Not to go counter brand on everyone, my 2001 Chevy Express van (I don't own it my company does) has had several instances of injector malfunctions. I get a really rough idle, CEL, a huge misfire and then it almost stalls completely. My mechanic (Happens to be my uncle) read GM's TSB on this and made me run some fuel injector cleaner for several tanks of gas and it stopped. I use the cleaner once a month and it has not happened again.

If Ford doesn't officially do anything, try out the cleaner as it won't hurt. When you first do it, get 3 bottles of it and run it with 3 tanks of gas in a row.

It can't hurt. If it worked on a POS Chevy van it will work on a Ford.

Injector problems are quite common, it is unfortunate that they are on the growing list of problems with the new F150.

 

I don't agree about 'grossly underpowered', at least after a tuner/exhaust/ intake, which still brings the very reliable 4.6 into stock 5.4 performance range at a lower price.

I have slightly over sized tires on my Reg cab, (18 inch Lariat wheel/tires in place of 17 inch stock) and the 3.55 rear end, and if I nail it from a dead start it will spin 5-15 feet of rubber, thats with an extra 270 lbs of mods and my rather heavy butt behind the wheel. Also this is at 3000 feet altitude, or about ten less horspower than at sea level.

My horsepower to pound ratio is much better than a fully equipped stock 5.4 FX4 Screw.

And I don't have to worry about injectors, cam phasors, spark plugs, diesel sounds to just name a few.

I do know that if you put 400 horspower in a regular cab, there would be a constant dirge about 'why don't they make 500 horsepower?'.

Chris

 

You also have a Reg cab 2wd, for the super/screw cab guys with 4wd and 4.6 would be struggling, its just simply not enough motor for that large of a vehicle. Now Im sure if you install a tuner/intake/exhaust that would improve the power output, but we shouldnt have to seek aftermarket for power that should be there from the factory. The engine is only half the problem, Ford choice of the same old 4 spd transmission is way outdated, especially when you put an underpowered engine in front of it. Why does Ford not get a clue, get a 5 spd auto and offer a higher output engine with the same gas mileage. Then the F150 would regain its place at the top, until then, we will continue to fall behind in the truck world.

 

Short answer to long post, economics.

More detailed answer for anyone that cares;
The drive by wire setup, with its freewheeling design transmission gets very good, almost fantastic freeway mileage. So there is actually no need for a higher gear. The trucks are almost too high geared in top now, so any extra gear, which would add about 1000 bucks to the cost of the average truck, would only have a very small benefit on mileage, if any.

It would improve acceleration, but anyone who wanted could have accomplished that with a cheap gear swap, or by ordering lower gears.

It seems the guys who put oversize tires on the trucks are the ones complaining about lack of power the most...

I don't care how much acceleration (which is what everyone means when they say power) the truck has stock, when you put large tires on it, you will not have good results.

The 'correct' amount of power for a 4x4 Screw with 35 inch tires would wheel hop, spin out, etc. in a regular cab.

So you would need 3 different power trains, not just 2.

2 power trains are a lot for a mass produced truck that is being sold at a discount due to external reasons, i.e. gas prices fluctuating.

Also, there is that whole liability thing. A Lightning is sold as a ‘race/sport’ truck and has a premium price that reflects Fords greater liability in an accident.
NO 4x4 is going to be ‘overpowered’ by Ford. They are still being sued regularly for not explaining that the laws of physics apply to tall vehicles in turns…
They are still losing a fortune on 19 year old kid’s stupidity... and greedy attorneys.

An attorney would give his left… hand, for the opportunity to sue Ford for making a ‘death trap’ overpowered 4x4 that tipped over in a corner at 100 mph…

He could easily retire on one case.

So Ford makes the truck within 90% power of all the other makers.

Since the Fords are more luxury equipped than the Chevy or Dodge and much nicer to drive, those are the areas they focus on.

I know a lot of F-150 owners, I hang out in three forums devoted to the trucks, and about one person in 100 complains constantly about not enough power.

If you deduct the ones with the over size tires that drops considerably.

