NEED HELP! 2003 EXPEDITION 4.6L-WILL IT TOW?

I have to give word today on a 2003 4.6l expedition. Will it tow our sanger? Will i be hating it on long hills? It is 232 horsepower.
thanks

It'll tow it OK but I bet you'll be wishing for a 5.4l after a while. I have a 1/2 Ton regular cab F-150 with the 4.6 that I use for work and it does the job, but after this summer I will certainly be looking for a larger motored truck. The Expedition is quite large too, much larger than my wimpy 2wd truck. It'll work but if you tow all the time I would consider looking into the 5.4l.

We have a 99 with the 5.4 And have pulled our Cal AirPro V only 1 tim,it wasnt to bad. Hope this helps the new 4.6 has got more hp than before. the pro v wieghs 3500lbs. no options no trailer. I figure it's about 5500lbs total

I wouldn't go any smaller than the 5.4L. It's less than $1000 upgrade and it holds every penny in resale and will be easier to unload when the time comes.

Since you have to climb hills to get to the lake you probably won't be happy with that engine. How much torque does it put out? If diesel is an option I'd go that route. Plus, you'll save some gas $$ as well. If no diesel is available I guess the 5.4 engine would do alright. It's all about torque to get you the pulling power.

More Torque = Happy Towing

It will tow the boat, but you will be pushing that motor pretty hard. I would not be surprised if you get worse gas mileage towing with that motor than a large motor with more torque at lower RPMs.

torque:
4.6l-291 @ 3450
5.4l-350 @ 2500

I know its Chevy but:

I had a 2000 Chevy Silverado Standard Cab 2WD with the 4.8L and used it to tow my boat all the time. It had the 3.73 rear end gears which were the biggest I could get from the Factory. I thought it towed pretty good. I mean I never had any problem pulling from point A to B. Anyway I have a new 2003 Chevy Avalanche (No body Armor) with the 5.3L and it has 4.10 rear end gears and I could not even tell the boat was behind the truck. I thought it would tow about the same due to the new truck being much larger but the extra torque of the bigger motor really make a difference. If you can swing it I'd get the 5.4L if not the 4.6L should have no problem getting from point A to B. Just My opinion.

Don't do it, get the 5.4L. The 5.4L is the bare minimum for towing a boat. The 4.6L is adequate if you never do any towing. An Expedition is a heavy vehicle so it needs all the help it can get.

more torque, heavier duty truck=happy boat owner, go diesel.

I have the 5.4 Expedition. Towed for the first time the past couple of weeks. Really happy with it.

I drove one 4.6. After that I would only get the 5.4. But that was the older 4.6 (Newer ones have 30 more horses I think) and gears that were made for better milage. I would think the gear ratio would factor into your decision as well. Higher the better for towing but worse gas milage. My Expy has 3.55 gears. Hopefully something here helps.

Get the 5.4 !!!!!!!!!!!

TY, that 5.4L peaking at 350 ft/lbs down at 2500 rpms is more usefull than the 4.6L's peak at 3450 rpms.

You will have to really keep the rpms up on the 4.6L to get any torque.

I have the 4.6 in my x and have done a few mods to help it along. One of them is 3.90 gears and it does fine. Helps it get to the power range quicker, the shift kit helps me get second gear scratches.

thanks guys...i passed on it.

I wish I could talk my wife into a diesel truck...

My dealer tried to talk me into a smaller motor when I was shopping last year.

I called his bluff. I pulled my boat down to the dealer, unhooked it from my old truck, and said bring them out one at a time starting with the smaller 5.3 lt.

After pulling my boat with the 5.3 and 4:10 gears, the 6.0 with 3:73 gears then the 8.1 with 3:73 gears, it was a no brainer. Never again will I wish for more power when pulling. I ended up with the 8.1 with 4:10 gears!!!!!

I owned a 99 f-150 supercab 2wd with the 4.6.
I now have a 2001 f-150supercrew 2wd with the 5.4.

There is a very noticeable difference. The 5.4 is smoother, accelerates better, and does the hills better. But I woudn't say that I couldn't live with the 4.6's power. I couldn't live with the lack of interior space with the supercab.

Since the EXP is heavier than the supercab, it probably pulls a little worse. I think you made the right choice.

advice on talking wife, say the diesel will last a lot longer than gas trucks, freeing up money for new BMW's every few years

although that could make it worse...

actually this is going to be more of her car since she has the kids.

How about the environmentalist angle?
A deisel is harmless to the environment.
I have no idea if it is or not... but it could work!

(Message edited by sandbag on April 08, 2003)

I have a 2000 Expedition with the 4.6L. Do I wish I had more power? Yes! Does it get me anywhere I want to go? Sure does.

Its all relative. Get the bigger engine if you can. If you can't, the 4.6L will do the trick.

i have a 99 4.6 expedition and it pulls the sanger v210 no problems but i tned to use my 3/4 ton diesel more. the 4.6 gets the job done..

Another plus for the diesel, I just had an expedition drift into my lane today, damage to my beast a rub mark on the front ranchand, damage to expedition, right quarter panel destroyed.Chalk another victory up for big bumpers, and bigger trucks.

Tony,
do you travel on any hills?

I have a 1998 F150 with 4.6L 3.55 gears and 35 inch tires It does OK I have to pull one steep hill probably about 1/4 mile at 45 degrees it pulls it OK. But if I was getting ready to buy a new truck I would go for the 5.4.

(Message edited by john_d on April 09, 2003)

i have a 91 daihatsu 4x4 1.6L yea baby! hey ive towed a bogged F truck out of a hole before!

ty over pacheco pass when we launch on the west end of san luis, the grade is steep so im definately not going 65 mph. lets get together this summer at san luis damn lake can be as calm as my swimming pool at times...

I've had a 97 Expedition 2WD / the 4.6 and now I have a 99 2WD w/ the 5.4. Going up "the grade" on 101 to naci I struggled with the 4.6 but I can accelerate with the 5.4. I can really tell the difference between the two.

tony,

let's definately hook up this summer. i have teh wind line phone number. drop me a line next time you go out there. that would be very cool.

I have a 98 F150 4wd w/ 4.6 and I have a 03 EXP 2wd w/ the 4.6. I can easily "pull hills" on my way to the lake w/ both of them! Anyone in the bay area that's familiar w/ santa cruz knows you gotta hit highway 17 on the way to the lake/delta. As for MPG between the 4.6 and the 5.4, my friend tows his rig with a 99 EXP 4wd and it's within 1-2 mpg, while not towing, it favors the smaller motor by 3-4 mpg. There's really not much difference, and I can say that from vast experience in vehicles w/ both motors.