I’ve been looking at used 4x4 F-150s the last few days and some are new enough (97-98 and under 100K miles) to have the mod motor in them. Specifically the 4.2 V6 and the 4.6 V8 are what I’m seeing. Both the HP and torque ratings for both the V6 and the V8 are similar and the tow ratings for both are well above what I intend to haul.
Any thoughts on these engines? I haven’t paid any attention to Fords line up in the last 15 years so I’m not sure if these engines have a decent reputation. Part of me says go with an older truck and go with a 302 or 351 engine but the newer trucks are more plentiful. Suggestions?
get an older truck, but don’t fuck around with small blocks in a truck, you will be sorry. Get an older truck with a 460, just don’t look at the gas mileage.
4.6 is Junk if you plan on taking it off road… they gety moisture in the plugs and you have to do plugs and wires all the time. stay away from the 4.6 in a truck
The only off roading it will see with me it pulling into the backyard to unload mulch from the bed. The primary duty of the truck will be to tow my vintage racecar to and from the track several weekends a year.
The standard disclaimer: this has been my experience with a 2000 F150: YMMV.
The 4.6 liter was rated at 225 HP and 290 ft-lb torque in 2000 F150, manual trans…I believe this was a flywheel rating… Also, a “lower than acceptable” tow rating of around 3500 lbs. IIRC.
Stock gearing was an abysmal 3.08, 3.55, or 3.73 with 4-speed auto and 5.4 only. Limited Slip consists of the Ford “Trac-Loc” discs that wear out after about 30000 miles, leaving you with an open diff.
All the Ford modular motors have a very expensive problem to fix that’s called “Spark Plug Blowout”. Shop replacement of heads at the stealership is in the thousands of dollars usually with no corporate assistance for this well known design deficiency.
The 8.8 Visteon rear diff is unacceptable because it is not strong enough for ANY truck sporting 31" tires from the factory.
The IFS rides nice, but the drivetrain setup is like an oversize front wheel drive car. This is unacceptable in a truck that is intended to do any kind of mild offroading or hauling.
M5OD transmissions: Plastic fantastic!!! It’s the tranny you can pick up with one hand! Well, ok, it’s not plastic but it may as well be. This piece was originally in the Ranger and somehow this tranny found it’s way into the full size fords in 1997. This transmission is indeed “light duty”. Next time I break a shift fork, it gets replaced with an M6HD (ZF 6-speed from 250/350 3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks).
4x4: Borg Warner 4406: 2.6:1 low ratio, not really a bad piece of equipment (in a Ranger maybe). In the full size truck, I imagine that beating on the thing will eventually result in a fractured case. My future solution: NP205, probably.
During 1997-2003, Ford did not fully box the frames on these trucks. They twist A LOT. Articulation should come from suspension, not the frame!
In other words, I should have bought a beater and constructed a 1970 Chevy 1-ton and fully restored it.
All this being said, the F150 has been bought more times over the last 25 years or so than any other truck. So, either they’re doing something right, consumers are stupid, or I am too brutal on equipment.
I heard about most of the problems you mentioned on a few F-series websites. Based on those stories, I shopped for an older truck and I was fortunate enough to get a '94 supercab F-150 4x4 with the 5.0 and the e40d tranny and factory towing pacakage at a dealership 5 miles from my house. The best part was that it was priced very right and I was able to get a two year extended warranty for the dealers cost. I’m pretty happy with it.
