Daughters first vehicle, 2003 F-150 5.4

[emmett442]

Gearing down isn't an option. These drive lines are too inefficient.

On the Panthers, mileage was barely competitive with 2.73s. a 2011 GMQ is probably as poor performing and efficient as a Buick LeSabre from 2 decades earlier.

3.55s in the CVPIs makes them downright terrible, down the pickup truck mileage.

Trucks would also be worse off with shorter gears.

 

[OVERKILL]

I finally got mine back. Rented a 2500 Duramax to tow my Jeep in late October, then a few weeks later towed it with my 250k mile 5.4. The 600 lb/ft less was very noticeable. But, it did it



I wasn't going to do the head gasket on my truck but it got to the point I was worried about it catching on fire. 1 quart every 75 miles. There was a very steady cloud of smoke behind me at all times.

But these engines are absolutely miserable to work on. I have a 4.6 Grand Marquis and a 5.4L f-350. When I did the timing chains on the Grand Marquis step 1 was "Remove the brake pedal and booster". I skipped that step and really had a fight with the drivers side valve cover.

As for power, Ford engineers really didn't comminucate with each other. They should have had 3.55 minimum in the panthers, 4.10 in the F150s and 4.56/4.88 in the HD pickups. My 5.4 is like a light switch at 2300 RPM. There's NOTHING under 2300 for towing, but once it hits that, it takes off. The 4.6 I can't feel as well as it has a torque converter doing slushbox things, but it doesn't seem to pull until 3000. Putting gearing for pushrod engines behind thes engines was a big mistake.

My f-350 is just miserable. The engine is under the dash like a van. But there is no doghouse.

We've had both 3.73's and 3.55's in the Expedition and the 3.73's definitely had more get up and go, at the expense of gas mileage. While the 3.55's weren't what one would call good on fuel, there was definitely a big improvement over the 3.73's. These were all 5.4's with the 4R100 behind them.

 

[brandon9715]

We've had both 3.73's and 3.55's in the Expedition and the 3.73's definitely had more get up and go, at the expense of gas mileage. While the 3.55's weren't what one would call good on fuel, there was definitely a big improvement over the 3.73's. These were all 5.4's with the 4R100 behind them.

I never realized it was that big of a difference. Maybe I’m not unhappy with my 3.31 with the 5.0 after all…

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Gearing down isn't an option. These drive lines are too inefficient.

On the Panthers, mileage was barely competitive with 2.73s. a 2011 GMQ is probably as poor performing and efficient as a Buick LeSabre from 2 decades earlier.

3.55s in the CVPIs makes them downright terrible, down the pickup truck mileage.

Trucks would also be worse off with shorter gears.

I went from 2.73 to 3.55 in my 2001 and gas mileage went up a bit. I don't do any high speed runs or anything, but commuting back and forth to work at 65/70 on the highway about 25 miles every day. Then 10 or so miles of stop/go traffic. It really makes the biggest difference in traffic. I'm sure if I were to do a cross country trip at 80, I'd feel it.

Hand calculated around 23.5 or so before and now I'm up to 25.5 hand calculated. Computer went from saying 24 to 26.

 

[CKN]

I did . and 55 years later i am still here.

Well.......it must be OK then. I mean how many vehicles are smaller than an F150? You could crash in to somebody as an inexperienced driver and walk away.

 

[D60]

Its 4wd. Hard to find 2wd around here. Its scary sending them out on their own in the winter, but they have to learn just like we did.

Make sure 4wd engages consistently. It's rare but the shift fork in the CAD can wear and then you get inconsistent engagement. I can give you more info on that if it should be a problem. Dorman makes a fork but that's a little spooky. I did some custom machining instead

 

[AZjeff]

Well.......it must be OK then. I mean how many vehicles are smaller than an F150? You could crash in to somebody as an inexperienced driver and walk away.

Should they have turned down a free 4wd truck in North Dakota?

OP, what does daughter think of driving a pickup?

 

[Kruse]

The posts from the guys who have never worked on a 2003 5.4 2V are amusing.
I've got two vehicles from this era. A 1997 F250 with the 5.4 and a 1999 Lincoln Navigator with the 5.4. They are not used daily, but at least weekly. The '97 has 300K miles and the '99 has 150K miles. My F250 has the original transmission, starter, water pump and power steering. I replaced the alternator "just because". I would take this truck anywhere and trust it fully. The Navigator has had a few maintenance items replaced, but no engine parts.
As to the plug blowouts, this was the era that it was susceptible. The trick is to torque the plugs down tighter, as another poster mentioned. These years didn't have the "two-piece" spark plugs. Getting back to the plugs, you want to replace them if they haven't been. I've used Motorcraft and Autolite platinum. And replace the coils, also, with Motorcraft or Denso. Avoid the low dollar cheapies that RockAuto offers. The plug and coil replacements take longer than 5 minutes so do it with using good replacements. I recently had a plug and coil failure (not a plug blowout) while I was towing and about two hours from home. Not a good, warm feeling to see the flashing "check engine" light.
Change the transmission fluid, filter and also drain the torque converter. This year should have a plug on the torque converter to remove about 3-4 more quarts.
That said, you should have a 4WD vehicle for your winters.

