Thanks for everybodys responses I guess the 5.4 is the better engine but ill have to be happy with the 4.6 cause thats what I have (lol) plus im only 16 soon to be 17 driving in 2 months so Im happy i have such a nice truck for my first truck all im gunna really be doing is putting my bike in the back, oh and beat up on all the stupid ricers ( I hope the 4.6 can atleast do that much) as i said i plan on getting a K&N intake, gunna run straight pipes off the cats for the sound and eventually lower it and get rims, still debating about the lowering kit and wheels since its got higher mileage 102,500 to be close so I dont know if its worth it, dose this truck have alot of life left on the engine and trans the bodys imaculate and has mostly highway miles the previous owner was an older gentleman who lived in florida and never drove it hard so I think it should be ok to do everything I plan on doing. Please give me you opinions on modding my truck as always nothing but what Ive expected from this forum its great

Thanks again

 

I am stuck with my 4.6 also and It is under powered on the hills, sometime double down shifts if I leave the cruise control on. Any one with experience with power chips on a 4.6, my dealer that I bought the truck from does not think it would be a good idea. I would like to find a good shop in Northeast Kansas that put a performance exhaust under it. I drove another 4.6 pickup with a Gibson exhaust and air intake kit, no power chip. No comparison to mine, I thought it had a beefed up 5.4 under the hood, it would run unlike mine. If I want to go down the road I get my 76 F-150, 390 bored .30, rv cam, c-6 with a shift kit. If you know of someone that can do a professional install on a performace dual exhaust on my 4.6, please let me know.

Jeff
jeffwill@mewlan.com

 

Congrats on your truck, Bagels1622. Its got another 100,000 miles in it at least!

Modern vehicles, properly maintained, will easily last that long. People who think a truck is near death at 100,000 miles are living in the past or just spoiled rotten. But they do make it cheap for those of us who know better!

I will, however, advise against the K&N air filter. Some will disagree, but I do believe they allow more dirt in, which increases wear. Most people won't keep a car long enough to notice, but the difference shows up in a greater need to clean the throttle body after about 40,000 miles, and more oil used after 100,000 miles. Also, since the same factory air filter is used on our 4.6's as on the big V10, it seems unlikely that it would provide much restriction.

Good luck,
Brian

PS: If you feel the need to spend some money on your truck, first change all the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, diff, steering, brake), filters, spark plugs, and "soft" parts (belts, hoses, etc.). Your former owner may not have done as much on the insides as he should have. Upgrading the speakers (just get good Pioneers at Walmart) will also make it better. But, be very careful spending money on parts that somebody claims are better than what the factory engineers designed. True, the factory engineers had cost concerns, but you probably do too!

 

Thanks MrBSS what intake would be a better one? I was also looking at the airraid one aswell so i guess I'll go with that one and as for doing the "soft parts" im good for a while cause my grandpa bought me the truck (6 grand, it was a steal! ) from a dealership and his neghibor was good friends with the salesman so he hooked us up and took care of us, plus something on the COPs im pretty sure was replaced under the 30 day warranty due to the engine having a horrible miss, it runs extremly welll now and couldnt be happier. And as for the fluids Im becoming an automechanic since cars and trucks have been my passion since i was in diapers and i plan on bringing it into the shop at school and flushing the coolant changing the oils (trans, engine, rear.) even thow the dealership just did, I feel its better to be safe than sorry. I always say if your good to your truck it will be good to you.

thanks again everybody these forums are better than anyothers ive been on no flame wars or stupid BS

Bagels.

 

Well, I haven't studied them, but I think the Airraid is similar to the K&N. In a lab, all of these may flow more air with less pressure drop than a conventional paper filter, but they will also pass more dirt. Look at it this way: if a conventional filter is 99% efficient, and a "high flow" is 96%, then it's allowing 4 times as much dirt to pass.

This might be a reasonable trade-off, if in fact, a clean conventional filter was presenting a significant restriction. In particular for our 4.6's, I don't believe it does.

 

Most of the after market air filters are the same. The filtering may not be as good (not sure I believe that one) as factory, but the process of getting the air to the engine certainly is. I de fie anyone to produce results that a 3" or 4" tube with mandrel bends is not less restrictive than the stock filter box and accordion tubing...

