140,000 original and still no major repairs aside from water pump, the 5.8 has been exceptionally reliable..

 

225,000

Got it at 222 w/ a new Ford tranny, replaced the timing chain/gears, timing case, waterpump, rad, t-stat, hoses, flushed all the fluids, new rear brakes, fresh plugs & wires

Runs 85MPH for hours at time now! Just needed a little weld...

 

1990 e150 with e4od supposedly only had 44k when i got it in 2014. Two previous owners were handicapped so it was barely used but it sat over some grassy areas for some time so pretty dirty. Right now shes at 56k and i have had to replace the shift solenoid and fuel pump/filter. Also took out the smog pump and the a/c compressor and rebuilt/replaced the rest of the vacuum system. Due have some suspicion about whether or not it has turned over 100k. wish there was a way to tell but the fact that it was a clean conversion van with the lift and super clean (with the chair that the lift misplaced) i tended to believe it wasn't used much.

 

The 351W was easily, by far, the worst Ford engine I've ever had under my hood. It was in a 1978 F150 which I bought new. No power and just a pig on gas. I drove it for 2 years so I'd given it a fair fighting chance, things just never got better. Me and Ford tried lots of different fixes. I've had a 289, a couple 302s, a couple 351C, a 351M, a 390, and a couple 460s. All great engines. But that 351W was so disappointing I almost bought a Chevy!! I couldn't bring myself to do that of course, next truck I bought used, it had the 351M and life was good again.

Sincerely,

 

Was that the M or W that was so disappointing?

The mid to late 70's were dark years for automotive as American manufacturers struggled against Japanese competition, oil embargo, and heavier regulations at the same time. So you can't really judge performance by engines built during those times.

 

It was definitely the 351W that caused so much disappointment. Even thinking back to that beautiful truck with that POS engine makes me shake my head. I was warned that the 351M would make me no happier but that was far from true. I drove and worked that 351M hard for 5 years without a days trouble. Only regular maintenance required. Lots of power and decent fuel mileage. Love those big blocks. The 351M in that next truck, a 1975 F150 (which I bought used) after that pitiful 351W, was a transplant from a LTD wagon.

 

"The 351W was easily, by far, the worst Ford engine I've ever had under my hood. It was in a 1978 F150 which I bought new."


No 351W engine was installed in these trucks in 1978. Maybe you are mad at the wrong engine.

 

???? mad at the wrong engine?? It came from factory. It was a 351 small block, there is only one of those. It was suppose to be better on fuel than the big block.! I know I'll never buy another vehicle with a 351W again. I'm from Canada maybe engine options were different here. All I know is I had a 351 small block, and I was not impressed. That was 35 years ago.!

My truck before that had been a 1974 F100 with a 302, three on the tree. Pretty good on fuel but limited as to what it could accomplish. Later acquired truck with 351 big block was very good. Cars with 351C also very good.

You know what it doesn't matter any more, they're all gone now. I now have my 1979 F350 SC Camper Special, all cleaned up, with its 460 which runs great and only has 120 K miles. Since I only put about 5000 miles a year on it these last few years, it will last me a very long time. This is the only Ford left in my yard. I got 550,000 miles off my last 460, incident free.

The daily drivers of both my wife and I are Toyotas. We both drive Rav4s. She drives a 2009 Sport, I drive a 2011 Limited. Both have 269 hp V6s. Very comfortable, energetic, dependable vehicles, that will deliver many, many enjoyable driving miles, incident free.

 

I apologize Beanscoot you may be correct. Upon further reflection and research, I bought that 1978 F150 in early1980 from local Ford dealership. I bought it right after my stint working on that dam in Revelstoke. I traded my 74 F100 on that 78 F150. It was in "like new" condition and the ODO read 24000 miles. Wilf sold it to me as "a pretty much new truck". It was the newest truck I'd ever bought, and you have to admit 24000 miles on a truck is pretty much new.

You state no 351W were installed in F150s during that year! You would probably know better than me. This brings up an even more troubling question. I know there was a 351W under my hood. What would the original engine have been? What happen to the original power plant between 0 and 24000 miles??

Wilf was diagnosed with MS in the early 90s, so there's not much of him left to go ask and his son would have no idea. This is all long ago past history and I refuse to let it bother me, I have to buy most parts for my truck from Piston Ring anyways. It will however influence where I buy my next Ford vehicle ... if such a day ever comes again. I did drive an Escape as a company car for a year in 2010. I wasn't very impressed with that vehicle either. My wife had been driving hers for a year already and loved it, so when I needed to replace my personal vehicle I bought a Toyota. Although to be honest, despite mine being newer and fancier, I like hers better than mine. We are really enjoying those Rav4s.

 

Well, among other sources, this one from our own "Number Dummy" is pretty authorative:

"If a 351W .. the engine has been swapped. 351W's (6 valve cover bolts per side) were not factory installed until 1981.

1977/79 F100/350 available with 351M (8 valve cover bolts per side).
__________________
Bill / Retired Ford Parts Manager / SoCal Chapter Member / Part number research: 1928/2001 trucks & 1928/89 passenger cars.

2015 F150 XLT 2WD Super Crew"

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...51-winsor.html

But, you are right in that there were oddities in Canadian vehicles. For instance, I did own a 1985 Crown Victoria with a 351W. When I would go to the parts store for parts, they said that it only came with a 302. But it was available with the 351W, only in Canada with a trailer towing package.
However I believe the engine was available in the US in police cars.

 

The cam timing was retarded 4 degrees IIRR...for smog reasons...everyone I knew back then just replaced the cam gear with the older version....trucks ran great then!

 

Over 300,000, still ticking, gets abused daily for towing (sitting at 4000 rpm for several minutes at a time), passes emissions with flying colors. I suspect the bottom end may have been rebuilt as the stock crank sleeves won't fit, and the pistons look like tin cans. But I've put 60k on the truck since.I bought it.

 

"the stock crank sleeves won't fit"

Huh?

"pistons look like tin cans"

I don't understand this. Pictures?

 

I just became the 6th owner of a truck with a 351 Windsor with over 325,000 miles. I don't think it's ever been rebuilt although the previous owner installed GT40 cylinder heads. The motor has some leaky seals but seems to run strong (knock on wood). The associated components however are failing rapidly....ignition module, coil, etc.

 

Update: 3 years later the truck now has 222,260 miles on the 351w/e4od and still going strong!