couldn't have said it better myself!

 

Well Said!......Its all personal preference....

I owned a 89 ford f-150, I have owned a 01 4.2 and now own a 05 4.2l. Out of them all the 4.9l was the worst. I loved the lowend torque. It could pull a house if it wanted to.But driving down the road at 75mph....no...It was rough..AND it sucked gas like a hoover vacuam cleaner sucking dirt off a floor. Two: I had to allow plenty of time for passing and accelerating. I would rather the 4.9 for towing, but how can you even start comparing a 4.9l to a 4.2l..Notice the engine is big enough to a dadgum v8.(5.0L 302CID) and a 302 makes better gas mileage( Yes I owned one, 85 extended cab f-150, towed just as good). I think the 4.2l is overall a fairly reasoable engine, although I never really liked the idea of a v6 in a full size truck. And I do agree with brian. Retune and build it with the INTENT of being used in a heavy application and it might fare well. Put cast iron sleeves in the cylinders, use forged components with a higher volume oil pump. retune the computer.

But as said. who gives a flying flip on whoch is better. Its a v8 sized inline engine vs. a v6. Thats like comparing a model car tire to a dump truck tire

FYI:<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=545 border=0><TBODY><TR class=reviewbodytext03 onmouseover="this.bgColor='#E9E9E9'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='white'" bgColor=white><TD vAlign=top align=left height=13>ohv I6</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left height=13>4.9 / 300cid</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left height=13>145hp</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left height=13>265tq</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

hate to screw with yall.
I like my 7.3 IDI diesel better than both of em.
tho my 300-6 is a fine motor indeed.

 

hmmm...diesel...thats what I am talking about. I actually checked on torque numbers on the older ones. They didn't make much more torque than a gasoline, but it came at a much lower rpm. But the way gas prices are going, I think we all will be regreting even getting a 4 cylinder

 

yes yes... low horsepower and torque.
this is true... but I have the options of turbos and propane on the 7.3 (nothing like having your head hit the back windshield when you floor it at 60mph)
there are very few usable add ons to a 4.9

Oddly enough the 7.3 diesel drives alot like the 4.9
they share more in common than timing gears :-)

my F150 300/6 is still on the farm, It isn't worth anything, or at least not enough to be worth selling. Heck when rust eats the rest of the truck, I'll use the damn engine as an irrigation pump :-)

Still helpful in my line of work to have an 'extra' truck just in case.

I've only driven one 4.2
I dunno, after years with low rev engines, I get nervous whenever my truck does 3,300 rpms

drew

 

After years of driving older model cars with v8, the v6 is an upgrade to me. The last v8 I owned had 150hp and 250trq and it also had 210,000 miles on it. It never towed well even when it was new. The v6 has way more power in it.

Yes for you, it would be scary to drive a v6 that makes its peak trq at 3700 or so

 

the 300 can and will lug itself at the bare mininium RPM to get going and keep going. its made to do it. the 4.2 needs to rev its nuts off to get moving compared to a 300.

not saying anything bad about either but the 300 is a better truck engine. the 4.2 is better for the DD/commumter. but i lie because my dads 1995 f150 300/e4od/4x4 has 138,000 and still gets 17-19 mpg. and IMO, it has more than enough get up and go for what is it.

 

I agree about the diesel and the 300. They drive alot alike. Shift at low Rpm's and they will both lug a load if you miss a shift going up hill.

DT

 

I'm also a 300 I6 guy. My Dad briefly had a '90 F150 XLT with the 300I6 and stick, and at 125k miles it really was just breaking in; it was still smooth, pulled well even from low, low rpm's, and showed no signs of age. It was almost impossible to stall it, I even got it going fairly easily in 4th gear I've heard they're utterly reliable and can be thrashed and trashed with little/no ill effects, and get the better part of a half million miles before needing an overhaul. Gas mileage wasn't bad either, we got about 16mpg with it. It was definitely no racer (hell, some ricer Civic beat the crud out of it), but when it came to all the things a truck is supposed to do, it did them fabulously and without complaint. In fact, in some ways I preferred it to the 5.2 Ram 1500 he has now.

 

All depends on the application..Tow alot, don't buy a v6 or for that matter a v8..I would go for the 4.9 for that. Works just like a diesel, but altleast it might get better fuel economy..if it comes to daily commuting, I'd want the v6. I never like taking my 4.9 over 65....

 

Hell I dont like taking mine over 55. With a C6 you'll have that though. not having overdrive sucks. No high way travel in my truck! Back country roads at 55-60 mph for me. I like keeping the RPMs at around 2000 rpms. and thats perfect too because at 55 mph, with my C6 and 3.08's I turn a little above 2000.

 

I find it odd that you're all so afraid to run your 300's at highway speeds. I have 4.10's on my EFI truck (31 inch tires) and I turn around 2550 at 75 mph in overdrive. That's lower gearing than most of you have. With an overdrive these speeds are no problem, and the torque curve is flat all the way to 3000-3100 rpm.

My older Ford has 3.55's with 31's, and turns 2900 at 75 (no overdrive). This truck has headers, Offy intake and four barrel, with a bump in compression due to milling the head and overboring the cylinders. The ports were smoothed up, but not enlarged, and matched up to the headers. The exhaust goes out dual pipes. In other words, this truck has all the mods needed to make the 300 come alive (it's now a 309) but it still retains its low speed torque-in fact, low speed torque has improved as well. The powerband has fattened up, gaining several hundred rpm up high, and it can easily out lug my EFI truck down low. It runs down the highway at highly illegal speeds like it was nothing (not often, but it can easily do it). This is what a 300 can be.

No need to fear the highway (75+ mph) if the truck has the right gearing or overdrive. My high geared, stock EFI truck can do it no problems. Yours can too.

Of course, if you're towing, lower speeds of around 60 mph are a lot easier on gas and safer too. I'm talking about running empty.

 

hell i run my 300 at 70-75 all the time. i dont go faster because i dont need to but the mudders dont like it either.

 

both of my trucks have stock tire sizes and c6 tranny's
3,300 is the gov speed on the 7.3, on the 4.9 75 miles per hour isn't a problem, course the F150 4.9 have 2.73 gears

 

I won't run mine over 67. with 4.10's and no overdrive that's 3k. i've had it up to 85 once but i was in a hurry.

DT