Go with the K&N or other after market product. And if you are worried about the 99% .vs 96% get a K&N PreCharger Filter Wrap. This will offset any differences, plus you get cool looks and more importantly still less restriction. See URL below...

http://www.knfilters.com/wraps.htm

http://www.knfilters.com/

If you want any performance, you might want to look into a "chip" programmer offerd by HyperTech (see URL). They even have a program that you can run 87% octane gas...seems good to me. Of course...if you really want performance...you could certainly look into a SuperCharger. This will really make small work of the ricers...As you truck sits right now, if you go up against a modified ricer...they would eat you alive. Sorry, but true. That is why the modified ricer is referred to as the "Mustang GT Killer".

http://www.hypertech.com/programmer.html

I always enjoy the so called fact that "Factory" is usually better than after market. However, if that were true then Shelby Cobra and the others would not be able to sell a Mustang for $45,000-55,000.00. I understand the cost difference, but that is what after market will do...make a stocker BETTER.

Congrat's on your 4.6L...and enjoy the heck out of it!


biz

 

I have a Granatelli cold air intake on my 4.6, it seems to helped the performance a little, but my mileage is better by about 2 mpg. I have seen the Airaid on another 4.6, and it looks just like the Granatelli that I have on mine. I believe that the Airaid also had a throttle body spacer on it that the owner seemed to think had helped his perfomance.

My 4.6 is still a dog, especially on the hills, I am considering a exhaust or make sure the converter doesn't have a restiction or something. Otherwise I am going to start looking for a different truck that will run. Any experience out there with custom performance exhaust on a 4.6 that was good in the end and or perfomance chips suggestions. Help!!!

Jeff

 

Lower rearend gears will help the 4.6L pull that heavy truck. 4.10's will really wake it up!

 

I agree that lowered (numerically higher) rear end gears will make the most noticeable improvement at lowest cost. Keep in mind that larger diameter wheels will have the opposite effect.

A supercharger is great because it allows a small engine to act like a big engine, but I think it'll cost you at least $4,000.

I don't know the qualifications behind other opinions expressed here, and I don't wish to get into a debate. I am a mechanical engineer and have studied fluid mechanics (Yes, air is a fluid). The bullet-nosed, tapered cone factory filter is very aerodynamic. The intake bend is smooth, and the "accordion" portion is straight. There are no sudden restrictions or expansions. Cold air is taken from the fender. In short, it appears to be well designed, and I believe it is. If we were talking a big 4-valve, supercharged engine with headers, MAYBE it would present some restriction, but even then, only at RPM's your truck will never see.

I can't advise you on "cool"; I'm an engineer after all. I'm suggesting as a practical program, you should first maintain it at a little better than factory recommendations, and be sure that everything is working as designed. Its hard to design better, nearly impossible to design more cost-effectively, than the factory engineers. Often, an "improvement" will have an unintended downside (for example, intake and/or exhaust modifications can increase peak horsepower at the expense of low end torque). If it has any major weak points for your use, then you probably should save your money for a different ride. At least be certain that any changes have been successfully done before.

Good luck,
Brian

 

i feel i have to tell you that i had the same problem in 01 when i got my truck. i when with the 4.6. the main reasons for this is as follows:
1) about 2500 to 3000 price differences in the same truck
2) i have only put about 1000 dollars into my motor and have out run a lot of my friends with the 5.4.
3) i have put only a 1000 into the other parts of the truck (ie audio, video, lowering) and i am still under the price of the 5.4 with a more personal style.
4) i have more room to work on my motor.
5) there is more information on the 4.6 because of the mustang. they do more testing and research on the motor.

this is just some of the reasons i chose the 4.6 over the 5.4. so don't feel bad for the 4.6. just get you hands dirty and spend a little money. you will have as much power and less in than they do. you will aslo have the pride of knowing that you are different from a crowd of the same.

furrby

 

thanks guys Furrby I have no problems getting my hands dirty its what I love to do and im making my carrier out of it. I will look into 4.10 gears but wont that hurt topend speed like on the freeways. thanks again

 

With today's OD trannys, 4.10's aren't bad on the highway.

 

I think the 4.6 is a great motor. I own a 99 ext cab 4x4 with the 4.6 auto, 3.55's. I know some of you dog the motor, but are 1/2 ton trucks meant to pull that much, thats why they make 3/4 and 1 tons, and trucks arent meant to be fast, so there maybe a big difference between the two but ya gotta remember they do put the 5.4 in 3/4 ton trucks too.

 

Was the 5.4 a easy swap for the 4.6? A buddy just blewup his 4.6 and was wondering if a 5.4 would easily swap.

 

I see alot of debate on the 4.6 vs 5.4 on gas mileage, being that 4.6 only does a little better mpg, but what octane do these motors take.