 

[thastinger]

The 2v engines had the plug blowout issue. I've heard Internet lore about ford "fixing" the problem mid year 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 ... rinse, repeat until they stopped making the 2v 5.4 in 2014.

They won't break off in the head. They blow out because Ford spec'd 14 ft/lb. I torque both of my 2v engines to 25-29 ft/lb. They threads will hold up to around 80 before they pull. When you torque them to the factory spec, they'll back off a little then take all the threads on the way out.

They're pretty good engines. Not much for power and they'll need to really sing to do any work.

I have one with 250K in my truck. The right head gasket can leak oil . If it rattles a bit on cold start, it'll need timing guides/tensioners ... the chains last forever.

The transmission in them is pretty good. Some sort of 4R70/75 variant. Change the fluid using MERCON V ONLY. Do not use something that is compatible with other fluids. You risk getting torque converter shudder. Change the filter in the pan and reuse the factory gasket.





A 2v 5.4 makes less torque and horsepower than your average NA V6 of today

They did. There is a 9 thread (spark plug hole) 2V PI head that was only made in 03 & 04. I have a set on my whipple 2V 5.4

 

[bullwinkle]

The posts from the guys who have never worked on a 2003 5.4 2V are amusing.
I've got two vehicles from this era. A 1997 F250 with the 5.4 and a 1999 Lincoln Navigator with the 5.4. They are not used daily, but at least weekly. The '97 has 300K miles and the '99 has 150K miles. My F250 has the original transmission, starter, water pump and power steering. I replaced the alternator "just because". I would take this truck anywhere and trust it fully. The Navigator has had a few maintenance items replaced, but no engine parts.
As to the plug blowouts, this was the era that it was susceptible. The trick is to torque the plugs down tighter, as another poster mentioned. These years didn't have the "two-piece" spark plugs. Getting back to the plugs, you want to replace them if they haven't been. I've used Motorcraft and Autolite platinum. And replace the coils, also, with Motorcraft or Denso. Avoid the low dollar cheapies that RockAuto offers. The plug and coil replacements take longer than 5 minutes so do it with using good replacements. I recently had a plug and coil failure (not a plug blowout) while I was towing and about two hours from home. Not a good, warm feeling to see the flashing "check engine" light.
Change the transmission fluid, filter and also drain the torque converter. This year should have a plug on the torque converter to remove about 3-4 more quarts.
That said, you should have a 4WD vehicle for your winters.

My '03 MGM 4.6 2V has the 9 thread heads (I think they started using PI heads on all of them in '03)-unfortunately it also has the junk plastic timing chain tensioners that leak down after 24 hours or so. I used NGKs & the Denso coils from RA (allegedly the same OEM producer for the Motorcraft coils) and have had ZERO issues with misfires since I installed them. The 2.73 ratio isn't the greatest around town, but 25+ MPG is definitely possible on the highway. As an OG that remembers SBC cars getting 12 on a good day, I'm going to leave the rear axle ratio alone on mine!

 

[SatinSilver]

Any pictures of the beast?

 

[D60]

My '07 2V 4.6 blew a plug awhile back. Yes, any '04-08 (note: post-bubble body) F150 with the 4.6 will be 2V.

I just installed a new plug and coil and re-torqued.

It's got 240k freedom units and runs great.

 

[Sj08]

Should they have turned down a free 4wd truck in North Dakota?

Perhaps it's different where CKN lives. Around here we share the roads with all types of drivers with different skill levels.
The grandparents that had this F-150, had more driving experience than the majority of the other drivers on the road, yet they are not very good drivers anymore. Kids that grew up in ND, having experienced our winters know more about winter driving than the transplants from the south do.

OP, what does daughter think of driving a pickup?

She has a permit and will get her license this spring, but did drive with me sitting shotgun about 150 miles on our trip back home and liked how it drove, commented several times how she liked being up higher, and how it steered, but did complain about the gas pedal being more touchy than our other vehicle.

 

[CKN]

Perhaps it's different where CKN lives. Around here we share the roads with all types of drivers with different skill levels.
The grandparents that had this F-150, had more driving experience than the majority of the other drivers on the road, yet they are not very good drivers anymore. Kids that grew up in ND, having experienced our winters know more about winter driving than the transplants from the south do.


She has a permit and will get her license this spring, but did drive with me sitting shotgun about 150 miles on our trip back home and liked how it drove, commented several times how she liked being up higher, and how it steered, but did complain about the gas pedal being more touchy than our other vehicle.

