So I was given this 2003 Expy..... Its not a bad rig, its been used hard. Previous owner paid a small fortune to a shop to get it running right... They swapped in a used transmission, a couple other drive train parts, suggested a new rear wiper motor (wiper blade was stuck, killing the battery, 5 minute fix), and a whole bunch of other crap. Amazingly..... they NEVER checked the plugs or coils. I am pretty sure the plugs were the original plugs that had 204K miles on them. Swapped those, replaced the coil packs, and cut out the trashed cats.... Thing runs really well now. There was also a massive vacuum leak that was causing all kinds of headaches. I need to weld in some high flow cats, mainly because I hate the check engine light coming on.

I just went through the drive train, new wheels bearings on all four corners, new u joints, new fluid in the transfer case and diffs.

Fast forward to where I am now after about a year owning it...
I noticed it occasionally dumping coolant the other day. The intake has finally started leaking at the crossover tube, so its time to replace it. I am trying to do this on a budget, and not be thousands of dollars into a free vehicle. Realistically I would like to keep it on the road 2-3 more years until our main family rig is paid off. I went ahead and ordered a Dorman intake, a timing set kit, oil pump, and water pump. They are not Melling units, which I would have liked, I just dont have the free income right now.

Here is where I am at though.... I am going this far into the motor, am I crazy for not just pulling it out and pulling the heads to do head gaskets and valve seals, and re lap valves? And do the spark plug inserts while I am there? I have the Cal-van tools, timing tools, and its not my first rodeo with a 5.4 2v. Or should I just leave well enough alone, go through what I have, and drive it until it explodes? The rig is mainly my commuter vehicle, plus I use it for my fabrication business occasionally pulling a small trailer or hauling small amounts of metal from A to B. It has a few gremlins inside (heated/cooled seats dont work, quarter panel glass opening is hit and miss). Its not a bad rig, I just want to know its not going to leave me stranded if I have to head over the passes to spokane or decide to pull a small camper somewhere local.

 

Those 3 lines say it all. Do only what is required, when it is required. Return the timing set, water pump and oil pump... not required. I'd return the Dorman intake as well. Take some of the cash from the other returns and at least buy a Motorcraft intake. I've read too many complaints about replacing a Dorman replacement after a year or 2.

 

Dorman intakes are garbage with a tiny plenum volume compared to OE. I pulled the one off my 01 Screw and trashed it, did not even bother trying to sell.

Motorcraft also went on my Expedition. The new MC one is updated, clear as day side by side. I think I paid about $250 with freight only

 

I think that's about what I paid for mine in 2020 as well.

 

Bet you could grab one off a late van if on super budget. Apparently they ran 2V engines until 2008.

Oh! I also used the HD Felpro gaskets. Unsure if most guys do or not.

Fuel injector service would be a wise idea when intake is out. Mine were all over the place in output.

 

Timing chains are getting done no matter what. At 250k They are starting to get noisy and I am not going to wait for them to fail since I am going to have the intake off anyway.

I have actually been shopping for a new motorcraft intake, but haven't had much luck. Im actually hoping the leak in mine is gaskets and not the intake warping, so I can just put it back in.

 

The intake being off isn't reason enough to do the timing set. There's A LOT more that has to be pulled, but it sounds like your wrenching history knows that. If you have 250k miles on it now and they're getting noisy, then ok, that starts to move to the "required" column. I was going off your first statement of 204k miles and keeping it 2-3 years. I was thinking avg 15k/ year would've gotten you right to 250k at 3 more years. Most decently maintained 2V 5.4 should get to 250k without mechanical failure. It's your truck, your money, you gotta drive it, so you do you. Personally, I'm only at 176k with my 2003, so I'm hoping to get another ~10 years!

Shop parts.ford.com, looks like it's in stock.



And I'm confident your leak isn't just a gasket. The plastic intake at the crossover tube delaminates. On mine, both the intake and gasket failed. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...003-5-4-a.html (scroll down the thread for my failed intake pics)

 

It’s definitely not my first rodeo with a 5.4. I guess really my main thought is I’m hoping to not have to crack the engine open again. With all the work that has been done, I’m hoping to just be able to drive it and not worry about anything until my fab shop is a little more on its own feet. If I’m lucky by next fall my business can buy its own truck.

when I built the last motor for my son, we swapped a junk engine out of a free truck with a good engine I picked up for nearly free. Since it was out I did all the gaskets, lapped the valves, did thread inserts in all the plug holes, new timing, and we took the ultra rare full aluminum intake off the bad motor.

It ran amazing for the two months before he hit a parked car and bent the frame 🤦‍♂️

 

I called Ford Parts on this today to try and get ahold of one (I hate getting stuff backordered). First, the price I pulled up was $279, not sure why there is such a discrepancy, then....it's backordered nationwide. They say there is an issue with their supplier/manufacturer with no date for possible order fulfilment. Called 3-4 other places, everyone is saying it is backordered. Looks like I am stuck with the Dorman for at least the short term. Going to try and hunt for another elusive full aluminum unit too though.

 

National backorder has happened before with that intake. That's unfortunate. The price difference is based on the dealer you "order" from. The 2 dealerships near me charge full MSRP. I order online using Lakeland Ford because their parts prices are always cheaper, which is what you are seeing in my pic. Online orders are shipped directly to your address, so it doesn't matter what dealer you select for an online order. Unless you have to do a return; returns have to be processed by the dealer you order from.

 

Look used? The updated plastic are fine and can probably ****** one cheap. I believe they came out late '02 for '03. I can grab you a pic of it so you can tell in the yards. Easy to pull also. Hell, I would keep a leaking OE before going to Dorman. It is that much of a POS.

Your '03 has PI heads, pretty sure the aluminum ones do not bolt on as those are from early trucks as I recall with non PI heads.

 

The aluminum intake ran on the first round of PI heads. Its a direct swap, I know this from having done it before when we did my sons truck. I have a mid '03 already, that's what I am replacing because of the leak. I'll play with the factory intake when I get it off and see if its worth saving. In the mean time the Dorman is what I have and I need to have the vehicle back on the road by this weekend. Parts yards with good selection are not really accessible without a WHOLE lot of driving in my neck of Montana.

In the grand scheme of things if I have to swap the intake out because it fails I can do it in an afternoon.

 

Ah, one year wonder type of part. Good to know.

 

Definitely glad I dug into it. One timing chain guide was starting to break, and almost a full inch of slack on the chain on that side. It was as bad as I have seen with the vehicle still running. Got everything back together and managed to pinch a wire like an idiot...... regardless, finally got everything sorted out and now its running like a champ. Its getting slightly better mileage, better throttle response, smoother running, and I even fixed the rear blend door and jb welded the giant hole in the rear heater core back closed.

For a 20 year old rig with 250K on the clock, it really is nice to drive.

 

Which side had more slack? Was the tensioner maxed out?

Makes sense power and econ back, cams are in time again. I plan on acquiring a set of eight thread heads from a later 2V 5.4, have them rebuilt, and pop on my 245k Expedition. Worth doing as it has a factory reman 4R100 and I fully rebuilt the HVAC a few years back along with the front end.