Ford 5.4L Triton V8 is crap

[Cat_Driver]

No I'm talking about the TWO VOLTS that burned up in a couples garage and in Mooresville, NC home and Barkhamsted Connecticut. But the crash test fire makes three - THAT WE KNOW OF.......

"And now this story from Barkhamsted Connecticut where a Chevy Volt is being blamed for burning down a families garage as the electric hybrid vehicle was being charged overnight in the couples garage. Lets face it the massive amount of electricity that must be used to recharge these vehicles is probably **** on old houses with old-fashioned wiring. In this case only a well placed firewall saved the family from losing their home as well as the garage. This will likely not be the only time something like this happens as more and more folks move to buy electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint.
"

 

[deerefan]

No I'm talking about the TWO VOLTS that burned up in a couples garage and in Mooresville, NC home and Barkhamsted Connecticut. But the crash test fire makes three - THAT WE KNOW OF.......

"And now this story from Barkhamsted Connecticut where a Chevy Volt is being blamed for burning down a families garage as the electric hybrid vehicle was being charged overnight in the couples garage. Lets face it the massive amount of electricity that must be used to recharge these vehicles is probably **** on old houses with old-fashioned wiring. In this case only a well placed firewall saved the family from losing their home as well as the garage. This will likely not be the only time something like this happens as more and more folks move to buy electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint.
"

What if it was a Nissan Leaf? Same boat. Doesnt look like the car started the fire. Looks more like inadequate wiring. As for the original topic, i have a 97 ford f150 w/ a 4.6. Very annoying to work on and gutless for towing. Good beat around truck but nothing heavy. I found the mod motors a little gutless.

 

[5030]

I know brand bashing isn't allowed here so I hope this doesn't fall under that category, but just had to rant here.

My 2000 F150 with the 5.4L triton motor started leaking antifreeze Sunday. Looked like it was coming from the top front right-hand side (as if sitting in the truck) of the motor. There's a return line from the heater core in that area, so I just thought it would be a leaking hose. Got it in the shop yesterday morning only to get a call and learn that the fluid was actually leaking from the cracked PLASTIC intake manifold, which had to be replaced!!!! What the crap is this??? A frigging intake manifold made entirely of plastic????? You gotta be kidding me? I had no idea!

So yeah, a plastic lip that holds an O ring in place underneath a fitting where the heater core line returns had broken. This allowed part of the O ring to shift over and pretty much destroy the seal that the O ring was making, and it was spewing fluid all over that side of the top of the engine. So, after a new intake manifold, and about $700 later, it's all back together and running again.

And just about 2 yrs ago I had a plug that was seized up and broke off when I tried to back it out to replace the plugs. This wound up costing about $500 after the same garage had to get out the rest of the plug, and use a small bore camera to go inside the chamber and make sure they got all the bits and pieces out of the chamber, before putting a new plug back in. Btw, those plugs are a pain to get to, they are directly under the fuel rails to start with, which pretty much have to be moved over to get the coil packs off first. To make matters worse, they sit down in a narrow well about 5 inches deep, with the individual coil packs sitting right on top of the plugs. Another poor design feature that allows condensation to collect in the bottom of the well, which helps things corrode and seize up. To compound it, the plugs are about as skinny as your pinky, so there isn't much metal there to give them a lot of strength.

So, this will be my first, last, and ONLY Triton v8 that I will ever own. Have been a Ford truck guy for a long time, but next truck purchase just might be another brand.

Today, no matter what you buy, it will most likely have a plastic or structural fiber impregnated intake manifold. Cast and alloy maifolds for intake went away years ago..... Good luck on that.

Secondly, not too long ago, sparkplugs were changed out at 10K miles. Today, plugs are good for 50K or more. However, it's a good idea to pull 'em when the engine is fairly new and put a bit of never sieze on the threads so when it's really time to change out, they come out.

Just say'in......:laughing:

 

[Bob77064]

Today, no matter what you buy, it will most likely have a plastic or structural fiber impregnated intake manifold. Cast and alloy maifolds for intake went away years ago..... Good luck on that.

Secondly, not too long ago, sparkplugs were changed out at 10K miles. Today, plugs are good for 50K or more. However, it's a good idea to pull 'em when the engine is fairly new and put a bit of never sieze on the threads so when it's really time to change out, they come out.

Just say'in......:laughing:

Good idea with the spark plugs, I like to do the wheel studs too.

 

[5030]

Yeah, I feel the hurt. The threads on the drivers side seat of my '73 Impala have started to fray, you know, where your wallet always seems to rub up against it? Why couldn't they have used nylon instead of rayon?

