Ford F-150 4X4

Anyone towing with a 5.4 liter Ford F-150? What kinda millage are you getting. I have a line on a 2004 with very low miles and want to check everything.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/ford_spark_plug_fire.html

BEWARE THE TRITON ENGINE! Shoots Spark Plugs out like no-ones business.

I've had it happen first hand... cheapest fix we could find was two guys who drove from Indy to FL and fixed it for $1500....any shop was talking $2200+

97-04 were the problem years

never shot a plug in mine
have an 01 f150 7700 with a whipple charger ( around 360hp and 520 torque)

goin through 5 trannys 4 where my fault

i get 10-12 if I keep my foot out of it
and 8-10 towing

that's on 35" tires and 512 gears ( need 456's way over geared )

(Message edited by my_malibu on May 14, 2008)

(Message edited by my_malibu on May 14, 2008)

(Message edited by my_malibu on May 14, 2008)

(Message edited by my_malibu on May 14, 2008)

(Message edited by my_malibu on May 14, 2008)

I've got an '07 SuperCrew. I averaged about 10 the other day at 70mph. I had an '04 SuperCab, which seemed to pull the boat a lot better. I don't know if it's the weight or what. My dad's Titan is a MUCH better tow vehicle. I'm only averaging about 16 daily driving though, mainly highway.

I got an 06 supercrew with 35"s. I get about 9 towing about 12 to 14 daily.

My dad has a 97 f 150 with the 4.6. This past weekend he just hit 200,000 miles. No Major problems other than the normal wear and tear, (50,000 mi per set of tires, new shocks, brakes, belts, etc) He gets around 15-17 mpg on the highway not towing. Prolly a little less towing obviously. But he has been really happy with the truck. Looks almost brand new and its 10 years old with 200,000 miles. This is also a Wisconsin truck which means it has seen salt its whole life. I really recommend the Ford F-150.

I tow with a 2007 F150 SuperCrew. Get about 13-14 mpg. Only done short distance trailering so not sure about mileage under load.

We also have a 2004(?) F250 Regular Cab for our shop truck and it does really well. We used it to tow a boat from TN to MN with no problems.

I have an '02 Supercrew - never had a problem with it(72,000 miles)- it's got the 5.4 Triton and I've never heard anything negative about the motor. Mileage in line with what others are saying. 10 pulling the boat up to 16 on the highway ( no trailer) and 12-14 around town.

Sorry for the Tread Jack, but is anyone looking for a truxedo lopro tonneau cover? The cover is just over 1 yr old and fits 04-08 f150s with the 6.5ft bed. I paid $400 new, and i'm looking to get $150. I also have some weather tech floor mats for a super crew.

BTW... My truck was a 2006 with the 5.4, and got between 14-16 mpg.





(Message edited by rrbooker on May 15, 2008)

99 model here I get about 8 towing (overdrive off) about 15 round town,and about 18 on hwy. Plugs need to be changed under 60k miles or after the truck is about 4 years old which ever one comes first. If not, highly likely you could have plug problems. I have had mine for several years and have nothing but good things to say about it. Oh yea I have 5.4 4 wheel drive

I have the 97 4.6, I get 11 - 13 w/o towing, no tow package from the factory so like 3.08 gears or something horrible like that, 7 towing, my speedo's off so its prolly more like 13-15 no tow and 8 towing, the best I've ever got is 13.5 all hiway

Funny how I looked long and hard for a 4.6 thinkin it would get better mileage than the 5.4 but due to the gearing it actually is worse than everyone I've talked to with the 5.4....next truck's gonna be a diesel

The spark plug issue was through 2002 and very few vehicles actually had it happen. In 2003 the heads were redesigned to have more threads holding the spark plugs in.

My 2003 Supercrew 4x4 got 14-15 empty and about 9 towing the boat. Expect similar numbers with a 2004 just with more power.

very few had it happen!

there are about 5 companies that sell a kit to fix this specific problem, and like 6 sets of guys who make a living fixing this problem

its crazy common

'04 F250 with the 5.4. Get about the same mileage as Craig. No problems at all with the engine.

Nick, you should work for the media with your level of sensationalism it's actually pretty impressive.

