Hi Guys, I'm back again, I sold the 2004 with the 5.4 after I just could not handle the noise of the engine phasiers I was afraid it would blow thats after I thought I had calmed it down with the new motorcraft cop's and about $ 500 at the shop but now I've found a 2004 with a 4.6 what are their problems if any?? There isn't any phraser noises and it started up good. I did not have a chance to drive it because I didn't have the money from the bank and didn't want to risk an accident if I couldn't pay for it and the plates were expired anyway. But all the help you afforded me made me want to check back for what to watch out for..It is a 4X4 ext cab with the 4WD on the floor my other was electric, I will wait for your replies before going any further. Also the owner had a DWI last year and he has driven it some and started it ofter he said. THANKS Dallas

 

Solid engines. Take the oil cap off and look inside to make sure the engine isn't sludged. If that's good and it doesn't make any odd noises (timing chains, rod knocks, etc.), that's a good start.

 

The 4.6 doesn't have phasers, it's conventional valvetrain.

 

THANKS glc and EsJayEs for the replies, I'm so glad no phasers are in the 4.6 are the plugs like the 5.4 and have those troubles?? Anything you can give me to look for on this truck will be a lot of help the other one was alful and I've never had a truck this new I'm used to the old stuff 65 ford F250 4WD 4 speed with granny low had a 6cyl for years then a 302 BEST truck I ever owned but it burned up to a crisp. miss her a lot.
I will drive the truck 2004, 4.6 4X4 ext in the morning so any pointers would sure help I can,t afford to be burnt again.. Again THANKS Dallas

 

Conventional plugs, but they are subject to blowout. To prevent that, use Motorcraft plugs, and torque them to 28 ft/lb with NO antiseize.

 

I run the crap out of a 4.6 on a daily basis in my police cruiser. What I can say is that out of all the various things that can go wrong, I have never in 12 years in the business had a 4.6 fail because the engine. I have had the alternator and power steering go out, and on most if not all 4.6s the intake is plastic and it has cracked before when it over heated (electric fan died while i was working a wreck and out of the vehicle..it got hot), but as far as internals, the engines don't get much sounder than the 4.6. SO long as it isn't making funny noises you should be good. I have a friend now with a 2004 scab 4x4 4.6 that 260k miles on it. He is on his 3rd alternator, 2nd power steering pump, second transmission(first tranny last 210k!), but the engine is factory stock and runs like new.

 

Thanks more friday if i buy it

 

Hi EsJay, glc and nduffey, Thanks to your advice I Bought the truck a 2004 stx 4x4 with the 4.6 runs nice only slight miss last owner changed plugs about 5000 miles back, I will pull one to see if its motorcraft oil was very clean but about a qt low I will change. going under it in the morning to do all the fluids and check stuff out. It doe's have one problem the abs light is on last owner said its been on a while so I will have checked out. Also got a Hanes manual looks pretty good but not like the old motors manual. Gotta go to bed now getting late for old farts like me... Thanks Again I will try to be a good member maybe can help someone with older stuff.

 

I wouldn't do anything to it until you have run the current gas out of the tank and you know that fresh gas is getting to the engine. A can of Techron would be a good thing to clean any garbage out of the system. After the Techron has run thru the engine I'd suggest changing the oil and filter. That YM uses a 5w-20 oil. Pick a quality brand and a Motorcraft or Purolator oil filter. Avoid Fram anything including the air filter. Check the air filer as well. If you still have a miss after that you may be looking at new COPs. These are individual coils that sit on top of the plugs. They have a 6mm bolt that holds them onto the plug and then there is a tube, about 6" long that runs down to the spark plug. If you've never seen it before it looks very strange. You'll use di-electric grease on the plug boot to seal any moisture from getting to the plug. While a normal spark plug, it's buried in the heads so expect the first time changing plugs to take a while. After that it comes a lot easier and quicker. Unless you know the trucks maintenance, you might be looking at a transmission flush and a fuel filter change. I drive a 2004 Supercrew with a 4.6. Mine has 128,000 on the clock. It runs as good today as it did the day I picked it up new. It's not a drag truck but has decent power. Fuel mileage for me is about 17-18 town, 21-24 hiway. You'll probably get a little less with the 4x4. The 04 models were plagued with a vibration in the rear of the truck. Fords fix was to bolt a lead weight on the drivers rear spring mount. The parking brake was an issue with the cable sticking and the brake shoe dragging. If the parking brake won't hold the truck, the shoe is probably toast. Just grease the cable when you have it part to fix it. There was a recall and there is a TSB about the ABS Control Module. It more than likely will need replacing. There is also issues with the A/C system in that a lot of the trucks have faulty air blend doors so it mixes heat with the cold air. Mine has a faulty door but I just put a quarter turn ball valve on the heater hose right off of the manifold and turn the heat off manually. Dropped the inside temp of air coming out of the dash another 15 degrees. Otherwise, mine has been as reliable as anything I've owned. It hasn't eaten me alive in repairs although the radio just started giving me issues with the LED coming and going and now the CD player doesn't always work. But I needed an excuse to put an ear bleed system in it anyway.

