First of all, I would like to say hello, my first time here in f150online. Place looks great, well thought out.
I do have a question, and you could say I'm in a panic to find out whether or not Ford is planning a revised 5.4L in the super crews, or super duty.
I will be getting a new company truck, and it will be a 4 door. I would prefer the super duty 4 door w/ short box, but I feel the current 5.4L is underpowered for the truck. I love the super crew, but I still think there should be more power on tap, especially with Dodge releasing a 345hp hemi, and GM with the 6.0L.
I am not impressed with the 5.4L as is, does anyone know if Ford will increase the output of this motor? Possible time frame if so?
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou for your time, and thanks in advance.
Also, I have until mid October to order, or I'm stuck for the next 3 years with my weeee gutless 4.6L!!

 

Check Blue Oval News.

New 5.4L 3V Gets Approval.

 

If you wind up getting the SuperDuty you could always opt for the V-10.

$.02

 

Would love to get the v-10, complemented with the banks powerpack, but the boss would never go for a v-10. I'm getting by with a 4.6 now, I could never justify owning a v-10, although it would make things much easier.
The boss owns a 2000 Expedition with the 5.4 w/3.55 gears, loves the motor, one if his partners has a '99 F250 sc with the v-10, and this guy hates it. Hates the truck in general, says the miliage is worse, wishes he had his '96 f520 with the 460 back. That pretty much nipped any v-10 dreams in the bud right there.
Any v-8 wouldn't be an issue, but i find it annoying, being a Ford fan, that when the hemi comes out, Ford will have the weakest gas v-8's produced. And, by far the most dissapointing gear ratio selection out of any truck manufacturer (for the 1/2 tons that is).
If Ford doesn't improve hp by the deadline I must work by, I'm sure I'll be happier with the supercrew with the 5.4/3.73's/17"rubber compared to the 3/4 ton cc with 4.10's.
Thanks for the help guys.

 

Underpowered ? 5.4 hmmmmm guess u really donn't use that truck for work(REAL WORK) cause if u did there would be no problem. Ahhhhhh the old #'s game...........I've been using Ford products from 1974 up to today.......was a Chevy in there at one time NOT IMPRESSED ............ and all I have to say is they WORK!!! From my experience the 5.4 gets a 2mpg increase in the city and 8 mpg increase on the highway over the 5.8 ......and more stout in the bottom end....revs better......what more do u need? IMHO 1/2 tons are NOT work trucks!!! always had 3/4(little on the light side) and 1 tons. The C*** chevy and Dodge pass off as trucks are nothing more than modded SUV's with car engines....Ha 6.0.......why not look at the 8.0? What a joke these engines are....not workers. Biggest thing that will hurt the true truck market is the Horse Power wars.............great for races but terrible for TRUE work. Yeah there r smokers but gas is queiter and easier to find. 5.4.....Get it ....drive it...work it.......you'll grow to like it.

 

I enjoyed reading your post. My dad has a 00 F150 7700 with 3.73' and the 5.4L. It has been a great truck for play and work. He has 55,000 miles on it and done nothing to it besides the usual (oil changes, new tires, brakes, and balljoints). He has ordered a 03 Chevy 1500 Z1. I don't think he will be impressed at all due to the fact that the horsepower is made up higher in the rpms and the torque won't be where he likes it (especially when towing, in the new Chevy). I don't care if his truck will be newer and have more horsepower than my little 4.7L, mine will look much better IMO and it will be a Ford (this is the first Chevy he is buying after several years with new Fords).

 

