Hell I kinda like pushrod motors....

 

Easy there tuff guy. I do believe the last car company to be having engine compartment fires was Ford. Remember the cruise control/ fire starters. I agree with RamSS/T. There is nothing wrong with a push rod engine. Glad to see from your profile that you have some “hands on” personal experience with both late model GM’s and 2004 + model year F-150’s. You are correct though the new F-150 is better than the current Chevy, but anyone can regurgitate rhetoric. I would read the article below and go have your truck checked out. Quickly....Hurry up.....

“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating more than 3.7 million Ford pickups and sport utility vehicles because of a defect in the cruise control switch. The probe includes Ford F-150 pickups from the 1995-1999 and 2001-2002 model years, and Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 1997-1999 and 2001-2002 model years.”

 

Good point!

Then again the Vortec in the Silverado/Tahoe/Sierra from around 2001 - 2003 were known for having piston slap issues.

 

If you are used to bmw and lexus, get a lexus gx470 or BMW X5 to haul the dog in.

 

If the Choice is F150 vs 1500 Chevy I'd get the F150. I like the exterior styling better and I like the interior WAY better. As for the powertrain, I like the Chevy Old Technology Pushrod better. Its more powerful, thats one thing that has always pissed me off about Ford is they always underpower everything. (In a normal Car/Truck I mean).

BTW, I just ordered a 3/4 Ton Duramax Chevy. But had I decided to go 1/2 ton with a gas motor I'd have bought the Ford and just try to deal with the underpowered 5.4.

 

That would be one of the two reasons I sold mine to buy my F150. Funny tho GM said the issue exsisted in 2000 as well, yet my 2000 never had any issue, only my 2002. Cheap mexican pistons! Another reason GM purchasing should be kicked in the nads.

 

The 5.4 isn't the most powerfull, but underpowered mehhh.......I like to think of it as an engine that is connected to a 4spd, when everyone uses 5, moving one of the heaviest non-commercial vehicles on the road.

 

Great. It is nice to know the big brother is investigating a known issue that Ford owned up to and his handling via a recall.

 

Your tax dollars at work. hey, they are working for your well being, just ask them.

 

Under powered 5.4 huh ? Tell that to the Hemi boys I hammer at least once a month. No prob towing 8,000 lbs of trailer and bob cat either. Hmm. Where does this under powered come from ? You ought to see my neighbor with his 6.0 liter diesel or my brother-in-law (farmer) with his 6.0 liter diesel and 7.3 liter diesel with over 400K on it. Hmm. Passion is interesting and so is rhetoric; but, I have seen way too many Chevy's not live up while the old and new Fords just keep going down the road or pulling cattle trailers, bobcat trailers, and so on. Duramax sure sounds impressive; but, is it ? Hmm.

 

First off, my cruise control switch was fixed about 3 weeks before the recall was even announced.

And, I have LOTS of experience with late model GMC's and "Chebbys." the 2001 Silvey that I had before my 2002 F150 burned to the ground with less than 5K miles on it. I THOUGHT I was making the right decision but that was before I was educated in the matter.

I have an old college friend who lives in LaGrange TX and he swears up and down that Chevy is the best. Not only has he had the notorious piston slap issues himself with his "ultra reliable 2003", he's also broken down more times than he even cares to admit to me (he lives in a subdivision, does zero off-roading, and drives his truck 30 miles per day). I know several people who own Fords - not only do they own Fords, most of them live on ranches and drive them around where there is no pavement. These late model Chevys seem to break before you can GET them to the trails.

He says that he's going to dump his 2003 in 2 years and can't wait until the day he gets to do so. Of course he doesn't know any other way so he's going to buy one of those newly designed Silverados that's going to resemble the design of the HHR and Tahoe put together. I still have hope that I can change his mind before then.

A contact I met via my grandfather owns a Ford dealership. Without much else to be said, I'm BIG TIME in the know. My father in law put me in touch with a Chevy dealer owner, and I get a lot of insider stuff from them (most of which is "more of the same" information).

That's why I own what I do - an Explorer and an F150. I see the lack of technology that GM is using these days...it's sad, really. And they wonder why they're headed towards Chapter 7. You know, there's a reason why Chevy talks about "new" technology and presents it in a way as if they invented it when others have had similar (or better) products on their trucks for years and years - they realize that a majority of the American public is very gulliable - that's what they rely upon to sell their trucks. There are actually people out there (more than you might think) who believe that a "mechanical rear locker" is a NEW concept!

And the fact that Dodge has to use a Hemi to overcompensate for their extremely poor engine design (requiring regular tuneups every 30-40,000 miles) makes me even more proud that I belong to the Ford family. Hey, there's a reason why Dodge came out with th 20" wheels first - they know they need to make their trucks look good because it sure as he** isn't what's under the hood that sells those things.

 

My Brother inlaw decided he wanted to be a snowmobile racer, He bought a 18' enclosed trailer, first race he went to was 100 miles from home, he has a 03 silverado the truck seemed to shift between 3rd and 2nd steady, gas mileage well one full tank to 100 miles, next race he used my 04- fx4 5.4
250 mile trip on way locked out of overdrive rarely shifted 14 mpg. the trailer empty only weights 3500# about 5000# loaded. When he bought the truck he thought he was cool he could smoke the tires, my 04 really can't, brake stand maybe. So after him calling my truck a big dog I was glad to be able help him put his foot in is mouth..

 

Man, I have to get me a tune. I had a guy next to me yesterday in a dodge power wagon. He had a manufacturer plate and he was revving his engine at me. I would have gone if I knew I could beat him. Well this has been a good thread in good spirit, but I think we have officially hijacked the thread.

 

Well you are right the locker is not new, but at least they have a locker. Dodge has a good engine design, pour lots of gas in the cylinder, raise the compression ratio, put two spark plugs in each cylinder to ignite all of that gas, and boom your off. Good ol’ fashioned, lots of gas + lots of air = HP, the American way. BTW dealers don’t know as much as they lead on. They sell what the manufacturer gives them because that is what puts money in their pockets. Talk to some unbiased engineers. If you go into GM, Ford, DCX, Nissan, they all have “benchmarking centers”. The engineers are well aware of what the other guy is doing, and most, if they are worth a darn will be honest with you. That is why I bought the Ford, it is the overall best engineered truck on the road. (I have been in all of the benchmarking centers) I was just razzing you anyways. It looks like we both got rid of our Chevy trucks for Ford trucks. Happy holidays.

 

Thanks for all your help!

I drove the 5.4 Lariat today and was very impressed and will probably lease that truck.

By the way, I stopped by Toyota today (my brothers getting a Landcruiser) and they quoted me :

$1000 Down and $367 a month for 36 months for a 2006 Tundra Double Cab Limited (MSRP $39,000) with 15K miles a year
- those numbers include all taxes,fees, etc.

I wish Ford could show me those numbers!