Does the Lightning have a forged crank shaft???

 

yes. all of the 5.4 ford engines have them even the regular f150s.

 

I do not think they are true forged cranks like in the 2003 Cobra but they are a step above a cast crank.

 

collins8
All 5.4's from 99' on had a REAL forged crankshaft, before 99' they were a casting.
Dale

 

What exactly would a "not a true forged crank" be ?

The word forged has a very specific meaning:

forge:
To force a piece of hot metal into the desired shape by hammering it.

drop forged:
A part that has been formed by heating the steel blank red hot and pounding it into shape with a powerful drop hammer.

http://www.100megsfree4.com/dictionary/index.htm

 

I guess the pre 99's were cast steel?

4130 forged steel. These are a "twisted" forging. What this means is the crank is forged in a 180 degree flat plane, and while still hot the journals are twisted out to form the crankshaft. Although it sounds pretty drastic, this is the way that most OE manufactures make their cranks.

4340 forged steel. These are "non twisted" forgings, meaning that they are forged as is, with all the journals where they should be.


CAST STEEL crankshafts are as the name suggests cast from steel making them much stronger than the more common cast iron used in standard production engines.

 

All I know is that crank can handle more power then any Gen2 is putting out noow and allot more. The block too!

 

Actually it is a really nice crank, it has rolled fillets for strength, its cross drilled for oiling and the factory did a nice job of designing the counter weights, they have a nice aero shape to them and also because of the color of it, it looks like it might be hardened.
Dale

 

HI!... All 5.4's have a forged steel crankshaft. Here's a pic of one out of a "98" 5.4 crate engine I purchased. It has been verified as forged steel by my engine builder.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...4-794-6970.jpg