I don't really think these trucks move out all that well with a decent sized load (4000ish lbs or so towing) with the 5.4, there's no way in hell I'd personally own one with a 4.6 liter. Just tooling around town and back and forth to work, I'm sure the 4.6 would be fine though.

 

In my opinion a 4.6 does not even have a right to be in these heavy trucks!......

 

I own a Scab, 4x4, 4.6 w 33" tires. With the smaller factory tires and rims it was a decent performing truck. It was never really fast, but it always got the job done. The new tires and rims have really hurt the acceleration and the ability of the truck to stay in Od on a grade. I added a intake (AF1) and that helped with it holding OD, but it is still not as I would like it. I need to bite the bullet and get it tuned, a tuned 4.6 is rumored to have performance similar to that of the stock 5.4.

 

You HOPE!.........

 

When I bought my 04screw with the 5.4L my wife had a 98 STX regular cab with the 4.6L . Her 98 ran really good and was very peppy and would out run my 04. Well a year later we traded it in for an 05 STX supercab with the 4.6L and man what a difference.... it felt like the truck had a v6 in it instead of a v8. It was horrible, it couldnt get out of its own way if the trucks life depended on it. Unfortunetly we were in a bad accident in her truck before we ever made the first payment and the truck was totaled, so when we got her a replacment truck it was a 05 XLT supercab with the 5.4L and 3.73LS rear. She is much happier now. THe 4.6L in a supercab or screw configuration IMO is the worst thing to happen to these trucks. Gas milage is horrible, no acceleration, no power.....

 

To me honestly the 4.6 in my scab is fine for daily driving, it downshifts on some hills around here, but thats when I'm trying to run 85+ on the interstate. Thats stock with stock tires and no load though. I've yet to put a load behind it, I only need to tow 2 motorcycles so no big deal there.

The 4.6 isn't a bad motor, but if I got to redo it, I'd get the 5.4. You can never have too much power, and it'd help for resale value down the road.

 

That's wishful thinking!

 

Wow lots of 4.6 bashing going on here. It's still a Ford product. I geuss I'd rather have a dependable 4.6 two valve than a 5.4 three valve that I was scraed to change spark plugs on! There also would not of been a 5.4 without the 4.6. Give credit where it is due. Ford Rocks!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bashing? No. Simple fact. A smaller, less powerful engine doesn't haul 5000+ lbs of truck around as well as a bigger, more powerful engine.

 

Is xlt the highest grade model you can get a 4.6 with 4wd?

 

I think XLT is the highest grade you can get a 4.6 with regardless of how many wheel drive it is.

Most of the lower lines only comes with the small engine and the higher line only comes with the larger engine.

 

The 5.4 is an option for the FX2.

 

The 4.6 obviously does not have the power the 5.4 has but it’s not nearly as bad as you guys are portraying. In no way is my truck fast but its still a very capable truck. I have the 4.6, 33s, and 3.55 gears and I just recently pulled my Porsche behind it for 5 strait hours on a road that was by no means flat and it had very little problems keeping 70mph. it does downshift for steep grades but the motor runs fine at higher rpms.

 

Nobody is saying its a bad engine or that it can't pull decently, but the original question was how much power loss would he noticed going from a 5.4 to a 4.6. The answer is a lot.

 

I agree there is a big power loss and no, no one has said its a bad motor but several have said that it does not have the right to be in the truck at all and that is not the case.

I would say the 4.6 is capable but does not have any "extra power"