Originally posted by radar_ridr
I was really pleased to see the tritons had chains, not belts. I wonder how this happened... somehow the engineers won over the bean counters! I can hardly understand it... lately it seems everything about most vehicles is just manufacture them absolutely as cheaply as possible and let them fall apart at 50,000 miles - so you have to repair or buy another one. Maybe Ford really values the rep. of their flagship F-series...
I think the 4.6L was introduced in 1991 mostly in Crown Vic's or Town Cars. So, it certainly wasn't going into any F-series at the time is was engineered.
I think it was originally intended for front-wheel-drive cars, so motor length was important. Saving the extra 1" or so probably made the decision for them.
ak