Originally Posted by SoonerTruck

I was simply referring to the fact that you said you wouldn't purchase a truck with a 5.4L, EVER. I truly believe you'd be losing out on some great trucks if you avoided the 5.4L, which by just about any measure, has been a hugely successful engine for Ford. Sure, some of them have their quirks, but nothing that should preempt the purchase of a truck if the engine has been cared for appropriately. Very few engines from any manufacturer have been without some sort of "gotchas".

It wasn't a dig at your current truck, either. Nothing wrong with the V6 or 4.6L V8 in general if it suits your needs. Given the choice, I'd still take the 5.4L over the other engine options up until the 5.0L/EcoBoost became available.

Originally Posted by SoonerTruck

I think injectors were an 06-07 thing. 08's don't really suffer from most of the issues except the models with 07-built engines containing the older spark plug design. All that being said, I still love my 351w more than the newer engines anyhow, lol.

Originally Posted by SoonerTruck

I think injectors were an 06-07 thing. 08's don't really suffer from most of the issues except the models with 07-built engines containing the older spark plug design. All that being said, I still love my 351w more than the newer engines anyhow, lol.

Originally Posted by 2stroked

My 2010 4.6 3 valve was a much better truck, but by 48,000 miles, you had to shut it off in a drive through so the staff could hear your order. Worse yet, Ford had issued a TSB stating that it was perfectly normal and wouldn't hurt anything. That kind of ended it for me.

So are Cam Phasers in 3 valve motors a problem? Well, if you look at my experience with two in a row having issues, I'd say they might be. Are they a big issue? I don't think so at all. Most of the 3 valve modular motors run just fine for many, many miles with them. If I was looking at a used truck with a 3 valve motor though, I'd pay special attention to what kind of noises were coming from under the hood. I'd also make sure the spark plugs had been recently changed.

Getting back to the OP’s question though, I’d suggest staying away from the 2004 & 2005 F150’s. Sure there are plenty of them out there that have served their owners well with very few problems. But the 2004 model was a brand new truck with typical first year quality issues. Ford’s own internal quality data shows that 2005 was a low point in their Quality levels. (They’ve been getting better ever since.) My 2005 F-150 – purchased to avoid the first year blues – kind of proved that point even with all of the running changes that were made to address known issues.

If I had to choose between the 2004, 2005 & 2006 models the OP mentioned, I’d suggest the 2006 – just because it benefitted from more running engineering changes than the previous two years.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by 08FX4SC

Don't do it. I knew of the problems that the 3-valve engines had but I decided to buy one anyway. However, I thought I was doing good by getting a 2008 that was a CPO with a warranty. I just got my truck back yesterday with a new long block installed from the Ford dealer. Turns out that the guy who owned it before me never changed the oil very often. The mechanic said there was a lot of sludge in my core and that it looked like it was being cleaned out with my 4000 mile oil changes. Long story short no oil was getting to the top of the engine and upon further inspection the cam-phasers, tensioners, solinoids, etc were all shot too. I really cannot fault the truck because it obviously was not well cared for before I owned it. I'm going to give it another chance now that I'm starting fresh with a new engine. I put 300 miles on it already and it's running great. That said I would never buy another 5.4L. It's been in the shop way too many times. This last time it was really hard to go 3 weeks without a truck. It has nickled and dimed me a lot the past few years. Radiator, fuel pump driver module, driver's side power window, blower motor resistor, etc. I could go on and on if I looked at all my parts receipts. I just think that 04-08 was a horrible era for Ford quality. After the collapse in 2008 it seems they restructured and their quality went up. You would be best served with a 2011+ imho. Might cost more but those are way better trucks.