4x4dave

Hello there. I've done some extensive reasearch and between the 2 engines.

Looking to buy a 94-96 f150 with the following features
-auto tran (a must, other car is a standard v6...)
-4x4 (a must)
-either 4.9 or 5.0, leaning towards the 5.0

But my main questions are which engine gets better gas mileage? Good old guys at epa say their identical. Truck would maybe tow light stuff 2-3 times a year too. Otherwise its 40% city driving and 60% hwy. I hear the 4.9 is mean with 5 speed but sucks with auto...if I want an auto is the v8 the way to go?

Basically what's the ideal gear & tranny for my purposes if I get the 5.0. I understand their are 2 different auto trannies? Which one lasts longer and is safer bet? Again not towing anything huge... looking for gears that can tow, and still be easy on mpg. Also how long will the typical auto tranny and 5.0 last, granted it hasn't been beaten to total ****.

itsallchickenboy

IMO I have been around the good 'ol 300s plenty of times. Around town in flat Texas this I6 I have now is great, does anything I ask of it. I have the 5 speed manual and it will haul around anything i really need. Also I had a I6 4 speed automatic and that was near the same level. The only real difference that was noticed is that you have MUCH more control (obviously) with the manual 5 speed. But the I6 auto I had still did its work. I towed a 6000 pound fifth wheel camper all around Arizona. Going from Phoenix to Flagstaff, IMO one of the hardest torture tests there is and it did just fine! on a steep %6 grade it went around 40-50mph. which was not bad at all, there were many people doing around 20-30mph. The thing about this drive is not only is the climb pretty steep it is also pretty long, so it is also an endurance challenge. It handled everything fine. The thing I think helped me the most on this time was the beefed up helper springs i had installed on the rear. Which could not have worked any better.

4x4dave

Thanks chickenboy for the info. Your post gave me a little more info about the auto tran. I do realize that the 4.9 does awesome for towing a lot, but frankly I don't need to tow much or often.

Anyways after a lot of reasearch its preffered to have the e40d tranny right? What are the available gearing options on these trucks? Also is it preffered to have a truck that was mfg in mexico? I heard the 5.0 blocks have forged pistions, and ones mfg in mexico have higher iron content, thus making a longer lasting 5.0...

I'm trying to figure out the ideal f150 with the best engine, best gears, most reliable tranny, ideal doorcodes, mfg location etc..

qdeezie

When I first purchased my truck, what I did from a reliability perspective since reliability was #1 to me was replace as many gaskets, electronic components and general service components as possible (searched for smokin' deals so I wouldn't go broke in the process) over the course of the first year of ownership. Also, I changed out all of the fluids to synthetic.

My take on reliability is that some of these trucks are over 20 years old or pretty close to it, so they will need some kind of work from the start when you purchase it (regardless of where it was manufactured) if the previous owner has not already done so. I generally tow a few times a year and my truck does great with the current rear gears it has. And it is very reliable. It has not let me down yet.

As far as the engine/trans/differential lasting as long as possible, I think the quality of fluids and filters you use along with how often you change it play a huge part in that. I have never lost a major component such as an engine or trans in any vehicle I've owned and I have to attribute that to maintenance and using quality fluids/parts.

I have owned vehicles with over 300,000 miles on them that I've had since new and all I did was use quality lubricants and filters over the life of the vehicle and they still ran like new even at 300,000 miles.

As far as gas mileage............well, if you are purchasing a 4x4 I don't really know if there is such a thing as "good" gas mileage with a 4x4 regardless of engine choice. 4x4 guys, please chime in and correct me if I'm wrong. What I've heard is I guess around 15mpg being the best. The best you can do to accomplish maximum gas mileage is synthetic fluids, brass dist cap, brass rotor, stout spark plug wires, copper core plugs, good air filter and hope for the best.

Not sure if this helps any, but that's my .02.