We have kids here drive old Civics, Corollas, Old Buick Sedans with the 3.8's in them. We have winters here. But whether it's winter here or not these kids get in plenty of accidents due to inexperience more than anything else. Just had a Mom post on our community FB page last week the following "Looking for reasonable mechanic for front end work. My Son hit a curb and his Grandpa replace what he could but couldn't replace the control arm." How fast does want have to be going to take out one side of the front suspension?:

 

[Sj08]

Any pictures of the beast?

Have it tucked in a shed with no lighting, and according to daughter, we aren't supposed to drive it without her. This weekend we are planning on doing an oil change so will try and get a few pics.

 

[Sj08]

A big thanks to everyone that gave tips/pointers and what to look for.

 

[Donald]

Was given to our 15 year old daughter from my wife's parents.

We don't know much about the maintenance history, title showed they bought it in '09 with 69000 miles, and now has 108xxx.
They "usually" remembered to take to dealer for oil change when window sticker came up on miles, but current sticker shows next service due 12/2017 107xxx miles.
They don't remember if any other service was recommended or done, but said if something was recommended to be done they probably would have had them do it.
It was parked in the garage when not driven, so looks to be in good condition with minor dings and surface rust.

We live about 2.5 hours away, and drove it home yesterday and it worked great.

Going to do the basic maintenance, engine oil/filter, brake fluid, inspect tranny and other fluids, belts.

Anything else to be looking for on this year and model?
Particularly interested in opinions on whether to mess with spark plugs? Heard a lot about either blowing out, or breaking off in the head, and at the age/miles could pose a problem.

Our goal with this vehicle is to have something for our daughter to drive to school, and around town for the next 3-4 years. We live in a small rural town that is less than 1 mile to get from one end to the other end, so very few miles will be actually driven, but started and short tripped a few times a day in the winter can be tough on equipment.

The dealer should have service records that they can provide

 

[Sj08]

The dealer should have service records that they can provide

Thanks, that's a good idea.

 

[97prizm]

Was given to our 15 year old daughter from my wife's parents.

We don't know much about the maintenance history, title showed they bought it in '09 with 69000 miles, and now has 108xxx.
They "usually" remembered to take to dealer for oil change when window sticker came up on miles, but current sticker shows next service due 12/2017 107xxx miles.
They don't remember if any other service was recommended or done, but said if something was recommended to be done they probably would have had them do it.
It was parked in the garage when not driven, so looks to be in good condition with minor dings and surface rust.

We live about 2.5 hours away, and drove it home yesterday and it worked great.

Going to do the basic maintenance, engine oil/filter, brake fluid, inspect tranny and other fluids, belts.

Anything else to be looking for on this year and model?
Particularly interested in opinions on whether to mess with spark plugs? Heard a lot about either blowing out, or breaking off in the head, and at the age/miles could pose a problem.

Our goal with this vehicle is to have something for our daughter to drive to school, and around town for the next 3-4 years. We live in a small rural town that is less than 1 mile to get from one end to the other end, so very few miles will be actually driven, but started and short tripped a few times a day in the winter can be tough on equipment.

Biggest issues that I see on Ford forums are the spark plugs, ignition coils, and the radiator.

 

[thastinger]

The posts from the guys who have never worked on a 2003 5.4 2V are amusing.
I've got two vehicles from this era. A 1997 F250 with the 5.4 and a 1999 Lincoln Navigator with the 5.4. They are not used daily, but at least weekly. The '97 has 300K miles and the '99 has 150K miles. My F250 has the original transmission, starter, water pump and power steering. I replaced the alternator "just because". I would take this truck anywhere and trust it fully. The Navigator has had a few maintenance items replaced, but no engine parts.
As to the plug blowouts, this was the era that it was susceptible. The trick is to torque the plugs down tighter, as another poster mentioned. These years didn't have the "two-piece" spark plugs. Getting back to the plugs, you want to replace them if they haven't been. I've used Motorcraft and Autolite platinum. And replace the coils, also, with Motorcraft or Denso. Avoid the low dollar cheapies that RockAuto offers. The plug and coil replacements take longer than 5 minutes so do it with using good replacements. I recently had a plug and coil failure (not a plug blowout) while I was towing and about two hours from home. Not a good, warm feeling to see the flashing "check engine" light.
Change the transmission fluid, filter and also drain the torque converter. This year should have a plug on the torque converter to remove about 3-4 more quarts.
That said, you should have a 4WD vehicle for your winters.

Concur, as the original owner of a 98 5.4 4x4 I can ay that the drivetrain is essentially bulletproof (2V 5.4/4R100/9.75/8.8/BW4406) but plug changes are no fun and trying to get a torque wrench onto the rear 2 passenger side plugs is a PITA. That said, the alternator and the transfer case electric shift motor are the only two items that have been replaced other than normal maintenance items.
I've since used Lightning parts to convert it to supercharged with a 2.9L Whipple on top.