BUILDING NEW POWER TRAIN: Ford's 3-valve engine packs more power, torque for F150

[JBsZ06]

BUILDING NEW POWER TRAIN: Ford's 3-valve engine packs more power, torque for F150

November 6, 2002





BY MARK PHELAN
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER




Ford Motor Co. counts on a new, optional engine to drive even more profits to its best-selling vehicle, the F150 pickup.

The updated engine, a 5.4-liter V8 that has three valves per cylinder rather than two, gives the F150 the most horsepower and torque of any light-duty pickup, Ford says. The engine is made in Windsor and will be available next year.

Ford sold about 250,000 F150s with the old two-valve 5.4-liter in 2001. It has capacity to build about 350,000 of the new engines. The 5.4-liter powered about 71 percent of all F150s sold last year. "We expect the three-valve to make our product mix a little richer" as customers choose the more powerful engine instead of a V6 or smaller V8, said Dave Szczupak, vice president of power train operations.

The three-valve engine produces 300 horsepower, 15 percent more than the two-valve it replaces, and 365 pound-feet of torque, a 5-percent improvement. It is also the first full-size pickup engine to offer variable valve timing, which helps improve fuel efficiency.

"We've got more torque at 1,700 r.p.m. than most of our competitors have at their peak output," Szczupak said.

Ford will add three-valve heads to its 4.6-liter V8 and 6.8-liter V10 within several years. Torque is a big selling point for full-size pickups because it reflects towing capacity.

The engine also has an electrically controlled valve in each of its air-intake passages that opens or closes depending on engine speed. The valve helps ensure that the engine receives the right amount of air for optimum power and fuel efficiency. Szczupak said the engine is noticeably quieter than the model it replaces.