techrep

iTrader: (1)

^^^ Rocky speaks the truth ^^^

kozal01

iTrader: (2)

I had one for ten years, never had any reliability issues. I did the timing at 120k as a preventative measure but it was spotless inside the engine, all timing components were perfect, except for the passenger phaser that had a slight knock. Regular oil changes with good oil/ filter will make all the difference with your 5.4. Once the timing is done with updated components (if needed) its essentially bulletproofed.

jamie930

Bought new in 2006, I have changed the oil every 5k and it has only seen Motorcraft oil and filters.
203k and still going strong.
Only things I have done that were non preventive, is transmission at 120k, flex plate at 175k, starter, rebuilt the rear end 190k
Of course that doesnt include wear items such as brakes, suspension, belts and parts that just wear out after 14 years.
I have a feeling it will rust out before it dies

FrozenTundraGuy

My 2006 has a little over 80K, bought it when new. Have always used synthetic oil and good filters. It will use about almost half- one quart between oil changes when doing city driving, but doesn't use a drop on long trips-even towing my 5000lb travel trailer-go figure. I did change the factory oil with synthetic on the first change about 4K-so the oil rings may not have been fully seated-was getting a bit of blue smoke upon start up after sitting for a week or two. That went away about 10K later. I did get Ziebart rustproofing as I lived in WI when I bought the truck and it still has zero rust-so that was worthwhile. Did spark plugs @ 50K-came right out w/o any issues. Just replaced front brakes/fuel filter/trans filter-oil/coolant changes and read diff oil as normal maintenance and no other abnormal issues. Will do the major maintenance @ 90K

manny fiorente

Produced from 97 to 2014, thats a lot of years and 10s of millions of vehicles.

laterongc

Thought that 5.4 3v was only in F series trucks from 04-10.

CKsBAT

FrozenTundraGuy, my 5.4 does the exact same thing. Highway driving never uses a drop, no matter the speed. Stop and go uses oil, not sure why.

Blue2016XL

You are correct that the last year that had the 5.4 was 2010.

KEVININCHICAGO

381,000 original block and heads. MUST use 5-30 oil to live and use synthetic. I leaned my lesson early. At 80k running 5-20 lost a cam follower that took out a cam. Did phasers, guides and tensioners at 150k. Ran 5-30 from 80k on and did the phasers again at 365k. This time I had a GT-500 oil pump put in. Runs perfect, smooth, no ticks. Ran Champion plugs so I never had to deal with broken ones. Exhaust studs broke off around 300k. Rear main seal at that time too. New oil pan and oil filter mount seal around that time too. At 381,000 miles, uses no oil. No sludge of any kind. Belt idlers made it to 300k. Engine should be good to 500k now. Fixed all the body rust it had on cab corners, rockers, rear fenders, endgate. Scraped, sanded, and repainted the frame as best I could reach and usually fluid film inside any frame holes I can get every year. 2006 FX4 crew cab. Just had the truck professionally detailed and buffed to bring out the TrueBlue paint color. Inside and out like new. If we only knew then what we know now about this engine and what it needed to be taken care of out of the factory, it would have a better reputation than it does. With a better oil pump, solid spark plugs, and 5-30 or heavier oil, stainless exhaust studs these engines would be trouble free.

RA1221222

1CLNFX4 – Thank you very much for starting this thread. I recently bought a showroom-condition 2006 Lariat from a good friend who maintained it perfectly. It spent most of its existence in his garage. It is just coming up on its 60K mile maintenance and I felt good about it until joining the forum and reading all the dismal stories of severe issues with the 5.4 3v engine. It was very helpful to my outlook to see all the positive responses that flowed into this thread.

CKsBAT – Thank you for sharing the perspective that we generally don’t hear from the owners who have no complaints. That helped a lot.

And thank you to all who shared their positive experiences with the 5.4 3v engine!