What was best year of 5.4?

[MasterX]

I’ve got a 2v in my 08 Utility Van that has 120,000 super hard miles on it. She weighs in at just under 10,000 lbs. and has carried that weight since I brought her home from the dealer brand new. I change the oil religiously but also run the snot out of it religiously..... I’ve got a extremely heavy foot. So far it’s been an amazingly tough engine and always gets it done. It’s got 4.10 gears also so it knows RPM’s. Not sure a 3v would hold up to the torture as well. I don’t think Ford even offered the 3v in a E350 Super Duty.....2v tough!View attachment 35141

This is actually the same reason the 4.2L pushrod V6 made it all the way to 09 or so, they are cheap and simple to build for fleet vehicles, just like the 2V v8s, why bother putting a 3V engine in vehicles that are going to be fleet mules, its all about keeping the cost down for companies that buy those types of vehicles in droves, like phone, power, water, city, etc, providers. Thats 99% the reason they never got 3V engines It would have added cost, ate up the profit margin and reduced the number of vehicles bought for each fleet customer. Count how many E250s are rocking little 4.2Ls with 3.73 or 4.10 gears to make them still move well.

BTW, ford does use the 3V engines in fleet vehicles also tho, but they are reserved for vehicles who need the most grunt without going diesel, the big boys! Such as the F350-F550, F650-F750 V10 models starting in 2008 and going until 2016, yes they are 3V, not 2V, and crank 457 lb-ft and 362 HP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Super_Duty#Powertrain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Super_Duty#Engines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Super_Duty#Medium-duty_trucks_(F-650_and_F-750)

 

[Machete]

I’m just not comfortable w the VVT issues on the 3v 5.4’s.

It’s not just the cam phasers. Chain guides, oil pump maybe even the chains depending on how bad it’s running.

You don’t tear the front off that engine and just change phasers.

 

[Boostedbus]

BTW, ford does use the 3V engines in fleet vehicles also tho, but they are reserved for vehicles who need the most grunt without going diesel, the big boys! Such as the F350-F550, F650-F750 V10 models starting in 2008 and going until 2016, yes they are 3V, not 2V, and crank 457 lb-ft and 362 HP.

Yeah I drove my buddies 06 5.4 3V F350 back from WV to MD to have my other mechanic buddy fix an exhaust manifold leak on it. I’m am just not impressed with that 3V to say the least. It’s only got 53,000 miles on it and it feels so lazy on hills that you have to put it to the floor and make it drop a couple gears to kick it in the ass. He has complained to me about the same thing, he hates the truck. I’m pretty sure it’s only got 3.73 gears in it because it’s at around 2,400 rpm @85mph just like my Expedition with 3.73’s. Now don’t get me wrong it runs ok when in the WOT position. But it just seems like it looses way too much ground on hills before it searches for another gear and you are constantly pushing the throttle 3/4 to the floor? My 2V E350 with 4.10’s and 10,000 lbs makes that turd look stupid. He has always complained about the power since he bought it brand new for his workers to drive. Maybe needs the Trans shift program updated or re flashed? She’s been a turd from day one. I’m just calling it like I see it in comparison to my E350.

 

[JExpedition07]

Lined up the 3-valve wins the race at Fords test track. My dad had an E-350 with the 2-valve it was a great truck and had 4.10s so towing was a breeze.....but the engine died off in the upper revs where the 3-valve keeps pulling.

 

[Boostedbus]

Lined up the 3-valve wins the race at Fords test track. My dad had an E-350 with the 2-valve it was a great truck and had 4.10s so towing was a breeze.....but the engine died off in the upper revs where the 3-valve keeps pulling.

Yeah I get that but are they all lazy (maybe in fuel saving retarded timing mode) when just cruising normal? It just seems like that F350 is all or nothing....... meaning to the floor board to get the job done or it just slacks on the job.

 

[JExpedition07]

Yeah I get that but are they all lazy (maybe in fuel saving retarded timing mode) when just cruising normal? It just seems like that F350 is all or nothing....... meaning to the floor board to get the job done or it just slacks on the job.

Depends the transmission behind them, the 6R75 and 6R80 keep it in the right gear and it feels good. The older 4R70 and 5R100 with the early torque management (start of no throttle cable) and big gear spacing make them lazy. A tune fixes that and dials down the torque management to make it feel more like a throttle cable with immediate response.

