Question for the ford techs out there.

R

Renegade

Member
I have a 2000 F250 with the 5.4L Triton engine. We have diagnosed the problem as a cracked head that is certain. The issue is the engine has 175,000 miles on it, and it's going to cost just shy of $2,000 to fix the heads. A new engine from Ford with a 3 year warranty is $3,000 I see it as a no brainer that the new engine is the way to go. What I was thinking is why go back with the 5.4 when a V10 is not that much more. Can anyone tell me what problems I would have swapping the V8 for the V10?
 
You would need to replace the exhaust system, as well as the wiring harness and pcm and probably a few other things.Just seems like a lot of extra work and expense for not much gain to me.
 
20 year ford tech here. Don't swap to v10 you will regret it you will not get any noticable improvement in hp. if this was my personal truck i would buy remanufactured 5.4 engine with warranty. I don't know the history on this engine but you could also look for aftermarket heads and rebuild with new timing chains and guides and tensioners as long as the bottom end has no problems.
 
I bought the truck used in 2004 with 62,000 miles on it. It has been maintained and taken very good care of. The truck still looks new and runs great, it just pushes exhaust gas into the cooling system. It doesn't even skip, has plenty of power and gets 18mpg on the highway. just can't keep water in it.


Far be it for me to question a ford tech, but your telling me a V10 isn't really stronger than the V8? Would the 5.4 lightning engine be a good swap? I'd like a little more pulling power, My 7.3 diesel has spoiled me a little.
 
Renegade that is correct v10 pistons are about 25% smaller than v8 pistons i know a lot of people that bought trucks with v10 and were very disappointed with pulling power and fuel mileage and you are correct the 7.3 is the engine I would be looking for in a tow truck for power and durability. I have 2001 F350 with 7.3 body beat to crap when I bought it but I didn't buy it for looks I bought it because of the engine and that is what I tow my go kart trailer and my tractor with 133,000 miles when I bought it and now 264,000 on it now other that cam sensor and reseal oil cooler I have had no problems. I have a question for you though how are you certain head is cracked have they been removed and inspected ? could be just a blown head gasket and show same symptoms.
 
The engine will not hold water, there is no water in the oil or coming out the exhaust and when you put it in a strain the radiator blows out exhaust gases. It only does it when it's hot and it has hydro locked a couple times. I have a local mechanic who specializes in ford super duty trucks check it out and he said it could be a blown gasket but he believed it was a cracked head. #7 cylinder was down on compression about 20lbs compared to the other 7. He said he could fix it but advised me due to the mileage on the engine to just get the new engine with a warranty. He quoted me a flat $600 to put in a new long block if I got the engine. A little more if he got the engine that included everything but the cost of the engine. I have a buddy who can get me the engine at dealer cost, so that would save a little bit.
 
sounds like a pretty good deal to me but still could be that the head gasket blew over into a water jacket passage on #7 cylinder. it's hard to condem a head without looking at it disassembled or sending to a machine shop to be pressure tested. not trying to convince you to repair it. if it was me i would go with long block also.
 
Considering how good of a condition the rest of the truck is in I am leaning to the new long block. Just wondering what the options are for more power.
 
I have not done any hp enhancements but you could check into programmer or tuner for more hp but my experience with these has always involved failed components caused by these devices or failed programmers. I worked in dealerships and used oem parts we were not authorized to make modifications. Roush racing may have some options also specific for ford products. I am now teaching automotive courses at a communty college to train new guys in basic operation and theory of the automotive systems. look into ford racing products and see if you can find something that might work for you.
 
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