Hi Y'all! Lots of good first hand info on this forum!
I've been running Fords since I was a kid, 65 F150 289 4spd. on the farm.
My first new purchase was an 86 E150 that I put 280,000 miles,reman 5.0 broke in nice and ran it another 75K before I gave it to my brother. Bought a 90 F150 with 14K on it in 96. Gave it away with 260K when I bought the 2005 new.
5.4 3 valve, auto, 4X4 ran fine except for the noisy phasers. That started the first year but didn't seem to affect anything.

$30k and 76K miles later it has become a problem.
Two weeks ago I wound up on the side of the road,running on 5 cyl., no power.
Towed it into Ford ($290) #5 injector stuck open. Ruined the cats. Lucky for me it was under warranty. I left it there for a week. The oil was 2 quarts over (gas in oil), changed oil and filter.
When I picked it up it ran great until I drove it 15 miles. Started banging and knocking when I came to a stoplight. Restarted it, runs fine over 1000 rpm until the next light, stalled again.
Took it back to Ford Monday to see what was wrong.

Decided to have them change the plugs while it was there. They broke the first 2 plugs when they called me for an okay on the extra time. $1000 to change the plugs? I put a stop on the work at the first two. The stall problem was unresolved and they needed permission to tear down the engine at my expense since I was out of warranty. I pulled it out of there. ($430)
One week later I took it to another dealer to see if they could find the problem.
I gave permission to pull valve covers. Got a call to come and look 2 days later.
The Cam journals and lobes on bank 2 are scored, oil not feeding the phasers enough. Caps are a mess. Told them to put it back together and brought it home, (another $530) The oil was changed every 4-5K with Mobil 1.

At this point I'm disgusted. Never had an engine fail without racing it. The dealer says it needs to be replaced. ($9600!) I'm looking at the Powertrain Products reman ($3000) or Jasper and starting over fresh, new injectors, coils etc.
Before I spend any more on this boat anchor I want to see what my options are.

I work 60-70 hours a week and need a truck, not a princess. Any ideas?

 

Wish I could help on the issue but it is out of my league since it is a 3v. I will say that 1k for a plug change is over twice the going rate that everyone around gets them done for. I think $350 is the average. Also, 9300 for a reman installed is twice what it should cost.

Good luck with your existing issues.. sorry to hear that.

 

The truck is on light duty for now. In town to the yard where we keep the big truck.
It bugs me to no end. Electronics are nothing but problems! Big trucks too!
90% of the problems are electrical/sensor related. When we aren't running 14 hours a day the remaining time goes to maintaining the rig, eat, sleep repeat.
The closer I look at the 5.4 design the less I like it. My mistake was not looking closer at the modular engines. I was really clueless when I bought it. I NEVER had injector problems with the 5.0 motors! At this point I will NEVER buy a new Ford! I don't have the time to mess with this junk. Anybody have a 55 F100 or Running PETE 359-379 mechanical Cat they would like to trade?

 

The 2v mods are solid engines if you ask me, if you correct the plug blow out issue and maintain them properly. I personally wouldnt buy a 3v 5.4L. I think they corrected the injector issue in 08+

 

That was the plugs is 08.The final fix anyway ...

Injector probs were in the 05's only. SUPPOSEDLY. I think it went into 06 as well.

 

Sounds like all your issues stem back to the stuck open injector and a dealership that is clueless. Don't blame Ford.

I had one stick open and hydro lock snapping a rod, repaired under the 05 injector warranty, see the 07M08 sticky atop this forum. Got a new short block and one injector and everything else needed for the repairs and checks to make sure all was well, all on Ford 's dime. Your dealership missed a lot from reading your brief story.

ETA: what viscosity oil and what oil filter did you use on the engine?

 

Yep. The dealer did not take care of all the issues due to the injector failure. What about clogged cats? Some dealers are so ignorant and we end up paying.

 

Thats what I meant.

 

05 was a bad year for the f-150 at least the 3v 5.4. I would contact ford directly. Your engine was probably damaged by the injector failure and all. ford warrentys all repairs for 120,000 miles for that and the Dealer that wants a grand for the plugs is a crook..

 

I figured that, I just d-ciphered it for yuh.

Yuh Big Bird Killer

 

Yea did they raise the labor rates or what ?

Sounds like the don't want the job to me. Sad.

 

Thanks guys! I'm going to contact Ford CS and see what they will do. I believe the injector is the cause of the failure. The Oil was changed 3-4 weeks prior to the problem. Oil is 5w20 Mobil 1 full syn. No check engine light until it started misfiring.
Judging by the condition of the cams the bottom end will need to be done,if only for piece of mind.
I talked to a few engine builders and they know the problems with this engine.

If I can't get any help from Ford it will be the LAST NEW FORD I buy.
In the mean time I bought my brothers 94 F250 4X4 with a 5.8 and 130k original miles.
and it runs perfect! Plans for a 408 stroker after the 150 issues are resolved.
KJ

 

I have 52 f2......

 

He bought a replacement 10 years ago.