 

[Boostedbus]

Depends the transmission behind them, the 6R75 and 6R80 keep it in the right gear and it feels good. The older 4R70 and 5R100 with the early torque management (start of no throttle cable) and big gear spacing make them lazy. A tune fixes that and dials down the torque management to make it feel more like a throttle cable with immediate response.

I tried to tow a John Deere skid steer to WV from MD with that truck and only made it about 10 miles and parked it at my cousins house. I had to get him to take it with his new 6.7 F250 which of course was effortless. Now to be fair I had a Western snowplow in the back of the truck along with skid loader weights, tire chains. On the trailer 2 different buckets, steel tracks, and forks along with the 8,000 lb. John Deere. That 5.4 3V wasn’t having it! It just wouldn’t rev up even to the floor on take off just bogging and telling me no way. I was surprised and never had a truck lay down like that before even under severe strain. Maybe something is wrong with it? My old F350 360 FE dump truck or my old 400M F250 would both have broken the driveshafts before they would lay down like that. By the way that little 10 mile struggle to my cousins house is what blew the exhaust manifold. I’ll give it the benefit of doubt and say there is something not normal about it’s performance.

 

[JExpedition07]

I tried to tow a John Deere skid steer to WV from MD with that truck and only made it about 10 miles and parked it at my cousins house. I had to get him to take it with his new 6.7 F250 which of course was effortless. Now to be fair I had a Western snowplow in the back of the truck along with skid loader weights, tire chains. On the trailer 2 different buckets, steel tracks, and forks along with the 8,000 lb. John Deere. That 5.4 3V wasn’t having it! It just wouldn’t rev up even to the floor on take off just bogging and telling me no way. I was surprised and never had a truck lay down like that before even under severe strain. Maybe something is wrong with it? My old F350 360 FE dump truck or my old 400M F250 would both have broken the driveshafts before they would lay down like that. By the way that little 10 mile struggle to my cousins house is what blew the exhaust manifold. I’ll give it the benefit of doubt and say there is something not normal about it’s performance.

All I can say about towing since my experience is limited is that my Expedition with the 5.4 3V/6R75 doesn’t really feel my boat behind me when accelerating, boat and trailer are about 4,000 poundsish. I feel the weight back there much more when braking than speeding up.

 

[ExplorerTom]

I think something was wrong with it. I know a guy who had that same F350. He’d go from Denver to Moab with a slide in camper in the bed and a trailer towing his Jeep.

The mountains in CO are a little more demanding than the mountains in WV.

 

[Boostedbus]

The mountains in CO are a little more demanding than the mountains in WV.

Yeah I never made it to the mountains.... I pulled the plug on that turd on flat ground. It just wasn’t up for the task.

 

[Plati]

....The mountains in CO are a little more demanding than the mountains in WV.

I'm not so sure about that. I rode my bicycle through the mountains in WV and then a few weeks later through the mountains in Colorado. Yes, the mtns in Co are higher in elevation (with less oxygen) but the elevation change rate is nothing compared to WV. Those mtns in WV I could barely make the pedal go around one revolution in my lowest gear and I would have to fight my way to the top (just to glide down to the bottom again and start all over) one revolution at a time. Switchbacks! Colorado was a slow easy climb and a piece of cake , except for lack of oxygen. Just sayin.

 

[JExpedition07]

Yeah I never made it to the mountains.... I pulled the plug on that turd on flat ground. It just wasn’t up for the task.

Generally an early sign of clogged catalytic converters is poor towing performance on mod motors many mechanics say, just one theory. That could also warp a manifold with the excess heat build up.

 

[Boostedbus]

Generally an early sign of clogged catalytic converters is poor towing performance on mod motors many mechanics say, just one theory. That could also warp a manifold with the excess heat build up.

