Hey guys, I am looking to get rid of the V6 F150. So, I drove a '02 F250 Superduty yesterday with the 5.4L and 4.10 gears. 4WD and so on. It is a regular cab, long box. What I am really wondering is what kind of performance have you gotten over time with the 5.4L? I know the engine is no slouch, but with the available V10 and powerstroke should I get one of those instead? The price is so right on this truck, I would hate to pass it up. By the way, my future plans would include some moderate towing, bigger tires and some basic trail driving (going camping and stuff). Thanks for any and all the info you can give me.

-Crotteau

 

I can't comment on: V6, 4.10, v10 or performance of 5.4 on F250.

What I can comment on from my past experience is: The 5.4 is an awesome motor on my old F-150. Treated with a few enhancements (FIPK, Superchips, free'er flowing exhaust) you've got a good performer and a solid motor.

I've heard some great things about the v10, but I have no experience with it. I chose the PSD for longevity, power, fuel mileage and room to grow without worrying about the emissions issues (at least in Georgia).

I quoted your plan ... one being "moderate towing". You might want to define that for yourself in the long run before you commit to the 5.4. Not taking away the capabilities of the 5.4, but it just might not be enough when you need more in the torque arena. That's why most of us choose the v10's or PSD's ... towability. The rest of the plan looks good on the 5.4. The towing made me pause there.

Whatever your decision, good luck! I loved the move from F-150 to F-250 ... !!

 

I had an '01 Screw with the 5.4, and towed (moderately?) 8,000 lb. enclosed race trailer. I had the "pedal to the metal" in the hills of the Ozarks and towed from Kansas City to St.Louis (250 miles, mild hills) in third gear because the trans would downshift often.

Now with my V10 250, I cruise without worry, the engine is willing to run from the get go. It takes a fairly steep hill to downshift out of OD.

So, if I was only going to pull the waverunners or a four wheeler, the 5.4 might suffice, but I would seriously consider the V10 or PS.

Good Luck!

 

Like murfster said, what do you consider moderate towing? I guess of the three replies thus far, I am the most qualified to comment (hehe - I know that won't last for long ). My '00 SuperDuty (supercab shortbox 4x4) had the 5.4L - but the 3.73 gears. I often towed a popup camper (about 3K lbs loaded) through some pretty good hills (Ozark Mtns), occasionally with a 600lb ATV thrown in the bed for good measure. If this is how you define "moderate" - you should do fine with the 5.4 and 4.10.

You may notice with my '02 that I stepped up to the 6.8L. This was mainly driven my the switch to a crew cab, and the thought that I might upgrade to a larger camper. I was satisfied with my '00, but thought that a combination of added vehicle weight and a larger trailer would put me in an area performance-wise that I didn't want to be with my new truck.

As far as performance goes, I never changed the tire size (LT265/75R16) or did any of the other "performance" mods - other than a drop-in K & N. Once I added my bedcover, I averaged around 13.5-14.5 mpg, occasionally getting as high as 16.1 mpg and as low as 11.5 mpg (depending on driving/load/etc).

 

Seeing how its a reg cab that you are thinking of getting the 5.4 should be enough with what you plan to use it for with the 4.10 gears you said the price is so right all I can say is go for it.

 

Pretty much the dilemma I'm going through. I'm buying a new house with unfinished basement so you guys know what that means... A spike up in Home Depot stock as I drop a lot of cash at the store. My brother who is an engineer at Toyota can find me a Tundra pretty cheap but all I had to remember was a couple of years ago when he borrowed a Tundra from work to haul back home what would later become his 10x8 deck... The bed squated almost completely to the ground and I thought the tires were going to burst. I've been debating diesel or gas but from what I understand, it may be a moot point. A well maintained gas engine can last as long as moderately maintained diesel, and maintaining a diesel engine moderately costs as much as maintaining a gas engine well.

 

Hey all, thanks for the help so far. What I meant by moderate towing is an 18' Lund Boat, Motor, and Trailer with the entire truck and boat loaded with gear. Or I occaisionally pull a car or my trail rig that I am building up on a steel lowboy flatbed trailer. Mostly however, I need to pull a trailer full of 1000# Round Hay Bales. Probably 8-10 per trailer. And, the weight of those bales does fluctuate anywhere from 100-200lbs per bale. Right now, I can put one bale in the back of my V6 F150 and pull about 2 more without wreaking too much havoc on the clutch. Of course, this means more trips to get hay. Anyway, this is my idea of moderate towing. What do you all think?

Crotteau

 

If you are looking at 8-10 1000lb bales anywhere from 800 - 1200lbs per bail, go bigger than the 5.4. The 5.4 with the 4.10 gears in a 4x4 regular cab F250 maxes out (according to the specs) at 9000-9200 lbs. You are talking about anywhere from 6400-12000 lbs NOT including trailer weight. If you want to pull that much, you should go at least V10 with the 4.30 gears. If I had that kind of excuse, I would have gotten the PSD!

 

Towing 10k is not moderate towing. That's when it gets fun!

Seriously, here's what you are looking at:

A F250/350 SRW weights ~7500 lbs wet with ONE skinny person and a PSD and a few options

GVWR is 8800 on a 250 and 9900 on a 350 with a PSD.

Looking at a tow along trailer you get about 10% of trailer weight at the pin.

So.....with a bale in the bed and a 350 you should be able to tow a trailer with 8 bales or so....very rough calculations...

FYI the DRW GVWR is 11,500, at that point you start running into GCVWR issues. The ford towing guide assumes the weight of driver is 150 lbs and no passengers when looking at the amount able to be towed.

 

Here is an easy way to figure out approximate towing capacities:

Liters - 1= Tons

example- 5.4 Liters - 1 = 4.4 tons (actual 9000 lbs)
6.8 Liters - 1 = 5.8 tons (actual 11,500 lbs)
7.3 Liters - 1= 6.3 tons (actual 12,500 lbs)

This is a rule us simple Ford guys use to remember towing capacities for all the different vehicles. I correlates very closely to everything from the 2.3L 4-banger to the Powerstroke.

JDMnAR- How is that beautiful gray baby treating you?????

 

I was wondering when you were gonna chime in Marty! I am loving it - drives like a dream! Headed out of town for the weekend pulling the camper (a 10' popup), so we'll see if I can tell there is anything behind it.

Only one problem so far, and it is really just an inconvenience. There is a short somewhere in the power mirror wiring, so it keeps blowing the fuse. Since that is the only thing in the circuit, isn't really a big deal, just an annoyance.