hd2020

I am looking to purchase a new XLT crew cab 4X4 short bed this month and I'm new to F150s. I currently drive a Toyota Tacoma double cab 4X4. I have test driven both the 5.4L/3.55 and the 4.6L/3.73 trucks on the sales lot. The 4.6L/3.73 seemed to have more pep on the test drive, but has the smaller motor. I only tow a Boy Scout trailer approximately 6 times per year and may haul an occasional low boy trailer with lumber. Most of my driving is to and from work on the highway (clogged with traffic usually).

If I choose the 4.6L motor will I later wish that I had selected the 5.4L motor?

If I select the 4.6L/3.55 combo will the truck be too weak in the low end torque department?

Thanks y'all!
Brad

NorCal-09

IMO, get the 5.4, if you have the choice!!

The diff in gas mileage is really not that great in the scheme of things, and when you need the power, it will be there.

As to the rear end, I have the 5.4 and the LS 3.55 and it is performing well with the 6-speed trans which has a very low first gear.

If my truck, with all the other features and color I wanted, had come with the 3.73 LS, I would have taken it too !!! The more I drive my truck and the more miles I get on it (now 5,100) the more I love it !!

cfd511

i have had the 4.5 in my 03 and o9 and i love it . plent of power real fast and tons on towing power . get whatever you can lol

Mr Bacon Jr

How big is the Scout trailer? The one my son's troop pulls is 7,000+ Really needs to be pulled by a SUper Duty! I would get the 5.4- more versatility, if you use it like a truck!

Ford Guy

HD,
I think you are right on. The 4.6 has 292 HP and the 5.4 has 320. I would go with the 4.6, it will be peppier and get better gas mallage and the 3.73 will hel with the little trailer towing you will do. Just my opinion.

Ford Guy

1sweet09fx4

I noticed the same thing when buying my FX4. I drove an STX with 4.6L and that truck would run circles around my FX4, and the STX had 3.55 gears. The 4.6L seemed peepier than any of the 5.4L I drove

Dironk4011

I would get the 4.6/3.73, if it had been an option on mine that's what I would have got. I have had four 4.6's already and they have been bullet proof, the 5.4's are known to have more issues than the 4.6L. It may just be a comfort zone/durability thing with me, this is my first 5.4L and I hope it's as good as my 4.6's have been.

tewstone

I have bought the 4.6 3V with 3.73 and it seems to do what I need to haul. But the six speed trans I'm worried about. When I start off, I get this shutter stall feel thru the accelerator as if it wants to quit at around 1000-1200rpm. If you get on the gas very quickly, you dont notice it.
Also, has anyone noticed at 75mph, a vibration and shake? Mine is new with 500 miles and I'm assuming it is the tires from sitting on the dealers lot for a while. At 80+ mph it quits and goes smooth. Any opinions on either??

Sturgisfdb

Are you running around town in overdrive? I have the 5.4 with 3.55 and noticed the same thing when taking off from a dead stop in overdrive. If i drop down a gear the shutter stops. I've got about 900 miles on mine, and the problem quit by not using overdrive in town.

MHC-F150

Well the 3.73's are much better than the 3.55's and is most likely where you're seeing the big difference. The 5.4L is only rated at 310hp, not the 320hp previously quoted, unless you run E85. So the 292hp by the 4.6L 3V isn't giving up much and why it feels peppy. But look at the torque curve and the lb-ft and you'll see where the 5.4L excels

5.4L = 365lb-ft (390lb-ft on E85)
4.6L = 320lb-ft

The 4.6L is a much higher revving motor but provides less down low power when compared to the 5.4L.

Peronsally if I were you, I'd look for a 150 with the 5.4L & 3.73. But that's me.

I've driven both the 5.4L & 4.6L F150s, but here in CO, the 4.6L just doesn't have the guts to make many of the mtn passes (especially with a load in tow), heck the 5.4L struggles on some passes itself.

And if mpg's are of concern, the 4.6L averages about 1mpg more city & highway than the 5.4L.