HEADS
There have been two different head castings used for the SOHC motors, each with two variations, and one DOHC casting that was used on both the right and left side of these engines. All of the SOHC heads are Windsor castings, so they have individual caps on each cam journal and four 10 x 1.5mm holes in both ends of the heads, but the DOHC heads are Romeo castings, so they have ladder caps and four 8.0 x 1.25mm holes on both ends.
1997 (through 7/20/97) SOHC "Not Power Improved" Heads The 5.4L engines originally came with a F65E, F75 or F75E castings. They’re all "NPI" heads that have the bigger chambers with the "swirl fin" behind the intake valve and the small, oval shaped, intake ports. This early head is unique because the two blind holes that are used for the pegs that keep the intake gasket aligned during installation are drilled toward the inside of the port, closer to the valley.
’97 (7/21/97) through ’99 SOHC "Not Power Improved" Heads Ford made one minor, but important, change to the "NPI" head late in 1997; the intake gaskets were modified and the blind holes for the alignment pegs were moved over to the opposite side of the ports so they were closer to the head. It appears that Ford made this change only on the F75E castings, but it’s best to check all of the 5.4L "NPI" castings to be sure you get the right heads on the right engine, or make sure that you send the gaskets that match the heads that were installed on the long block.
1999-’01 SOHC "Power Improved" Heads The "power improved heads" with the square intake ports were introduced in ’99. They had bigger intake valves, different springs and a heart-shaped chamber with a modified swirl-fin behind the intake valves. They’re all XL3E castings. NOTE: The "PI" heads weren’t used on everything in ’99, so be sure to have your customer actually look at the intake ports before selling an engine or you will have about a 50/50 chance of selling the wrong engine.
2002 "Power Improved" Heads Ford continued to use the "PI" heads in 2002, but they revised the intake gasket again, so they moved the two dowel holes back over to the valley side of the ports. There are two versions of the later gasket, one that has a coolant restrictor built into the gasket and one that doesn’t, so rebuilders need to be especially careful when supplying gaskets for these late model applications. This latest version of the "PI" head is a 2L1E casting.
1999 through ’01 DOHC Heads The XL1E-AE DOHC casting showed up mid-year in ’99 on the Lincoln Navigator and was used up through 2001 on the Navigator and the Blackwood. These heads were built in the Romeo plant along with all the other DOHC heads for the Lincoln cars and Mustang Cobras, but this casting number doesn’t match any of those found on the car heads, so we believe these castings are unique to this application. The DOHC head casting has three holes for the secondary chain tensioners on both the front and the top of the #1 bulkhead, so it can be used on either side of the engine as long as the oil hole for the tensioner on the opposite end is plugged off.
Something Else To Know The 5.4L seems to be having a lot of problems with stripped spark plug threads. Both the head and the spark plugs only have five or six threads, so it’s easy to strip them out if someone tries to remove the plugs when the head is hot or overtorques them during installation. Ford recommends 7 to 15 pounds of torque, which doesn’t seem like enough to some people who have big wrenches. Some of the plugs weren’t torqued properly at the factory, either, so they slowly worked themselves loose until they were literally blown out of the head, coil pack and all. Rebuilders should check the spark plug threads carefully and repair any of them that even look questionable. Some rebuilders are actually installing inserts in all of the spark plug holes to avoid problems in the field. We’re familiar with three different repair inserts: the ones that are made of stainless steel, like Heli Coil; the steel inserts made by Time Fastener; and the hard anodized aluminum ones that are made by Lock-N-Stitch. Each design has its pros and cons, so it’s up to each rebuilder to decide which one he prefers to use in his shop. Time-Serts are available through Enginetech at 800-869-8711 and the Full-Torque inserts are available through Lock-N-Stitch at 800-736-8621. Whichever insert you decide to use, just make sure you check the treads and fix the ones that are suspect or you will get to fix the problem when the engine comes back home again.
CAMS
The cams for the 5.4L are all hollow designs with pressed-on lobes. There are right and left cams for the SOHC motors along with the right and left intake and exhaust cams for the DOHC. The SOHC heads are made in Windsor, so the cam gears are pressed-on, but the DOHC heads are made in Romeo, so the gears are bolted-on.
1997 thru ’99 SOHC with "NPI" Heads The "NPI" heads came with a "mild" grind that worked well with the small oval ports found on these heads. The right hand cam had a F65E-6251-BA identification number on the barrel and the left cam had F65E-6C255-AA on it.
1999 through ’01 SOHC with "PI" Heads The "power improved" heads with the square intake ports and bigger valves came with "power improved" cams, too. The right cam was a XL3E-6251-A8C and the left one was a XL3E-6C255-A8C. Both are hollow cams with pressed-on lobes and gears.
Read more at:
http://www.modularfords.com/threads/79320-this-should-answer-alot-of-5-4-2v-questions
