The article was about 5 used trucks you should never buy.
The 2004 to 2010 Ford trucks with a 5.4 3 valve engine:

The 5.4L 3-valve engines used in Ford Trucks from 2004 to 2010 develop camshaft phaser issues, especially when engines exceed the 100,000 mile mark. The first sign of an impending failure is a slight tick at idle, as the problem worsens owners complain of a noticeable loss of power. Engines running rich will clog catalytic converters and trigger check engine light illuminations; repairs are expensive. Even worse many repairs merely mask the problem for short periods of time only to have the issue return necessitating an engine overhaul or replacement. Thinking about buying a Ford pickup? Pop the hood, check the engine specifications, and run away from 5.4L equipped models.

Question is, my '05 currently has 118,000 + miles, I'm not having any of these problems, but when I do, should I swap motors or what?

 

I would not think about it till it happened. A lot more never have a problem than those that do. Be sure to keep 5-20 oil in it, use a quality filter and change it every 4000 to 5000.

Sometimes, they blow stuff all out of proportion so they will have domething to write about.

 

I agree with that - I would never buy a USED 3 valve. If you currently have one with no issues, good for you! If you develop issues, the best thing to do is trade it in before they get worse.

 

The 5.4 3-valve was certainly not the high water mark for Ford engine performance and durability......

 

It's Gear Heads. Take them with a grain of salt.

 

Bluejay, glc, and ddellwo, thank you all for the advice.
glc, truck was used when I bought it back in '08 with right at 30,000 original miles. Now I have 118,000 + and the only thing currently giving me problems is that damned ticking from the cam phasers. Had an injector problem at about 50,000 inthat injectors 3 and 4 injectors were firing all the time, key on or off, dumping fuel into both those cylinders constantly which made my fine little truck smoke like it was trying to get cancer. My brother (certified master mechanic), told me what parts to get at NAPA and he changed 'em for the cost of parts. Aside from those two injectors, I've had no problems with my '05!!!

 

You're lucky you didn't hydro-lock your engine. By the way, Ford offered an extended warranty on the '05 injectors -- I wonder if you might have gotten Ford to do them for free under warranty?

 

He (my brother), told me I was lucky the engine didn't grenade with the amount of raw fuel being dumped into the crankcase. As it is, when he changed the injectors, he also changed my oil, which also means that the inside of my engine has been scrubbed clean from all that gasoline running through it too.

 

If it did not start using more oil, no damage was done.

 

Yes sir, kinda what i was thinking too. Not only that, but even with the 218,000 + miles I've got on her, she still revs like there's no tomorrow when I go "***** to the wall" accelerating into traffic!!! No smoke, no funny vibrations, no hint of pistons wanting to change cylinders.
Build date is 12/17/2004, I'd copy and paste the build sheet, but that'd make this post just too long, IMHO.

 

With regular oil changes and a Motorcraft oil filter the phasers will be no problem. Mine has 140K troublefree miles.

 

I agree I'm about to do my brothers 08 but it's got a little chain rattle at cold start most likely due to poor maintenance by PO. But it's his first vehicle so it's a good learning experience for him. We've had a handful of 3V with much higher mileage that are trouble free. The issue with these motors is so much stuff runs on oil pressure phasers, chain tensioners so when you neglect oil changes problems develop quickly. Good maintenance is key with these motors which lately seems to be something people like to avoid. Keep your oil clean and use good products you will most likely have no problems.

 

I would never buy a used 5.4 3v its hit or miss with these motors.

 

If I was to buy a used 5.4, I would insist on a hot oil pressure test. Any less than 25 psi at idle would send them to the auction, back when I was pulling wrenches.