Hi there new to the forum, looking for any advice! I have an 03' f350 with a 5.4. Its already blown a plug out of the head last year and now iv got timming chain issues. I put a 13" lift and 40's on it 2 years ago, itsmy baby and i cant get rid of it but... i want to lose the tirton!! Any suggestions for a gas engine, I was considering a cummins but im really not too chuffed on a diesel. I was thinkin 5.0 turboed or supercharged only cuz im somewhat familiar mustangs but i dont know. Any feed back is greatly appreciated!

 

If I told you the Ford Motor company sunk $1B (Billion) dollars into developing "Modular" you'd probably laugh --- they sunk this amount not to make it any better, but to make its manufacturing (Romeo Plant in MI, Windsor Plant in Canada) more flexible>

5.4L's don't stroke easily --- it's done but you lose piston skirt which hurts stability, pushing the piston pin into the piston ring land area, making the entire piston weakened / unstable. Rod length also gets hosed up - creating instability vis a vis crankshaft counter-weighting. So I'd rule 5.4L upgrades OUT.

I'd go with a Ford Crate Engine -- 5.0Ls have plenty of parts availability, reasonably priced --- not sure of your trans setup, but that's a big consideration.

 

I know with a diesel swap thectranny is a big deal cuz of the difference in torque and rpm. But if i stuck with gas and did the 5.0 swap what things do i have to consider? Adaptor plates?? Would the gearing be an issue? Anyway thanks for the input, i am leaning towards the 5.0, reliable and the sky is the limit when it comes to aftermarket performance.

 

A 3v V10 seems like a good fit. V10 torque for those big tires.

 

Probably cheapest route is to sell it and buy an equivelent V10 but swappng one in would be the next cheapest option.

 

couple options worth considering, with rough price points:

drop-in a stock rebuilt 5.4L. They're not the greatest motor in the world, but for $2500-$3000, you can buy something fresh that might get you another 10 or more years out of the truck, if you take care of it.

scour ebay for a similar year lightning or harley motor, which is a 2v 5.4 with a screw charger on it. much more power, but it'll be a used motor. should be in arguably better shape since it didn't live in a true work truck. figure $5k-$7k

hybrid approach - get a new 5.4L short block, put a TFS top end kit on it, and have it custom tuned for the new cams and heads. that will run you about $5k-$7k and get you a new motor with significant power-up.

or, the 2v v10 swap. if you can find one in good shape with all the bits on it. keep in mind the older V10 heads spit plugs, too.

the electronics on the 3v motors makes them somewhat impractical to swap-on to the older 2v trucks

personally, I wouldn't trust any used motor, especially a modular motor. too finicky and prone to failure if mistreated. but that's me.

 

5.0L parts longer term will be more available and more reasonably priced, but you'll need an adapter plate, new flex, etc to match the 5.0L up to that (I'm assuming) 4R100. If you have the "tank", the 5R tranny you've got more options.

A V10 will bolt right up to you trans, but they're real dogs and the 4r100 won't like the new loads. If it's the 5R it can take a lickin and keep on tickin (almost forever) -- an absolutely superb tranny.

 

Dont the triton v10's have the abnormaly long timing chains, the oil pressured chain tensioner and the variable timing sensor issues that the 5.4 have?

 

A V10 is quite literally a 5.4L V8 with two extra cylinders and a balance shaft on the driver side cylinder head. The bore and stroke dimensions are identical, as are ALL timing drive parts. On the 3-valve engines, only the 5.4L V8 engines have the problematic VCT system, while the V10 version of the 3-valve engines are just a fixed cam non-VCT engine. All use oil pressure supplied hydraulic timing chain tensioners.

In answer to your question in your initial post, putting in any other engine, other than what it came equipped with, will be substantially more expensive. As much as your sixteen model year old truck is your "baby", you need to think carefully about the level of financial commitment you are willing to make to your ride. Selling your truck, and using the funds you get from selling along with what you would have spent putting in a new engine if you were to keep it, you will be thousands of dollars ahead, just outright buying a newer truck with the engine and drivetrain configuration that you are happier with.

 

Thanks m chan. Reality checks are a buzz kill but needed sometimes! Any one have any luck getting there 5.4 rebuilt? Is there anything that they do when they rebuild them to mitigate these known problems. When mine blew a plug 2 years ago i looked into a place that would do it and it would cost around 3500$ but im not sure exactly all that is involved in the rebuild.

 

$3500 sounds about right for a rebuilt 5.4L 2-valve engine. As far as your concern relating to the spark plugs ejecting themselves, i am fairly certain this issue has been addressed on the rebuilt engines using a revised wider thread span of the spark plugs holes to be used in conjunction with the revised spark plugs with more threads. Other than that, with proper maintenance these engines can go for many miles, possibly out lasting the body of your truck, once done. Are you intending to keep your truck long enough to invest in body work when the need arises?

 

I would strongly avoid doing an engine swap for the above listed reasons. I would also hesitate to try to rebuild your current engine, as the modular engines are most designed with very thick cylinder walls. It's not like a 350 Chevy where you can bore it .030" over, then bore is .060" over, then bore it .080" over and keep rebuilding it until the block cracks in half. The cylinder walls might be in good enough shape to hone and reuse, they might be in good enough shape to bore .020" over - which is about the max you can bore most modular engines - or they might be too worn and you just invested however much time and money into ripping the block apart and inspecting it, only to need to replace the whole block anyway.

I'm a huge Mustang guy but wouldn't ever put any engine out of any Mustang into a truck, regardless of cost, compatibility, etc., for one simple reason; torque curve. The bottom end torque required to get a 3,500 pound Mustang moving is vastly different than the torque required to get a 6,500 pound truck moving, and that's not even including any towing or hauling you might be doing.

Personally, I would try to find a replacement engine, were I in your shoes. How many miles are on the truck? Slapping power adders like a turbo or supercharger on it could inversely affect a lot of components on a high mileage truck. Things obviously wear out quicker that way.

 

5.4L is an "ok" engine, parts are not expensive, but if you do the work yourself you'll need special Ford/Rotunda tools -- e.g. special modular engine lift (that sits down in the intake well /cavity), a host of timing/valve related tools -- I own about $1000 in special 5.4L related tools alone). On "newer" things: top end upgrade is mandatory, avoid the older heads.

As for the V-10 --- again, the earlier engines (up thru around 2004) are real dogs, newer ones have a bit more HP/Torque and depending on transmission (4R,5R) you might have to modify certain things in your driveline going from a 5.4L setup (e.g. trans crossmember location on frame) and change out EECs (obvious).

If it were my truck, I'd go with a crate engine or a diesel (another $3000-$6000).

 

IF, i were to go diesel... would it be advantageous to find a whole truck at wrecker or auction and swap everything (engine tranny transfercase) in? Fabrication is well within my scope, except milling! but when it comes to computers and electrical i almost immediately get a headache. Also as far as crate engine ( gas) goes i live in southern ontario canada, anyone know where i can find crate engines near me or where i should be looking? As shipping and brokerage fees can make it or break it!