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Random Quote: Get the Big net, this aint no little Sunfish ( Norman Thayer Jr. On Golden Pond)
Maybe looking at new 4X4 Fords. I am really not a Ford man but going to look at them. A friend of mine in the auto part business says the 5.4L has some sort of plug wire or spark plug issue... I tow a 23 foot boat, mainly less than 20 miles. Several times a year I tow 300 to 400 miles
__________________ "I'm suing the THT and the guy that made it."
I know several people that have been very happy with the 4.6 as long as the rear end is geared correctly if you plan on towing. The couple of people that I know with the 5.4 have not had any problems but say that it is not nearly as fuel efficient as the Chevy.
For what it is worth, I remember my Ford having a much better interior than my current Dodge.
The plug issue was from the first year or so and I have not heard of recent problems.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
i knew a guy, that knew a relative, that knew a lost relative, that knew a long lost relative , that knew an aunt, that had an uncle that knew a cousin, who's father knew his sisters daddy that was smoking a blunt next to a guy on his way to the stable to pay the rent on a horse that was stored. the stable owner knew a guy that kept care of his horse from a past relationship w/ his brother's sweetheart. now this sweatheart knew a gal that knew a guy that had 5 horses. these 5 horses had a baby horse and together they totalled 5.4 horses. ( horse was missing the tail...therefore....4 of a horse..not the whole .5)....anyway.....5.4 sounds good to me.
I know them a little better than you describe, they are company cars occasionally driven by me but mostly by inspectors and crews. If he had asked about fullsize toyotas or nissans then you would be more correct.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
i knew a guy, that knew a relative, that knew a lost relative, that knew a long lost relative , that knew an aunt, that had an uncle that knew a cousin, who's father knew his sisters daddy that was smoking a blunt next to a guy on his way to the stable to pay the rent on a horse that was stored. the stable owner knew a guy that kept care of his horse from a past relationship w/ his brother's sweetheart. now this sweatheart knew a gal that knew a guy that had 5 horses. these 5 horses had a baby horse and together they totalled 5.4 horses. ( horse was missing the tail...therefore....4 of a horse..not the whole .5)....anyway.....5.4 sounds good to me.
I appreciate the light hardedness of your post, but I want to hear any good bad or ugly because I am leary of the 5.4 and I dont like the 4.6 from prior experience in patrol cars... I probably will stick with the Chevy or GMC with tthe 5.3L but just trying to keep options open..
__________________ "I'm suing the THT and the guy that made it."
but I want to hear any good bad or ugly because I am leary of the 5.4 and I dont like the 4.6 from prior experience in patrol cars... I probably will stick with the Chevy or GMC with tthe 5.3L but just trying to keep options open..
What was the problem with the 4.6 in your patrol car? We had a few problems with the first year or two but pretty reliable since. I know it does not have anything to do with the engine but the gauges in my Dads Chevy have been on the blitz since he got it and the mechanic says all the gauges are tied together and you have to change the entire board out. Mostly just aggrevating.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
The 4.6 is reliable but pretty gutless in my opinion. I have a lot of time in 5.3L, 5.7L Chevy and 5.7 Hemi and all of them had more the level of torque and power I am looking for compared to the 4.6....
__________________ "I'm suing the THT and the guy that made it."
The problem with the spark plugs is that they would seize in the head. There's not really a problem until you go to change the plug, then snap it breaks off and you have to remove the head to extract the plug. Just a suggestion, but you should take a look at the Dodge Ram. The Hemi is a great motor and they are building a good truck these days.
Cracker, the Ford V-8 motors are very reliable, but down on power compared to the other manufacturers. The Ford truck is a very good truck. All of the full size trucks are good trucks. I had a Dodge truck that had the 5.7 Hemi, and it was decent. Now I have the Toyota Tundra with the 5.7. I am the most happy with the Tundra by far, but any of the others would be decent. Besides the Ford being down on power, they are great trucks.
I would get whatever the best deal you could on a 4x4 with the large V8 motor. I would not get the "base" V8 on any truck with towing a 23 foot boat. It will probably hunt for gears going down the highway.
From my experience, Dodge will be the cheapest, Ford and Toyota next with Chevy being the most expensive.
Also Cracker, you are right about the Ford 4.6 being gutless. Reliable, but gutless.
__________________ My boat is a 2008 Sea Hunt 220 Triton with Yamaha 250. Garmin 4212, Furuno FCV-620, GSD 22, Standard Horizon Matrix, XM Weather.
