I have an 02 150 Ext Cab with a 4.6L. I have driven 150's for nearly 20 years and must say this 4.6 is the worst engine yet. It seems to me it lacks power. The constant down shifting up small hills and when trying to bump up even 5mph is terrible. I have taken it in to the dealer twice and they say there is nothing wrong with it, but I'm tired of Kia's blowin past me!! Where it seems to be the weakest is mid-range power say when cornering or comming to almost a stop then accelerating. I timed myself yesterday 0-60 in 10 seconds. Does that sound right? The truck runs pretty good if you keep your foot to the floor the the MPG goes south. I've been getting about 13.8 in town and 16 on the road. I have 17k on the truck, so it should be "broke in". Anyone else not happy with a 4.6? Just looking for thoughts. Will probably trade it for an 03 5.4 soon. Thanks Matt

 

If it's exceleration your looking for why not just change out the Ring and Pinion Gear. It's about a $400-$450 project parts and labor and would really wake your truck up. Your stock truck has probably 3.55 gears I would put in 4.10 gears.....Get you a Chip, some underdrive pullies, Cold Air Intake, Cat Back Exhaust and your all set! Your truck would pick up probably 2 tenths or more in the Quarter Mile.

Good Luck!

-Adam

 

Trade it in! I feel ya, my truck is slow also.

-Brian

 

i agree, i have the 4.6 too and i pull a boat- it is pretty gutless and sometimes it feels like it cant get out of its own way....................

 

I'm Surprised to hear this. I have a 98 with 4.6l and love it. I have pulled some heavy loads and have had no problems whatsoever. I only have some minimal mods also.

 

I too am very pleased with mine. I'm not saying I wouldn't want more power, but there's always a cost, money, fuel, something... I have a drop in K&N, cat-back exhaust, and a chip on order, but it still meets my needs with ease... Of course I don't have a big truck either...

 

Pamlico

First, your comparison to the Kia is totally unfair (apples\oranges). Please keep in mind you likely have a 5,000 lb truck while while those Kia's are what maybe 3000 to 3500?

For big time torque (which is obviously what you need for climbing hills), then the 5.4 is the way to go. Since you don't have that 5.4 , then the next best thing is to improve your 4.6. The easiest mod for you would be the Superchip (chip or tuner). As mentioned changing rear end gears would also help, but the chip would yield the most benefit with least $$ invested.

I have a '98 with a 4.6. I will guarantee you this: my 4.6 ain't slow. With mods taking me 100+ hp over stock I am really smiling with my 4.6. Oh, by the way, the Kia's ain't flying past my 4.6.

Throw a Superchip, AF1 intake, and Magnaflow exhaust at your 4.6 and see what happens. Of course that's just the beginning for mods.................. Those Kias and those pesky Chevy trucks can be beat down with a little help.

 

If you can afford to then yes, trade it in for the 5.4L. I've owned both, with the same trim.

 

Of course the Kia thing was a little pun. It's just that I have owned two 4.9l one 5.0L and one 5.8L and I'll tell you that the 4.6 doesn't even seem to be as good as my ole 4.9L's. You would think that a truck with 230 hp would be close to the old 5.8's which only had 245. I don't live around big hills. This truck down shifts rolling over slight inclines. Yes I do have 3.55 gears. I still think there is something wrong with it.

 

if you're getting 16 mpg on the highway, you've got a problem.

 

You may be right! Mine rarely downshifts even with ac on and/or a couple hundred pounds in the rear. Even before mods I did not have many downshifts. I also agree with the 16mgp being bad. For comparison I get around 20 highway and have gotten up to 16 while towing!

 

I am very happy with my 4.6 for the service I require of it. But I will say this. The cost adder to go from a 4.6 to a 5.4 is peanuts in the big picture. If your really want the best performance put down the extra $$ up front.

BTW, mine don't downshift on AC but otherwise it does drop outta OD and lock frequently. I don't think it does it cause its outta torque. I think it is the computer's attempt to delive the best mpg possible under conditions.

 

My truck always felt peppy and powerfull, even before modifying it. Maybe that's because it don't shift automatically... maybe the trans is the equalizer but it always faired well against the bigger motors (without load).

 

I've got a 97 Extra Cab 4x4 with the 4.6 Auto and 3.55 rear end and I can't say as though it is lacking power. It just feels like a small V8 in a big truck. I can maintain highway speeds very well (55-60 mph) in OD with the only downshifting coming on steep hills. With OD locked out, nothing slows it down from highway speeds. Mine is also stock except for a dynomax muffler and a K&N filter.

Cold air intake and a Superchip are in the plans. It won't win me any races but it will get me everywhere I need to go plenty fast enough. When passing, it goes from 50 mph to 75 mph in no time at all. 80 comes pretty soon after while 90-100 takes some time.

When you say that it downshifts when trying to bump up small amounts, are you talking in town or on the highway? In town I leave it out of OD and it never has to downshift . . . unless I stomp on it On the highway, it seldom shifts out of OD for such small increments.

 

i dont think the 4.6 is a bad engine at all, i have never driven a f150 with the 5.4 in it though... but i have driven a superduty and i tell ya the 4.6 in a f150 is way way way faster than a 5.4 in a superduty. Even the hill pulling empty is camparable. Any way, when i first got my truck it had 3.08 gears in it. I was getting about 21 to 22 mpg empty and about 7 towing. No joke it dropped that much. Ok with what i have done to it now( u can see my signature) i *can* get 21 to 22 yet if i keep my foot out of it and do alotta highway. And the best part is towing i get about 17 now. I never thought my truck was gutless even with the 3.08 in it..it just took a couple downshifts to get it to take some names. But now i can gain speed on some pretty impressive hills. Heck i caught myself passing cars the other day when i was pullin a 17 foot ranger bass boat at 90 mph on level ground. So it does pretty good now and remember i do have 4.10 gears *However* my tall 18 inch wheel compensate for a lot of that. RIght now my final drive ratio is extremely close to 3.55 with normal sized tires. It does sound like u may have a prob with ur truck... but at any rate if u really like it and want to keep it do what peddler said. You wont be dissapointed. Good luck