Hi guys!

I posted in the V6 Engine subforum and got precious information about what to check if I ever buy a 97-99 F-150 with a V6 4.2 Essex in it. In this case, the intake gaskets have to be inspected and changed before you even move the truck if they never were before!

Any such things I should know about the 4.6L Triton from 97-99 ? Any major recalls ?

 

only thing i can think of is the exhaust manifold bolt problem. seems the rear most bolts on the manifold shear right off. not really a huge problem. its just annoying. some tritons had the spark plug problem. i think thats was more the 5.4 problem. im sure others will have suggestions. they are pretty reliable motors. i beat the hell out of my crown vic 4.6. it was a state cruiser before i got it.not one problem yet with her. im easier on my f150 4.6. as far as recalls judt got to the nhtsa website. thay have all that info.

 

Moisture on #7 cop. Be sure it's dry and coat with silicone.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Hm, being a total newbie at automotive mecanic jargon, I'd go grease the next cop I see with "#7" as matricule with silicone, but some part of me tells me this is wrong.

What's a "cop" ?

 

COP = "Coil On Plug" although I'm not familiar with why silicone would be needed. Perhaps the hood/firewall seal leaks there?

Andy

 

Condensation from the heater/AC lines tends to drip right over #7 cylinder. Fried my cop and fouled the plug. Silicone seals it from the water. Seems to work. And if you get pulled over by a fried cop....... well, you'll know what to do.

 

Alright, thanks for the clarifications!

And oh, what kind of MPG can I expect from a 4.6L on highway? I know the V6 4.2L can do around 20-22 mpg, should I expect something like 19-21 for the 4.6L?

My truck will mostly be for entertainement (carrying a 14' alu. boat on top of it + using the bed as tent for fishing trips ) so I won't be doing alot of city driving with the beast as I'm living in the city already and do most of my 'obligations' (groceries, shopping, getting to work, getting to the bar for a ) by foot.

 

Bone stock you might get 16-18mpg with a strong tail wind.

I've got 33's, SC Tuner, catback exhaust, FIPK, and a bedcover. I might get 14mpg on a good day.. I just installed Efans and did a full tune-up at 55K (last week) so we'll see what I get now.

 

I just bougfht a '97 F150 with the 4.6 engine. Mine does not have the COP setup, but rather has two "coil packs" - one on each distributor. There are also two versions of that engine - a Romeo and a Windsor. You can tell by looking at the 8th bit of the VIN number. If a "W" it indicates a Romeo engine and if a "6" it indicates Windsor. My understanding is that the newer model year 4.6's all have Romeo engines, but I may be wrong. I really don't know of any real benefits of one over the other, except that the Windsor motor has floating wrist pins and the Romeo has pressed in pins. If you were doing seriously heavy-duty work or thrashing, the floating pins may last an extra day or two!

There have been a few probs with the plugs blowing out but for the most part it was the bigger motor. Just check to make sure they are tight, but be careful that you don't over-tighten them! And I'm not real familiar with the exhaust stud problem.

While you're looking at trucks in that year range, here's a couple of other known issues you'll want to look for are:

- Cracks in the outer door skin at the point where the window opening curves up.

- Water leaks around the rear slider window.

- Rust along the bottom edge of the doors.

Mine has the cracks and the window leak, but the leak was (so far) an easy fix!

 

differential cab pressure at high speed causes the door cracks on all the trucks. for never had a recall on this issue because u have to be traveling over 80mph.. and that fell under illegal driving habits. so us speed drivers just gotta either drive with the windows cracked or replace the door skin

 

Bummer... I thought the difference would be less noticable since this V8 is one of the smallest around.

Definitely, I'll try and find a good deal for a 4.2L instead

 

He's a lead foot on rolling on 33's. HE's gonna get ****ty milage. I have the 4.6L engine and when i keep my foot out of it i get 14 city and 17-18 highway with maybe 40-50 miles of city on it, and full highway i get 19-21 miles per gallon. I have three major mods, K&N 77 series Intake(awesome), Flowmaster 50 series SIDO the rear(sounds and looks awesome), and a tornado fuel saving device(crap and a waste of my money, gain so small hard to tell if driving habits or the product) and the rest of the truck is bone stock as far as running gear.

The 4.6L motor is awesome, now and then i flog mine to within a inch of death, the tranny starts smellin long before the motor is hurt.

 

Before adding supercharger, I got 22mpg with mine. It had Borla exhaust, JBA ceramic coated headers, Superchips programmer, and Jacobs ignition.

 

V-6 mileage is just as about the same as a V-8, especially if they're extended cab.

 

I'm thinking you mean No.4 on a COP motor lol