F 150 5.4 liter

[tugboat95]

Stumbled across an 07 Ford F150 crew cab today. Truck looks good and test drove well. It's got 70k miles and the big V 8 and 9200# tow capacity. It's a decent price, well under KBB. Not worried about towing my little 3000lbs TT with it. I will be giving up 30mpg from my Escape. Can anybody offer any insight into this model or engine? Any issues I need to look into? Can I believe the 13-20mpg that the book says? Etc, etc, etc? I will drive this everyday lots of miles. Mileage is making me hesitant.

[herewego]

Hello ,if you where in Texas i would say thats the truck we traded in,
we had the Crew cab 5.4 best miles per gal we got towing the single axle wolf Pup toy hauler we had was 9 mpg ( we no longer have the Tow Hauler, never had engine concerns,the auto trans was great,had a few a/c concerns ( blend door motor problem) took a long time for a/c to cool we added the we added the Air lift Ride control air bags .
I would check to see what rear gear it has look on the drivers door panel for that info
70 K miles is nothing,if the truck was lightly used,we have a f!50 with 240K on it..
If you have more questions,i have a bunch of Ford contacts ( I worked on fords for Years) shoot me a PM Thanks

[tslarson]

There are a few things I would check before purchase. 1. Have the spark plugs been changed yet? It is approaching the mileage where this should be done. This is a very difficult task as the spark plugs usually break off and need to be extracted with a special tool. Millions of trucks out there have had this done so don't pass on the truck because of this issue, just be prepared for the expense down the road. 2. Exhaust manifolds cracking or studs breaking off. Listen closely for an exhaust leak upon cold start-up, it usually means cracked manifolds and broken studs. I have had both already replaced on my 2009. 3. Listen for excessive engine noise at idle that could indicate failing cam phaser assemblies. Go to you-tube to listen as to what the noise sounds like. Otherwise it is a pretty rock solid engine. 120,000 miles on my truck.

[msnyder755]

I had this same truck and it served well but i would not tow with one again. I pulled a trailer weight of around 5000 and barely could get to 65 and any type of hill even small it struggled a bit. Never exceeded any limits or over heated and tranny temp was always fine. However, it has no weight and the wind will push you around especially on the interstate when the big rigs pass. Not fun. I have since upgraded to a 2014 ram 2500 with the cummins. Cant even feel it behind you. Long story short i would suggest a beefier truck based on experience.

[msnyder755]

Btw gas mileage under tow less than 8, without around 12. You are looking at stopping for fuel 260-300 miles depending on terrain

[tugboat95]

Wow. Only 8mpg towing?? I'm getting 12 with my V6 Escape. I have to make a 426 mile drive every two weeks without towing. I like the idea of having a truck bed again to put our scuba gear in and other stuff. I'm seriously limited in cargo weight with my Escape. I'm usually over by a couple hundred pounds. Sounds like it's a good truck but thirsty. Now to justify the poor gas mileage to the wife. I only camp a few times a year but I drive that drive 26 times a year.

[tslarson]

With my 2009 I get 17-19 mpg on my trip to work. 90 miles round trip every day at 60 mph. When I start to do a lot of in town driving it quickly starts to drop. When towing our 7600 lb camper we average 8-9 mpg. My highway mileage might be slightly better as I have the 6 speed transmission vs. the 4 speed transmission in the 2007 older body style truck.

[ykcamom]

We have a 2010 Crew Cab with the 5.4 litre and we pull a 24FBS, which is about 7000lbs if packed to the hilt and carrying water. But normally, I'd say it's about 6200lbs.

We pulled that trailer through the rocky mountains into Banff, Alberta and up and down the Alaska Hwy, which is also very mountainous. It did just fine. I'd say we got about 11 mpg on average pulling the trailer. On the flatter portions of our trip in the prairies we got up go 14 mpg. Driving around town, we bump up to maybe 18 or 19 mpg. We didn't buy it for its gas mileage tho. LOL.

