Am looking at mid 2000 vintage F150's w/5.4l. Are there preferable model year trucks to look at with 5.4l engine enhancments worth having and what are they?

 

Well, I'm not really sure what you are talking about when you say vintage. I assume you mean before the body change in 09. But I can tell you that the early 5.4 3V had some issues. One is the spark plug issue, which shouldnt be enough to keep you from buying one, that was remedied with the 08 and newer. And the 04's and 05's had some cam phaser issues and some injector problems. If you could pick one, I would say buy an 06-08. Now, that being said, I have an 04 with 85,000 miles and engine has been good, but it sounds like the 06 and on all the bugs were worked out(except the spark plug issue on the 06 and 07).

 

Big Unit, do you ever bother checking your fuel economy? I am just curious. Which rear end do you have?

 

I have the 3.73 Limited Slip axle. I don't check my fuel mileage by hand. My computer usually shows an average of 13.5 or so. I drive my truck mostly in town. If I were to reset it and take it out on the highway at 60 it shows usually 19-20. On the intersate at 72 I usually get about 17-18. I know there is a member on here named McDavis with the same rearend I believe and he keeps a detailed log of every fillup and puts it on a website called "fuelly". Do a search for him and the link to the site is in his signature.

 

Big Unit, thanks for the reply this is helpful to me. Do you think there is any appreciable gain in fuel economy by having the 3:55 rear end? I am not so concerned about towing capacity, should still do what I want adequately. I have to admit I have always been a GM guy, have never owned a Ford but am seriously considering it. I cannot afford new hence the mid 2000 era truck questions. Are there any conerning issues with higher mileage 80,000 and up 5.4L engines and truck chassis?

 

well maybe some other guys can tell you a little more definatively, but while I think you might see an increase in mileage in the 3.55 rearend, I myself wouldn't call it significant. Keep in mind I have a 4X4, if you get a two wheel drive that would help your mileage. As far as your wondering about the trucks with 80,000 and up I'll say this: These trucks are really good trucks. Don't judge by all the threads you read here, most guys come on her when something is wrong, and all trucks will have things go wrong. But for the most part these trucks are really reliable and if you keep them maintained should perform well for you. I have had a couple of issues with mine, but taking out the huge bill I paid for the spark plug change(which I wish I would have just bought the Lisle tool and done myself) my truck has not required a lot of money put into it for mechanical reasons.
I sure would encourage you to buy a Ford if you can find one in your price range that suits your wants/needs. Here's a link to a thread that was on here not too long ago where guys posted how many miles they had on their trucks and how much they had to put into them.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...om-owners.html

 

Thanks Big Unit. I currently have a 3/4 ton GMC 4x4 generally used for plowing. It burns gas very quickly and I am tired of it. I just need to find the right replacement.

 

Are you planning on doing plowing with your replacement? I don't have a plow, so this is just what I've read but seems most indicate a F250 or bigger works better with a plow than a F150. Seems a plow is hard on the IFS on the 4x4's. If you go with a bigger truck, may want to consider a diesel for mileage.

If you don't need a 4x4, seriously consider a 4x2 for mileage. I have a 07 F150 SCab long bed heavy half. 5.4L engine with 4.10 LS rear. Just did a plug change at 42K (currently at 45K miles) and got my best mileage yet: 20.6 mpg, 65 mph (2k rpms) highway running cruise on a 500 mile trip. Right now I'm averaging 15-17 mpg around town. This is all based on hand calculated mile for the last 23K miles.

 

I will chime in on the mileage and issues with 04 motors. I have an 04 Screw Lariat 2wd with the 5.4, currently at 169k and have had zero problems. My trucj, like a lot of the 04-05 models has the cam phaser problem. It has had the tick associated with it since.....well pretty much since it was new. I have always run synthetic oil, and switched to 10w30 at about 100k. My truck averages right at 16.7 on the computer (which i have hand calculated to be accurate) with a combo of city and interstate driving.
This is my first Ford, and i dont see me "upgrading" since the entire truck still looks new inside and out, and is just about customized to my liking.

 

I hadn't gotten a chance to reply, but I second the getting a super duty. I would also go with a stroke if I were you. I would look for a 7.3 or a 6.4, personally I would stay away from a 6.0. Like was said above, if you are going to be doing a lot of plowing you will want that heavy front end of a F250 or a F350. You could find a used 7.3 for not too bad, and don't be scared of mileage on them, they will run forever.

 

I am not planning on plowing with the F150, my thoughts were getting an older 3/4 ton of some type and only using it for plowing. My plowing in upper mich gets pretty heavy at times with heavy snow. I wouldn't plow with anything less than a 3/4 ton. Alot of guys have half tons but they're not serious plowers. I had a duramax and there's no doubt the diesels are king of the hill for power and torque.

 

Oh ok, I thought this was your plow truck too. I see.