Thanks for the reply. I'm not here to say the 4.2 is the best or worst engine Ford has ever made, but I like it and so far it has worked flawlessly. I've made a few points about torque because its been mentioned that perhaps the 4.2 is not so good at the low end, esp. pulling a load. my 06 has not sputtered with any load I've asked it to pull or carry. My dad has a "hemi" and let me tell you about "pulling a load". That truck pulls a 5th wheel like its not even behind him......lol....he has pulled it once cause the gas went so high. I got my truck to haul all the things I need to for my house, move my college kids, bring trees home.......and this 4.2 serves all my needs.

 

Everything I have seen lists peak torque at 255 ft/lbs, and peak HP at 205, so 220 at the wheels is not to far out of range. I have the stock 3.55 in my truck and it seems to wind out very fast in 1st, but feels as if it is running out of steam above 4000 rpm, as if it leans out. I have a 02' expedition with the 4.6 and let me tell you, this 4.2 feels a like it has tons more low end torque, and it probably does. But the expedition is heavier, and OHC engines are not known for low end. My 4.6 is rated only slightly higher in peak HP and Torque than my 4.2. The 4.2 has a much more coarse feel to it, and my 4.6 is so smooth at a light you cant even tell it is running. I like them both, they serve their purposes. Just my $.02.

 

4000 lbs and it doesnt even breathe hard. Well perhaps the newer models have more low end than mine, even though my '99 was rated 210HP on the sticker. I have occasionaly hauled topsoil with mine, like 1 cu yard. Probably the heaviest load as been close to a ton. I dont have towing gears so maybe that made the difference, but the truck had absolutely no power and I had to keep the rpms pretty high, especialy when *attempting* to accelerate lol. However, I have hauled nearly a ton of cement bags in the back of my '78 bronco back when it was pretty much stock (accept dual exhaust). The ol 351M was rated factory at 156 hp @ 4000 rpm and 262# @ 2000 rpm torque. The bronco didnt bog down nearly as much as f150, although I know its hard to compare the two really. The bronco has lots more cubes and a flatter torque band, although its specs are pretty much all under the 4.2L v6. And its geared with 3.50's and 33" tires. I am not trying to say I hate the 4.2 or anything, but I have never been impressed with it or thought it was any more than just adequate. I for one wish they would have kept the I6 as the base model engine. I suppose they were trying to get better mpg out of there base motor option, mine is about the same but many say they get much better.

 

my 4.2 ltr '03 f-150 has a 5-speed manual tranny and with the k&n filter, 93 octane, and bosch platinum 4 plugs i can smoke a short bed v8 dodge with an auto tranny off the line to about 60 mph. i love my 4.2. it does lack a little in low end tourque though pulling my 17' bass boat out of the water on a steep ramp takes some pedaling talent with that 5-speed. but once it gets moving its great. ive pulled a 4wd long bed dodge on a dolly from other side of shreveport, la. to hot springs, ar. and it cruised right along like it wasnt towing anything. only thing ive noticed with premium fuel is that it melts the electrodes of stock spark plugs. my next choice is gonna be exhaust and a chip. i think you should do the same if you want the most performance without going overboard and risking damage to the engine.

 

It's way too easy to overcome poor take off with a 5 speed. Just bring the r's up a bit more before letting the clutch out. What do you do with an auto? It kinda feels like it's taking off in 3rd gear or, like it had a carb that the accelerator pump was unhooked on (they were so much easier to woerk on). It is getting worse. I've installed a new air filter, smaller tires, and new plugs. I have a fuel filter (need time to put it on) and looking for the magic part. I don't know what's not doing it's job. Any suggestions?

 

could be a number of things causing your sluggish take-off, does it still shift through all the gears? maybe it IS taking off in 3rd, also your tourque converter could be going out. does it rev easily in neutral? you could also have a clogged injector. or a weak fuel pump. you should get a diagnostic done on it and see what codes show up.

 

I forgot to mention that I plan getting some seafoam and running through, as I am thinking there could be a little bit clogging in the injectors. It revs right up in neutral and shifts through all the gears. I hope to get that fuel filter on this weekend, which could also be the problem, but I'm thinking TPS or some other sensor because once it starts to rev up, it does fine. I don't think it can scratch a patch on pavement unless you gave it hard neutral drop.

 

I did a few mods to mine, i had a 40 series flowmaster, a K&N intake, etc and didnt see any real gain. Its just like they say "theres no replacement for displacement" if you want v8 power...get a v8! Thats what I did, I'm sorry to say I had to trade my F-150 v6 for a Chevy Silverado v8. I'm happier now.

 

That's the plan. I was hoping that the ride I had would last another year and get a Colorado, but when the tranny went out, I had to get something. Right now, it's going to be about 3 years (as I can see it right now) before that trade can happen. It's not that I want v-8 power, I just want to be able to pull out on to the road and not worry about someone coming around that some-what-blind turn and plowing me. If I had a manual trans I could better take-offs and surely get better mileage. Auto trannys are for the family vehicle, trucks deserve maunal shifts .

 

The best way to get lowend torque is gears. With that said, I use a bama chips programer on my 4.0 ranger, it works wonders. You get 1 programer with 3 different tunes in stalled in it. I have a 87 octane mpg tune, 92 octane torque tune, and a 93 octane hp tune. Doug tunes the programer to your specific truck, and mods, it's not generic like jet, where one size fits all. With my mods, it's good for 20 ft pounds, and 15 hp. The torque tune really helped my lowend. Doug mostly does programers for rangers, and explorers, but he's starting to other fords as well, he's a ford computer guru. Drop him an e- mail at www.bama chips.com, it will be worth your wild. OHC motors just don't make good lowend, my 4.0 is pretty good, but not as good as the 4.0 with cam in block. With the headers, intake, and bama, not to mention several other mods, I got it running really strong, the lowend torque is usable offroad, I'm really happy with it now. Here's a list of my mods, I know we don't have the same engine, but these work great on my 4x4 ranger. JBA headers, gibson dual sport catback, k&n 77 seres intake, e-fan, underdog udp, and bama chips programer. The programer made the rest of the mods come to life, I can't stress enough the importance of a good tune when moding a modern engine, good luck.

 

so is it safe to say that in the reg-cab ford it is not worth the extra $$ for the 4.6l?