpg in the city being friendly with it I don't need any tickets. I have stock everything except a custom made Dana 60 with 2.75 gears.

 

Well Matt your entitled to your opinion but the 460 has a better overall reliability track record than the 400's do(even if I did get 394,000 miles out of my 400) and the gas mileage difference in my truck is really not very noticeable, I run pretty much stock, it came with NP 435 4 speed, NP 205 transfer, and Dana 60's at both ends with 4.10 gears, the only differences are a few years ago the ring and pinion finally went and I switched the old Dana 60 to a Dana 60 out of a '84 F350 because it had the heavier axle shafts/more splines and was an easy swap and I run 33x12.5R16.5. Everything else except the 460 is stock. I'm not really sure what you mean by saying you don't trust the 460? As long as I keep the secondaries closed she is decent about gas and when I stomp it she'll rev better than the 400 ever did.

 

I personally didn't like the 460, its great for an RV or a Snow Cat. It never belonged in a half ton truck. It weighs somewhere in the range 650 pounds. Mine repeatedly blew the intake seal in the back, it blew the seal around the oil filter once, actually I think that was caused by the filter, it burned oil like it was free, it constantly stalled but i believe that was just a crappy carb, this motor was no good at revving otherwise it would detonate, I constantly replaced fouled and smashed spark plugs, it did last to 300,000 miles, mostly my dads miles, it got gallons to the mile once while towing a 12,000lb 40' double axle. It refused to run during some of the cold days in our nine month winter. It didn't like to go up hills. The motor never really broke down to the point that it was totally disabled for any long period, and parts are very easy to find. My 400 outpulled the 460, it started every morning, it never burned more than one quart in every 5,000 miles even while towing, the 400 has a longer stroke than the 460, so it developed very decent torque low in the power band and throughout. I think the 460 is overrated. I love Fords, I own nine and my dad owns 17 built anywhere from 1935 to 2003 and encompassing nearly every engine Ford put in a truck. By the way I love our new 6.0L King Ranch F350 4x2 Crew Cab

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mattsbox99
I constantly replaced fouled and smashed spark plugs

ok, in general it just sounds like that motor needed a rebuild but how do you smash a spark plug? sounds like they weren't the right plugs which could bepart of the reason for some of those other problems, numbers don't lie though and the 460 has the 400 beat. You may want to try again some day, witha motor that isn't ingesting it's own spark plugs.

 

Your 460 sounds like the oil rings are failing, allowing too much oil into the combustion chamber. This could cause carbon to build up on the piston crown, creating hot spots, and therefore preignition like you describe. Try running some of that Ford carbon remover through the engine. It works great! You will probably see black smoke for a while until it clears, and you may even go through a few cans... The carbon may have built up enough to crush the spark plug electrode. Also, valve stem seals may be dried up, and introducing oil into the combustion chamber, so that might be the first place to look, since it's the easiest?
I have had my share of oil burners, and almost all of them were 351M or 400. My 460 doesn't use any... And it is an original 1976 piece with who- knows how many miles...
Mark

 

I had a chevy that smashed spark plugs. Turned out the new trw pistons were flaking apart. The pieces were hitting the sparkplugs and closing the gaps. trw warrantied them, and problem was solved.

Tony Warren
Nebraska

 

you say 460 doesnt impress you? ive had both motors the 400 and 460. i have to agree the 460 isnt exactly an import car when it comes to gas milage but then again you wouldnt use an import car to tow with either. i cant say anything bad about the 400 since it lasted a little over 410k miles and it had decent bottom end. also i cant say anything bad about the 460. mine doesnt use any oil revs good tows even better. heck i have 39.5 inch tires and a 3/4 ton pick up and cruising at 70 - 75 and towing a 70 bronco on a trailer i still get 14 to 15.3 mpg. to me thats not too bad for a work horse. i think you just had a well used 460 that needed rebuilt and i think you should probably give them another chance.

 

The original 400 in my truck went 319,000 Km(200,000 M) before it gave up.
It received regular oil changes,tune-up's,etc.

It got replaced by a 69 429 that has never had any major work done to it.
It had 250,000 Miles on it when I got it and so far another 120,000 Miles for a total of 370,000 Miles.
It only needs valve seals!
Compression across the board is 128 psi.

I never even considered a post 74 460 when trying to determine which engine I wanted.

The 460 I know from various sources in my circle of people yields
low fuel mileage but Plenty of overwhelming Torque when it's needed.

I would never go back to a 400 unless it was re-done like the performance articles say to do it.

I have to be able to Pull my 23 ft Holiday Trailer without worry.

 

I don't hate the 460, I just prefer the 400. I don't care what anyone says there is no reason to have an engine that big in a 1/2 ton 2wd truck, because even if the engine could pull it the suspension would give out. Thanks for all the comments on how too fix it, but that truck was rolled after a drunk driver clipped me at 70 mph, it rolled 2 1/2 times and landed upside down next to a ditch. The drunk guy sort of missed the turn on to the highway and hit the box I was doing about 65 he was doing about 70, he was driving a chevy. I don't really now how it got off the road. Made me never want to drink again ever, as long as I know it could turn out that way. The other guy ended up heading across a field and hit a power pole and was ejected and landed with two broken legs somehow. That was a pretty nice truck. Too bad. I only broke my arm and had several stitches all over. I never have owned another truck with a 460 since, I doubt that many people had problems with them but mine just never went away.

 

I may be crazy,but I am hoping a 460 will give me better mileage than the 400 I have now.My truck has 4.10 gears,C6,pretty much stock other than a rebuild & torque cam about 70k miles back.Mileage is usually around7-8,loaded or empty. I think a 460 won't work as hard therefore a little better mileage. I have a 460 from a 77 1/2 ton 2wd that I plan to put in mine after a little work,hoping its as easy as folks say.

 

Thanks for the backup Okie, that's exactly what I was saying.

 

I'll have to jump on the band wagon for 460 support also.

My fresh, stock 1979 model, 460, 4bbl carbed engine gets better mileage than the 400, 2bbl it replaced. The stock 400 was ho-hum when you stomped the gas, the 460 makes you grin. I personally have not felt torque like that since the 70's, pre smog engine days. Of course I have been raising a family and not been into hot rodding since those days.

I have no pre-ignition, oil consumption, spark plug gap smashing problems.

It takes much less throttle to produce the same amount of power, versus the 400.

I am not ragging on the 400 either, it is a good motor. But as far as saying its a better motor than the 460, No.

As far as problems go, I had more problems with this 400 as I have ever had with one.