This is not to be confused with owners like myself who like to fiddle with them, or just punch up the power a little bit solely because we can.

So if 99 percent are satisfied with the performance, and the remaining 1 percent won’t spend any money to upgrade the performance themselves, then Ford seems to have hit the right note on power.

The rest of the buyers don’t want to pay for that 1 percent owner's power.

Ford is the lowest priced of the big three trucks.
Ford makes the nicest looking (by a mile).
Ford makes the best handling (by a lot).
You also want Ford to make the fastest, and not charge anymore for it.
I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Chris

 

Come on guys, lets get this thread back on track. This isn't the GD forum.

PS: Im just waiting on this thing to blow. I d/c my battery and my truck is still jumping all over the place with the RPMs.

 

Im positive it's more than 1% of owners that feel they could use more power, especially throttle response and CPU management related issues. Even major automotive editorials have addressed the issue such as Motor Trend(and I quote "40 horses must have jumped off" addressing the claim to "300HP". Thats 300hp we will never see in the stock tune, yet Ford will be quick to void your warranty with an aftermarket tune installed. I for one am not willing to risk my ESP to install a tune just yet.

So then, a more accurate portion of owners who feel like their 5.4 is underpowered would be much higher, to dare I say over 50%. In fact, EVERY 5.4 owner I have spoken to thought that their truck did indeed feel sluggish. Now this does not include those with a plethora of aftermarket modifications and mainly Scab/Screw guys.

I agree with you that Ford is on top when it comes to ride comfort, interior/exterior refinement, and overall quality. BUT, I would like to see better utililization of power whether it be through engine management or transmission. On a side note, I just recently within the past week installed larger tires, and my posts will show that long long before that did I address the power issue. In fact, my truck doesnt feel any different with the larger tires, of course my tires are only 31.6 inches in diameter, and thats the largest I plan to go.

 

You do know that makes my point?
You wanted larger tires more than you wanted power?


I did the same, increasing to the 18 from 17, so I understand completely, but again, it makes the point.

As to wanting more power, um, I never talked to any owner of anything (male owner that is) that didn't want/need more power...
50%? Heck, if it was free, 99.9 percent would stand in line for another 5 horsepower.

And if the trucks made 400, they would still stand in line for 405.

As to the injector problem, have they narrowed it down to a production run? I am thinking it is a 2005 only problem, at least as far as sticking open. Or have 04-06 trucks also stuck open?
Chris

 

I have a 5.4 w/ 3.55's, running bfg 285's. I really can't complain about the power. If I hit the gears right it'll jerk my head back. I would like a little better throttle response, but I'm living with it and getting use to it. I had a 4.6L in a 98 f-150 that had an intake, exhaust, etc on it my 5.4L would eat it for lunch with a trailer behind it.
Brings up another point, do any of you that complain about power ever tow? The 5.4 is a good torque motor. The useable torque is in a much better range than the other(not going to mention) brands. I've towed numerous 6500 lb setups and I was more than happy the way that 5.4 pulled. Just my .02.

 

Be careful of what you post, if your dealer or someone from ford may be watching this forum and may be a legal issue if it would blow up and you intentionally new it was ill. Just remember loose lips sinks ships...

 

No, if I was abusing my truck than it would be an issue. I've already talked to my dealer and they said it wasn't anything to be worried about but to just bring it in when I had time and they'd reflash it but thanks anyways.

 

Ohhh boy! Here we go! This thread is going to go on forever just like the "changing plugs" thread did. Now there's going to be paranoia about injectors sticking. Here's some news, it's not uncommon for an injector to stick open. It IS uncommon for it to cause engine damage. The most that happens is rough idle and hard starting, especially when hot. Everybody relax, the odds of your engine being destroyed are slim and nil!

 

Interesting, this is the third case of this I recall directly reading here. One guy caught it in time and it didn't blow his engine, the more recent one was the one guy with a Roush S/C who's injector did the same thing. I'm sure there's more, I haven't searched for them, and not to mention not every F150 owner is on this board (although they should be) hehe.