online store, message boards, mailing list, pictures, technical information, product directory ford truck information, svt lightning information, f150 information, f-150 information, f250 information
Home Discussion Forums Photo Gallery Product Directory Technical Articles Recalls & TSB's Product Reviews Classifieds Ford & Industry News Event Calendar Advertise with us
F150online Forums



Look for a USED Ford F150
Carsdirect.com

Go Back   F150online Forums > Powertrain & Mechanical > V8 Engines

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-03-2009, 12:34 AM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 13
2000 F250 5.4 No towing power????

I have a 2000 F250 4x4, automatic, with a 5.4 and i am completly disgusted with the amount of towing power or lack there of! However the truck is paid for and i am not going to jump back into payments as tempting as that sounds. The truck has 100,000 miles and i keep up with the maintenance very well, the truck has absoulutely no problems. So my question is what will give me the most bang for the buck as far as overall power for towing. I use the truck as my daily driver and use it to pull our 23' fifth wheel (very light) camper. Could i use a stock charger off of a lightning? would it bolt right up if so how hard would this be and what all would i need? any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Register today or sign-in to remove these ads!

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-03-2009, 04:19 AM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Washington
Vehicle: 1997 Ford F150
Posts: 3,899
Send a message via ICQ to Klitch
for routine hauling the charger may not be your best route but will definitely suffice.

hit ebay for parts, the intake "setup" complete from maf to lower manifold, with all the electrical should run you around $1400 USD. it varies as the supply changes.
then you have the other little things that add up super fast. check out www.madenterprise.com/
__________________

built and blueprinted Lightning powerplant with p&p heads, race built 4r70w by Darrin @ BC-Automotive
Avoid Rods C.A.R.S. 3929 W Clearwater Ave, Kennewick, WA. screwed me on a bad transmission "built" by State Transmission of Pasco, Wa. avoid www.Engineworldusa.com, junk import motors.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-03-2009, 11:20 AM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Utah
Vehicle: 1999 Ford F-150 5.4
Posts: 1,414
Gears maybe. I have 19 foot trailer that weighs about 5500 lbs and we have some mountains around here that are pretty hard for my truck to pull that trailer up. Sure wouldnt want anything bigger..
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-03-2009, 01:39 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Washington
Vehicle: 1997 Ford F150
Posts: 3,899
Send a message via ICQ to Klitch
true, if he has stock 3.55's that would be a small issue. lots of guys like 4.10s and stock size tires for hauling.
__________________

built and blueprinted Lightning powerplant with p&p heads, race built 4r70w by Darrin @ BC-Automotive
Avoid Rods C.A.R.S. 3929 W Clearwater Ave, Kennewick, WA. screwed me on a bad transmission "built" by State Transmission of Pasco, Wa. avoid www.Engineworldusa.com, junk import motors.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-03-2009, 03:55 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Arizona
Vehicle: 2003 Ford F150 FX4
Posts: 97
Get a tuner (like the Edge) which has a canned tune for towing or better yet a tuner with custom tunes if you have any after market upgrades. There are a number of upgrades you can do to increase HP & torque - after market exhaust/high flow cats; cold air intake or stock intake mod; PCM tuner; supercharger ,etc. Depends on how much you want to spend. If you're running 3.55 gears, that would definitely make a difference on an F250, which is heavier than a F150 before you even hook up a trailer. If you're running tires anything bigger than stock and hauling a sizable load, bigger gears are almost a must have.
__________________
2003 FX4 Lariat SCrew, 5.4L, 3.73 Gears, 5" Rancho Lift & leveled, Edge Tuner, K&N CAI, MagnaFlow Cat-back Exhaust, American Racing 17x9 Alum. Rims, 35x12.5" ProComp Extreme A/T Tires
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-03-2009, 08:40 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 13
i have stock wheel and tire size will a tuner really have any effect? are 3.55 gears stock for a 4x4?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-03-2009, 08:55 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Michigan
Vehicle: 1998 Ford F150 4x4 5.4L
Posts: 14,932
Quote:
Originally Posted by burkleo24 View Post
i have stock wheel and tire size will a tuner really have any effect? are 3.55 gears stock for a 4x4?
I pull a car hauler with a 98 and haven't had a problem. No tuner, but it may not hurt in your case. I've tuned the trans w/hardware. I've been pulling full size handicap vans lately. Those are heavy for a half ton. Guess the biggest difference I noticed is when I updated the ignition 3 or 4 years ago. Hell, I'm over a quarter million miles on this one lol.

