Hey. New to Ford and starting to do a little research. I was thinking I probably wanted the 4.6 or 5.0, but all the deals I'm finding are on the 5.4. I'm guessing that's for a reason? Is the cam phaser issue inevitable? How much is it to fix something like that and how often? Are there any other issues with the 5.4 I would need to think about? Should I just forget about the 5.4?
Any links or info would be appreciated. Thanks

 

I owned a 2003 ccsb F150 Lariat rwd with a 5.4L. It was a good truck but...


I did replace the head gaskets and it ate coil packs. In 2003 the 5.4L didn't have the cam phasers yet. From my understanding all Ford modular engines eat coil packs and have problems with spark plugs. Either they blow the spark plug out of the head due to damaged threads or the spark plugs seize in the head because the heads are aluminum. I got lucky with the spark plugs.


FWIW, I would buy another if the price is right., it's better than buying a Chevy or Dodge.

 

Haha... Thanks

 

The 5.4 is probably a lot more common as the 4.6's were pretty gutless and were mostly used for work truck duty. I had a 2002 5.4 that I sold with 170k miles on it and never had to touch coil packs, never had any spark plug issues (just changed them at 100k). It just ran and ran, never had any issues.

I believe they fixed the spark plug blowing out issues in 2004, but created the cam phaser issues and 2-piece spark plug issues.

Just about every motor out there will have problems. The reality is most engines run just fine for a long time and most people don't get on the internet to talk about how trouble free they are, they get on to talk when they have problems.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just go in with both eyes open and look for the typical problems.

 

Listen to FiveOJester.

The early 6.8L V10 is the engine that was known for blowing spark plugs. The 5.4 and the 4.6 weren't known for it.

I drove several 5.4 Expeditions in fleet use from 2000 to 2006 models and none of them blew a plug. Not one had a head issue and two had coil-on-plug failures. Because of the dissimilar metals in the head and spark plugs, the spark plugs were replaced at 90,000 miles.

In 2006, I bought a F250 with a 5.4 modular engine. It has gone through 1 coil on plug pack, 8 new spark plugs at 70,000 miles, 1 transmission shift sensor, and the normal consumables [brakes, wipers, serpentine belt, etc.]. I still own the truck and it is still running strong.

Zero cam phaser issues in the fleet Expeditions or in my Super Duty.

I spend more time polishing out the haze of the yellowing plastic headlights than I do anything else.