i need some advice from the guys who know.i have a 2002 supercrew that i put a supercharger on off a lightning,blower was ported and tune by psp,stock pullys.don't race it but do like to leave the other brands at the light every now and then,use it for towing a travel trailer.i want to build a motor for it what should i use,older block with steel crank.lightning block,what kind of pistons and rods,cams and what about heads,stock and have them ported or after market?any advice would be great.

 

97-02 5.4 blocks are all the same. 03+ are NVH and have 16# more material in them but haven't proved to be any stronger-the blocks don't really fail. A stock L crank-they are forged and good to 1000 hp, H beam rods of your choosing and some forged pistons are the norm. All the heads used are original Ford castings that have been ported so either buy some already done or use your cores if you can afford the downtime. 99-02 heads have 3-4 threads for the plugs and 03+ have 8-9 and are more desireable. Main and head studs are a good idea as well. You didn't ask about cams so that can be discussed later. Good luck with the build!

 

i read somewhere that the early 5.4 truck motors used a steel crank and are not the 03 and up heads 3 valve?

 

03 and 04 had 2V heads with more spark plug threads.. The 04 up (new body style) has 3V heads.

 

thanks for the info on the heads,that the kind of stuff i need to know.

 

Yes. The 97 to somewhere in 99 5.4's all had forged cranks. Then they went to cast cranks except for the L motors from there on out. A used block is fine to use for a core but get a new crank since they're only @350 from Ford Racing now and the cost to have a used crank redone isn't worth it.