I would like to add a roots blower, just don't need it that bad
__________________

Windsor built 5.4L, E40D, Transgo kit, 9.75 Rear gear, Brembo rotors, Carquest blue's, Bilstein's, Ported & Polished Intake/TB, Pace setter LTH's, Magnaflow HFC's, Magnaflow 22X4 HF Mufler, Type 3 19lb Injectors, Volant Intake w/Amsoil EEA191 Filter, 265/17 GY Fortera's.

Last edited by jbrew; 11-03-2009 at 10:12 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 11-03-2009, 10:07 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Utah
Vehicle: 1999 Ford F-150 5.4
Posts: 1,414
Quote:
Originally Posted by burkleo24 View Post
i have stock wheel and tire size will a tuner really have any effect? are 3.55 gears stock for a 4x4?
I have an edge/gryphon and it made it better but its still a dog going up those big hills out here. We do have some steep hill and its only bad for me on those. I80 Parleys summit I can only do 45 without the edge I was doing 40. I have the stock 3.55's to. I also have 32 inch tire the stock ones were 27 inches (about)
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 11-03-2009, 10:33 PM
glc glc is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Joplin MO
Vehicle: 2003 Ford F150
Posts: 9,210
What's the axle code on your door jamb sticker?
__________________
2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 11-03-2009, 11:14 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by glc View Post
What's the axle code on your door jamb sticker?
what numbers am i looking for? i see where it says axel...
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 11-03-2009, 11:35 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Michigan
Vehicle: 1998 Ford F150 4x4 5.4L
Posts: 14,932
H9 = 3.55 I believe.




Here's an 01 DJ sticker I got rid of because it couldn't pull what the 98 did, -it had a different trans -


Last edited by jbrew; 11-03-2009 at 11:39 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 11-04-2009, 05:10 PM
Technical Article Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Garmisch, Germany
Vehicle: 200? FORD
Posts: 6,165
Send a message via Yahoo to tarajerame
isn't there an exact same thread by this exact same guy in the supercharger section?????
__________________
- '01 Procharged Lariat on a custom suspension w/ go fast mods - Tuned by Troyer (and a lil' something in the works)
- '03 Harley Davidson Edition -worlds first "Snake Bit" Harley Truck, shows in stock class,
- 'New Eddie Bauer Expedition - Tuned by VMP (boost coming soon)

old albums http://www.f150online.com/galleries/....cfm?gnum=8805
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 11-04-2009, 05:23 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Michigan
Vehicle: 1998 Ford F150 4x4 5.4L
Posts: 14,932
Could be , he just joined and has 5 posts, 3 of them here.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 11-04-2009, 08:50 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 13
so sorry

Quote:
Originally Posted by tarajerame View Post
isn't there an exact same thread by this exact same guy in the supercharger section?????
im sorry im new to the site and didnt know it was that big of a deal to post a thread in more than one section. just figured since the question was relevant to both sections i would post in both. sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused you
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 11-04-2009, 08:52 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbrew View Post
H9 = 3.55 I believe.




Here's an 01 DJ sticker I got rid of because it couldn't pull what the 98 did, -it had a different trans -

wish i could post a pic of mine but the are no codes where axel is written and it has not been rubbed off. any ideas as to why this would be
Reply With Quote


Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0
 
This forum is owned and operated by Internet Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation. It is not authorized or endorsed by the Ford Motor Company and is not affiliated with the Ford Motor Company or its related companies in any way. FordŽ is a registered trademark of the Ford Motor Company
Contact Us Advertising Terms of Use Privacy Statement Jobs Forum Text Archives