 

panzerstg44- don't forget to post some pics of your mods and let us know what the slight miss actually turns out to be. other people surf these pages for answers, you never know who you end up helping. Good luck and congrats on the new ride.

 

Check engine light flashing or on? If so, do you have a scan tool to pull the code? If you don't have one, it's a great investment.

I'd pull all the plugs to see if they're properly gapped. They don't have to be Motorcraft. Autolite XP plugs are excellent, or just about any fine-wire plug is an upgrade if the Motorcraft ones are not fine-wire. If one looks significantly different from the others, could be a lot of things. But you can at least do that easily. I've heard countless times kids at parts stores telling people "those plugs are pre-gapped". With the exception of the goofy 3V plugs, and a very small handful of oddball multi-electrode types, the gap has to be set.

If you have a misfire bad enough to cause the check engine light to flash, don't drive it until you figure it out. If it's just running a little rough, burn out the old fuel. Also, change the fuel filter once the old gas has been burned out.

ABS light can be a lot of things as well. You can at least visually check the wheel speed sensors and connections for anything odd. Beyond that you'll need a scan tool that reads ABS codes.

 

Hi Guys, Sorry it took so long to get back,so I used the techtron and 10 gal ethel gas miss almost competley gone I'm really happy to the truck and you guys for the help, I buffed it all down(it was black and faded) and painted the bumpers took it in for new tires and alignment since one of the front had the inside edge down to the cord---got the tires and balance but the said the right lower control ball joint was out and the left inner tie rod was bad they wanted 471.00 to fix and I thought that was high so I plan to take it to a alignment shop and get their price. I checked E-bay and a moog Ball joint was under 45.00 and the inner tie rod I could not figure out some showed a regular tie rod end also shown was a shaft with a big bolt like on the end, I didn't see it on mine so it must be under the boot thing. I tried to post pictures but they were too big format and the daughter is gone and I don't know how to reduce them... THANKS for all the help from each and all of you SINCERELY Dallas

 

The shaft with the big nut on the end is likely the inner tie rod. That big nut is behind the boot on the rack & pinion.

I prefer replacing components like that in pairs. Especially since an alignment is required immediately afterwards. I can't stress that point enough. If you replace steering components, do not drive the truck anywhere except straight to the alignment shop. No matter how close you think you can get it by measuring or counting threads, new tires can be completely destroyed within a few miles.

 

I was a trooper for over 31 years, blew up a few back in the '80s, burnt pistons, dropped valve seats, knocking rods, etc .... but in late 1998 I was issued a new '98 Ford CV with 4.6, and then after I had 115,000 on it I was issued a reissued '00 that had 25,000 hard miles on it and had been sitting, cleaned it up and ran it to 130,000 and then got a new '06 CVPI which I ran up to near 90,000 miles by time I retired and it was reissued to my replacement who wrecked his before the transfer, he drove the '06 to 168,000 at which point he finally got a new 2012 .... and those last three Fords of my career were possibly the most reliable and trouble free issued police cars I ever had .... between them all I had normal maintenance done, $7,000 accident damage on the '06 from a deer (and $3500 of that was air bag / restraint related), an axle seal on one, one new alternator on one, and a brake vacuum booster replaced on one.

4.6 motors are near bullet proof. I now have a '95 T-bird and a '01 Mercury GM with them ..... and a new intake on the shelf for the '01 (though I never had a plastic intake X-over in my '98 or '00 crack).