What year 5.4l stop having cam tensioner problems,

[Ron1978]

I'm looking to purchase a 2013-2017 expedition, most have the 5.4l in them, I owned a 2006 king ranch and it was a lemon . Ended up costing me a ton before I gave up and traded it in.
Air ride went out 3 times $4500
Throttle body malfunction $750
Cats burnt out due to 2 day coil pac miss $1100
4 coil pacs $500
Rear blender door in air $110
Advance trac light constant on a lot.
And the 5.4l 3v started ticking bad and losing power . Cam tensioner rebuild
3k. But I traded before I done that
And when I traded it only had 98,000

I'm wanting a good year model to look for with little to know problems.

I drive a 2012 f250 crew with 6.2l gas
No problems at all.

 

[JExpedition07]

The camphasers were redesigned in late 06 or early 07. Early failure of these parts is often but not always due to lack of maintenance i.e. Not changing oil and filter at correct intervals. Also important to use a motorcraft filter aftermarkets let the oil drain down to the pan and your starting dry which hurts everything in the top end due to their cheap and faulty anti drain back valves. The 5.4 needs oil quick on startup so it is very important it be changed often and that a motorcraft FL-820S filter be used. The 6.2L is a bulletproof half million mile going motor. The 6.2 Boss is arguably fords best production gasoline engine they have ever built to date.

 

[jeff kushner]

While some may really like the 6.2, it is not available on the Expedition of ANY vintage that I'm aware of...someone correct me if I'm wrong.


I owned two 5.4's in my '03 and my '99 Expeditions and the 3.5 in my new '17 that is available in the newer models (I think 2015 onward) is in my opinion having owned all three and driving more than 350,000 miles on them....is by far the better engine than the 5.4. No "issues", more power, great towing ability.....& better fuel economy.

You should do whatever you are comfortable with doing of course since it's your money but having gone through a lot of 5.4 "issues"....why take the risk of doing it again?

jeff

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

2014 was the last year for the 5.4 Triton engine, 2015-forward has the EcoBoost. I loved the 5.4 and the V8 sound, I hadn't had a V8 since 1980 so it was fun owning the the 05. Mine had 146K on it when I traded it for the 17. I couldn't be happier with the 3.5 EcoBoost. Regardless of how you go, anything from 2013 forward should be fine.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The camphasers were redesigned in late 06 or early 07.

JE is correct. You noise was likely from the cam phasers. Although, many will say, if the cam phasers go out, you should consider redoing the WHOLE cam drive system.

• oil pump (use the special Melling HD oil pump)
• timing chain
• timing chain guides
• hydraulic tensioners
• cam phasers

JE, did the 5.4L (or the 6.8l for that matter) ever get the "torque actuated" (or whatever they call it) phasers that ar now on the second gen 3.5L EcoBoost ?

 

[JExpedition07]

No I don't believe they got "torque actuated" phasers. The VCT drive system and phasers still can fail on the 5.0 coyote and 3.5 ecoboost when they rack on the miles just not to the extent of pre 07 engines. You can't truely compare the motors of a brand new truck vs an old truck and say the new one is more reliable that is apples vs oranges and a very poor comparison. Both engines are reliable and Ford stood behind both. I own an 07 with the 5.4 and love the truck. Driving this and a Super Duty I'll say it's very capable even compared to the 1 ton.

 

[Ron1978]

Thank you all for the Advice , it's valuable to me!

 

[rowekmr]

I am also looking for a Exp or Navi. Having owned a few and learning about their issues (and cost) I just wanted a full size older suv and I still like the sound of the 5.4l 3v.
After servicing 2 air ride suspension I almost rather get an Exp with coils but some years/models they have air suspension. How can I tell which ones have coil by the years/models?
I had a 06 Navi that Ford diagnosed with phaser/timing chain issues that I drove and towed with. I bought all the parts needed to repair but turns out it wasn't that. There was a noise at start up but I believe it was exhaust leak and the misfire codes I think were associated with the SB they had on bad diodes in alternator causing misfire codes in 4.6l/5.4l. It ran strong and gave me good economy so another mechanic thought the engine was fine. I ended up selling it to friend.
My FIL has an Ecoboost in his F150 that I love but again I want an older (ie cheaper) not my DD just for part time weekend duties so don't need a newer one