Yes, plug problems. If they don't get stuck, no problem. If they do get stuck, be prepared for an expensive tune up. While this didn't happen to me, it did happen to my brother in law who has a 2005 or so 5.4 4X4.
we have a 5.4 at work and it performs great. its an 06XLT 4x4 with 90k miles. It tows a boat every other day sometimes 70 miles one way and performs flawlessly. As said, it's not the quickest but thats due to the way the tranny is geared. they are set up to tow and haul, not go fast. IMO, it's the best truck out there for work. if you want something fast, sure this isn't the truck for you. I do like the toyotas as well, but If I were buying a truck to tow all the time and haul gear, it's the Ford. I'm a dodge owner myself but my next one will be a Ford
I have a 2001 F150 SuperCrew 4x4 with the 5.4. I am the second owner having bought the truck in 2002 with 28,000 miles on it.I now have 169,800! The plug issue on the older models was that they were actually blowing out of the head. Something about not enough thread depth. That has been resolved.
Things I have had to do to my truck
Spark Plugs and coil packs @ 100,000 miles
Radiator flush @100,000 miles
Oil changes every 6-8000 miles
Tires
Shocks
Ball joints (just did these)
Brakes
That's It! This has been the best truck I have ever owned and I grew up in Chevrolets. Pulls my Pursuit all over Florida. Gets a whopping 7 milles to the gallon when towing and 15 when empty. I bought it because it rode better than the Chevy's I had previously. Does not seem as heavy duty as the Chevy's but can't beat the ride.
__________________ USCG 100 TON MASTER
Pursuit 2870 CC
Palm Beach 161
1984 Mckee Craft 14'
Sunset on the ICW
Madeira Beach, Fl
Honeymoon Harbor
Bimini
"Many times life gives you the test, before you learn the lesson!"
I have owned Ford's for the past 20 yrs. My last 3 trucks had the 5.4L V8. I recently purchased a 2008 Ford F-150 5.4L 3V, 4x4 Supercrew and pull my 22' Pro-Line. I have the 4.10 gear ratio and recommend that you go with the 3.73 gear ratio. The 3.73 was in my last truck and it pulled the trailer up with no problem as we have some steep ramps out here in Virginia. The only thing I added was a KN filter and an Edge Programmer as I can change the performance of the vehicle to shift firmer. My 0-60 times with the programmer installed are in the low 10's. Gas mileage varies, just commuting to work in NC for a week I average about 15-17 miles to a gallon with a 35 gallon tank. Towing the boat, I get roughly 10-12 miles to the gallon. Have any more questions feel free to e-mail me.
Mag,
I am definitely considering the RAM Truck and the Hemi... I have had it in other vehicles and love it
I currently have a Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi and it has been pretty good. The mileage on the highway (20mpg) is great but around town it is about 13mpg. But for me the convience of the two rear doors sold me, loading and unloading baby seats is a lot easier in this truck than the previous.
If you go with Chevy, definitely get the 5.3. My Dad has the smaller engine and when pulling his 19' Vee Twin or a 21' Blazer Bay it is always searching for a gear.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
Signmansez has it right, every now and then a 5.4 will blow a plug right out of the head. I have never seen one stuck in a head. Having said that any aluminum head motor has the potential to have a plug seize. There are several tool mfr. making kits to repair the threads on the blowout. The latest generation does have a problem where carbon builds up on the end of the plugs and makes removing difficult. You have to fill the plug tube with carb cleaner and work the plug back and forth slowly or the tip breaks off and falls into cylinder and then its ugly. Other than that its a great motor. We work on all makes and they all have issues trust me. Toyota may be better than most, but thats just my opinion. I work in the land of the Yuppie/Suv where everybody and his brother has one.Lets face it when you are towing a boat they all get crappy MPG. If you get ready to pull the trigger I can pull a reliability report from Identifix, PM me.
Up until 2002, the 5.4 heads had about 6 threads in the head to retain the plugs. I have a 1999 with 190,000 miles that says that was enough threads. But I have been the one to change the plugs and I am careful not to over torque them. They are steel plugs in cast aluminum heads, not lug nuts. Likewise, I use some anti seize on the threads.
In 2003 the 5.4 heads were redesigned to double the thread length. That solved the blowout problem, but any plug can seize in any aluminum or iron head if it is installed dirty or over torqued.
5.4L Triton engine any good? 
