any one had experiance wit the 4.6 F150?

[jax4bangin]

u can get new ones in work truck trim right now for dirt cheap!! but id like to know a lil bout the 4.6 micro v8.

mainly reliability and major flaws

 

[Hahnsb2]

My grandpa had one with an auto in a 97 F250 (F150 body style with f-250 running gear), I towed his 6K lb boat with it back from the coast, had enough power to maintain 50-55 MPH up all the grades, he never had any major problems with it, he traded it for a Dodge Cummins a couple years ago. I think the 4.6s had issues with the spark plugs blowing out of the heads because of shallow threads.

 

[wahlstrom1]

I drove one for about 40,000km, while my mom owned it and I sold it at 245,000km. IIRC it was the 5.4L that had the '3' thread sparkplug issue. As far as being a good engine, it's no chevy 5.3L but it towed a 27' holiday trailer/14' horse trailer alright and averaged 18mpg in town.

-andrew

 

[John97]

We have a 2004, no problems at all... Has about 46K on it.

 

[jax4bangin]

dang blowin out pluggs??! thats crazy.. not too comforting

 

[Hahnsb2]

I drove one for about 40,000km, while my mom owned it and I sold it at 245,000km. IIRC it was the 5.4L that had the '3' thread sparkplug issue. As far as being a good engine, it's no chevy 5.3L but it towed a 27' holiday trailer/14' horse trailer alright and averaged 18mpg in town.

-andrew

I knew the 5.4 and 6.8 did, I was thinking the 4.6 too but I'm not sure.

 

[low_five]

my dad drives a RAGGED OUT 4.6 that put hard miles on it. its now on its second motor and 350k

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the 4.6 is far from a new motor. its been around since 1991 in the town cars and crown vics. its the same engine used in the town cars, vics, mustangs, F and E series, thunderbirds, cougars, and explorers/sport tracs. they have a very good track record in all of these platforms over the billions of miles theyve racked up.

it was the 2-valve 5.4 and 6.8 that had the spark plug blowout issue.

 

[therieldeal]

my father has a 97 4.6 f150, never a single problem with the drivetrain over roughly 100k miles. he bought it brand new. he tows a flatbed car trailer with it several times a year, occasionally on fairly long trips.

 

[Loud Ranger]

spark plug blow out on 4.6s is caused by overtighting the plugs as well as using anti seize which acts as a lubricant to they overtighten easily. change the on a cold engine and dont use anti sieze and you wont strip em

 

[97ranger4x4]

So are you not supposed to use anti-seize on spark plugs?

Cause I use a good amount when I change the plugs on my ranger. It sure makes it easy getting them off.

 

[WNY964x4]

the 4.6 is far from a new motor. its been around since 1991 in the town cars and crown vics. its the same engine used in the town cars, vics, mustangs, F and E series, thunderbirds, cougars, and explorers/sport tracs. they have a very good track record in all of these platforms over the billions of miles theyve racked up.

it was the 2-valve 5.4 and 6.8 that had the spark plug blowout issue.

i have never heard of the spark plug blowout , 1 of the trucks in our fleet is a 2000 F-150 7700 , it has 70k miles on it , we use it to plow and have never had a problem with the pugs , it has a 5.4 and the first time the plugs were ever changed was this year

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Its a "standby" engine that Ford uses in anything they need or want a V8 in.

Powerwise there similar to a 302, not a whole lot of low end but upper and midrange is more then adequate.

Reliabilty, I know alot of the early (Pre 97) ones burn oil. But other then that i havent heard of any problems.

....and to add to the spark plug shooting, that was only on some early 99-early 2000 models.

later,
Dustin

 

[Kona]

my buddies 97 blew out a plug, you have to read the TSB on changing plugs, I think the engine has to warm, not hot,not cold to avoid popping the plugs. His truck ran great for the last 7 years then has cost him 7,000 to keep on the road, he has walked away from it.....

 

[Broaner]

So are you not supposed to use anti-seize on spark plugs?

Cause I use a good amount when I change the plugs on my ranger. It sure makes it easy getting them off.

In my experience there really isn't a reason to use antiseize on plugs unless its an aluminum head. Even then they have to be in there super long to get stuck, in my experience. I've never used antiseize on a plug and have never had problems. If they really are stuck like hell after 30k(Thats when I typically change plugs) then the you're torquing them way to much when you put them in.