4x4dave

Q, good info. The setup you have on your truck is pretty much what I want (302, 4x4,3.55 lsd) so if your getting 15mpg I won't expect anything better than 16. Can anyone else tell me your mpg if you have similar setup with either engine...

What seals did you replace? More than likely the truck id be buying will be 100,000-150,000mi. But do you feel synthetic is really that important? I'm a firm believer in valvoline conventional and I change all the fluids when I get new vehicles. From then on I change oil evrey 3000...

Is the 5.0 fairly easy to work on? I'm no mechanic but I have a nice socket set and some mechanical knowledge...

Warlockk

From my experience the 5.0 is the much more common engine. This makes parts cheaper and more available, especially in the bone yard. Just about everyone seems to be averaging around 15 mpg more or less regardless of set up (extremes being the exception). My truck is a 5.0 2wd aod with 4.10 gears and 31x10.5/15 tires. I get between 15-18 mpg and pull a load just fine. As far as synthetic I use it all around. There is a long debate posted on the site with some good points and even some actual facts if you search for it.

qdeezie

Sorry if my post was misleading, but my truck is a 2wd.

I replaced the oil pan gasket (paid someone to do that) but personally, I did the upper/lower intake gasket, timing cover gasket/crankshaft seal, and valve cover gaskets. I need to replace the valve stem seals because it consumes more oil that what I'm comfortable with, but I found an additive that actually stopped my consumption, so this has bought me some time until I get to replacing them. I generally like to fix the problem instead of band-aiding it with an additive, but that is my choice until I get around to it.

The 5.0 is easy to work on in my opinion. What I did quite often when I first bought it (and this might sound crazy) is on occasion, I would open up the hood and stare at it to further familiarize myself with the design to gather my plan of attack when working on it. If you're doing the maintenance and looking at the engine all the time, at some point, you'll become so familiar with where everything is located and how to access it that you won't even give working on it a 2nd thought, you'll just do it.

As far as my view on synthetics (and this is just my experience), I could not get my transmission to shift properly on a consistent basis until I went with synthetic atf. I won't lie, I did use store brand el cheapo fluid prior to going with syn, so if you were to use a name brand conventional atf such as Valvoline Dex/Merc in the blue bottle, you might be ok. Valvoline Maxlife atf is synthetic and my truck seems to like it very well.

Regarding motor oil, I think you are on the right path using Valvoline Conventional. That is some good stuff! My only observation with synthetic is that my engine seemed to run cooler (according to the temperature gauge) with synthetic versus conventional, but since replacing my fan clutch to alleviate my overheating issues when the a/c is on, it probably would be the same temperature with either one. I also had major sludge issues (from previous owner's lack of maintenance) when I bought my truck, so I needed to use synthetic to continuously work on cleaning the inside of the engine it because it has a higher amount of detergents than conventional oils. You'll be ok with Valvoline Conventional and make sure you get a new PCV valve to ensure crankcase ventilation and use a good oil filter such as Purolator or Motorcraft.

Regarding the differential/gear oil..........the difference I saw was like night and day when I changed to synthetic. The engine seemed to have less of a load on it when I put the synthetic gear oil in. Prior to going with synthetic gear oil, I used an el cheapo store brand synthetic blend gear oil for about 5 to 10k to clean it out. Afterwards, I went with synthetic gear oil and I am so glad I made the decision to do so. It is really that good from my experience. Gas mileage went up quite a bit after doing so.

TheCollector

i have a 4.9l it is way easier to work on then a 5.0 just for the fact alone there is more room to fit your wrenches in and they are called bullet proof for a reason. it depends on what you are going to do with it as well if you are going to haul allot get the 4.9l it can pull over trees along with dodges that get in the way. if your looking for speed get a mustang LOL jk the 5.0 has more performance options

4x4dave

haha i already have a mustang!

seprice40

no fuss no muss 4.9l. there are still some performance options but that engine is a 300,000+ mile engine. Also it seems in my area the 5.0's are dime a dozen and people here die for the 4.9l for its great mpg and life.

X2 on what TheCollector said.