So I've got this 2007 F150 XLT 5.4 that has been somewhat neglected for the first 170K miles of its life... poor thing.

She's like a poster child for the Triton 5.4l, with all of the quirks, eccentricities, and signature "features" of the beloved Triton 5.4 all on display in one example.

It's like a museum of all the things that can go awry... it's got the rust spots starting under the wheel well, "racing stripes" starting to creep up the hood, ticking, stuttering, transmission slip, interior is a mess, etc.

But she's a proud and mighty beast... and I just KNOW she's got another 130k miles left in her.

Last week the transmission started slipping pretty badly, and over the course of 2 days I decided to drop the pan and see if a fluid/filter change might buy me a little time to decide what I was going to do with the truck. When I got in there, the chunks of planetary gear all over the magnet was a pretty good hint that this was a little beyond the capabilities of that bottle of Lucas No Slip!

In a moment of weakness, I decided to drop the tranny and have it rebuilt... and with that investment the decision was made: I'm bringing this thing back to life, and I'm going to be driving her to 300k miles -- and when my 4 year old starts driving, well... KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY TRUCK, KID, GO GET A JOB AND GET YOUR OWN!

So once I get her back, I'm going to start addressing all of the issues as time, money, and wife's patience will allow:
- Transmission
- Replace rear seats (unfortunate cat pee incident - the smell on a hot day could choke a donkey)
- Occassional Stuttering at speed (typically 40-70MPH)
- Interior: Blower fan not working (I believe replacing the Blower Control resistor is going to resolve this)
- Fix ripped driver's seat (yep, that rip)
- Try to fix the ticking (Exhaust Leak/VCT/Cam phasers, etc)
- Display on the radio fading in and out (mostly out at this point)
- Replace cig lighter/accessory plugs -- so loose they don't even hold a phone charger
- Exterior Body - rust/paint issues



The tranny should be good, and I've got new rear seats for a quick swap out.

Then I'm going to focus on the stuttering (occassional cylindar misfire on #8 & #5)

My approach will be:
- complete spark plug change (I think some of them have been done, but don't know for sure)
- clean MAF sensor
- fuel pump drive module replacement (I've got a good feeling about this one)
- complete COP replacements (I replaced #8 and #5, no improvement, so I don't think this is the issue)
- focus on the injectors, cleaning


I'm familiar with the spark plug job, but any advice beyond what's readily available online is appreciated, and pointing/laughing is encouraged. Just want to chronicle the rehab if anyone is interested, mostly because I'm an idiot and am bound to do something stupid -- should be entertaining at least.



Cheers!

 

If you have access to air tools; get the motor good and hot. Pull coils, pcm, intake tube, etc. Hit the spark plugs with a 3/8 impact while hot. Have personally done at least 100 of these trucks and have broke maybe 8 plugs.

 

If you're pulling the plugs think about replacing the coils at the same time.

2004 Ford F150 Truck Ignition Coil - AM Autoparts