no message...bring fwd...

 

Does anybody have any info. on a Ford dealer in the Houston area that has experience with the piston slap, Looks like I might have to bring my truck in. Thanks Rob

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1997 F150 S/C Flareside 4x4
2000 Silver Lightning (Ordered)

 

Forgive me for posting this twice, but I thought it would make sense to have it here as well...


Well, I finally did it. Got my newly purchased G-tech going so I could determine if my FQR is putting out more HP than the old 230HP I had in the piston slapped engine. The new one feels so strong. Here are the results!

I did my 99 Navigator first. I thought this would be a good benchmark because I know it should come in at about 300HP. Both vehicles are configured pretty much identically, LLS suspension, 3rd row seating, 17" wheels, etc. except Navigator has 32V 5.4l vs 5.4l 16v in the Eddie Bauer Expedition.

Here are the results. All times are an average of the 3 best times/results.The 2
lowest were thrown out. All runs were made on the same stretch of highway within a few minutes of each other.

99 Navigator 32V 5.4L (20,000 miles)
running in AWD (automatic 4 wheel drive)

RWHP 238
FWHP(per Ford): 300
Theoretical loss: 20.6667%
0-60: 8.58sec
Qtr mile: 16.03sec @ 90.9mph

Overall I was very pleased. My actual HP as measured by G-tech was right on the money when you apply the 20% loss factor. This loss factor is dead-on consistent with other published drive train loss figures I have seen on the 54.l engine (in F150s). I was also pleased with the 0-60 times which was consistent with the numbers Motor trend published when they first tested the 99s (0-60 in 8.5 sec).


97 Eddie Bauer Expedition 16V 5.4L (45,000mi on truck overall, 2,500 miles on FQR engine replaced in November 99 for piston slap.)
running in AWD (automatic 4 wheel drive)

RWHP210
FWHP(if same % loss used as in Nav): 264.7
Theoretical loss: 20.6667%
0-60: 10.92sec
Qtr mile: 20.77sec @ 81.1mph

Needless to say these numbers support my "seat of the pants" opinion (shared by
many here) that our FQR engines are much stronger than those they replaced. In
fact all 5 runs weere 210RWHP or better. When you account for a 20% loss factor,,, it brings in the FWHP at a healthy 260+HP, a far cry from 230!

FYI, it was interesting running the 2 vehicles side by side an measuring the performance. The difference was notable. The 32V pulled harder from the very start, whereas the 16V (comparatively speaking) seemed to dally for a few seconds before it got going. Once the right gear kicked in, it was quite impressive. This initial lag accounts for most of the differences in the 0-60 times. Now that I know there is extra HP, time to get a chip which takes advantage of it...and replace the old shocks.

 

Well i have about 2000 miles on my now it is a 2000 5.4 no noise yet but i beat the living ***** out of it have since i got it with 4 miles,i took it up to the speed limiter on the way home from dealer . I figure if it breaks you are closer to the dealer that way. I hope i don't have this problem, drive -em like you race -em.

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2000 f150 4x4 offroad pkg, 5.4 xlt

 

steve, ever heard of a break in period?

 

Recent cold Wis. mornings brought strange engine noises at first start. I downloaded the sound of piston slap from an earlier post. Now I own a pro recording studio so the downloaded file was heard very clearly and it sure sounded familiar.
HOWEVER, the build date on my 5.4l is 4/30/99 Windsor. So it can't be piston slap. Can it? Any ideas?
BTW great audio file and thanks to the poster. This is my first post here.

'99 black f150 Larriat just turned 9,000 miles.

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Geo

 

Reply to Silverstreak:
Jack Roach Ford in Houston replace my engine 3 weeks ago. The service advisor was Mike Bell

 

Dear PSers,

i have had my '98 F150 4.6 for about 15 months. after five trips to to two different dealers i still don't know if the problem is fixed. it started at around 10,000 miles took it in, they replace mass air flow sensor. next time they want to replace MAFS again you already did that oh well no point in doing that again we'll reprogram the computer, next time "they all do that, i don't see anything wrong with it", next time we have a new mech hes real good and he agres it shouldn't be doing that not sure what he did seems better at op temp, still bad at start up and upshifting w/load on, next time old salesman at new dealership..bring it up here these guys are great they'll fix it, well they got the upshifting knock fixed (the octane adjustment bar was magically disconected so they reconnected it)still bad at start up. i swithched to Havoline Syn Oil after that visit since then the noise as gone away but i have a feeling the problem is still there (now has 54,000 miles). i'm going to put conventional oil back in it to see if the noise returns then put on the boxing gloves and head back to the dealer. in the mean time who how much damage has been done? what's really going on in there? only God knows. please watch over the big truck i need her. amen.

p.s. i even broke mine in before first, Steve.



[This message has been edited by TheBigCheese (edited 12-11-1999).]

