I'm hoping for the best for you man. You could run one of the drill powered pumps down the dipstick tube and see what you could get out. I think you are right about the drain plug delete after 2000 too.

I went ahead and put a drain plug in mine while I had the pan off to help if i needed to drain more but i never needed it. Go figure.

 

Do you still think the 5.4 is a "downfall" of that truck? Lol
I dont know about up there in Alaska but down here the 2V 5.4 is bulletproof. Now the 3V is a different story. I think that if you use a high quality synthetic oil and filter and change oil on time that the 3V can be just as good. I've seen 3V's with the timing cover off that hadn't been maintained well and you wouldn't believe how much sludge had built up

 

The first of the 5.4's were questionable on the cranks. I was doing Ford warranty and we had 6 of them right off in the 96/97's. Most were before the update for the grille on 6/96. That was my logic for that motor. We were having out of round cylinders, and noisy wrist pins. The later PI motors seem fine. I went ahead and swapped out the 5.4 for a Ford reman. Mine was the normal noisy sob upon cold start. The new motor is quiet and had tons of power.

So to answer you question, I still hate the 400M but the 5.4 is growing me. The 4.6 has always been lower end bulletproof, but the early ones (91-94) had all kinds of valve/intake problems. We had the Crown Vics in our shop all the time in those years, for intake leaks and bad heads. Cops are tough on everything they drive. Still, even with the problems, they were far more reliable than the Impala's of the same generations. They were the go to vehicle, until Ford dropped the platform.

 

Thanks for that post AK. I didnt know about those issues with the early 5.4s.
got another question for you. Is 97-03 your favorite generation f150?
for those of you who dont know, I used to have a 1999 f150 XLT supercab 5.4. It was solid black with chrome bumpers and running boards. Very sharp truck. It was my first vehicle. I loved that truck. I bought it in march 2014, it had 89k miles on it. Truck looked like new and ran like new. I worked it too. I mowed yards and hauled stuff for people back then and it never let me down, no matter what I asked it to do.
unfortunately, one day I had pulled over on the interstate to help someone with a flat tire. Here come a wide load semi, too far over in its lain and the trailer clipped the rear bumper of my truck and literally flipped it in the air. Thank god I wasnt in it. But it hurt to see my baby go out like that. It had 104k miles on it. That was in April 2016, I had it for a little over 2 years. Then I bought my 2004, it had 237k abused miles on it. But i knew the guy who owned it and couldn't turn down the deal. It was ok, i mean i ended up getting my money's worth out of it no doubt. I worked it just as hard as i did my '99, probably a little harder in the very end cause I just stopped caring about it.
this past August I bought my 2005 lariat. This truck is awesome. It's a 3V 5.4 and a little noisy at times but still runs great. I moved a 14,000 pound trailer with it, not a problem at all. Definitely more powerful than the '99, but the '05 is a LOT heavier so that extra power to some, might not be as noticeable until a load is behind it
so yes, my favorite generation f150 is '04-'08. Just love the bodtstyle and interior. With rack and pinion steering, they drive like a dream. Not to mention they are built tougher than hell.

 

If anyone cares... my personal favorite always has been, and always will be, the 6th Gen (aka dent sides). IMO, they are the best looking trucks ever built, period. The 9th Gen and 5th Gen are a toss up for 2nd place.

10th Gen for me probably comes in at 6 or 7. They are good looking trucks, but not Ford's best work.

 

I've heard people call them the taurus truck..and we all know what ford did to the taurus in the late 90s they were ugly as sin and nothing but garbage, or the jelly bean F150.

 

Dentsides are my favorite too... hoping to add a second one to the collection in the next 2yrs

 

One of my Fav years, 78.5 and 79, -



Nice Dune crawler.

 

Darrin.....I do like most GEN 10's but am not a fan of the SuperCrew 01-03. Something between the cab and bed doesn't look right. I hate the Blackwood.

That said, I love the 78-79 and the earlier models, just more partial to these. The New 15 up is nice. I also like the 04-08 more than the 09-14's.

My overall 1st choice would be 78-79, F150 4x4 Lariat RC/SB with the rare 460 option. No way would a 400 be on my shopping list. My second choice would be my Red 98. The way he is right now is like a brand new truck. I'm happy with how he's turned out. I would like to make him black in color, but for now, the red will suffice. lol

 

Nice truck. I really miss vent windows!