I recently hit 114,000 miles, and I noticed my truck has begun to feel a little sluggish. It's not horrible, but it is noticeable. I'm not sure if it's because of the high mileage or because of my leveling kit and 33" tires.

I was wondering if you all would kindly recommend a method of correcting my sluggish acceleration. I have heard a great deal about these EDGE programmers, but I don't know how much they cost, how to install them, or where to mount the control screen in my truck. Does anyone have one of these on a '97-'03 truck? Does my truck have too many miles on it for this?

Also, what about air intake?

BTW, it's a 2000 F-150 Lariat 4x2, 5.4L V8.

Pictures would be great. Any info is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

You might start with having the intake system cleaned. I know a guy who went to a local mechanic and had the Full Throttle cleaning system run through it. He had a high mileage Explorer and said it made a huge difference.

 

Agree with above - you can do this yourself - decarbon the TB/egr. Search for how-to's, there are lots here.

Also - have you done your maintenance? At your mileage you should at least by now have done/ changed:

Fuel filter
plugs
front O2's
tranny fluid/filter
air filter
clean MAF
... etc, etc...

A lift and tires don't cause a gradual detrioration in performance (it's immediate), so it unlikely it's that - although they don't help any. Oh, and make sure your parking brake ain't dragging.

A tuner will not 'fix' a problem - will only mask or exacerbate any existing problems.

Fix it first, then consider a tuner.

 

X2... You didn't mention if you've performed regular maintenance or not... If not, definately start with these items.

 

Gears are your best bang for the buck. It will require less engine power to get your truck moving.

 

I am extremely persistent with my routine maintanance. My truck is in impeccable condition and I change my oil every 3,000 miles.

What do you suggest? I am not familiar with gears...

 

Please elaborate on your vehicle's problems...

 

Well like I said it isn't horrible but I would like to return it to it's former performance.

Basically it feels hesitant when I depress the accelerator. It used to be quick and it felt powerful, especially after I put in my new performance tranmission a few months ago. Now it takes forever to get up and going.

I suppose I could deal with it because I'm not drag racing anyway, but I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I guess I'll try thr engine cleaner approach and see if that helps.

 

HI JohnBoy,

Well, if you noticed a reduction in performance after installing that "performance transmission," then it is possible they also changed the torque converter, and that the new one has a lower stall speed - that's hard to imagine on a 1997-2003 F-150, as their factory TQ's are very tight to begin with, but that is a possibility.

There is also a possibility that they have changed gear ratios inside the transmission - though that too, tends to be remote as this is not normally done in a transmission for anything other than a racing situation.

Assuming something in the transmission is not the culprit, then it's most likely just normal maintenance that needs to be done - spark plugs, coil packs, the entire EGR tract needs to be thoroughly cleaned, a carbon removal treatment done to the engine, the upstream O2 sensors replaced, the MAF sensor cleaned, etc., etc.

In other words, there is far more to normal maintenance required than what any automaker lists in their maintenance schedules - a LOT more, and most of it affects performance.

The first thing I would do is talk to whoever provided & installed your transmission about this and see what they have to say - if you do not get anywhere there, then it's time to take it to your local Ford dealership under a complaint of low power and have them diagnose it.

Last - this may just be a perception, I have no idea - but there are all kinds of ways of improving the performance of that vehicle, and of course, we can help you with all of that - but first, you need to make sure there isn't' something wrong with the vehicle from what you are saying - you are quite clear in that the change was apparent right after the transmission work.

 

Thank you that really helped.

I will do all of this and probably get an Edge too...