I’m a Chevrolet guy so I’m not very familiar with the Fords. Looking at a 1998 Ford F150 with 4.6 V8. 163K miles. Are these good engines?
1998 Ford 4.6
- Thread starter otis24
- Start date
Those are very good engines. My father in law had well over 300k miles on them in two different Town Cars before they were sold and he was not one to maintain his vehicles.
That will not have tons of grunt compared to modern trucks but will compare OK to a 250 horse 350.
That will not have tons of grunt compared to modern trucks but will compare OK to a 250 horse 350.
Last edited:
First Gen of the modular, not as quick as the later ones with the P.I. (Performance Improved) heads, but used in every Crown Vic from then until they stopped production of the model, known to go 500k mi in Taxi's with regular maintenance.
it's a "Cop" motor.
it's a "Cop" motor.
A pal got one in a 1997 F-150.
The oddest thing was the conflicting info regarding the ignition system.
Many sources said it had COP (Coil on Plug) ignition.
His had 2 familiar coils; one each on the fronts of the valve covers. Each supplying 4 plugs through conventional secondary wires.
There was never an issue, so no sweat.
I don't remember which engines had the dread "only 3 threads hold the spark plugs" problem.
Maybe the 5.4l or the 4.6l...or both? I have no clue regarding rectification, but I think Ford fixed that.
Maybe keep the VIN handy when reviewing articles and issues.
The accompanying tales involved spark plugs 'blowing out'. He never experienced that.
His truck uses a completely normal amount of oil given its short tripping. Just keep an eye on that.
Take a look at the starting relays on the firewall's right (passenger's) side. I'm no expert, but it seems elaborate. However, it's all there in front of you. Get a layout and gain familiarity.
His was a salt state truck which sat in a heated garage for 2 years after the OO died. There was rust.
In his case the fuel tank straps' purchase points and transmission cooling lines rusted. So did the exhaust manifolds.
Cheap replacement manifolds lasted only 2 years.
He went with Ford manifolds the second time.
The oddest thing was the conflicting info regarding the ignition system.
Many sources said it had COP (Coil on Plug) ignition.
His had 2 familiar coils; one each on the fronts of the valve covers. Each supplying 4 plugs through conventional secondary wires.
There was never an issue, so no sweat.
I don't remember which engines had the dread "only 3 threads hold the spark plugs" problem.
Maybe the 5.4l or the 4.6l...or both? I have no clue regarding rectification, but I think Ford fixed that.
Maybe keep the VIN handy when reviewing articles and issues.
The accompanying tales involved spark plugs 'blowing out'. He never experienced that.
His truck uses a completely normal amount of oil given its short tripping. Just keep an eye on that.
Take a look at the starting relays on the firewall's right (passenger's) side. I'm no expert, but it seems elaborate. However, it's all there in front of you. Get a layout and gain familiarity.
His was a salt state truck which sat in a heated garage for 2 years after the OO died. There was rust.
In his case the fuel tank straps' purchase points and transmission cooling lines rusted. So did the exhaust manifolds.
Cheap replacement manifolds lasted only 2 years.
He went with Ford manifolds the second time.
That generation of 4.6L F150 is among the best engines mankind has ever produced. They use full floating forged pistons, high quality small end rod bushings, high nodular cast iron blocks, aluminum heads with a single direct drive camshaft (no phasers or other complexity) and many other higher quality internals when compared to the automotive version, and will hold up to anything you throw at them. Including a stunning amount of boost.
There few downsides. One is a tendency for head gaskets to seep coolant at the corners. which can often be addressed by a quality additive. And some have intake manifold gasket leaks. Also, the valves can leak a little oil down the stem, and cause some exhaust smoke on startup when cold. This has NOTHING to do with wear, and is simply a modest design fault. My F150 went 355,000 abusive miles before the transmission failed and it was sold off. The engine was still perfect.
There are a great many examples of this engine and it's 5.4L SOHC variant that achieve 900K miles without overhaul. Just use 10W-30 synthetic and change regularly.
There few downsides. One is a tendency for head gaskets to seep coolant at the corners. which can often be addressed by a quality additive. And some have intake manifold gasket leaks. Also, the valves can leak a little oil down the stem, and cause some exhaust smoke on startup when cold. This has NOTHING to do with wear, and is simply a modest design fault. My F150 went 355,000 abusive miles before the transmission failed and it was sold off. The engine was still perfect.
There are a great many examples of this engine and it's 5.4L SOHC variant that achieve 900K miles without overhaul. Just use 10W-30 synthetic and change regularly.