 

[JExpedition07]

I'm not a big fan of the air ride. I know a few people who have had them fail on navigators and they fail on the 'Hoes all the time. If it's got coils in the back, which you can see if you look under, well it's coils. Air ride is great when it's new, but there are so many potential failure points. I'd go with an 06+ but the older second gens are fine as long as you do your homework and check it out.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

The air ride on my 05 was still going strong in February when I traded it. Aside from replacing the air compressor, I never had any problems with it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I am also looking for a Exp or Navi. Having owned a few and learning about their issues (and cost) I just wanted a full size older suv and I still like the sound of the 5.4l 3v.
After servicing 2 air ride suspension I almost rather get an Exp with coils but some years/models they have air suspension. How can I tell which ones have coil by the years/models?

As far as I know air suspension was always an option, but it came along with most of the "premium" packages (like Eddie Bauer). There was also a couple of years that Ford used a weird (European) rear hydraulic self leveling system on certain models (no external lines or pumps but very $$$ if they leak). They were easy to swap to coil overs.

EDIT: From Wikipedia :

2014 model year - A new, quieter, mechanical Nivomat adaptive hydraulic load-leveling suspension system is available, in place of the adaptive pneumatic air-ride load-leveling suspension.

I had a 06 Navi that Ford diagnosed with phaser/timing chain issues that I drove and towed with. I bought all the parts needed to repair but turns out it wasn't that. There was a noise at start up but I believe it was exhaust leak and the misfire codes I think were associated with the SB they had on bad diodes in alternator causing misfire codes in 4.6l/5.4l. It ran strong and gave me good economy so another mechanic thought the engine was fine.

It is SO DEPRESSING to keep reading about folks who can not find COMPETENT, reliable and affordable mechanics !

This stuff is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE !

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

They were still offering the Nivomat system for self leveling on the rear of the 2017 Expeditions. Apparently the motion of going up and down helps level the rear of the vehicle.

 

[nightfly]

It is SO DEPRESSING to keep reading about folks who can not find COMPETENT, reliable and affordable mechanics !

This stuff is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE !

Problem is, for every profession, there will be good, average and lousy practicioners of the craft. Unless you've done mechanical work yourself, it's hard to know which one is which.

 

[Muddy Bean]

I agonized over the v8 vs v6 a long time. I spent a ton of time lurking here before joining, I did a ton of internet research on both engines and the various iterations of expys. Armed with that info, I felt it best from my personal opinion to choose the TTv6 ecoboost expy. Better MPG, more power, no known major issues yet (intercooler condensation was a problem for a few years, but I think that's resolved now). I bought my Expy last week with 60k on the clock and I'm hoping to get a lot of trouble free miles out of her. I have always owned Toyotas and both my Camry and Land Cruiser went to 300,000 miles without any issues at all. Here's to hoping the Ford makes me a believer.

 

[Harley Owner]

my 2004 5.4 3v has 250,000 no issues at all then changing parts b4 winter changed alternator water pump all things never been changed. all of sudden started getting hot. no matter what I did nothing changed it. finally gave into everyone head gaskets started tearing it down pulled new water pump off the fins on back of it stayed in motor. buddy and i like wtf..never have I seen one snap like that on shaft nothing was stuck or bent. in negotiations with advanced auto,. think there gonna put new motor in ol girl.just my luck trying to be pre emptive and it shafted me lol

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

my 2004 5.4 3v has 250,000 no issues at all then changing parts b4 winter changed alternator water pump all things never been changed. all of sudden started getting hot. no matter what I did nothing changed it. finally gave into everyone head gaskets started tearing it down pulled new water pump off the fins on back of it stayed in motor. buddy and i like wtf..never have I seen one snap like that on shaft nothing was stuck or bent. in negotiations with advanced auto,. think there gonna put new motor in ol girl.just my luck trying to be pre emptive and it shafted me lol

That's really odd. Is there no way to get the fins out or are they gone into the passages?

 

[NASCAR Mike]

A lot of Ford water pumps use plastic impellers which can get brittle as they get old and break into pieces. I had that happen on my 6.0 Powerstroke diesel. I replaced it with a billet aluminum impeller.