there's a bit of difference in comfort.. the big problem w/ the cloth seats is how they stain from everything including clean water and (more common) sweat...

 

Lol your going to need a long *** tow rope considering he is in hawaii and I am in arkansas.

 

while I do admit that would be fun...I ain't going anywhere near those Arkansas roads. I split my time growing up between Central Texas and the Ozarks. I'd like to keep the teeth in my head...darn those roads are rough. especially that one from Texarkana to Eureka Springs...we used to go through Oklahoma and use the turnpike to minimize the amount of time on that road

 

Well let me put my 2 cents worth. I used to have a 97 F150 supercab with the 4.6 and 3.55LS. Now I have a 05 screw with the 5.4 and also with the 3.55 LS, and I can tell you that when I towed my trailer weighting about 6000#. I notice a big differance between between both trucks. The 05 has plenty of power for passing while I tow my trailer when needed. With the 4.6 there was no way I would pass towing the trailer unless there was a lot of room for passing. Also the 5.4 dose not screem when towing uphill like the 4.6 did. However I did notice a small differance in mpg between the two. Nothing really about 2 mpg on highway towing my trailer.

 

I have two 07 Screws. One with 5.4 other is 4.6... Or I better say WIFES is 4.6 LOL. Anyway I actually get better mpgs in my 5.4 then she does. I dont stomp the hell out if it but then again i dont drive like grandpa either. GO FOR THE 5.4 you wont regret it

 

Ok thanks guys. So far Im getting the impression that an 06 5.4 Fx4 with the leather seats is the way to go. Im hoping I can find one in my price range with decent miles on it. Speaking of mileage, what is the average longetivity of an F-150? I had a 99 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.2 before I got the F-150 and it had over 180,000 miles on it and still ran pretty good. Ive seen adds saying that ford has more trucks on the road over 250,000 miles than anybody else. Is anybody getting those kind of miles out of their F-150? Im probably not going to keep it till it has 250,000 miles on it but it would be nice to know that I could. Im not one of those people who get rid of their truck when it hits 100,000 miles like alot of people do.

 

sorry I'm one of the 100,000 mile people.

I've had Fords last well over 150,000 miles before though. My record is 283,000 miles on a 5.0 Bronco. Most of my other F-150's (in sig list) made it at least 100,000k with 0 major issues.

 

Thats why you buy "leather" seats. Did you ever see what leather looks like down the road? Apparently not. Cloth is infinitely more comfortable and longer lasting than leather. Ever sit on a seat that's been in the sun? Bet you'd rather sit on a cloth seat. As for staining, all materials eventually stain. Don't buy a light colored seat. For me, I'll stay with my black cloth seats everytime! As long as they're cloth the black seats are no problem even in the sun.

 

i got a 1994 f-150 with 5.0L 302 it got 350 000 km on it about give or take a few. shes all rusted up now from are crappy winter salt covered roads but the motor and tranny are still in good shape, was my first truck ever.... think i might fix her up one day.

 

relax man

I'm from Texas...and the Bronco with 283,000 miles had blue leather seats. they looked good for 10 yrs old and all those miles. The only issue was the armrest. My arm had worn a hold/tear.

if you treat leather right, it'll last forever. just give it a good conditioner 1 or 2 times a month.

nothing can be done about hot seats in the sun...but I will say that my current seats don't scorch my a**. they do get hot, but not the blistering hot like some cars do

 

i see you're in construction, are you self employed?? not sure how things work in the states, but if you were going to finance your next truck, perhaps think about a lease. thats what i'm tossing around right now. i can lease a new truck for less than payments on a truck 2-3 years old. another perk is the lease payment is total write-off vs depreciation when it comes to tax time... just some thoughts to ponder...

 

The 5.4 is the right choice for what your going to do. How long do thse trucks last. Hey its a Ford they go forever. I have drove several over 200,000 miles with no problems period. Never left me stranded. On another note when that hemi pulls up to you at a light an thinks hes so hot. What would you want under the hood?. Thats what i thought. Good Luck gald you didnt get hurt in your truck from the accident..

 

I ate a 5.7 Tundra (Screw Version) last night with my 5.4...I am running the Edge on Level III for the moment. Didn't think it was going to shift to 3rd though, and was waiting for parts to come flying through the floorboard, then it shifted. I'm going to have to customize the canned tune a little. I could tell he was frustrated, as I pulled him by around 7 lengths by the time we let off. I don't think he knew I was chipped.

 

04blackf150:

Get the 5.4L. The mpg gain in the 4.6L doesn't out weigh the power benefits of the 5.4L. Heck if you were gonna get a 4.6L & mod it out (tuner, exhaust, intake, etc), why not get a 5.4L and do the same while making even more power. If you're towing, the 4.6L is nice and does well, but the 5.4L is just that much better. Make sure to get the 3:73LS over the 3:55s. The 5.4L & 3:73LS is a nice combo, just wish it had 4:10s.

I have an '06 and it's been flawless, other than needing a speaker replaced, PCM reflash and now a power window motor replacement. Otherwise nothing major, then again I barely have 15K miles on it.

The FX4 is nice, many people have them and I would like one but the XLT does everything the FX4 does. Now the shocks are stiffer than what came on my XLT. The skid plates on the '04+ models aren't what they were when I had my '02 F150 FX4. The '02 had strong metal skid plates while the '04+ has a plastic type of skid plate that isn't nearly as strong. Still better to have them than not. Also have a friend that has an '05 FX4, which his truck hasn't done anything off-road that mine hasn't, so the off-raod package doesn't make it an extreme off-road vehicle compared to the XLT.

Now if you can get a late '07 build or '08, you shouldn't have to worry about the plug issue, since they should have the new design. Also when shopping, why not check out an '08. Depending on your credit, I'm sure you can get a low APR and huge incentives on a new F150 making the payment comparable to a 2-3 year old F150 with a higher APR. Then again it may depend on the model and options you want.

After riding in the 04+ F150s with and without leather, I can't say one is more comfortable than the other. Feel basically the same to me. The cloths do stain kind of easy, but I buy some upholstry cleaner at the local auto store that has got out any/all stains. Now having 3 kids, I do prefer leather and how easy it is to clean up spills, but opted for the cloth in my '06, which I 1/2 way regret but it doesn't bother me. Takes as much time every month to use this upholstry cleaner on spots as it does to condition leather seats. If you do condition and take care of the leather, it can last just as long if not longer than the cloth. But if you abuse the leather and don't take care of it, then it will crack quickly and won't last nearly as long. Always goods and bads of every product, just have to weigh your options.

 

you have no idea how much I wish the 4.10 were offered in the normal F-150...and not just the Heavy Duty F-150
very true. The reason to buy a FX4 IMO is that you get it all as a package. The skid plates, gears, motor are all optional on any F-150 model...but the FX4 package combines it all together...and sometimes you can save a buck or 2. My FX4 is a Lariat option wise, but I paid about $3k less than a truck with the Lariat sticker

the gas tank has a plastic cover/skid plate. otherwise the others are metal...just really thin metal

yep