Howdy all,

In need of some guidance here. I am new here and I have a basic working knowledge of engines from a high school auto mechanics class years ago and from tinkerin' around and learning stuff by trial and error on various vehicles I have owned. I am currently in the process of pulling the engine out of my 98 F150 in preparation for a rebuild and was wondering how much more life I can get out of a 4.6 that is approaching 170,000 miles. Also, what would be required to replace the 4.6 with a 5.4? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Why are you rebuilding it.... these engines will go 250k easy.... even longer if you actually take care of them...

 

I recently made a move to Alaska hauling all my household goods in a 27' enclosed trailer, GCVWR in excess of 16,500lbs, and as bad as I feel for putting my truck through that abuse I have to say that I am pretty proud of it for making it that far with such a heavy load. If you have ever traveled the Alaska-Canadian Highway or known anyone who has you will know what I mean when I say "abuse". That was 2700 miles of some of the roughest road I have ever traveled and I have traveled all over the lower 48. I am pretty picky when it comes to upkeep and periodic maintenance and I have never had a problem with my truck before this.

She waited until I was about a mile away from the driveway at my destination to let the water pump go out. I having replaced the water pump, it overheated several more times before I discovered that I had a blown head gasket and according to what the local repair shop said a cracked head. So I would think that it is pretty safe to say that there is probably some internal damage. I know what you are thinking, I should be flogged for letting it get that bad I know but it was my only mode of transportation at the time and after such a trip funds were a little tight.

A true testament to how tough of Ford trucks really are, though I wouldn't recommend anyone else try this! I also lost a rear wheel bearing and pinion seal in the process and had to replace the right axle shaft.

 

well...great to hear of more toughness, but i bet your wishing you'd rented a SD...probably cheaper in the long run. good luck on your rebuild.

 

oh yes, welcome to FTE, its an awesome place to spend all your spare time, and some thats not too spare...

 

Trust me, this was a last resort. Company I took a job with, name withheld, pays much, much better than what I was making at the time. Only thing is they wouldn't pay for relocation!

 

about the 4.6-5.4 swap, guys have done it, a lot of electrical work, but i'm not that familiar with the process. my choice would be to find a 4.6l from a navigator...boy those things rock!!

 

what's the difference between the two?

 

one sec, i'll find a link. the navagator engine has a pile more power....as for internals, i'm not sure.

 

here it is...nice numbers for power/torque... unfortunately they say its availability is cancelled...

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com/...lacement.shtml

 

Thanks for trying anyway. Worth looking into though to satisfy the curiosity!

 

you're welcome...good luck in your rebuild. keep posting with pictures throughout your progress

 

Well, I have my engine back from the machine shop and I am very excited to get my truck up and running again, but I have a dilema. Do these engines need to be primed before cranking it up after re-installing like with the older engines or do you just fill 'em up with oil and all the other fluids and let 'er rip. If so, does anyone know the procedure for this?

I would post pictures but I can't figure out how to upload them onto here.

 

I think I figured it out. We'll see, about the pic's I mean.

 

Finally, guess you gotta pay to play! Well, here is the reason I decided to rebuild my engine among other things. It was a long haul, that's for sure!