Had a 97 4.2 and it SUCKED. traded that lazy puppy in for 99 5.4 and was well worth any money difference.

 

I agree that the 4.6 is probably worth $1,500 extra. However, here in DFW several dealers are selling 2000 4.2 5-speed XLT Supercabs w/ CD player and your choice of capt chairs or keyless entry for $17,847.
Even if I could find the same truck with a 4.6 and a 5-speed the dealer invoice by my calculations would be $3,000! higher ($20,792).

A 4.6 auto would invoice at $22,150, or $4,300, higher than the 4.2 5-speed. And the same truck with a 5.4 would invoice for $5,000!!! higher ($22,828). That's provided the dealer would sell at the invoice price.

Perhaps an additional $5,000+ is worth it to some of you for the 5.4 but I have a hard time justifying it.

 

I agree with you that the V6 is very cheap compared to 4.6...however the differences in gas mileage, responsivenessthe ugly roar at 3K plus rpms, etc. make the 4.6Liter worth it..don't get me wrong...I love the truck...most comfortable thing I have ever owned...just wish I had the V8...can't wait for the lease to be up

 

If you can afford it, just lay down and go with the 5.4, with 373 gears.

Now that is a really good setup.

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1999 F150 Lariat 5.4 Super Cab, Short Box, 373 Limited Slip Axle, Electronic Shift 4x4, Off Road Package, 4-W ABS/4-W Disk, Towing Package, Engine Block Heater, AM/FM/CD Indash, Rear Slider, Leather Captains Chairs, Wedgewood Blue & Harvest Gold, Luverne Stainless Steel Nerf Bars, Lund Interceptor, Ventvisors, Factory Rear Molded Mud Guards, Ford Motorsport Reg. Mud Flaps on Front, Ford Bedliner/with Rubber Mat.

 

I love my 4.2L V6 STX. With a 4.30 gear, I kick my buddy's rear that has the same truck with a 4.6L 2V! With a Superchips, I can squawk the tires on the 1-2 shift (it's an automatic!).

For V6 performance parts, call Morana Racing Engines. Check out their website...
http://magi.com/~can_web/morana/

I don't have any of their stuff on my truck yet, but when I do, I will be hunting for 5.4L's!!

Here is what I have done to my truck:
Superchips
4.30 Gear W/Traction-Lok
Roush Lowering Kit
ASP Underdrive Crank Pulley
K&N Filter
Dynomax Superturbo Muffler W/Dual Outlets

Totally stock, my truck ran 17.14 sec. @ 80 mph in the quarter. I surprise a lot of people at the track with my little V6!



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HotRodSix
'98 STX Flairside 4.2L
Best 1/4: 16.26 sec. @ 84.4 mph
Dyno: 180 rwhp / 228 ft-lb

[This message has been edited by HotRodSix (edited 12-03-1999).]

 

HotRodSix, 4.30 gear? That seems like it would almost be to high of a ratio for our 4.2's. Our trucks peak HP and TQ come on lower than the 4.6 or 5.4, I thought the higher ratio's worked better with the OHC motors. What rpm's are you shifting at? Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing you. I am just trying to do a little research as I am considering a 3.73 ratio for my 4.2 5-speed.

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99 F150 XLT Silver 2WD S/C 4.2 5-speed, Pioneer DEH P4000, Superchip, Flowmaster muffler // Rear door switch guards - check them out at http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/show/5031

 

Darin - I have an automatic and let it shift for itself. The shift points are no different than stock (about 5000 rpm).

Remember that this truck has 30" tall tires. A typical Mustang only has 25.5" tall tires. This means that the effective gear ratio of an F-150 is cut by 15% compared to a Mustang. Taking the 4.30 gear in my F-150, it is equivalent to a 3.65 gear in a Mustang (right between the two most popular gears, 3.55 and 3.73).

My mileage didn't suffer either with the gear change (it was bad to begin with at 15 mpg in town). I did manage to pull just under 20 mpg on the highway this past summer on a 3500 mile long trip.

The gear is the biggest improvement you can make to your truck!

------------------
HotRodSix
'98 STX Flairside 4.2L
Best 1/4: 16.26 sec. @ 84.4 mph
Dyno: 180 rwhp / 228 ft-lb

 

Hey, I've got a 4.2 V-6 for sale!! :-)

Heheheheheheh. (Been wanting to say that!) It was a good truck--managed to tow my 5000 pound horse trailer all over New Mexico--oftentimes at 70mph up shallow hills without a second thought.

Trading on a '88 F-150 with a 351 today--assuming it checks out at the mechanic's. Will be right-side-up and almost paid for in a year and will THEN be able to order that new F-350.... :-)

The V-6 was a great truck, but I was so upside-down with it financially that I'd have been financing about $3000 over whatever new vehicle I wanted to buy (a heavier duty truck like an F-350 in this case) and just couldn't handle financing off anything over $24k... Think this '88 will get me on track to where I wanna go...