Maybe so? My friend bought the truck brand new in 06 to replace the 95 F150 that needed a motor. He owned at the time a manufacturing plant in New Jersey and the truck was for his men to pick up odd parts and things around town. He had bought the F150 at an auction and didn’t know that a fluttering oil pressure gauge was a bad thing. Long story short he called me I drove out to Jersey and diagnosed the F1 50 as rod knock and low oil pressure and bought it from him. I drove the F150 home and put a reman motor in it, and he went out and bought that new F350 truck for his men. It’s just a bare bones vinyl interior, roll up window work horse that mainly sat around inside his plant. It never went far and he also used it to plow his parking lot. I just remember him calling me telling me what he had bought and telling me how it had no power compared to the F150 which I found odd. The F150 has a 5.8 Windsor with 3.55 gears. I have since put a 4.10 locker in the front and 4.10 traction lock in the rear because it was a pig trying to tow with its E4OD trans.

 

[ExplorerTom]

I'm not so sure about that. I rode my bicycle through the mountains in WV and then a few weeks later through the mountains in Colorado. Yes, the mtns in Co are higher in elevation (with less oxygen) but the elevation change rate is nothing compared to WV. Those mtns in WV I could barely make the pedal go around one revolution in my lowest gear and I would have to fight my way to the top (just to glide down to the bottom again and start all over) one revolution at a time. Switchbacks! Colorado was a slow easy climb and a piece of cake , except for lack of oxygen. Just sayin.

Sounds like you rode across the country? Could it also be that you were in better shape by the time you hit CO?

 

[Boostedbus]

I'm not so sure about that. I rode my bicycle through the mountains in WV and then a few weeks later through the mountains in Colorado. Yes, the mtns in Co are higher in elevation (with less oxygen) but the elevation change rate is nothing compared to WV. Those mtns in WV I could barely make the pedal go around one revolution in my lowest gear and I would have to fight my way to the top (just to glide down to the bottom again and start all over) one revolution at a time. Switchbacks! Colorado was a slow easy climb and a piece of cake , except for lack of oxygen. Just sayin.

Yeah I towed an ATV trailer with 4 big ATV’s, tree stands, other hunting gear coming back from a hunting trip in a foot of snow coming down Backbone Mt. and it’s switchbacks. I was driving my hunting buddies lifted with wide mud tires 4dr. Harley Davidson Powerstroke F350 because he didn’t have the nerve.I kept it in Tow Haul low gear crawling down going around people in the ditches and over sides all the way. Switchbacks aren’t a joke. As far as going up switchbacks, you can’t ever gather any speed because of the hairpin turns.

 

[Plati]

Sounds like you rode across the country? Could it also be that you were in better shape by the time you hit CO?

Rode the Bikecentennial 76 Trail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikecentennial#/media/File:Bikecentennial_DOT_HS-803_206_page_c38.PNG

Yes, I was in WAY better shape but still the hills (mtns) of WV are steep compared to Co mtns. Really steep. The route I took was all back roads. Like I said, Colorado was a piece of cake in comparison. I've also driven Expeditions all over both states. Love them both. Love this entire country. Not impressed with all the incompetence I see rampant in our readiness and response to the VirAss. Sad to see the medical community having to risk their lives to save our lives.
Lets get on the STICK!!

oops, looking at the map ... i didnt even go through WV. LOL. It was all Virginia & Kentucky

 

[Boostedbus]

oops, looking at the map ... i didnt even go through WV. LOL. It was all Virginia & Kentucky

Lol! The lost bicyclist, soon to be rolling through a town near you! Take a bicycle ride on Route 50 west from Capon Bridge WV to the Cheat River bridge in Rowlesburg WV. That will get the blood flowing. Stop in Knotts Landing Bar at Rt. 50 and Rt.72 and enjoy a cold one in the best little bar there is. At least I hope they are still open.

 

[MasterX]

Yeah I never made it to the mountains.... I pulled the plug on that turd on flat ground. It just wasn’t up for the task.

Definitely sounds like something was wrong with it, if you blew an exhaust manifold from towing, almost makes me wonder if the mufflers or cats were blocked up, or some other exhaust blockage which would definitely explain half or more of what you say you felt.

Could even be some employee took it off road and dented in the exhaust pipe by bottoming it out or something stupid like that. But definitely not running the way mine do.

 

[MasterX]

i have scaled rock walls of 45 degrees effortlessly in the 2005, mostly idle, occasionally tapping the gas when it got stuck against an edge.

This kinda shit, except in a riverbed so all the rocks were rounded and smooth, bedrock like.