Ok....so thats the difference. Some f250s came with or without the EGR. I will look for a 5.4, 2valve, 2002-2004 with EGR and from a f150.
My 4.6 runs perfectly fine. I maintain my vehicles more than factory specs. I only want to get 2 more years out of my truck....it is a work truck. Right now its pedal to the metal climbing hills with the 4.6 now.

 

I remember those days.

 

Personally I prefer the 1999 5.4. It has PI heads, a forged crank and a metal intake manifold. They are becoming harder and harder to find.

 

Composite intakes offer better performance than the aluminum ones. The aliminum soaks up underhood heat and transfers it into the engine intake air. Composite allows for cooler air to enter the engine.

 

On the other hand, plastic intakes can crack and leak.

 

I'd like to see the actual data on that. I seriously doubt a difference in comparison would amount to anything before the decimal point. IF there actually is one.

An aluminum manifolds can be ported and polished to outflow the composites. Ford has issues with their composites as well. They eventually WILL crack and break (composites before 2002). It wasn't until 2003 when Ford upgraded their composites. They modified the mix for increased durability.

Like JMC, -The 1999 is my favorite as well. The ONLY Aluminum PI 5.4L manifold produced for 10th generation truck applications. Worry free as far as durability and I've never heard any mention from "Engine Builders" (Babcox Research)on taking a substantial hit in power/torque loss when running one.

The 99 5.4L would be choice for more reasons than just this one.

 

A quick search on Google should do the trick.

While the early ones were prone to cracking near the thermostat, Ford has since fixed the issue as you already pointed out. Although the fix was to change the coolant passage and thermostat housing to aluminum. Moreover, the defective intakes were only on the 4.6l car intakes, not the truck, and never the 5.4l. I'm sure that as with any part on any vehicle, at least a few failed out of the hundreds of thousands of these engines.

GM also had issues on their 3.8 V6 for a while before they got it right. The intake is not a load-bearing part of the vehicle, so it doesn't need to be very strong. It just needs to direct air efficiently.

The composite materials use are very poor conductors of heat, which makes them ideal for transferring air from the outside through a hot engine bay. The air makes it from A-B with far less change in temperature.

Aluminum on the other hand conducts heat very well. It's great for radiators, and can be strong enough to make engine blocks with, but overkill for any component of an intake system (other than the throttle body).

I'm sure some people still think these "plastic" intakes are used to save a few pennies, but that's not the case. Consistent performance, fuel efficiency, and weight savings are the primary reasons. There's a reason you'd have a hard time finding an aluminum intake on any new vehicle.

Think about it.

 

JMC....If i can find a 99...would that swap out in my 03 with no problems?
ESJAYES....you are correct on the GM 3800. I just did my wifes 97 Bonneville SSE for the second time. We bought the car in the spring of this year and didnt need to have it on the road .....so reading on the bonneville forums that thay had problems with the upper and lower intakes. I got the parts from napa and did the lower intake gaskets and the complete upper intake. It started sucking antifreeze again...tore it apart again and the EGR pipe had blown out of its seat and caused the intake to melt on the inside. This time i ordered the parts online from a parts supplier that the bonneville forums recomended. This one the EGR pipe fit tighter than the napa part did.

 

Like brew said, if there are any differences, they would be minimal. And port matched aluminum is less resistant than plastic, providing better flow. Also better modification ability. Most will say aluminum will soak heat more than the composites used in plastic intakes, and this may be true but only to the difference of a very very small percentage, even less at WOT as the air is moving too fast through the intake to pick up the heat. IMO I would opt for aluminum, for future upgrades port matching and dependability.

 

 

yes

 

Well, I thought about it, honest. Quick search was a "fail" , sorry.

No, that's incorrect, your confusing yourself I think. - I'm not, these early intakes referenced above and behind, crack opposite side of the thermostats, - opposite side of the cross over.

Maybe you shouldn't use that quick search, - try the long one, so you don't miss anything.

 

Btw - Here's a pic for to reference EsJayEs , -in case your mind suffers a little slippage -

 

If you want to use outdated parts for whatever reason, more power to you.

If you don't want to take the time to do the research, no sweat. No need to be a smart-*** though.

BTW - the pic you referrenced is an aluminum coolant crossover. The recalled/defective intakes used a composite crossover, only on 4.6L cars.

...moving on.

 

Well, - Hell with it, I'll let someone else fix this one, if they want.. Like you said, moving on...