My 1998 4.6L club cab with 8ft box has 321000k It has a warm up piston slap that is iritating, and need about 1/2 to 3/4 of a litre every 5000k. I have changed the oil and filter since I bought (her) new.

 

I understand using Lucas Oil Stabalizer helps with that. I read quite a bit of the thread on the piston slap and that's basically what I got out of it. No slap here, but I have a 4.6. Getting 16 MPG lately w/mixed driving!!!

 

I would look the rest of the the drive train over good, front end parts and such,i also own a 94 town car with 179000. it uses no oil in 2500-3000 mile services, the 4.6 is pretty tough...........

 

I have a 00 Excursion with a V10 which is pretty much the same as a 5.4/4.6 just add a couple cylinders. I bought it new and have 210k not a single engine or trans issue since new. The guys with rotting out heads, make sure when you change out your radiator not to mix tap water with the antifreeze. Used distilled or the pre mixed radiator fluid. Tap water has to many minerals and will rot aluminum heads. I'm sure that's why some are having head problems. Be careful most Jiffy lubes and oil change places use tap water to mix with their Radiator fluid. I change my coolant every 30k and have not had a single problem.

 

I have a friend who has a 4.6 in a 97' F150 w/150k and he was wondering if he should be worried about the amount of blow-by on his engine. It doesnt seem too bad to me but over a little bit of time I can see an issue of cleaning the intake of the oil. Do you think it is on its way out or is some of this "some what" normal and doesnt necessarily mean the engine has a limited life left? He does say though that it only uses about a half qt. every 3500 miles. What should I tell him?

 

Have him check his PVC valve.

 

I have a dohc mustang and a sohc truck (as of yesterday ). I highly doubt the mustang will outlive the truck, not because of the way it was built, but the way it is driven... the mustang will see 7000+ rpm a lot more often than the 5.4 in my truck, and in general a v8 mustang will be put through it's paces more than a truck... sure it may not tow as much and whatnot, but high RPMs will kill an engine faster than anything unfortunately...

even within their respective designed range, just the fact that the truck will be wound up at most 2000 rpm less than the mustang, it'll make a huge difference on the life of the engine... Forged crank or not, in the end, they use the same crappy hypereutectic pistons and powdered rods... pistons are doing all the friction, and they will be hurting a lot more pushing 7200 rpm than a truck/crown vic that rarely ever sees 5000...

 

A buddy of mine who back-yard wrenches for a local cab company pulled a 4.6 out of a Crown Vic with 600,000 KM on it. It ran, but was a little hard to start. I should say it ran, used a little bit of oil, and this is with EVERY ring in the thing broken. The bearings looked like new, everything else looked good except the rings.

 

And I feel bad when my RPM's get to 5,000... My truck really hates that. I try to keep it under 2,300 or so.

Oh, and 600,000 miles is a lot for only having bad rings. How about that?

 

It was 600,000 KM (Kilometers), that's what we metric guys use up here in Canada eh! That translates into around 380,000 Miles.

 

600,000 km is still a lot of miles

 

glad to hear about the long life of a 460 motor'
i just got a 74, f-150 with a 460 motor c6 trans, - truck had full size in bed camper on it and only has 95,548. miles on it
so im glad to hear about the long life'' cause i,m driving this old girl a long time'''

 

Just last Tues my 97 F150 4.6 turned over to 190000 Miles. Still running strong, doesn't burn oil.

 

I have a '97 with the 4.6 that I bought new. It has been a pos since the day it came off the showroom floor. It died at 98k miles and had to be completely rebuilt. Just a few weeks ago it started knocking again at 165k. I have a '95 thunderbird with the 4.6. 120k and it drops oil pressure and knocks every now and again. Also have a 97 psd with 310k on it. I really believe it is luck of the draw. I got a few lemons. If you are "lucky" you may find a truck where 160k isn't too bad. My advice is to save your money a while longer and find one with lower miles. You will always see the good trucks with the high miles. Why would you see the bad ones? They are in the junk yards. I love Ford, but I don't see the 4.6 as a high mileage engine. At least with my experiences.

 

Just out of curiousity, Ohiostomper, but what kind of work does your 97 do? Meaning do you tow/haul a lot or is this your daily driver? What kind of oil do you use and how often do you replace it?