Hi Folks! I've finally put some money together to get a truck, and really have my heart set on a Ford. However in reading up on them, the 5.4L cam phasers have got me a little scared. Based on my funding, and looking at pricing locally, I think I'll have to end up with a 2006-2008 with >140K mi. This will be my around town vehicle plus about 200 mi of highway driving a week. So I've got a few questions, and I thank you in advance for answering.

What percentage of 5.4L (3V, right?) motors have problems with cam phasers at >100K mi?

Is there any point at which you can say "this motor has xxx miles on it, it's OK now, so it won't get cam phaser problems"?

I've read where Ford dealers will say phaser noise is "normal", and that it's OK to drive on. Is this really true? Is this not something that causes real damage?

I've seen timing chain issues mentioned in the same breath as cam phasers - I know they're interrelated, but are these part of the same issue? Or different issues related to the same equipment?

Thanks again folks.... much appreciation for your help.

 

It's hard to say on mileage. Lack of maintenance is the biggest cause of this (phasers and timing chain guides) or cheap oil filters. If I were looking for one I'd be less concerned about mileage and more concerned about maintenance records.

 

Here's my .02c.

After VERY extensive reading AND going through the entire system myself, I feel phasers get a bad rap because they are usually the noise source...even when they may not be the root cause of a problem. The noise itself may not even be problematic, but it may or may not be a harbinger of other problems.

What that means is- while phasers do fail, many other support systems also fail. And sometimes those failures manifest themselves as phaser noise when in fact the phasers themselves are fine.

I hate to say it but- I've owned many vehicles in my life and I've worked on most of them myself. Everything mechanical breaks. I agree that good maintenance plays a bigger role than actual mileage but I would not recommend this generation of 150 with the 5.4 to anyone I cared about.

There are plug concerns- exhaust manifold concerns, COP concerns, oil pressure- thrust bearing, cam journals, lash adjuster, VCT solenids, tensioner, guide, chain concerns... and others. And on top of all that, there's the underlying reality that these beasts were NOT designed to be easily serviceable.

I love the looks of the truck and I like how it drives when it's running well BUT- it will be my last Ford product.

 

In my experience, I would just steer clear of the 5.4 3V. I bought two without phaser issues (both 04 Lariats). And even with record history of well kept oil changes at Ford Dealership and me changing the oil with nothing but motorcraft, they BOTH ended up with noisy chugging phaser issues

 

Thanks all for the honest feedback. JAV1 that's obviously not what I wanted to hear, but likely what I needed to hear.

Did Ford ever fix these problems? Or is the 5.4 3V just a crapshoot?

 

I have a 07 F150 and a 07 Expedition, both with the 3 valve 5.4. Not a single phaser, manifold, sparkplug problem with either one. They both have over 145k on them.

 

Thank you Summers22.... more good info

 

Maintenance is key, and hope for the best. Make sure you have a nice sum of money to throw at it because it'll probably need work.

I bought my 2005 with the 5.4 when it had 95k on it. It now has 163k. It has been taken care of extremely well. I am a mechanic, the original owner was too, who I work with. Biggest problems I've had are trans taking a dump at 155k, exhaust manifold leak, and phaser noise.

I love my truck. But it's safe to say, if I knew all the crap that I know now about this generation and about the 5.4 3v a few years ago when I was looking for a truck, you can bet your *** I would have passed.