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Just went on a 2000 miles camping trip towing a 8200# camper with my 5.4L 6 speed. Normally on flat roads I easily us OD. Sometimes with head winds and moderate hills I downshift to 4th and occasionally 3rd depending on terrain.
This trip thru the mountains of PA and upper state NY I was going up some very steep grades and had to downshift to 2nd. Running at 4-4.3K for extended periods of time..
so the question, since peak HP is at 5K, is there any reason why this little motor wouldn't want to rev close to the peak HP for extended periods of time? I know it sounds like it's going to explode but it's a gasser and it needs the RPM's. I am not trying to win a race, just keeping pace up the steep grades.
I do have a OBDII Bluetooth scan tool in which I can monitor coolant temp better than the idiot gauge.
I will say that it is under powered compared to today's standards, I guess what I am wondering is how well the little' 5.4 holds up to high RPM's for a decent duration....I know friends we went with have a 2016 GMC 6L DRW towing just over what I am and it also screams when towing up hills too...(automatic in their case)
I don't think it hurts much except fuel mileage. I will let my 2001 5.4 rev (4.10 gears) , but will generally back off to 3500 if I'm pulling a long grade. At some point, it seems easier to just slow down than listen to engine rev so high.
The motor is designed to rev like that it’s fine your not going to hurt it. The computer won’t let you over rev it. The modular motors as well as the rest of the current gas motors are going to rev in that situation.
I tow my parents camper which is approximately 9k through pa for them with my 5.4 F350 BUT I have 4.30 gears. My truck has zero issues staying at highway speed and on a rare occasion will it drop multiple gears and scream at 4 or 5k. Other than that she pulls with no problems, I'm sure if I was in the rocky mountains or something it would be worse but who knows
Rpm is the death of an engine. Extended rpm is not good, regardless of what anyone will tell you. Elevated bearig speed is never a good thing, ever. The 5.4 should never have been used in a super duty that will tow weight.
Rpm is the death of an engine. Extended rpm is not good, regardless of what anyone will tell you. Elevated bearing speed is never a good thing, ever. The 5.4 should never have been used in a super duty that will tow weight.
The whole thing is kind of a oxymoron, high RPM's are bad, but most new gassers the power band is 4 to 5K....Ughhh
The whole thing is kind of a oxymoron, high RPM's are bad, but most new gassers the power band is 4 to 5K....Ughhh
I agree. RPM will never be the friend of longevity, ever. In the last 20 years of building small block ford racing engines and doing countless amount of refreshes on customer engines, the ones who have dropped 1000 rpm or more by re-gearing or other means have extended the interval between refreshes dramatically. I may be the minority but a 5.4 in a 250 is what I call a home depot 2x4 type of truck. Dragging around a 6000-7000k lb truck with another 5000 or more hooked up to it is a disaster in my opinion.
I've owned a 2003 f350 with the 5.4 for eleven years now and it's just turning over 300,000 kilometres. It's pulled campers, boats, horse trailers, flat decks, etc etc etc. Synthetic oil in it always and I've only done plugs, filters, brakes, and one fuel, pump. I have flogged that truck ridiculously hard over and over and over again. So I can't help but just laugh at some of these comments. Original drivetrain entirely. Nothing has been or needed repair. Motor, tranny, transfer case and both diffs all original.
