NORFOLK, Va., June 10, 2003 - Underneath the hood of the first all-new 2004 Ford F-150 that rolled off the line today at Norfolk Assembly Plant was another special milestone of Ford’s truck leadership – the roar of Ford Motor Company’s 100 millionth V-8 engine.
A new 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton™ V-8 engine, produced on April 29th at the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ont., was used to commemorate the occasion and the more than 70 years since Ford’s first mass-produced V-8 was built in 1932. The powerful new engine will be optional equipment on all 2004 Ford F-150s.
“As we prepare to celebrate Ford’s 100th anniversary in less than a week, it is quite fitting that this milestone engine is placed in the very first 2004 Ford F-150,” said Roman Krygier, Ford group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Quality. “Ford’s rich heritage and legendary list of V-8 engines will continue with production of the new Triton V-8.”
The new 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton V-8 will give the all-new 2004 Ford F-150 300 peak horsepower and 365 foot-pounds of torque – significant improvements over the previous award-winning 5.4-liter Triton.
Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry with the moving assembly line in 1914 and again when he introduced the industry’s first affordable, mass-produced V-8 engine in 1932. The engine featured an innovative “flathead” configuration – a side-valve engine made possible by industry-first engine block casting techniques developed by Ford engineers.
The new overhead-cam 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton engine incorporates technologies that make it the company’s most advanced V-8 engine ever. In a striking similarity to its ancestor, the original flathead V-8, Ford today uses an innovative new flexible manufacturing method to manufacture the all-new 3-valve cylinder head. That process is similar to the flexible manufacturing process Ford is incorporating in its vehicle assembly plants and which was used to produce the new 2004 Ford F-150.
New 5.4-liter Triton V-8
With Ford Motor Company’s 100th anniversary being celebrated on June 16, technology and innovation remain at the forefront of its powertrain engineering. The 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton V-8 is the newest member of Ford’s modular engine family. It is the first modular V-8 Ford engine to use variable-cam timing to optimize intake and exhaust valve operation across the rev range, generating both lower-speed torque and high-speed horsepower while minimizing exhaust emissions.
The new Triton features three valves per cylinder – two intake and one exhaust – for better “breathing,” which enhances power and efficiency. The three-valve design also allows for a central sparkplug that allows complete, even combustion. New charge-motion control valves in the intake runners enhance air-fuel mixing at low rpm, improving low-end torque. A host of detail improvements contributes to quiet, refined operation.
