just bought a full length boat (scab longbed) with 133000 miles. Hoping for another 125000 minimum. My Nissan has 305K and runs strong. Will my faith in Ford pay off?

1997 Supercab XL Longbed
4.6L (thirsty)
stock for now

 

you should be fine it it was taken care of. i have a 97 scab/4.6l with 186k on it. doesn't miss a tick. never seen the shop. just perform regular oil changes etc.

 

any recomended mods for mileage blues (12mpg) or more fluid shifting -
i read a lot of the postings but get mixed reviews

 

i bought a K&N generation 2 kit and a flowmaster muffler, i gained a little. hard to tell what i drive it hard everyday. i have 33's on it now so i lost some milage. i want to get a procharger soon.rrrrrrrrrrr!!

 

I know the 4.6 hasn't been around long. I did have one in my 00 Mustang GT. It seemed like that engine can take a beating.

 

Use Mobil1 5w30 synthetic, K&N oil filter (or Mobil1), K&N air filter, do the airbox mod (gas mileage/throttle response improvement $0!). Check my site: http://members.shaw.ca/pferlow/airbox_mod.htm

Replace the factory "defect" y-pipe just ahead of the muffler with a flowmaster pipe (Y250300A $44.96retail 2.50" x 3.00" Y-Collector: Aluminized) and put in a good 3" exhaust system. Dynomax or Flowmaster or Gibson or Magnaflow, etc.

Change the tranny filter/fluid. See that here: http://members.shaw.ca/pferlow/transmission_oil.htm check your dipstick though, might require Mercon III and not Mercon V. That spec changed sometime in 97'.

Check your air pressure and run higher like 37-40psi.

Remove things that impede airflow over the vehicle such as those dumb looking vent visors, etc. Get a tonneau cover to smooth the flow over the box if you don't have a smooth style canopy already.


That's about all I can suggest at the moment. Anyone else?

 

Nope - you're not crazy. I have 145,000 on my '97, and she still runs like a top. Never been in the shop for engine or tranny work. If its made it to 133,000 and still runs good, there should still be lots of life left in her!

The 4.6 isn't that new of an engine any more. IIRC, they made their debut around '91 or so in car applications. They were introduced in the truck line up in early 1996 when the '97 F150's debuted. In any event, they've been in the trucks for 6 years now.

My biggest mileage improvment was the cap on the bed. I picked up about 1 mpg on the freeway (no sig difference in city mileage). Otherwise, just keeping up on the fluid changes helps the mileage out too.

 

thanks for all the input to get the next 133,000 miles on my new/used truck.
this forum has proved to be a wealth of knowledge. just gave my 300,000 mile Nissan to my nephew, so i don't have a backup anymore - will start mmy mods this month.

much appreciated

tom l.

 

There are a few members here with close to 200k miles on their trucks and I think there's at least one with quite a bit over 200k miles.

With proper maintenance, it seems like the 4.6L engine can easily run over 200k miles without failure.

The way the 4.6L is performing, it might even be one of the most dependable engines that Ford has ever built.