I had a '04 F150 supercab FX4. Put probably 25K pulling on it in Oregon frequently up and over mountain passes. I never had a single problem with my pickup. I did have to replace the brakes but the were partially covered by a Ford technical service bulletin.

That truck pulls very well in my opinion although could really use one more gear as it would frequently be turning 4000 rpm going up mountain passes just to maintain the speed limit.

I got about 9-12 towing depending on the slope and 10.5-14 normal driving depending on highway/city.

I know prob. 6 other people with these trucks all with 5.4s and have never heard of this spark plug issue.

04 got the new three valve motor. i have one, tow a 247 with no problems ever. its my third f150 with the 5.4l and the best yet. i have a crew 4x4 3.73 rear and i get about 8-10 tow, but i like to put my foot into it. great truck.

Beware of the no start issue with these motors as well. My truck would not start the first crank of the key literally 30% of the time. Would have to give it a second crank.

Apparently they have bad injectors which ford has now extended the warranty on.

I'm on my 4th F150(1 Mark LT)since 98 and all of them have been 99% trouble free, couple of very minor issues on the 07.

Mileage varied anywhere from 8-11MPG towing, the heavier the foot the worse it gets.

For being a relatively gutless wonder without a trailer they tow very very well.

had 2 f150s with, 200,000. first was a 99 sport and fast as hell. second [03} was slower but got better mileage. both towed ok always ran like a champ. so i wouldnt say most blow spark plugs. have a 7.3 supercrew superduty now.tows way better, gained a mile or two in mileage. but the price of diesel is killing me.

Here is the list of people who have been affected

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html

make sure you have time...its a long list, i tried to copy and paste it but it was not allowed because "•••••••••• was said too many times

And on the 5.4 he was inquiring about?

01 supercrew .417 gears 5.4l
had two plug caps go out

15-17 avg <depending>
12-14 towing

how many 5.4 motors did they make? the 150 people on that website would be like .000001% thats not even close to most, barely even some.

the 150 on that website are the ones who wrote in... thats not all of them, i know of at least 5 people within a 5 miles radius who have had it happen... none of them made a fuss, just fixed it and went on with their life.

don't get me wrong the truck I've been using for the last few months (F250 V10) is awesome...pulls like a dream, tons of room....great truck but a +$1500 fix was unseen and cut my florida vaction a month short...so i'm a little bitter

Our work truck is a 99 f350 with a 5.4 that weighs 9000 pounds. It has 275k miles and still running. Ford should use this truck in a commercial!

Nick, you do realize that the heads on the V10 ARE THE EXACT SAME DESIGN just with 2 more cylinders?

There are millions of 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8 modular engines on the road.

Was the plug blow out a problem? Yes, but not nearly as blown out of proportion as you or one website likes to claim.

Ford realized that it could be a problem and fixed it in 2003 by adding more thread depth to the heads so there was more threads holding the sparks plugs in. They also have recommended that people check to make sure their spark plugs are tightened properly and put out instructions to follow when replacing plugs. A lot of people when they replaced their plugs just crank them down in their super tight like they were used to doing and damaged the threads. This often contributed to the plugs blowing out.

I know it sux to be one of the people affected by it but let's be a little realistic here. There were lots of people affected by the GM piston slap issues too but you don't see people avoiding GM trucks because of it. Unless, of course they were one of the very small % of people that were actually affected by it.

So, if you look at a pre-2003 F150 or any other Ford vehicle with a modular V8 then as a maintenance item check to make sure the spark plugs are tightened properly and you won't have the problem.

Post 2003 and it's a non-issue.

03-04 didn't blow out plugs, they snapped off.

and I know the V10 is the same +2 cylinders... but I didn't know the problem was even around until it happened to me...

you're right...consumer afairs...what do they know

NOT HERE TO BASH FORDS!!!! just saying that its something tot think about when buying the truck... i'm a honda man myself... my civics doing 40 mpg so thats where my auto loyalty lies

then get a ridgeline

if I had $$ i would prob get a titan....but since thats not the case I'll just deal

I have a 04 SuperCrew lifted 6 with 35's. I get 9 mpg towing, and that is driving carefully. In a hurry, more like 7.5.
No problems with my 5.4