I must say, they sure knew how to make air cleaners back in those days. Mines got 35,000 miles on it and its as clean as when it was new. And a decent trunk you could camp in or bring plywood home in. No danged plastic manifold on this girl. And real tires, not baloney skins. Never even needed the spare. And an AM radio too ! Bet your Ford ain't got one of them babies. Just wish I had ordered the 8-track....

That car just reeks of fuel consumption and looks like a 4 wheel turd.:thumbsup:

That was built back in the day of 'when it didn't fit' on the assembly line, you made it fit or forgot about it.....

You need to enter it in the local demo derby.....

 

[Jaylegger]

I must say, they sure knew how to make air cleaners back in those days. Mines got 35,000 miles on it and its as clean as when it was new.

This might lead one to believe the air cleaner isn't being used at all. A working air cleaner traps dirt, doesn't stay clean. More than likely the intake air is finding a path around the filter into the intake manifold.

 

[jeffsw6]

Lets face it the massive amount of electricity that must be used to recharge these vehicles is probably **** on old houses with old-fashioned wiring.

A Volt can actually be charged with an ordinary 125V 15A circuit, drawing less current than a hair dryer or microwave oven. You can buy the 250V charging station which, of course, charges the car faster. That one uses around as much electricity as a typical electric clothes dryer.

Where I think the car companies have completely, totally missed the boat on these electric cars is who is going to pay to charge them? Well, whoever owns the receptacle it's plugged into.

So if you live in an apartment or condo complex, are a student at a dorm or sharing a house, parked in the lot or garage at work, etc. there is no incentive for those facilities to install a charging receptacle for you. There is a DISincentive for them to provide it, because then you'll be using their electricity and you won't be paying them anything for it.

They need to make a public-parking charger that can communicate with the car and use stored payment information to "fill it up" so your job, university, or landlord can recover the money he spends on electricity and installation.

It's not hugely expensive to charge a Volt but it's not free, either. At the cheapest utility rates in the U.S. (around $0.06/kWH) it costs about $0.86 to "fill it up."

But that's not really the whole story. Mid-sized and larger businesses do not pay for electricity based on kWH, they pay on peak demand. The utility has a sophisticated electric meter that records the usage at certain intervals (say once every 15 minutes) and then the utility charges them for the highest of those intervals, over the entire month (or sometimes a certain number of "samples" below the highest one.) So if the mall parking garage adds charging receptacles and a bunch of shoppers show up on a hot day when the air conditioning is working hard and plug in their cars while they go in and browse, it would cost them $62 per charger that was in use at the same time on that hot, peak-demand day, assuming they paid $0.06/kW of peak demand (obviously the rates vary, and large businesses do sometimes get a cheaper rate for this type of billing scheme.)

So public chargers don't exist, and they won't without a way for customers to pay for using them, and the cost to the business supplying the charge is not as simple as a certain amount per hour of charging time if they are billed based on peak-demand.

Now add to that the electric company really doesn't want to be charging up a bunch of cars when everyone is running their air conditioner on a hot summer day and the utility is already working hard, and operating their most expensive peaking plants (gas turbines, etc.), to meet demand.

It's such a more complicated problem than just consumers who live in older homes that haven't updated their electrical service.

 

[5030]

Good idea with the spark plugs, I like to do the wheel studs too.

New cars are all going to pilot mount wheels (commercial trucks have been there for years now) so, you need to apply a corrosion retardant to the rim center as well as the studs because the wheel indexes and centers on the hub, not the studs.

I quit using never sieze on wheel studs and pilot mounts and started using red battery terminal spray on anti-corrosion stuff. It lasts longer, is less messy and looks better plus it don't get on your hands....

 

[5030]

This might lead one to believe the air cleaner isn't being used at all. A working air cleaner traps dirt, doesn't stay clean. More than likely the intake air is finding a path around the filter into the intake manifold.

Like I said, if it don't fit, use a hammer or forget it....(as it applies to older GM vehicles and the assembly line)..... Maybe some autoworker forgot a part and said heck with it, send it on down the line........:thumbsup:

 

[rsewill]

No I'm talking about the TWO VOLTS that burned up in a couples garage and in Mooresville, NC home and Barkhamsted Connecticut. But the crash test fire makes three - THAT WE KNOW OF.......

"And now this story from Barkhamsted Connecticut where a Chevy Volt is being blamed for burning down a families garage as the electric hybrid vehicle was being charged overnight in the couples garage. Lets face it the massive amount of electricity that must be used to recharge these vehicles is probably **** on old houses with old-fashioned wiring. In this case only a well placed firewall saved the family from losing their home as well as the garage. This will likely not be the only time something like this happens as more and more folks move to buy electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint.
"

Motor Trend magazine has a Volt in their test fleet. They had a minor issue with a cord connected to some current measuring device ( like a "Kill-a-Watt") that couldn't handle the continuous load, melting the connector.