Yankee, thankyou for your input, but I must disagree with one of your comments. I very much work my truck. It's scraped, dented, bruised, rusting in a few spots, has a broken grille, I've broken springs (heavier springs w/air bags now), torsion bars, mangled the tailgate, it's a work truck. It can't haul 2 tonnes, but it will haul my 1,000lb quad and tow my boat, at the speed limit, screaming in 2nd gear all day if needed. These ohc's don't overheat.
Just because there isn't a full floater in the rear doesn't mean it won't classify as a work truck. Mind you, a 3/4 or 1 ton would fit the bill MUCH better.
The problem I have with the current 5.4L, is that when you put your foot in it, I want more. But, to be honest I don't think there's a 4x4 on the market that would be just right for me.
I'm glad you mentioned the 5.4L with a load on it Yankee, my father's 2001 7,700 sc 4x4 with the 5.4L and 3.73's pulls great with my 4,000lb Campion Allante 615 behind it. Many spots in OD when my truck has been revving along in drive.
I have always driven Ford, nothing else, and I am partial to them. I do not believe the 5.4L will run 8 miles further on a gallon, I had a 5.8L and my 4.6 is no where near that much better for milage let alone a 5.4.
Regarding the suv/modded car engine comment, I'll be the last person to tell you you're wrong when it's your opinion. I couldn't look at myself in the morning to shave if i had an Avalanche, or a Dodge in the driveway.
I won't pass up a FREE 2003 'crew because it doesn't have 300 hp, with a Banks powerpack, a tb, it should be around there anyway. The thing that bugs me, my buddy in his hemi-powered 2003 Ram (will be here on November), with '86 plymouth reliant dashboard, will cruise on by on the 7% hill outside of town..........or will he......hmmm.
Thanks for the comments guys.

 

ok first and foremost- NOTHING touches a ford. The chevies make their power upper rpms. This sucks for towing, unless you like laboring your drivetrain. And as for towing with a dodge, go over to other truck sites and see what dodge owners are saying about the working capabilities of their own trucks! hah. . . if i had to rank the working capabilites of the 1/2 tons it would be - ford - chevy - dodge - toyota(shouldnt even be here actually, even though they boast alot of hp. . .every time i see one towing what they state they can tow, it sounds like the engine is going to spew its guts ). I almost bought a dodge when the new ones came out. i was ready to buy until i test drove my fx4, which is good, becuase i really wanted to stay ford. Funny thing is how cheap dodges are; The doors must only weigh about 10 lbs. when you close em you cant tell if their shut.. . i love slammin my ford doors!

 

The BON link indicates an upgraded 5.4L for the '03 Light Duty and an 5.4L upgrade for the SuperDuty the following year.

This coincides with what Ford did in '99. The improved 5.4L went into the Light Duty but not the SuperDuty that year. I guess the reasoning is the 5.4L is 'as big as you can go' in the light duty but, it is considered the little engine in the SuperDuty line and if you aren't coughing up any additional dollars in a SuperDuty purchase why should they cut you a break?

 

justy, I definitely do not disagree, Ford makes the best work trucks. I live in a sawmill town, and the loggers use Ford 10 to 1 over Dodge/GM combined here, for a reason. They take the most abuse, they are the most reliable truck for the hostile enviroment up here. These guys put on 150,000 miles in 2 years, of nothing but gravel roads/bush stomping. When they come in for trade in, they aren't pretty, but they haven't been wiped with a cotton diaper either. No arguement on Ford tough, my beef is this:

I have a comparison between a f150 (5.4/3.55/265-70-17's) and a Chevy 1500 (5.3L/4.10/265-75-16's), and surprisingly with Ford's rediculous gearing, it was pretty much even with the GM in acceleration. There's the torque working. But, with a load on, the Ford fell on it's face.
Maybe all Ford needs is to finally put a descent set of gears in these trucks, to stay ahead of the 5.9LDodge and to move ahead of the 5.3L, but it won't be enough for the 5.7 hemi or the 6L GM.
A set of gears would do soooo much for the 5.4, but with 300 plus hp and lower gears, I wouldn't even go home. I'd just tour and enjoy!

 

So...you've got your answer right there. If all it takes is a couple hundred bucks to get a good set of aftermarket gears, and the rest of the truck is miles ahead of the Dodge or Chevy, then do it. The Ford will last you a lot longer. Which is better, $250 for new gears now, or $25,000 for another new truck later (when you wear out that Dodge)?

And you'll be able to shock those Dodge 'hemi' owners when you dust'em in what appears to be a stock SuperDuty!!!

