Hey guys,
I have 421,00 miles on my '98 XLT, with same engine. Mostly LA freeway driving,
up and down west coast.
This engine overheated at 340,00 w/ freeze plug rust -out and resultant coolant loss.
Had upper engine rebuilt by Ford mechanic after learning both heads were cracked.
New pushrods , heads rebuilt.
Runs great, looks great, might burn a quart of oil every 10K miles, depending on terrain.
Anticipating engine to see an easy 500K miles. Full synthetic oil changes every 10k miles since new with Redline, and now Mobil 1, it has never been abused.