I am looking at buying a 2003 F150. It has the sohc 8 cylinder, I assume it is a 4.6L. It has about 65k on it. I'm not real familiar with the different motors from ford. I'm just wondering if this is an alright motor. Thanks for any help or comments.

 

the 5.4 is also sohc. either engine will be good as long as it has been well maintained.

 

The 4.6l is touted as one of the most reliable Ford engines.

Sure it doesn't have the power of the 5.4l, but it also lacks the spark plug issues the 5.4 has to deal with.

If the engine was treated well, and you continue to treat it well, it'll last you a long time.

 

I Never had any spark plug issues, nor any reliability issues... but ok.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Talk about quick response.

 

I will find out tomorrow which motor it has. Thanks.

 

somewhere like 65-70% of all F150 have the 4.6L

 

Thanks again for the replies. One more quick question, what kind of fuel mileage do these engines get?

 

Do a little searching on "spark plug blow out" and you'll find the 4.6L has had the same problem in the past.

Here just two people I found real quick - both with 4.6L's that blew a plug on the same page . AND if you flip back one page in the same thread , there's another.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...+plug+blow+out

I have 233,000 miles on my 5.4L without a blowout.

 

127k on mine with zero probs and no plugs shot throw the hood yet? treat her right and it will last you along time. whichever motor you get it will last.

 

If you are worried about gas mileage, do not buy a F-150, period. It's a TRUCK and the mileage is lousy regardless of engine. Expect around 15. Even my V6 manual trans has a hard time hitting 20. If you need a vehicle with an open bed and want gas mileage, find a 4 banger stick shift Ranger.

 

4.6 is a great motor with enough power to do anything the 5.4 will do. Just takes more time or more effort (gas)

I see about 14-15 city and 19.5-20.5 highway with my 4.6 screw with 53,000 and has been well maintained

 

ive got over 200,000 miles on my '98 4.6 and ive never had any engine problems.