 

Hey.......YES the 5.4 can get an honest 8mpg better than a 5.8 on the HIGHWAY . Drove 100miles a day on the same turnpike averaged 75-80 mph for 4 months and it was consistant. Surprised me cause I never saw that much difference between city and highway miles. Shows you that having a stroker counts when cruising...........there's that bottom end again. As for a square block I've never seen one that could impress. Sorry but the 4.6 will do it's job but not without complaining. Good thing it's a cammer so it can rev. ANY 5.4 will climb a grade and still accelerate as it's doing it......the newer ones do it better. Does anybody know whether this 3 valve has 2 intakes? I sure hope it does cause smaller valves are great for torque and with variable timing they will allow greater breathing on the top end and not sacrafice that bottom end. Comparing 4.10's to 3.55??? come on think about it. Why do you think those Chevy's offer higher gears?.........> TO KEEP THOSE RPMS UP!!!! That's where they breath. Yes gears help you out but the 3.55's give you a nice comprmise. Hey I say if your looking to race then who keeps it stock??? I'm just a working man but how come there is always a new chevy in my way slowing me down?? Underpowered? He yes .....me no and I'm not trying to win any races......just trying to get my job done so I can go home. Guess I'll get me one of those 800HP short track engines so I can tow more I must thank dodge for putting those nice signs on the back of there trucks telling me to go around them 5.4......get it......drive it.....you'll like it.

 

I am sorry Yankee, obviously are an educated man and know your Fords, but I cannot see how a 5.4 triton will get that much better milage than a comparable truck with a 5.8. A 4x4 sc with 3.55's, 31's, 4sp auto and 5.4L, will n-o-t get 8mpg better than a 4x4sc with 3.55's, 31's, 4sp auto and 5.8L. Doesn't matter what speed, I don't believe it, unless the 5.8 was mated to a C6, or had a ton of more truck to haul around, or had a defect of some sort that reduced milage. More detail please on how this was accomplished.
You bet I can campare 3.55's to 4.10's, I wanted to show lower gears helped an inferior motor pull better under a load.
Ford's 5.4L puts out 260hp at 4,500rpm, GM's 5.3L is 285@5,200rpm. That's quite the honkin' step up in rpm.
Even better, torque specs. 5.4L 350lbs@2,500rpm. The GM 325lbs@4,000rpm. Yep, 4,000rpm. My point is 4.10 gears made up the lack of torque, accelerated better than the Ford and had a higher trap speed.
If the 5.4 had superior acceleration empty, and loaded, who needs lower gears, but it doesn't. Like you said Yankee, GM needed lower gears desperately, and it worked better than huge gobs or torque 1,500rpm's lower and gearing to the moon.
Ok, let's say all other brands are garbage, and slow, they always hold us up/get in the way. Sure the 5.4L has torque down low, it's still geared way too tall for it's own good. When a buddy is egging me on in his new Chevy or Dodge, I won't "lugging" my way to victory on OD from the superior torque.
And yes, the 3v has two intake ports.

 

For my $.02 worth, I owned a 1988 E250 Club Wagon with 5.8 and 3.54 gear ratio. For the 110,000 miles or so that I owned it I averaged 8.8 to 8.9 mpg. If I went on a trip it would do 10 mpg once in a while. And it was a pooch at the stop lights.


EPA rating on my F150 is 15 city/19 highway.

My '01 Scab 5.4/3.55 just gave me 18.4 mpg on a trip last week but I usually average 14 to 15 in suburban driving. Having owned trucks with both engines I know the 5.4 gets a *LOT* better gas mileage and feels like a lot more horses too. The worst mpg I ever got in the pickup was around 13 which is still a hell of a lot better than the less than 9 average in the van.

As far as performance, my F150 pulling a 5,000# boat feels as strong as the van did empty and it gets 10 to 12 on the highway doing it.

I now go as far on my single tank as I used to with dual tanks.

I know a 3/4 ton van with C6 is not directly comparable to a half ton pickup with OD, but those are my experiences.

 

my next door neighbor is a die hard chevy man, and recently bought a 2002 tundra 4.7ltr. V-8, it shocked all of us. He is a gardener for our city and he mentioned to me, in confidence, that the Fords could out pull the chevys on the job.

I don't know if this is true, I've never driven a chevy.