I currently own a 98 5.4L (130k) that I really like and have had no problems with at all. I am looking to move to a newer truck like an 02-03 with fewer miles and am wondering if I should care whether trucks I am looking at are 4.6 or 5.4.

Obviously improved fuel economy would be nice but certainly not at the cost of reliability and im not sure how different the 4.6 behaves during normal and/or off-road driving as compared to the 5.4. Are the significant/noticable differences in capability or performance when towing or hauling loads?

your thoughts?

 

5.4 over the 4.6 for the extra needed power. The F150 with the 5.4 is underpowered as it is, could use another 50HP but the 4.6 is lame especially for towing.

 

just to add something to my own question...I just went through a number of pages of this "engines" section here on the forums and there are a lot of threads about problems with 4.6L and i dont see any about issues with the 5.4 (this is just at a quick glance at thread titles).

I also found one thread about fuel economy where responders dont seem to be getting better mpg with the 4.6....

 

the 4.6 is fine unless you are towing, driving hard all the time etc I know guys that enjoy their 4.6's as much as I enjoy my 5.4's

the main reason I like the 5.4 is the torque

the 5.4's and 4.6's can have the same issues