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Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:54 pm
by Landreo
I sent my son to look at a used 2000 ford F250 that has a 200,000 plus mile 5.4 liter engine. I just want a larger truck to go with a larger trailer for at the most a few thousand miles per year. The price seems good but I know nothing about the 5.4 liter engine other that they would apparently spit sparkplugs out of the head.

Anyone familiar with the 2000 F250 and this engine?

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:48 pm
by pm_wells
I bought a new F-250 in 97 with a 5.4. Put 156000 on it with no trouble. I have an 07 F-250 5.4 with 145000 so far so good . It's a little hard on gas, heavy truck. I have heard that changing spark plugs can be tricky, sometimes strip threads when taking them out.
The 5.4 is a little under powered in a 250 pulling a heavy loaded trailer.
Paul

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 5:05 pm
by Tezell
I have had very good luck with them. I have owned 4 and no problems. They were all in 150's though. I had a 98 model that I put over 300k on and a local guy bought it and it is still going,350k plus. If it has been serviced properly I would not think twice..... if I needed one.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 6:50 pm
by John *.?-!.* cub owner
According to some of the Ford forums I used to visit the earlier 5.4s did occasionally have a problem with spitting out a plug, but there was also a problem with the plugs seizing into the threads if you went 100K + without changing them. The shop guys at our local dealer told me that my 2006 was either the first or second year (don't remember which) that the heads had been changed to prevent the problems. There were Helicoil type kits available to repair them if you had a problem. Proper torquing and the use of anti-seize was also a big factor in preventing problems. From what I learned though, the problem was not very common, but once someone heard of it happening it got repeated so many times it seemed like a lot because you heard of the same instance from so many different people.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:22 pm
by Steve H
I have same year truck and motor. As previously stated it is under powered for heavier loads and has a pretty fair thirst for gas. Only mechanical issues I've had is it started eating coils around 120k miles. And they aren't cheap, around $50. So multiply that by 8. And on one side of the motor they are a real bear to change. As far as the rest of the truck goes I'm on my second set of ball joints and tie rods. Hope this helps.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:43 pm
by dgrapes59
I had the 5.4 in my 06 F-150, I put over 200K miles on it in 5 years with minimal issues. It did use a little oil between changes and a couple mechanics said that was common for those :?: . Like others noted, it wasn't easy on gas (love my new eco-boost!) and I experienced the coil pack issue, I think I replaced about 4 or 5. I heard the horror stories on the plugs and the Ford dealer quoted a tune up price (replace plugs) PLUS XX per plug if they break any, kind of an uneasy feeling hearing that. I was lucky and no plug problems (other than the sticker shock for the plug prices).

Good luck,

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:39 pm
by Wakulla Bill
John *.?-!.* cub owner wrote:There were Helicoil type kits available to repair them if you had a problem. Proper torquing and the use of anti-seize was also a big factor in preventing problems



When I worked at an auto/machine shop, about 8 years ago we had 3-4 in one year with the plug issues. Some came in with the plug already blown out; 1 or 2 had problems during tuneups when one of the Techs would have at least one strip out .I did some research back then and learned that the plug torque is 9 foot lbs. In reality most Techs do not use a torque wench on plugs,wondered if that may have been a contributor to the problem, needles to say we all started after I informed them of the plug torque specs on that engine.
The Helicoil set up for the 5.4 was a little over $300.00 a few years back.
Other than the plug problems they seem to be good engines. I had one that had lower intake manifold problems,they are made of nylon composite, when the new one came from ford dealer it was aluminum.
Bill

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:30 am
by Jack fowler
Landreo,

In my opinion…. buying a ¾ Ton truck with 200,000 plus miles on it is a little scary. Do you know the history of the truck?

Before retirement I worked at a Chevy dealer that was taken over by a Ford dealer. I never did like Fords because they are hard for me to work on. After I was forced to be a Ford tech I had a job to replace an engine in a 2001 F150 not because of factory problems, but of customer abuse. To replace the engine it was easier for me to remove the cab and bed from the frame to do the job.

