About to buy a 99 SD with a 5.4. People are telling me its gonna be a turd an im a dodge guy so I know nothing about the 5.4s. I obviously am getting a sct livewire tuner an cai an eventually exhaust what other options do I have. Thanks for the help fellas. Im new here as well the name is cameron

 

Welcome Cameron, I'm new to THIS forum as well, since i just got an 01 SD 5.4L as well, so I'm interested to see if we'll get some help on this one

 

a 99 will have NON performance improved heads, which have much less HP than 00-04 models, i believe around 40-50hp. it certainly isnt going to win any races but it will get the job done. an SPD y pipe and SCT tuner from mike @ 5 star will really wake a 5.4 up. after those mods (also have gibson dual exhaust and K&N air filter) it is like a whole new truck, lot more power. you also might run into problems of spark plugs spitting out of the heads, because the older 5.4s only had 4 threads where as i believe in 03 they started using 8 threads. reliability wise it will do just fine, check the exhaust manifolds as they are prone to rotting out and the studs breaking off. expect 9-12 mpg city, 13-16 mpg hwy

 

The power numbers of the non PI head is 235hp vs 260hp for the PI heads.
Check the exhaust manifold studs at the heads, they are known to break and cause an exhaust leak.
The 8 threaded heads came in the mid 2003 model years so if you have an early build 2003, say pre March 03, then they are 4 threaded heads as well.

 

Everyone talks about the Cummins swap into these trucks, how much easier is it to swap in a PSD? Or is it harder? Anyone done that one?

 

everyone says its harder to swap a PSD into these trucks, im pretty sure you will need the transmission too... it might be slightly easier if you have a donor truck with complete drivetrain, fuel system, etc