Bought a new truck '02 F150 FX4 5.4L

[RangerDanger]

Well not me but my dad bought a new truck today.

He used to own a 1996 F250 351W 2WD on propane. Going to give it to me now.

Just wondering what you guys think about this. It seems like a downgrade to go from a 3/4 ton to a 1/2 ton. I looked up the specs on the 5.4L and it seems to put down good numbers on HP and TQ. What should he expect from this truck? It has low Miles (under 100 000). Its 4X4 FX4 package. Automatic (4 speed I assume).

Im worried about his auto tranny not holding up. How are the 4 speed autos with the 5.4L. Any major issues? Also how are the 5.4L's?

Should this truck tow his boat better? or worse then his 96 F250 351w..

Thanks any input would be appreciated.

Oh and dont worry. I still have my 92 Ranger XLT 4X4 4.0L. Getting 6 more inches of lift and 35" mud terrains with a winch

 

[Will]

A 5.4 will paddle a 5.8 like a principal whipping a naughty schoolboy.

The older F250 has a stronger axle for carrying loads, but the 5.4 has a good axle under it too.

No worries with the tranny. I like the 5.4 powered F150s alot.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The 97-03 trucks are a good unit, only problem I have had with mine is the bottom of the doors were rusting, it was about $100 a door to make them the way Ford should have made them originally (without the lip to catch stuff)

The 5.4 is an impressive engine, doesn't really feel much faster than a 4.6... until you get a trailer involved. They have the hang in there and lug mentality of older engines.

One thing they have problems with is blowing spark plugs out, it isn't all that common but if his truck sounds like it has a ticking lifter check the plugs ASAP. Ford had the brainy idea of using 3 threads to hold the spark plug in an aluminum head and if you catch it early you can just retorque them (there is a specific torque for them you must follow when changing them too) If you wait too long they will blow out and rip the threads out as well. Then you are looking at a $2000 cylinder head (Ford's recomended fix) or a $400 insert installation (everyone elses fix) That is really the only problem area.

Assuming your dad's truck is a run of the mill truck it has the 4R70W, which is a pretty good transmission. If is one of the few normal trucks to get the 4R100, it is decent in a half ton but weak in its normal home of a 3/4 and 1 ton. Very few half ton trucks outside of the F-250LD or F-150 7700 (same thing but they changed the name in 1999) got them though. One neat feature of the 97-03 trucks is they have shifting adaptability, where they learn how to shift by how you drive. I reset my computer when I did my intake and was amazed at how mushy and soft my shifts were, now they are much quicker and firmer like how I like them, just by how I drive it.

With mine I have 3.31 gears, and 255/70-16 (235/70-16's originally) tires with steel rims. I get about 17-18mpg on the highway, and closer to 10 around town. Pulling my 7000+lb tractor and trailer I get about 10 on the highway. It pulls it good and I can maintain the 55mph speedlimit of where I pull my tractor without a problem, but I am about to the limit of happiness because of my gearing, I wouldn't want to go to anything much heavier.

I got mine with 25k on it on 06/21/05 and now a little over three years and 33k miles later I would gladly do it again.

 

[Jspafford]

Up until about a month ago I owned a 2002 F-250 Super Duty with a 5.4L and a 4-Speed (4R100) Automatic. When I first got the truck I loved it. That was when gas was cheap. The truck had plenty of power, however I felt the transmission shifted too sloppy. It never seemed to shift crisply, it always somewhat slipped into the next gear on hard take offs.

I never had any trouble with the tranny or motor. The truck had 46K when I bought it and 69K last month when I sold it. I towed DOUBLE what it was rated for on more than one occasion. I don't recommend it, but my point it, it handled it fine. If you have the sterling 10.25 axle under the truck you will not have any worries. I would be more worried about the IFS front axle. My SD had a Dana 60 solid front axle and I managed to cause a seal to blow in it.

One word of caution. The "Trition" line of motors has a nasty reputation of spitting out spark plugs. The heads are made of aluminum and only have 3-4 threads. If they are neglected and corrode, or overtorqued on a plug change they like to shoot out while the motor is running.