I would say yes it's a good engine. Was big for a large car but more fuel efficient than the larger 5.4L in the trucks. Towing 5k or < would be ideal for that size though. I don't exactly know when the Spark plug spitting & ignition coils were some issues on these F-150 Triton's.
98 would still have the waste fire ignition where the coil fires the plugs on two cylinders at a time with one cylinder on the compression stroke and one on the exhaust. Double platinums are the plugs it's supposed to use.
I put over 300K miles on my 98 Crown Victoria. Besides a water pump and A/C work the rest was plain old maintenance.
Very good engine, and yes it has the 4 spark plug threads. Trick, torque the plugs to 15 in lbs and no antiseize
They're reliable and generally long life engines.
Not much for power and what power they do have, they need to really be wound up to make. But they ran many hundreds of thousands of miles in taxis and cop cars.
If it has timing chain rattle, you might be due for some tensioners/guides/arms ... the chains usually don't stretch
Not much for power and what power they do have, they need to really be wound up to make. But they ran many hundreds of thousands of miles in taxis and cop cars.
If it has timing chain rattle, you might be due for some tensioners/guides/arms ... the chains usually don't stretch
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2022
- Messages
- 319
Durable engines. Not a ton of power. I would just avoid the 5.4 3v.
I've had two of these generation trucks. One 99 4.6 and one 2003 5.4.
These engines get the job done, but aren't without their flaws.
As mentioned, not a ton of power and the power they have is higher up in the rev band. Their peak numbers aren't terrible, but they never feel like they've got what they are supposed to. Like you are always dragging something even though you aren't. "Lazy" feeling. Not ideal truck engines as far as performance.
Unfortunately, the poor performance didn't translate to efficiency either. Just as thirsty as anything else.
Compared to the pushrod offerings from the "others", these trucks are pretty unpleasant to maintain. The engines are huge in external size in nearly all dimensions and this generation body was getting into the cab-over style with that big engine halfway covered up. Repairs are doable, but again, not as nice as the other offerings.
Average reliability, in my experience. Not good, not bad. They have their issues like everything else. Intake gaskets, head gaskets, timing set, exhaust manifolds, the notorious spark plug spitting issue, etc.
Frankly, I don't care for these engines in the trucks, since that was kind of the question. However, I did still like this body style outside of that. They rode way better than the competition, they were quieter, more comfortable, and looked pretty good when they were clean, especially the two tone Lariat.
These engines get the job done, but aren't without their flaws.
As mentioned, not a ton of power and the power they have is higher up in the rev band. Their peak numbers aren't terrible, but they never feel like they've got what they are supposed to. Like you are always dragging something even though you aren't. "Lazy" feeling. Not ideal truck engines as far as performance.
Unfortunately, the poor performance didn't translate to efficiency either. Just as thirsty as anything else.
Compared to the pushrod offerings from the "others", these trucks are pretty unpleasant to maintain. The engines are huge in external size in nearly all dimensions and this generation body was getting into the cab-over style with that big engine halfway covered up. Repairs are doable, but again, not as nice as the other offerings.
Average reliability, in my experience. Not good, not bad. They have their issues like everything else. Intake gaskets, head gaskets, timing set, exhaust manifolds, the notorious spark plug spitting issue, etc.
Frankly, I don't care for these engines in the trucks, since that was kind of the question. However, I did still like this body style outside of that. They rode way better than the competition, they were quieter, more comfortable, and looked pretty good when they were clean, especially the two tone Lariat.
I had three crown Vics (98, 06, 07) with the 4.6 and a 99 f250 with the 5.4.
None of the Vics ever popped a plug but the f250 did. The previous owner had done the heli coil wrong so I used jb weld and sold the truck.
Other than that these are great engines. But this point these vehicles are all quite old and you should be prepared for the stuff around the engine to fail.
None of the Vics ever popped a plug but the f250 did. The previous owner had done the heli coil wrong so I used jb weld and sold the truck.
Other than that these are great engines. But this point these vehicles are all quite old and you should be prepared for the stuff around the engine to fail.
One of Ford's best engines in my opinion
Reliable but fairly gutless in the 1998 vintage.
28ft lbs is the revised spec.
Did you go for it OP? I wouldn't hesitate personally; the 4.6 in our Vic runs very well and still pulls strongly. Although in an F150 I imagine it to be "adequate" as far as power.
No. The dealer didn’t want to give much for his car so we decided to keep what he has for now.
