5.4 is a screamer!!!

smkettner wrote:
I will go against some of these posts that say changing gears is a waste.

My 2001 5.4 happens to be in a lighter F150 and here is my story...
I had 3.55 gears and it ran just as the OP said with virtually no OD and would downshift to second at the smallest rise or overpass. Going up hills is fine to downshift but every 50 yard 3% grade was obnoxious. Bring on the 4.10 gears and it made a world of difference for me. Now I set the cruise at 55 to 65 with almost no downshift unless an actual hill is encountered. With 3.55 I was constantly trying to feather the throttle to either gain speed or avoid a downshift on some little rise coming up.

With the OP's truck even heavier (1000 lbs?) I could easily recommend 4.30 or 4.56 gear to really improve the towing and drivability. The 2001 gives peak torque at 350 lb/ft and 2500 rpm. But you can't run 2500 rpm or the computer will downshift in a heartbeat. I have found it far better to run 2800 to 3000 rpm. At this engine speed the computer allows near full throttle and to lose some speed before the downshift. Have run mine at 3200 10 hours a day a few times.

Well worth the gear change and I did both axles. Even with 4.30 you may not be in OD much or at all. Climbing hills is still second gear with about 3500 rpm. You should be able to get new gears (parts and labor) for about $1,000.

8 MPG is about normal. I stopped keeping track. I have a 25 gallon tank and range can be an issue but I am usually ready for a short break after three hours of driving so I have come to accept it. Just take heed when the sign says next gas 100+ miles.


Two additional notes on edit.

1) I would have gone 4.30 if it was available for both my axles. I had to choose between 4.10 and 4.56 and went 4.10 ratio. There has been a few time I did wish I had 4.56 but the 4.10 has been OK. I recommend 4.30 or 4.56 for the OP.

2) I did need to get a programmer to tell the computer it had new 4.10 ratio to fix the speedometer. In addition the programmer allowed reducing max rpm from 5000 to 4500 in 100 rpm increments. I put it down to 4500 to further suppress the downshifting. There is absolutely no reason IMO to run above 4500 while towing and this has worked well for me. Most I go is about 4200 even if peak HP is stated at 4500. Enough is enough. I also think these full throttle high rpm shifts are hard on the transmission so I avoid when possible. So far 187,000 on the original clutches.