Other than that I loved my truck, all except the 11MPG.

http://www.jspafford.com/f250/0115070949.jpg

Added pic of overloaded truck. Trailer weighted 13,800#, truck rated for 7,100#

 

[fordwheelinman]

Replacing the cylinder head is not the only solution....yes even according to Ford...ugh.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Added pic of overloaded truck. Trailer weighted 13,800#, truck rated for 7,100#

Mine is almost always a tad overloaded, it is rated 6800. When I pull the tractor weighs 4500 unloaded, and can weigh up to 5000 in pulling trim (how I normally pull it), plus the trailer...

In my pic I have 4 75lb weights on the front and a several hundred pounds of plow on the back, so I am going to guess probably 5200-5300.

Really I think the only time I am under my rating is when I am pulling my lawn mower on a trailer...

I am only fibbing on a couple hundred pounds, and I know my gearing is the cause of my low rating (per my manual), so safety-wise I am ok, just not as quick as it could be.

 

[Jspafford]

Mine is almost always a tad overloaded, it is rated 6800. When I pull the tractor weighs 4500 unloaded, and can weigh up to 5000 in pulling trim (how I normally pull it), plus the trailer...

In my pic I have 4 75lb weights on the front and a several hundred pounds of plow on the back, so I am going to guess probably 5200-5300.

Really I think the only time I am under my rating is when I am pulling my lawn mower on a trailer...

I am only fibbing on a couple hundred pounds, and I know my gearing is the cause of my low rating (per my manual), so safety-wise I am ok, just not as quick as it could be.

I always thought my truck seemed weak because I had not towed that same fifth wheel with anything else. I thought it should handle it better. That was until I towed the same trailer with a K2500HD Chevy with a 6.0L and 4.10 gears. My truck only had 3.73's. The chevy struggled just as much.

I miss the truck, but with the price of gas it only takes a few seconds to think of all the positives of not having it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Mine doesn't really struggle, it feels like it is about in its sweet spot. I wouldn't go much heavier without changing something though.

I know you pull campers, I have the added advantage of only dragging the radiator and rear tires of my tractor thru the air, as opposed to a hulking cube on wheels.

 

[Will]

Whenever I miss my truck--I just drive it. Pulling my Bobcat and hoe--my Chevy diesel whips ass on my Honda Civic. And it shifts hard--no electronics. I got to pour some guilt-free black smoke on people today. Tomorrow, I'll drive my Honda out to dig some holes and run over some lilacs.

The Greeks always advocated balance in life.

 

[RangerDanger]

WOW!! thanks for the replys guys. I went out and drove my dads new truck tonight. Doesn't really seem like a truck compared to the older style F series. I drive a 2003 F450 and F550 6.0L turbo deisels at work and those also feel like "trucks"

The 2002 F150 I drove (dads)tonight drives more like a car. Didn't seem all that fast, but it did seem to have lots of torque. Id be interested to see how it does with a bed full of stuff and a 19 foot boat/trailer on the back. See how the 5.4L does then.

I dunno. i just really like the 92-96 F series i guess. And the ol' 351W.

 

[Maverick]

One thing I dont like about the 97-03 F150, besides changing their plugs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB0araA0T_k&feature=related

 

[RangerDanger]

ouch, not going to walk away from that.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

One thing I dont like about the 97-03 F150, besides changing their plugs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB0araA0T_k&feature=related

Compared to the competition they really were not all that out of the norm. They were designed before people were overly concerned about crash test scores in a pickup. An older truck would be much worse yet.

99-02 Silverado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WmypX2RUPY&feature=related

94-01 Ram (sorry no vid, just pictures)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj44cH7fceU

 

[Maverick]

Compared to the competition they really were not all that out of the norm. They were designed before people were overly concerned about crash test scores in a pickup. An older truck would be much worse yet.

99-02 Silverado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WmypX2RUPY&feature=related

94-01 Ram (sorry no vid, just pictures)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj44cH7fceU

Well, I wouldn't own neither one of those trucks either. The F150 still did worse than the Chevy, and seemed to be about as bad as the Dodge. I believe the 95-96 F150's actually had a better crashtest ratings than the 97-03's too.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The older truck did come out a little better but was a regular cab rather than an extended cab. Going back that far they next to no info on it.

http://autos.msn.com/research/compa...&i=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t0&tb=0&dt=0&v=t94185&v=t5848