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Old 04-21-2017, 04:04 PM   #1
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98 Ford SMB 4X4 Ujoint conversion 5.4L

Looking at a 98' Ford SMB Ujoint conversion 4x4 5.4L with 70K miles. Anyone have any info on this year and the 5.4L compared to the 6.0 Diesel?

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Old 04-22-2017, 06:06 AM   #2
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Use the search Luke.

There is tons of info here on both.

There is no comparison to those engines except Ford made them both.
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Old 04-22-2017, 09:43 AM   #3
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I'm going to be a fool and wade into the engine comparison. Y'all can feel free to berate me and scream, "Off with her head!"

1. There are folks who love each one of the four motors--7.3L diesel, 6.0L diesel, 6.8L V-10 gas, and 5.4L V-8 gas. And there are folks who have the same level of feeling--except in the opposite direction--for each of these powerplants. What is right for one is dead wrong for another. YMMV.

2. The diesels generally get better fuel mileage than the gassers--especially offroad. YMMV.

3. The diesel motors tend to be more expensive than gas with respect to maintenance. YMMV.

4. The diesels are louder than the gassers. Whether this is good or bad or meaningless is up to each individual.

5. The 6.0L diesels have something of a history of issues. An internet search will provide you with tons of information on this. There are various approaches to "bulletproofing" to address these issues. YMMV.

6. The 5.4L gasser is the least powerful of the four. Most of the 5.4L rigs also have the 75R trannie, which is the lightest duty of the group. Some folks want the additional grunt of the V-10 or the diesels; for others, it makes no difference. YMMV.

7. Generally speaking, the 5.4L gasser tends to get better fuel mileage than the V-10. YMMV.

8. Some folks consider the 7.3L diesel the holy grail of Econoline powerplants. YMMV.

9. Other folks do crazy-a&& stuff like stick a Cummins diesel and Allison transmission into their Econoline. But I digress...

Read, talk to people, drive a bunch of rigs, ask questions on the Forum, and figure out which tradeoffs are best for you. Match the rig you buy with the uses you will put to it. The right rig for you is going to be very different from the right rig for someone else. We all use these vehicles differently. Daily drivers have one set of priorities; weekend rock crawlers another; desert racers still another. Think carefully about your use case, and match accordingly.

Good luck, and enjoy the search.
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:55 PM   #4
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That's a nice synopsis Glider
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Old 04-24-2017, 03:27 PM   #5
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Actually the 4.6 is the least powerful V8 of the current offerings. But no one every gets that knowingly LOL

It's not always about the motor, the transmission is half the decision.
Imho the 5R110 is the top choice follows by the 4R100.
5.4 at one time was paired with the 5R110 as an option but rarely seen.
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Old 04-24-2017, 07:21 PM   #6
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And 1998 vans had the 7.3l diesel anyways :-)

How can you tell if a van has the 5R100 vs the 4R100 without a build sheet? Is there an easy way (code or something)?
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Old 04-25-2017, 07:25 AM   #7
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Off with her head! YMMV

Brian, generally speaking 2005 and up vans had the 5r110 and 04 back had the 4r100. Back to 98 or 97, I think where some actually had the Triton motors (5.4/6.8) still with an e40D. It's a gray area and even the Ford parts books are wrong sometimes. Ask me how I know! What needs to be remembered is that some RV converters will use older chassis and call them newer models. For instance, you could definitely find a 2005 camper van and it could be an 04 chassis with the older 4r100. I've seen it a few times, and of course it's more common on bigger brands that buy a load of vans/chassis cabs like Winnebago/etc. The dead giveaway is this, someone correct me if I'm backwards. The 4r100 has an overdrive on/off button on the end of the shifter and the 5r110 has a tow/haul. I think there is a difference in this on the diesel models but that's how it is with the v10s I'm almost certain.

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Old 04-25-2017, 09:31 AM   #8
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The 7.3/4r100 combo simply locked out OD when you pressed the switch.
The 6.0/5r110 combo changes shift points drastically but still uses OD. It's not a true lock out. Not sure if that applies to the gassers with either tranny but it probably does.


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