I have a friend who had a 2000 F250 5.4L he bought new. He is a carpenter and never was good about maintenance unless someone pointed it out to him. The truck was used as an truck and the only issues he had was lower ball joints ,one outer steering tie rod end and two ignition coils. He was scared of what he heard about the spark plugs so he never changed them. After 257,000 miles he traded the truck for a new one.

I can’t tell you any more than what everybody told you here except I had a job on a 4.6L one time (the same engine as a 5.4L) that had 125,000 on the sparks plugs to replace the spark plugs. One came out hard and I cleaned up the cylinder head spark plug threads and reassembled all spark plugs with anti- seize compound . After working on Fords (cars and trucks) for six years, I found they are built very well, drive especially smooth and their gas engines run a long time. ….. Did I say I don’t like Fords….

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:53 am
by Buzzard Wing
Can't say anything about the engine, my 2001 Super Duty has a 7.3 diesel. It was a pig in a poke eBay buy, turned out to have been well maintained and is the best vehicle I have ever owned.

The bed 'rails' that sit on the frame have magically disappeared in the last couple of years. We have seen a lot of salted roads in the last few years! I have a line on a new bed (2012) and will paint the frame when I have the old one off. Going to try this stuff: http://www.kbs-coatings.com/frame-coater-kit.html

I hope to keep it till 400K or so :D It has 257K now.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:48 am
by Landreo
Thanks,
My son has not been able to get up before noon time so I don't have a report on the truck. It is a SC state truck with a utility bed, I assume some sort of regular mantainence. $2000.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:21 am
by Jack fowler
Landreo,

I don’t mean to sound so negative about this truck but, most of the time those type of trucks idle 24/7. GM had such an engine failure on municipality vehicles they started programming an hour meter into the PCM to see how long the engine was running.

Ask them about the maintenance records and try to talk to the people who took care of the truck. If you can’t get good answers offer $1000. If the engine sounds good on cold start up and the transmission shifts good when cold you’ll probably be ok.

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:58 am
by Landreo
JackF wrote:Landreo,

I don’t mean to sound so negative about this truck but, most of the time those type of trucks idle 24/7. GM had such an engine failure on municipality vehicles they started programming an hour meter into the PCM to see how long the engine was running.

Ask them about the maintenance records and try to talk to the people who took care of the truck. If you can’t get good answers offer $1000. If the engine sounds good on cold start up and the transmission shifts good when cold you’ll probably be ok.



Hmmmm, good point.
That 200K miles may be worse than it sounds. It has been listed for 3 weeks and apparently no bites. I will see what my son reports before I go to look at it. Also looking at another truck, 1977 Dodge D100. Someones daily driver, looks good in the photos considering it is a 1977.

I have committed on a larger metal lathe and need to get it to my house, 100 miles or so. Around 4000 lbs so I am using this as an excuse to get a full size truck and larger trailer. Or I could just stop buying heavy things and go back to a simpler life. NOT

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:36 pm
by Buzzard Wing
Good point about the hours. My 95 was a federal truck, not a lot of miles but it burned oil so bad that I put a motorcraft crate motor in it within a year of buying it. Surely a 'fleet truck' is always a pig in a poke, but seems like reasonable $$ all in all. Especially when a new one is north of $35K.

The auction where I bought the 95 had a LOT of trucks, looking under the hood you could tell some of them spent time in NYC after 9/11 or in a desert, cement plant or something :shock:

Re: Ford 5.4 l engines

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:16 pm
by KETCHAM
Other than spark plugs,,exhaust manifolds break...New studs and nuts and gaskets...Sell quite a few[Ford Partsman] and of course up here...RUST!!! Starting to lose a bit of my 96 to rust..302 auto and 180,000...Other normal wear is ball joints and 4x4 axle ujoints...Kevin