Cygan1008

Hi all,

Pretty new to the forum but I have read a TON of posts on here about my issue which will come as no surprise to any of you. The dieseling 5.4.... I just bought the truck a few weeks ago with 157k miles on it. It is in really good condition over all (I thought) and was a local trade that had just come in that morning and hadn't even been serviced or cleaned. I checked it out and noticed it had no leaks, I saw gray RTV on the rear diff, oil filter had a recent change date written on it and the truck drove really well. It felt really solid and didn't make any strange noises unlike some others I had driven. I did not notice this at the time of purchase but now it makes the diesel sound only after it is warmed up. Other than that it runs fine and idles smooth. Power is good down low, mid range leaves a little to be desired but I think that is just the characteristic of this truck.

After reading for DAYS on this issue I decided to have a very well known and respected performance shop in the 4.6mod world take a look. They basically told me how bad the 5.4 3v motor was and that it would most likely not be good news but it could be something very simple. So we decided to pull the valve covers and see what we could see.

Sludge and varnish...... Saw it for myself, it is by no means a a sludge monster but certainly not what I was hoping for. The chain has a little slack but the phasers don't look bad other than some varnish.

I don't really have the money to burn, hence the purchase of the older high mileage vehicle and he is suggesting a swap to a 4.6 to the tune of $3000ish for a motor with a warranty. I was really going into this prepared for $1000 on a timing system rebuild but hoping for the best.

So all this said which way would you go? I am more concerned with a reliable long lived vehicle then a lot of power but he said he would tune the 4.6(his specialty) and it would be comparable to the stock 5.4 if not a little better. Should I go with what I'm thinking and have the components replaced and hope that's the cure? Should I front the money for a swap? Or should I just tell him to put it back together, cross my fingers and drive it till it dies? He did say that if he did the timing he would use the old style cast tensioners with the ratchet because the plastic ones are garbage.

I feel like I made a huge mistake buying what I thought was a good truck and like I'm in a bit of a rock and a hard spot situation. I know several people that have had this exact truck, year and motor and have 200K+ miles with no issues but I also keep reading the stories of throwing $ at these engines with no avail. I really am not sure which way to go and just looking for some guidance from some slightly more knowledgeable folks.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Cygan1008

Forgot to mention that the truck is not showing a check engine light. It seems to run very well its just the sound at warm idle and low rpm driving. I cant really hear it at cruising rpms but it may just be covered by wind/tire/road noise.

cscott900

Just my opinion, but it sounds like you need phasers, chains, guides, and tensioners. Pretty common problem with these motors (I've had them done on mine) you are probably looking at $1500 to $2000 worth of work, if the the motor still runs good outside of that I would think that is a better investment than trying to change to a different engine than what that truck came with.

Triton54HD

i second what cscott900 said. i would imagine that you will need a new computer also if you switch to a 4.6. I am not sure the computers are interchangeable between engines. just my opinion..

Cygan1008

There are apparently several different computers through out this blood line of trucks. He looked up the numbers on mine and said he can use it to run the 4.6 but he would obviously have to install a 4.6 overlay program. ECM tuning is his specialty.

The labor on the timing rebuild job is about 700 plus the parts at his cost so that's why I was expecting to pay about $1000 total. I was hoping that folks would recommend this route as I really didn't want to max out my credit card for a new engine and my gut is telling me to just do the timing components.

Thanks for the input guys. This site has been very beneficial/educational for me so far.

Z7What

Fix it and drive it! I wouldn't swap to a 4.6L if the motor was free.

Wayne

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like this guy has spent more time trying to convince you to swap to a 4.6 than anything else.. I'd take his opinion with a grain of salt.

While a timing set refresh is always a good idea, on any engine; for this engine I recommend the latest VCT solenoids, and a swap to 5w-30 full synthetic.. This should help mitigate some or all of the Dieseling sound, and keep your engine well protected for the high miles you hope to run it through... If it's running great now, and the sound is your only fear, then stop worrying now.. Put any extra money into a tuner, and get your self a good tune that won't run as lean as the factory ford tune...

StanF

I'm not seeing any reason for you to spend ANY money at all right now. Drive the truck and don't worry about the sound at this point.

It might be a good idea to do a compression check, so you can determine how well the engine is sealing. If the compression is low or lowish, I'm not sure that I would even recommend the timing chain work. Save that money and put it towards a new motor if needed in the future.

Cygan1008

Thanks guys,

The passenger side chain is really loose so while the valve covers are off I'm thinking go ahead and do the timing refresh, updated solenoid and 5w30. Then I'll purchase a programmer, the Rancho quick lifts I want and call it a day. This should cure the only things I dislike, the sound, the rake and wake the motor up. Sound reasonable?

Aeromech

If anything, I suggest you take it to a guy who actually knows the 5.4. Your guy doesn't and is pushing you to change the engine because of that. Obviously the last owner didn't take very good care of the truck. He didn't use good oil or change it enough hence the varnish. Switch to the Mobile 1 5W-30 and for the first few oil changes do it at 5k miles. Use a good filter. The dieseling sound is your phasers I think. I agree with others who say stay with the 5.4 and fix the problem. Better check all of your fluids and radiator hoses too.