 

I have one of the 1998 5.4L engines that was replaced by Ford. They did use a rebuilt engine from Fred Jones Engines (Auth. by Ford) My concern is will a reman****ured engine last as long as a brand new engine that came in the truck?

Greg Rahn
grahn40342@aol.com

[This message has been edited by Greg Rahn (edited 12-11-1999).]

 

Will it last as long as a new one? Nobody can tell for certain. It depends largely on how good a job Ford has done with the engines. Unless someone knows for certain, any answer you may receive is pure speculation. If the results so far are any indication of future performance, so far, some of us have had zero problems, more horse power and have smoother running engines than before, other have had some problems. I think it comes down to the luck of the draw so...best of luck! And that of course is speculation...

 

Dropped my truck off last Monday 12/6 and picked up a loaner CoNtOuR. Bob from the dealer calls me next morning 12/7 to say the engine they got in was not for my truck. He wanted to put it in cuz I was there first but FORD assigns the serial number of the new engine to the VIN of my truck. My assigned/registered engine arrived Friday. They do the install tomorrow so hopefully by Wednesday 12/15 I can pick it up.

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1999 ORP SC Medium Toreador red 5.4L 17" Centerline Prowler's Deflectashield Magnum K&N dont need anything else-its bad to the bone!

 

First, I would like to thank ml for all the info he posted, it saved me alot of time.

I noticed a strange sound for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I have only heard it a couple times since. It only happens on really cold mornings (in the 30's, witch is cold for NC). It also only happens for about thirty seconds and then goes away. My first impression of the sound, was that it sounded like some one was holding a piece of paper into a fan, letting it tap each blade. I never new about the piston slap problem until I started looking through this engine topic, but it seems that I may have it. My engine was built 3/11/99. I want to hear it once more before I bring it to the dealer.

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'99 F-150 XLT SC 4x4 5.4L Auto 3.55LS Tow pkg skid plates , Superchip, Gibson cat-back, K&N filter

 

I dropped by the dealer tonight at closing time. Only a couple guys around just "sweeping up". THere sat my truck up on the hoist, all four wheels were taken off and the engine compartment was empty. My stock engine sat on the floor and I noticed the intake manifold was off. I looked up on a bench and saw all the stuff they had taken off the engine. I walked behind my truck and saw this big black plastic container. On it was a tag that said "Ford Quality Remanufactured Engine." Whats up with that??? I have a 1999, I thought I got new 2000 engine! Rest assured I will be on the phone tomorrow morning to talk to my service manager. Any comments anyone?

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1999 ORP SC Medium Toreador red 5.4L 17" Centerline Prowler's Deflectashield Magnum K&N dont need anything else-its bad to the bone!

 

Crow150,

Certainly you are correct, you should be receiving a new 2000 long block if you own the 99. Definitely speak with the service manager, they've ordered the incorrect engine for you. Someone had posted the SSM's that articulate this on the message board, do a search for SSM's in the forum, the SSM numbers run consecutively...good luck.

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1999 F150 4x4, wedgewood blue, 5.4l auto, Manick brush guard, Duraliner, KC Hilites, surf rod holders, tinted windows, K&N air filter without airbox, Midas Performance muffler with dual pipes, toolbox, Uniden CB with whip, and now, currently enjoying a new reprieve on life with a 2000 series 5.4L (swapped engine due to Piston Slap).

 

As you can see from my signature, I now have brought my truck home with its new heart, a 2000 series 5.4L. Seems to be running fine.

Someone else had described their particular details of the engine swap previously, here are mine;

Dealer replaced my engine with the new 2000 series long block. I saw a directive from Ford that outlined what needed to be done to insure the swap was correctly performed. They required the dealer to swap the new intake manifold for the old one, the flywheel, and a couple of hoses and the associated wiring harness. So, in the end, about 90% of my engine is new, with a couple of reused parts.

Seems that they errored during the replacement operation by damaging the intake manifold gasket, my beast was relegated to the "hanger queen" state while they scrambled for over a week trying to locate a new one.

All in all, the service department at Academy Ford in Laurel, Maryland are to be commended for their work on this particular repair. I'm lucky to have a dealer of this caliber in the area, never have had a problem with them involving any other past repairs or business transactions.

Ya'all should hear the new Midas performance exhaust that I had installed, has a sweet burble to it at idle, and sounds great when I open it up !!!

-kindest regards

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1999 F150 4x4, wedgewood blue, 5.4l auto, Manick brush guard, Duraliner, KC Hilites, surf rod holders, tinted windows, K&N air filter without airbox, Midas Performance muffler with dual pipes, toolbox, Uniden CB with whip, and now, currently enjoying a new reprieve on life with a 2000 series 5.4L (swapped engine due to Piston Slap).

[This message has been edited by wjt (edited 12-16-1999).]