My '99 150 4x4 wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding! Got stuck a while ago in our gumbo mud because the thing wouldn't spin the wheels in Low gear. By the time I shifted down to low range, it had settled into the mud and wouldn't move either way. Lucky for me, my niece has a 4x4 Chevy and drove 30 miles to tow me out. About a foot and it went on its own again. Are all 4.6's that useless at low RPM?

 

It was probably your plugged air filter

 

I was coming off a 97 7.3 with torque to spare, but I always thought my 4.6 was a gutless wonder. Part of it was only 3.55s, but it was gutless IMO. The 5.4s are way more power for about the same mileage. I can deal with no power if it comes with good mileage, but the 4.6 has bad mileage too.

 

Air filter was changed long ago. The truck will go 100 MPH easily, just no bottom end at all. In D2 where it takes off in Second, it will barely start off on a dirt road!

 

I just realized you have the NPI 4.6, they are gutless everywhere.

 

My old 97 F-150 had the Triton 4.6. It wasn't bad, but it was way better after I chipped it and had the exhaust done. I even went with larger Cooper Discoverer STT's for tires and that truck was a lot of fun to drive.

 

Were you in 4 low? Even the most gutless engine in the world will pull oak tree stumps in 4 low & 1st gear.

 

Most of my mudding was in old ****** JEEPs w/original 4 cyl Flat Head or Hurricane motors.

Stuck is stuck. Speed ain't traction.

BFTUFF pretty well sized up "useless at low RPM".

The best drivers can avoid getting stuck & get unstuck even with "gutless" motors.

 

Well,it was the first time in the mud with the truck, and I never realised it was so useless in High range. By the time it powered out, I was stuck and Low range didn't do me any good. It spun then, but the wheels had settled in the gumbo and it didn't even wiggle! Another Ford light bulb idea, you can't shift ranges when you are moving......

 

That is across the board, 2 hi to 4 hi ok, to low, needs syncronized. Either stop or weakness of syncros. Gear to gear is stronger. But point taken, IMO the 4.6/4R70 combo was a turd. Others will say otherwise, great for cars, anemic for trucks..... My 02, was also a gutless wonder. 3.55s should've been ok, but that thing needed 4.56s

 

When attempting to enter a challenge (mud, snow, rocks, hill climb) off road, you first stop, get out and size up the task at hand, then decide on the best way to accomplish it successfully.

 

you mentioned your ******, loved mine, '53 pickup, original 6cyl that screamed at 55mph(motorhomes were flipping me off) once put a bedload of sand and it didn't even squat.

 

BFTUFF...obviously you have never been four-wheeling in Saskatchewan gumbo! If you "Stop to assess the situation" you are probably done.
I have had 4X4's for 40 years, from 4 banger Scouts to Chevs and Dodges, and never needed Low range in any of them except in hill climbing, where slow is safer.
This Ford T-case can't be shifted down at all unless the trans is in Neutral and you have the brake pedal down. That's just stupid.
Plus, when in deep mud or snow, or even buckbrush, the plastic switch on the side of the trans gets cracked and the transmission goes all weird, shifting up, down, and hitting neutral all on its own. Four MLPS switches so far, in 10K kilometers. And one transmission job. I have had it with the Blue Oval. No more Dorfs for me!

 

[quote=R Pope;13382682
This Ford T-case can't be shifted down at all unless the trans is in Neutral and you have the brake pedal down. That's just stupid.
Plus, when in deep mud or snow, or even buckbrush, the plastic switch on the side of the trans gets cracked and the transmission goes all weird, shifting up, down, and hitting neutral all on its own. Four MLPS switches so far, in 10K kilometers. And one transmission job. I have had it with the Blue Oval. No more Dorfs for me![/quote]

Transfer case is probably designed so non-off-roading consumers don't shift into low by mistake and drive around with an over revved engine. Happened to a fellow worker when his wife mistakenly drove highway speeds with the transfer case in low.

As for your MLPS switch. If your going to off road a mod similar to skid plates would be in order or as you state just dump Ford and buy another manufactures truck with a better designed system, if you can find one. I think all trucks now are designed for the tow bragging rights and comfort ride, not off-roading.

 

You are right about the new trucks not being designed for off-roading. A buddy had a new Dodge and jumped a road crosswise with it. The aluminum(!) X member dug in and tore out of the frame, and the front wheels were under the doors! Totalled it off the second week he had it. An older 4X4 with leaf springs and a solid axle would have bounced twice and driven home, business as usual.
Anything after the mid-80's are just intended to get doctors and lawyers down the driveways of their acreages and on to the paved highway.