Ford Longevity question for the group

Ok, am not getting any answers over on the Ferd group so I thought I would ask here.

My brother is looking at an 01 with the 5.4L engine. He asked me about the expected longevity, and I don't know (I am a GM kinda guy).

So my questions are these, what is he expected longevity, what mileage should he expect (1/2 ton, extended cab, long box, auto trans), and are there any issues?

I figure a chevy group will have the answers, though may be a bit critical (though we are all GM guys, and scrupulously honest ;) Right??)

George

Reply to
George
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I have a buddy with a '66 Mustang Fastback. Seems to be working well.

Does that help?

Reply to
PerfectReign

Thanks Al, that was the kind of answer I was looking for.

George

Reply to
George

They are not the best engines but plenty of them are on the road and doing fine. IMHO, the 351W was the best Ford small V8. The 5.4 has a very long stroke, 4.16 inches and a small bore 3.55 inches. Sounds like a great combination for a truck engine, but in the real world the engine is not so great.

In contrast, the 6.0 Chevy seems to be doing fine:)

Al

Reply to
Big Al

Sorry, I should have stipulated the new "modular" engines. Thanks though for the input.

George

Reply to
George

Could be a few hours. Could be a few years. Just depends on when the truck decides to catch on fire.

Bob

Reply to
Bob M

Thanks Bob, I appreciate the answer and the sense of humor, unfortunately that is not the kind of information that I think my brother wants. But I enjoy it.

George

Reply to
George

Actually I think that is exactly the kind of information your brother needs. The truck he is looking at is most likely one subject to the recall for the cruise control switch that has caused so many fires. Make sure the recall has been done.

On the flip side, the 5.4L is not the best motor Ford ever put out but it is still dependable enough. At the fire department we have quite a few in Expeditions and pick-ups that we use for command vehicles, etc. I do not like the E4OD tranny at all and the front end of our Exped's all have problems with suspension bushings (multiple replacements on mine, which is a

2002). Gas mileage for mine is around 10-12 mpg, but that's for a heavier Exped and we don't always drive conservitively (to say the least!).

Hope that helps - Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,

You are right of course, however I was referring to the fact that my brother is a died in the wool Ford guy and he probably wouldn't appreciate a negative comment, which in fact was wrong, he did appreciate the comment and removed the truck from consideration.

I have been trying all along to get him into a GM diesel. A 6.5 diesel would do him well as I have gained a ton of experience in keeping mine going (am in the process of building a stronger version, splayed mains, new heads, Holset turbo... ), and I know you have some experience in them too.

He wasn't too concerned about the fire potential, what concerned him the most was the over square aspect of the engine, go figure? He wasn't even too concerned about the gas mileage, that is to him just a side consideration. And he wasn't concerned about he E40D either.

What can I say, he is a Ferd guy.

Thanks,

George

Reply to
George

He's also confused. An over square engine is one who's bore is bigger than its's stroke, and its the common design. Under square engine designs such as the

5.4 are supposed to have more bottom end torque, but they also have lower redlines than over square engines. I dont know about Ford engines as far as longevity of their under square engines is concerned, but most AMC 6 bangers were under square and as much as I hate AMC, the engines do last. The chrysler super slant six, the 225 was also an under square engine, although the 170 was an over square engine. His local tranny shop will appreciate that he isnt concerned about the E40D tranny.

Whitelightning

Reply to
Whitelightning

Ok, so much for my typing when in a hurry (my nettiquette is lacking), and I should never proof my own text. He said undersquare, I typed oversquare. He truly is confused though, but only because he thinks a Ferd is the only way to go.

Thanks,

George

Reply to
George

To the original post...my dad has one of the first '97 models with the smaller V8. It is a 4x4 with super-cab long bed. It has over 270K and has received only a coil pack and a radiator.. Factory tranny, water pump, injectors, alternator, etc. Also, he lives about 50 feet from seawater. It has no body rust and nearly no underbody rust. Only things showing damage are the uncoated steel things like brake lines, PS connectors etc.

skimmer

Reply to
NewsSkimmer

I will let him know there are some good ones out there and hope he gets one of them too.

Thanks,

George

Reply to
George

I've had two Ford V-10s in E350 vans at work and they ran to over 250K with the engines still like new. One of them ate a tranny at 250K.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

I"m not sure of which year and which diesels but I've heard that some of the diesels GM used in the past few years are not at all dependable and when they go, which they do too often, they are almost un-rebuildable. This comes third hand from a friend who knows a guy who works at a Dealership.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Noted, thanks.

George

Reply to
George

I take polite exception with the "un-rebuildable" comment, with the exception if a broken block, which some did have a problem with.

GM has only made a few diesels, the 5.7L which was not too well conceived but that was some time ago. The 6.2L which is a good engine (and not just a "grown up" 6.2L) and will run well into the upper 200 thou miles or so but doesn't provide inspiring performance in stock form. Then there was/is the 6.5L which can be modified to present some inspiring performance but had some issues to deal with, weak lower end when towing or doing extended torque type work and the FSD (fuel solenoid driver, but that problem is easy to fix) and it needs an intercooler, and then there is the 6.6L Duramax. The early Duramax had some issues with injectors but the newer models are well thought out and fairly trouble free. They can be modified to build power on par with anything out there, Cummins included. They, the Duramaxes just aren't yet proven to have the durability of the Cummins 5.9L. Only time will tell.

Compare these issues with what the Powerstrokes have had to deal with, and the Cummins boys have had their own sort of problems too, lift pumps, injection pumps... and so on. GM has done fairly well for themselves I think, ymmv.

My first 6.2L made it almost to 300,000 miles, mostly pulling a trailer or heavy boat. Lightly modified it and it served me well. My first 6.5L made it to about 270,000 miles when I messed up and overheated it beyond belief and paid the price, two heads. I am building a modified, stronger

6.5L now and don't expect any problems. I know the inheirant weaknesses and am building around them or modifing to eliminate them.

Most Chevy dealerships tried to care for the light duty diesels as though they were just gas engines that run on a different fuel and smell funny. Didn't work. It takes a different philosophy and different methods too, to properly care for a diesel. Yes, I know, mechanics is just mechanics, and clearances are clearances. But tuning them, setting timing with a computer and such seemed to mystify most dealership mechanics. Finding a dealership that is ready (forget "eager") to service a 6.5L is an interesting project.

George

Reply to
George

I have some really cool pics of an F150 burning up in my apt. complex parking lot. The fire started in the recalled cruise control module. If this group was a binary group I would post them. I recall that of all the vehicle fires I used to get called out on I would say 7 out of 10 would be Fords. Usually trucks or vans. Just the other night here in DFW I watched a story on the news where a house burned down. A Directv installer had parked his brand new issued Ford van up close to the house. The van caught fire just after it was shut off by the installer. Then van had 55 miles on it. The house and van was a total loss.

Bob

Reply to
Bob M

I just forwarded that one to him direct.

Thanks,

George

Reply to
George

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