I own the truck listed in the title, I blew the head gasket on the motor and it has 189,000 miles on it. I'm going to engine swap it for a new motor from gearhead.com and was wondering if I should stick with the 4.6 or go another route. I know I could just change the head gasket but I'm not worried about the money and I want this truck to last me awhile. Looking to go a beefier route, with more HP and power to the rear wheels.

 

99-03 5.4.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ar...wap-notes.html

 

It seems that the problem was with the 4.2 V6 problem was solved in the engines built after January of 1998.
My F-150 has a build date of May 1998.
Although I have only 16,000 miles on it and it is used for small loads if any, I have had no indication of any problems.
It's an automatic with just the standard equipment like power steering, brakes, AM/FM Radio and A/C.
I like the size of this model as the new ones are like a semi-tractor requiring a ladder to get into the cab.

 

You have a completely different engine.

You need to look at the *engine* build date. It's on a sticker on the driver's side valve cover. The engine was built before the truck.

 

The build date on the valve cover sticker is 05/02/98.
This is the same month and year as the date on the door sticker.