Just want to hear different views on it. i am a new f150 owner and have a 92 that has a 4.9 with 100k miles on it and it runs smooth as a baby. Just wondering what everyones opinion was. Thanks

 

I'd say 4.9- but 5.0 is right up there too. 100k is nothing on either of these motors. Not sure about a 5.8, that's not an engine I'm familiar with.

Take a look at the engines section, there is a thread referencing people with 100k or more-- a lot of those are 4.9's. 5.0's are pretty high too though....

 

Thanks, I take very good care of my vehicles, but was wondering with regular maintenece how long can the 4.9 go without major repair?

 

It's not at all un common to hear guys say they have 300,000 on their 4.9's without any mechanical malfunction. And it's also known worldwide for it's torque. If I were a person that did any major towing at all id be driving with one now. However i've gotten well over 200,000 on the 5.0 (302) and my last one was still going when the truck was totaled....... As far as the 5.8 (351) I owned a 94 and myself id never own another but of course being a ford it was nothing to do with not being reliable it was more of a fuel issue and from what i've heard I wasnt alone they're know for drinking gas and as expensive as fuel is now it's became an issue. But of course this is all just my thoughts as im sure there's lots of people that would say just the opposite hahahahaha!!!!!!


But rest assured you take care of it and just do the routine preventive Maintance you're truck's gonna serve you well.......

Daniel

 

Have a 4.9 f-150 in the driveway that has had the oil changed every 5000 to 8000 miles. Has had NO engine work whatsoever, the oil pan was replaced because it rusted out but other than that and spark plugs the engine has not been touched. It is currently running strong with 190,000 miles on it, doesn't burn a drop of oil. I used to work on an Econoline delivery van with a 4.9L in it. Last a saw it was just over 500,000 miles, had quite a few oil leaks but as far as i know it hadn't had any major work to the engine either. Straight sixes seem to last forever whether or not they are Ford or even (gasp!) Chevy.

-Jon

 

4.9L, hands down. I used to do fleet service for the gasoline vehicles at the local United Van Lines, and their 4.9L equipped hauler vans consistantly had the most miles with the least amount of work done to them. 500k miles was not uncommon. Their V8 vans usually needed work between 150k and 200k miles. The most common V8 work I had to do was head gaskets, water pumps and timing chains. Since removal of the water pump almost always resulted in at least one broken bolt, and required the timing cover to come off, I usually replaced the timing set and water pump as a package.

Most of these vans had an enclosed box bed you could stand up in, and were truly abused by the drivers. If you think rental cars have a rough life, you should check out moving vans. lol. The 4.9L's were so reliable, I rarely had to much more than change the oil & filter, and occasionally your basic tune up parts.

 

From what I've heard, the 300 I6 should be the most durable, but then again most of this was from 300 owners who are known for a certain amount of hyperbole. What I do know is that for six months we had a '90 F150 shortbed with a 300 and 5-speed that ran perfectly at 225k miles.

Having said that, I've heard of 302's going a quarter million miles, and I would think that a 351 in the same application would actually go longer because it would be even more understressed than the 302. With proper maintenance, all of them should go on for a long time.

 

The two biggest drawbacks to the 302 and 351 are that they both have timing chains, which should be (not must be, but should be) replaced no later than every 100k miles (along with the water pump and hardware if you're smart), and they are both prone to blown head gaskets, especially when used in a demanding application. Ford only used 10 head bolts per head (Chevy uses 17). They're still good engines, but I wouldn't call them particularly durable.

 

do the 4.9's have timing chains or belts? When should they eb replaced.

 

Neither one. The 4.9L is gear drive (gear to gear).

 

Nice, I know those are super strong. I converted one of my 5.0 Mustangs over instead of a roller timing chain.

 

The 4.9 is amazing!! I have a buddy who has one with 750k on it!! And many attempst to blow it to!! The 5.0 and 5.8 are basicly the same thing.... The 5.8 is just a bored 5.0 with bigger heads and exaust!! But the 4.9 is by far the strongest motor!! Inline 6, you can't beat it!

 

I never owned a 4.9, only a 302 and a 351W The 351 sucked gas and did not have a lot of power, engine was in Grand Marquis, so performance was dead to begine with, I have had 302's in F-150s with manual trans and they were all reasonable on flue and had enough power, not racing power, but truck stuff power, as mentioned, the V8 have timming chains and do need more maintance to keep going, but they will run for a hell of a long time, longer than is currunt batch of crap Ford engines, 5.43v stands out as a crap engine ( the engine in my 04 F-150 ) They have two timming chains, why Ford gave up on the stright six and 460 351 302 I don't know, If your a do it your self fer the 4.9 is easy to keep running, if your not a do it your selfer, the 4.9 is a mighty forgiving engine.

 

My 94 351 has tonz of torque and reliability. I put some tires of an old '80 cj (32's)im working just to see the difference and i still burned it up. i dont have limited slip so it was only one tire but i had to get off the gas or it wouldve keep on going. Gas mileage is about 14 city 17 or so highway. Never had a problem with the engine as far as that goes. Whole truck has only 58,000 miles. Bought it last year with 48,000. My freinds 90 bronce with a 5.0 is gutless. I dont know what people are saying when there isnt that much power increase between the two. Mines a rocket compare to his.

 

In terms of horsepower and torque, the 5.8 has the edge on the 5.0, torque especially. I've had mine for 6 months and it just rolled 117K, bought it at 12K, haven't had any engine problems at all, started right up all winter, runs great (well, I did have an ignition wire fail yesterday) so I'm more than happy so far except for the mileage.

In the long run, I'm convinced they're all only as reliable as the maintenance is consistent.