HID, i like the looks of your truck except for the chrome ring on the outer wall of your rims, if you are gonna black it out, go all out...remind me of the wings west project f150. Sick ride

 

A 4.6 is fine in a 4X2, but the added weight of a 4X4 might make the 5.4 a consideration . .

 

My 4.6 is great. I wanted the 4.6 because it's a proven motor. There are plenty out there with 200K miles on them and never a problem. I'm getting 17.5-18 mpg on my daily 50 mile commute at 75mph and thats on winter gas. If you want the 4.6 to have more passing power, opt for the 3.73 gears. Ford gears these trucks pretty high anyway.

 

For screw2004;

No, I don't have a tuner or any other mods.

Don't ask what my top end is, 'cause I don't really want to find out. Those speeds are for smaller, more agile vehicles. I guess I'm just trying to say my 4.6L goes faster than I want to go.

When I bought the truck, the 5.4L was $800 extra, not $500. But I didn't try to see if I could get the price down.

I know the EPA estimates are the same for both engines, but I consistantly get around 17 mpg in overall driving. I see a lot of 4.6L owners claiming the same. The 5.4 owners are complaining about 13-14 mpg, and lower.

A guy once told me "The two worse things in the world are buying too little truck, and buying too much truck". Get what you need, and don't pay for what you don't really want. Everybody doesn't need 4 wheel drive, 300 HP, electric leather seats, or chrome grills.

I paid $ 25K for my truck, and really love it. I probably wouldn't feel as good if I had spent $ 35K and got a lot of stuff I really didn't want.

 

Well put

 

Well....

Enough has probably been said already, but here's my perspective anyway.

Just the fact that you're going to be hauling a pop-up camper would rule out the 4.6 in my book. The reason is that the 5.4 has more torque, and the tranny is one up from the tranny that comes with the 4.6 liter.

Mileage is virtually no different between the two, and I would say that under a load, the 5.4 will be better.

Lastly, I'll leave it at this. It's always better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. If you have all those toys to haul with it, then you have the money to spend on the better motor. Besides, do you want to be known as BigTed with the "little motor"?

 

I had a 2001 with a 4.6 and no probs doing anything towing driving it was great. I know have a 04 fx4 screw with the 5.4 and there is not much difference in power, mainly because the truck is alot heavier. You will love the 4.6. Good luck and dont hesitate.

 

Underpowered, no.

Undergeared, yes!

get a 3.73.

As soon as my warranty runs out, 4.10's or 4.56's are going in...

Even with 3.55's, it gets the job done just fine.

Most of it's punch is in the high end; A tuner, exhaust, and intake do wonders for it!

 

If in doubt get the 5.4. You can't easily go back.

 

I could not see spending the kind of money I did on a full size pickup, only to cheap out and not spend a few hundred more bucks for the 5.4 liter engine. Power is the name of the game with full size pickups, go for the bigger motor!

 

I agree... Kelmvor is not a happy person.

 

My first F-150 was a 1999 manual tranny 4.2 V6, regular cab, and it pulled a 18ft Bayliner boat well.

Second Truck was a 2002 SCAB Auto 4.2 V6, I thought it was a little weak, but when I pulled a pop-up trailer or the same boat above, it was just fine. It even surprised me pulling heavier things on occasion.

Third (and current) 2005 F-150 SCREW 4.6 V8 seems about the same to me as the 2002 4.2 V6, but I haven't towed anything yet. I fugure the bigger engine and higher weight in this one balances out the previous truck.

It does suit my needs just fine, and knowing how light pop-up trailers tend to be, it should fit your's just fine. If your in doubt though, go bigger.

 

I just traded-in my 2004 F150 SuperCrew with the 4.6. I traded it for a 2005 F150 SCrew witht the 5.4. The sole reason for the trade was the engine. Yes, unloaded the 4.6 does very well, plenty of power for passing, going up hills, carrying light cargo (a dirt bike, etc). But I recently purchased a travel trailer that weighs about 5500 lbs fully loaded. Even with the 4.6, it was well within my weight limits. However, being within weight limits and enjoying the drive are 2 totally different things. Climbing the mountains here is Southern California while pulling the travel trailer with the 4.6 was miserable. Going up some hills at 40mpg with the peddle to the metal, and having a long line of cars behind you = NOT a good feeling. So I got the 5.4 and now I'm happy.

That being said, if I didn't have the trailer, then I would be more than happy with the 4.6. It is a great 'little' motor with a proven track record.

 

Huh??? I'm not sure what you mean. If you're saying that I should have used 4wd, then my answer would be that my truck was and is a 4x2. And 2nd gear? Who wants to be driving in 2nd gear all the time?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bamorris2
I just traded-in my 2004 F150 SuperCrew with the 4.6. I traded it for a 2005 F150 SCrew witht the 5.4. QUOTE]

What a wonderful wife you must have . . .