[msnyder755]

In 2009 or maybe 08 they made some changes which up the tow capacity and fuel schedule. I didnt have a tow mode on mine just the ability to turn off overdrive. Maybe the difference or i just had a weak one

[Owen Stubbs]

I have a 2008 Expedition with the 5.4L motor. My average mpg is 18 when not towing. When towing my 1207 pup, I get around 16. Towing my 6000lb+ boat, I get around 10. Not sure what the difference between the 2007 and 2008 motor might be.

[NHcamper]

FYI '08 5.4's and up had a spark plug change that eliminated removal problems.
'09 and up got the 6spd trannys. '08 and older were 4spd.

My 08 I got 9-10 towing and 14.5-16 everyday driving.
Mine had the 3.73's.

As with most towing lower gearing always helps.
I found mine adequate towing a 6500lb TT.
I could maintain 60mph on most hills.
Its not a powerhouse, but it did the job.

Our older trailer was around 3500lbs and it did Great towing that!

[msnyder755]

I want to say mine had a 3.56 tranny but cant recall maybe not

[dennis b]

I have a '99 Expedition 5.4 144,000 miles replaced manifold studs around 120,00. great truck! always got around 16-17 mpg. When I got a tuneup around 100,00 millage dropped to 15! go figure It didn't matter if city or hy. empty or towing my old Coleman popup ( about 3000 loaded with all gear and junk) still saw 15mpg, I've since replaced with a 2011 28BHS 5,500 empty. add another 800-1000 for food gear and junk. Near as I figure I get around 11mpg but haven't taken long trips yet. I plan on using this setup from WI to Yellowstone in 2015.

On another note I know of a guy that recently bought a 2014 F150 crew cab 5.4 says he gets 8.5-9 mpg towing close to 7,500 lbs
Anyway I don't care for Ford cars but trucks are a different story IMO. Great dependability!

[frieed]

Originally Posted by dennis b

On another note I know of a guy that recently bought a 2014 F150 crew cab 5.4

Most likely the 5.0 if it's a 2014

[dennis b]

Originally Posted by frieed

Most likely the 5.0 if it's a 2014

Maybe... could be 5.0 Although thought he said 5.4.

[Owen Stubbs]

Originally Posted by NHcamper

'09 and up got the 6spd trannys. '08 and older were 4spd.

My 08 Expedition has the 6 speed tranny standard. I also have the optional 3.73 rear axle.

[Paulx213]

I have a 5.4 in my 03 Expedition and it gets 18 mpg empty at the speed limit on the hwy, 15 mpg driving in the suburbs and 13 in the city. Towing is 9-10 towing about 5000lbs.

It's a long stroke engine and tows well, goes up the mountain passes at 2500 rpm without complaint. Not a lot of top end power compared to the Dodge and Chevy V8's though.

I really can't see buying one if you're driving lots of miles though. You'll spend a fortune on gas. I put 30K km on my car last year but only 5K km on the truck. No sense wasting gas or money.

[dennis b]

Anyone know why the 3.5 Ecoboost has such a high tow capacity compared to a 5.0 or 5.4?

[Paulx213]

Originally Posted by dennis b

Anyone know why the 3.5 Ecoboost has such a high tow capacity compared to a 5.0 or 5.4?

Marketing. Payload is the real limiting factor in a half ton rather then engine choice.

[nwminnesota]

I have a 5.4 2005 120000. Had spark plugs done at 100000. They got them out fine. Couple of them give him trouble . I would change spark plugs by 100000 so they can get them out. Don't replace them with autolite plugs. Mine were and I was getting missfire under load (towing) plan on replacing cam phaser at 120000 miles at a cost of $2500 to $3200. I didn't like towing with mine. Trailer seemed to push me around. I do use an equalizer hitch. My truck is for sale now. Didn't like towing at all with it. Trailer wieght I would guess is 5000ibs. 9 mpg towing 15 unloaded. Yor trailer is lighter so the truck should pull it better. But remaber 120000 or then have to replace cam phasers. Good luck