AKBray907

in all seriousness though, there is millions of these 5.4 motors out there, not all of them have issues, some do but keep in mind you cant use the internet to gauge that, 90% of the time someone joins a forum because theyre having an issue and so youll see lots of those posts. Gm has piston slap and block issues( my brothers tahoe got the sweet casting issue an itll forever eat antifreeze, forget the tsb #), dodges were smoking pistons and had tons of tranny issues. No matter what make or model you buy you can have issues, these trucks are so mass produced nowadays quality is going to suffer some. You got the government sticking their finger in the auto industry demanding certain mpg and then everyone complains about the lightweight weaker materials the bodys are made of. These trucks are produced at such high rates and quantities that it doesnt matter what make or model you buy they can have issues and when we have issues or see issues posted or around it seems like alot but realistically when you compare it to the number of vehicles out there running around that are having no issues or anything its pretty small. How many million 2v 5.4s are out there with 200,000+ miles and no issues and yet there are plenty of people posting on here about blown spark plugs, i myself have had it happen. But realistically the amount of vehicles that get the issues vs the amount on the road is really pretty small. It just sucks *** when it happens to us

GrimaceTimus

Well, I have calmed down a bit ... enough to see your side of the story. However, I just have one issue with what you are saying ... in particular when it comes to the first-generation VCT FoMoCo engines. This problem is not isolated to F150s. This problem transcends all of the 3V engines in all makes and models (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury).

Maybe the percentage of VCT 3V engines that have problems is smaller than the number that don't. But based on my research ... which is not exclusively on this site ... FoMoCo majorly screwed the pooch with the VCT, 3V mod engine.

I come from a "wrenchin'" family. I have an ex-brother-in law that runs a very successful shop and another childhood friend that worked at my hometown local Ford Dealer until 2008 (and he now works for my ex-brother-in-law's shop). About 3 weeks ago, when I was mired in self-pity and angst over this recent purchase of mine ... I sought out my old friends for "comfort" and advice. I have done this before and almost universally they have been able to point me in the right direction and help me resolve whatever particular issue I might be having with whatever particular vehicle I owned at the time.

I no sooner got "5.4L ..." out and my EBIL says "oh ...not the 3-valve is it?" ...."ummm, yeah." Silence. "Dammit Grimace, you really should have called me before you bought that thing. I can't tell you how many Mustangs, F150s, F250s, E250s...anything with that God Damn 3V engine in it ... I can't tell you how many of 'em I see with the phaser problem. It's a ton. And most of the time, we can't do jack- about it. We have had so many of them come back after a full-day's work and $900 worth of new timing components, I almost refuse to let 'em my shop anymore."

I realize that the lockouts came about so that people could put larger cams in these 3V engines ... but there's a 50/50 split on folks that believe it's just best to install the lockouts and give the VCT the middle finger. You really shouldn't have to disable an advanced feature on your vehicle to make it operate properly.

So...I don't know if I completely buy into the notion that it is some minuscule percentage of the VCT, 3V'ers that have problems ... I think it's pretty clear that it is anywhere between 10% and 40%. I know that's a big range ... but I am giving the benefit of the doubt at 10% ... my research and personal experience indicates probably much closer to 40%. And a lot of of those folks just choose to live with the noise. I am so upside down on this truck (after buying it and dumping another $2K into it ... $1K of that on the wanna-be-diesel engine) ... I guess I just get to live with it too.

I am considering trading it in on a newer (or new) F150 ... but I know two guys with the ECB and another with the 5.0. One of the guys with the ECB...his truck has seen the inside of the stealership more than it has seen the road. The other guy with the ECB likes his truck ... except that he can't get ANYWHERE near the reported MPG no matter how he drives it (and it is bone-stock). The guy with the 5.0 seems to really like his truck and has no complaints ... but he did say that he wouldn't feel comfortable towing very much with it as he feels like the truck has a hard enough time getting out of it's own way, let alone a 7000# trailer. (I think the 5.0 is pretty cool myself being DOHC and all ... but thinking something's cool doesn't make it reliable nor extend it some magical longevity because of its coolness factor).

Anyway...I guess I am just ranting like bitchy little Ford hater....sad. Ford vehicles have always treated me very well in the past. But that is certainly the past.

primalurges

I too thought that this dealership was taking me for a sucker when they went the swap the engine route and that's why I spoke with the service manager and asked him to be very specific as to why they saw this as the only solution. One thing the dealer has on us is experience with that specific engine because they've been dealin with them day in and day out and have learned the hard way the lessons that many in here learn everyday about these engines. And sure there are many trucks out there that don't make any noise at all or such little noise that the owner thinks its normal only because it has come on gradually and is still not loud enough to get their attention or raise their concern. My truck used to be quiet too, has never acted up, or had any engine trouble other than a couple of bad coils. I also understand there are ton on the road and that people only come to this forum with problems however there are to s of posts all over the Internet concerning this issue and I have personally been approached by a few folks I know about the engine noise because they too or someone they know has a 5.4 3v with the tapping sounds. I wrench quite a bit and when I was in high school if you had a valve train problem you'd pull the head or change whatever you had to and you'd be done with it. However as Grimmus experienced and many others, almost anything you do to address this issue only temporary resolves the issue. And yes I have priced new trucks which is precisely the reason I'm still driving my racket machine around. As far as Ford is concerned I own a 2007 Edge with 105k miles and couldn't be happier, only issue is it burns tailight bulbs like its going they're going out of style. The F150 on the other hand has had leak from 3rd twilight, rear end, engine and transmission problem as well as the dropping windows issue and premature ball joint failure. A true disappointment in every way except body, interior, and electrical.

AKBray907

My brother and brother in law both have 3v 5.4s with well over 100xxx miles, my old work truck 3v 5.4 had 207xxx miles. Idk what to tell you, I know these motors cans have issues with the vct but you're still getting a skewed amount of data, the f series has a considerable amount more trucks on the road vs gm or dodge, and people take trucks to shops to be fixed so of course they're going to see the issues. But if you go an ask everyone on te road you see with a 5.4 3v if they'd had issues its gonna be a small amount. Same thing when my plugs blew out my 5.4 2v, hop online and see tons of posts about it, I'm like crap, but if you compare that vs the number of trucks out there that have the problem its pretty small. I knew an old guy whos had a shop for years an years and he used to say it doesnt matter the make, all makes are going to have issues, im just in a position where i see those issues revealed over an over but if you look at the number of vehicles I see vs the number still runnin fine its pretty tiny. As far as your issue goes though, just seriously buy some lockouts an an sct tuner, never have issues again. You'll lose 15hp max, have a solid engine once again an if you install yourself it'd be around only $600 worth of stuff

dyeguy1212

iTrader: (1)

Lol @ OP for going to dealership in the first place.

Lol @ OP for not getting a second opinion.




Btw, if I had a truck in twice and the dealership and they didnt do anything, they'd be footing the bill when it died from something you could (and should) have easily argued was avoidable.

primalurges

Yes you are so wise. You would just blame it on the dealer, they would roll over and they'd take care of you. There is no place like home Dorothy. Thanks for your input its very insightful. I'm sure other readers will find it very useful.

primalurges

Well I got a second opinion that wasn't much more promising than the first. New dealership offered a tear down of about 9 hours in order to determine if repairable. Of course the 9 hours may add up to more depending on what they find. At this point I'll just keep driving it till it stops and will drop in a junk yard motor when the time comes.

AKBray907

I'm telling you go to a performance shop or anywhere besides a dealer

primalurges

I'm trying that next.

AKBray907

It's your best bet