im buying a f 150 should i buy the 4.6 or 5.4L engine gas comsumption whats better keep in mind not pulling much weight but loaded with tools.

 

6.2L would be my choice.

 

I take it you prefer to purchase a 2010 vice 2011?
The 2011 engines are all new, heard good things about them too, esp the 5.0.
Anyway, I have the 2010 5.4 in a SCAB with an 8' box, with a cap and a roller bed in the back and because I haul a large boat in summer and two sleds in winter it suits my purpose.
If you pricipally are using it for town scooting the 4.6 will probably be ideal. Not sure the weight of the tools you are carrying but you may wish to get the heavy duty suspension. That will probably mean more to you than the engine size.
My 2p anyway.

 

The 4.6 should get a little better fuel economy over the 5.4 as long as hauling or towing heavy loads are not the main purpose. The better choice would be the 3V 4.6 because of the 6 speed trans and the power increase over the 2V version. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

I put 72k mi on my 4.6. Pulled a camp trailer too. Since then ive had five 5.4s. Hands down id say 5.4. Mpg arent that much worse. 1or 2 is all.

 

I wanted the 4.6 3V for the gas mileage and am very happy with it. It's a Screw 2wd with 3:55's and it tows our 3300 lb trailer with ease. The gas mileage is great......I average over 18 and on the road it will get as advertised-21. Not bad for how big this rig is. If you have to pull heavy stuff, go with the 5.4.

 

I guess my disclaimer is that I live at 4600ft with lots of mt passes. Even not towing, if I work both motors it narrows the mpg diference a lot.

 

Just get the 5.4 the mileage spread is at best 1 or 2 mpg depending on what gears you get.

Better to have the power then to be wanting it later.

 

there are to many factors to determine what your mpg's will be with what engine. everyone's driving habits are different, the roads are different, commute distances ect....

all i'll say is that after driving 2- 4.6L's, then 2- 5.4L's it's hard to beat the 5.4! we drove 2wd 4.6L with different ratios, then 2 5.4L's with different ratios. for what i wanted, the 5.4L with the 3.55 gears was the best bet! the 5.4 gives you the added power to help propel the weight of the truck(torque turns tires), as well as the deeper gear (larger number) gives the added acceleration, as well as eases the strain on the drive train to get the vehicle moving. i honestly would have loved a 3.73 rear end ratio. but given what i'd looked at, and what was on most lots, it was hard to find a 2wd, 5.4L, crew cab, with a 3.73.

the most we will ever pull with our truck is a single axle 6x10 trailer. we have the super duty and the excursion for the 26' trailer loaded down! so the 3.55 ratio for me was a decent compromise.

as for driving, where we drive, and what we have to drive for, we have been getting 20-21mpg out of the lie-o-meter, as well as about 20 hand calculated. majority of it is driving habits. sometimes my wife has a heavy acceleration, so the more you scoot out into traffic it will drop your mileage some, but on the open road, we can cruise at 60-65 and still maintain the 20mpg average. this is obviously due to the 3.55 ratio. as i'm sure if we'd have got the 3.31 rear end we could maintain 70-75mph and keep the 20mpg. regular vehicle maintenance will help you maintain a good mpg, clean air filter, alignment, consistent tire pressure too.