-Mike

 

HotRodSix~
Very impressive!!! I have a couple of questions. First, were you able to recalibrate your speedometer/odometer for the 4.30? Second, if you don't mind my asking, how much did the gears cost you, and where did you purchase them from? Third, do you have any idea what the change in gears does to the factory warranty? Finally, where did you purchse the underdrive crank pulley? Sorry for all the questions, just very interested in your truck!!

Ok, just one more question, I promise. I was looking at the picture of your truck, and noticed you had taken the plastic mudflaps off. I have been wanting to do this since I got the truck, but was unsure if there would be any holes left in the body. The front mudflaps should'nt be a problem, but the back ones have a rivet, or whatever it is, right in the middle of them. Any help, will be greatly appreciated!!

***JaSoN***

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Oxford White 1998 F-150 STX, reg. cab, flareside, 4.2, auto, 3.55s, tint, Prestige alarm, Bel radar detector, Pioneer CD player, 4 Polk 5x7's, Stull billet grille and bumper insert, Flowmaster exhaust, K&N airfilter, V-Tech Tailight Covers(painted to match truck) Clear Corner Lenses FUTURE MODS: to indecisive to know for sure, but a FIPK and 2 in. shackles will be on by the end of December. GIG'EM AGGIES




[This message has been edited by J_Rock (edited 12-03-1999).]

 

J_Rock,
There were some downsides to the gear swap. Remember, I went from a 3.08 to 3.73 with stock 235/70/16 tires. I would recommend going with a 4.10 if you ever plan on putting even slightly taller tires. I didn't want to get too aggressive and have it scream at 70mph ( which it didn't). The downside: slight drop in mpg, speedo off by 19%, and the biggest, finding a qualified mechanic. I went to a 4X4 shop that worked exclusively on drive trains. Even so, I thought that the seal might be starting to leak before I traded it. Hope this helps.

 

my biggest regret was not geting the nascar truck i could have had a v 8 but i was dumb and my dad wanted to take off the stickers and stuff he said people would try to race me but i told him fords dont run anyways i least i could be peeling out with the nascar truck and just yesterday i was going about 80 mph and wanted to get to a 100 so i flored the truck and it took like 3 min to go from 80 to 100 why does it take so long?

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http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/asskicker54

 

I am shopping for a new F-150 as soon as I recover from the holliday spending. My 98 w/4.2 5-speed and 3.55 gears consistantly gets about 11.5 to 12 mpg no matter how nice or how hard I drive it. Its kind of got some torque in 1st and 2nd gear but after that it is the biggest dog. As far as I am concerned, getting this truck was a waste of time. Terrible gas milage and under powered. Seeing those '00 XLT SC and 4.2 with catains chairs for such a low price is kinda tempting, but I gotta go with the 4.6 5-speed. Just thought I would share my thoughts on the 4.2. OUT!!!!!

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1998 F-150 XL flairside 4x4 4.2 5-speed tow pkg. XLT interior except locks/windows
white w/teal&silver graphics
pioneer cd pioneer6x8's
K&N
3.55ls
16" progressive rims
255/75/16 BFG'S
in process of many mods

 

please don't make me anymore depressed about my doggish v6. and i would feel too guilty to ask my parents for another truck (but i've been informed that my truck's twin SC 4.6L that i test drove might be for sale soon). I would like to keep up with the chevies but all I can think is "what an a**hole" when I watch how their driving lacks courtesy for other drivers.
But I swear to you guys today that hopefully by June 00 I will have a superchip. the sunroof is coming first though (in April).

------------------
'97 f-150 XLT V6 auto 3.55 silver reg cab flareside , 6 cd, Lariat floor mats, tonneau, ground effects, tint, glasspack w/ duals, new= ion optics fog lights, cracked windshield (thanks to a dodge caravan), 16X8 Eagle Alloys, K&N air filter (thanks Mudder). Future Mods= Billet Grille, driving lights, sunroof. the heartbeat stops here.
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/ponysix8 http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/ponysix8/images/T004.wav

 

A chip will make a nice addition.

Isn't there someone online here who's put a supercharger in his V-6 truck? I wanna hear from 'em!!

Mike

 

Well, I noticed scanning quickly through the messages that nobody directly answered the question about porting and polishing your heads. Yes, this would definately help. It would help any engine. Any time you can get more air in and out of the engine, you're doing good for it's power output.

Now the other question is whether or not it's worth your money. That depends who you know. Some of us are fortunate enough to have friends who have shops and skills and love us enough to port/polish/valve-job our heads for $50 and a case of beer. However, if you're going to have to pay a premium price at a speed shop to have your heads ported, it's probably not worth it.

Remember, 4.2L is pretty big for only 6 cylinders. While that doesn't make the truck any faster, it IS encouraging to the torque figure, and torque is what really matters when it comes to trucks.