I'll just say that now the 2-v 5.4's are getting old (they havent used them in F-150s for over 10 years) its getting much harder to find low miles good ones in the JY. I had the head gasket issue and did go with a low miles 03 engine that I paid $1200 for. Engine only had 40k on it. I think you would have a really hard time finding a deal like that now. Of course if you look at E250,350 with 5.4's you can make those work and they still use them in the vans. The Vans are all about reliability. Thats why they still use the 4.6 & 5.4's in them..

 

You preach propaganda, I preach reason. You can "tell" me your skewed, bias-toward-your-own-truck, opinion as often as you'd like. Get on any forum and every nut thinks their motor will make it to 500k miles because they change the oil when they're supposed to.

I'll agree to disagree. But telling the OP that he's been negligent with maintenance after not touching the truck for the first half of its life is stupid. I'll be content with getting 156k miles out of any motor, but I guess I'm the only one in the world that thinks that way.

 

25 years ago you would be doing really well to get 100-150k miles out of a car or truck. Not anymore. People get 300k out vehicles regularly now. there are hundreds of thousands of them out there. Tons of them are f-150's!

 

Preach ? Doesn't matter what you call it, I pass on what I have learned, - straight up. You can't see reason well enough to preach it. Simply because you lack the experience and are immature. Your definitely not alone. Perhaps you should consider that it isn't anything more than that.

Just a suggestion, sport...

 

Eh, I'll stand by what I've said

Vehicles are definitely lasting longer though, but enough, IMO, to move that 150k from "doing very well" to "average"

 

These engines are good, except the aforementioned self-removing spark plugs, and the 2v is less asinine than the 3v with the 2 piece plug that jams and comes apart in the engine or splits the plug tunnel and drops pieces of head into the cylinder. That being said, the mod motors do have a leak issue with the intake where it joins the head, and torque -to-yield head bolts which can lose torque and back off. 150k miles without major engine work is good, but no engine runs forever, and blaming the OP because he "only" got 150k on his head gaskets is lame.

 

Yea but, what's suppose tuh happen at 150K. I must of missed it? Yea, jethat said it pretty well. The engines the OP is referring to are VERY resilient, - they can take quite a bit of abuse and still do 150, -no problem.

Take care of them and they'll do it twice.

 

I would have took all that back if he answered my question on the first page. He couldn't answer a simple maintenance question to defend himself. Put what ever spin on it you want to. But hell, do the math, it's not that hard. Just try.

That's right! "ONLY"

 

I can repair a plug blow out in my garage in a hour if I take my time.

 

I would agree with the used engine if it were possible to check it out enough before installation. The used engines typically have a short warranty, but the labor to install it is on the owner. So, if you gotta remove it again and replace, it can be a costly pain. I'm retired now and maybe I would have the time. Well, maybe not the energy! Lol! Besides, I'm a believer in 300k miles or that is my expectation. I only have 129k on mine now. I may not live that long! Ha!

 

It might not be a bad Idea to just do the head gasket and 129k if you've taken decent care of it is nothing. The head gasket oil leak is very common..

 

Agree! Very close to 252,000 miles on my '99 4.6 engine and it still runs strong! Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you!

David

 

You know what they say about assuming, right? Just because I don't have time to get on and check out this web page every day doesn't mean I can't answer the question.

I follow the special operating conditions (towing and lived in NM desert) maintenance as spelled out in the "Ford Scheduled Maintenance Guide" that was tucked in the zip case with my owners manual, can't imagine there is anything major missing from that book. I just have the cluster "dummy" gauge as you guys like to call it, but I pay attention to my gauges during driving and haven't seen them go beyond normal. So I don't know why the gasket went, but I wasn't trying to figure that out.

Thank you for those who contributed information relevant to my question, and though my posts may come off as defensive I do appreciate and respect all of your opinions. I'll look for a reasonably priced replacement with lower miles, and weigh that versus the repair.

 

Back in the 74, I had a base model 71 Pinto! It had 2 options, disc brakes on the front and the optional 2.0L 115hp OHC Ford of Germany engine. (the base engine was the 1.6L English ford Cortina pushrod engine.) the 2.0 had the oil for the cam coming up through the block much like our trucks. At about 40k miles, the gasket failed at the oil passage. I just pulled the head and replaced the gasket. The gasket came with instructions to torque the head bolts about 20 ft. lbs more than the original spec with the statement that failure to do so would lead to premature gasket failure. So, I didn't even have the head machined. Only cost me labor and the gaskets.

 

If a lower miles engine can be had IMO thats the way to go. if all you can find is what you already have repair it. Costs about the same and the work doing the head gasket it right up there with doing an R&R