Buying and Selling Vehicles - 5.4 in 3/4 ton?

i am i the process of bidding out a new 3/4 ton ext. cab h.d. 4x2 truck for my company vehicle. my specs say no less than 5.7l gas. my question is what do you think about the 5.4l ford engine in a truck that size? ford is low bidder by abot 3000.00 but only in the 5.4. after that, they have the v-10 option but it is a very rare truck down here in texas due to the popularity of the diesels. none avalable at this time. would the 5.4 do the job of the chevy 6.0 or is it an under powered option for this size truck?
we rarely haul heavy loads. the reason for the h.d. 3/4 ton is primarily for handling a slide in sand/salt spreader 2-4x/year.

thanks

I don't know enough about new engines to comment on that but IMO you shouldn't get hung up on any certain size motor but instead concentrate on the economics of the different choices.

Years ago I worked for an outfit that had a 2 ton truck with a 327 cid, when it was about to die he traded for a 3 ton w/454 cid. He was really concerned about gas milage because the 327 used a tank a day but because the 454 didn't have to work as hard it would go 1.5 days on the same amount of fuel.

its a decent engine and seeing how the truck isnt going to be worked hard it should be fine for what you need it for.

Only thing I can tell you is that a buddy of mine was looking for a Ford and wanted the 5.4. Problem was that every one he looked at had head gasket issues. He settled on a 4.6.

Sounds like it's time to revise your specs. The 5.7 was what GM had back in 1999, now the GM 5.3 is used like the 5.7 was or the 6.0 is a bigger. Fords 5.4 is like GM's 5.3 (of course there are HP and torque differences but those change back and forth from year to year).

If you are going with a 3/4 ton vehicle just to have the load capacity but don't usually tow with it or plan a lot of highway driving you will probably do well with the 5.4, if you are going to be on the highway not sure how the fuel economy in the heavier truck will compare to the V10.

You won't win any races but that's probably ok.

thanks for the replies. its a done deal on the 5.4 i just needed to hear it wasnt a dud.

The Ford 5.4L engine is a great option. I have had two of these, both in 3/4 ton F250 SuperCab's. I plowed snow during the winter and towed a 10000lb boat and trailer with both with no issues or troubles at all.

You'll be happy you got it!

There is a problem with these engines.. #5 and #7 spark plug have a nifty way of blowing out of the head. Ford doesn't acknowledge the problem, but a ton of people are attempting to get a class action law suit going for this..

i was looking at the 2006 f150s with the 5.4 which seemed to be the the stronger of the engines but I didn't research it farther than a few test drives. What years are the problematic heads/pistons?

On a different note, I had a 7.3 powerstroke diesel that ran like a top in a F550, 2001 year but heard that there were problems with the newer 6.0 powerstroke diesel in the fords.