2008 F250 with 5.4

[huskyfan68]

asking for a friend.
Just to get an idea-
250 crew cab with the 5.4 V8 gas....
I need to find out the axle ratio.
Any rough idea what they are capable of towing?

[time2roll]

Will do just fine pulling the full rating, posted by Groover above, as long as you are patient going up hills. For about $1,000 you can have any rear ratio you prefer. 2x if it is 4WD. I would go right to 4.30 and consider 4.56/4.88 depending on service.

[TomG2]

My brother used to haul fifty head of sheep in an old six cylinder gasoline fueled school bus. It "can" be done, but not with the performance I have grown to enjoy.

[FishOnOne]

blt2ski wrote:
Grit,
I had one of them 292 2500's. Reality, the way it was setup, a very good truck for what it was. Now 4bbl 454 R3500 flatbed. That was pos. Couldn't carry squat, much less get out of its own way.
Unless the trans behind a 5.4 or equal is chewing up a lot hp, a 250-300hp motor should reliably move trailers to 10,000 lbs. At some point in time, you do need more HP depending upon your performance wants and needs.

Marty

I think part of the HP problem with the 5.4 was it's small bores and long stroke.

[blt2ski]

Grit,
I had one of them 292 2500's. Reality, the way it was setup, a very good truck for what it was. Now 4bbl 454 R3500 flatbed. That was pos. Couldn't carry squat, much less get out of its own way.
Unless the trans behind a 5.4 or equal is chewing up a lot hp, a 250-300hp motor should reliably move trailers to 10,000 lbs. At some point in time, you do need more HP depending upon your performance wants and needs.

Marty

[Grit_dog]

blt2ski wrote:
If the 5.4-6.0 current V8 motors arent powerfully enough for you. I can not imagine what it would have been like 30&40 yrs ago with. 125hp 292/300 CI I6 up front! I have a 255/355 vortec 350 in my 2500. Plenty powerful for the upwards of 10-15k lb gcw I run at. Only real issue, is 4l80e trans is geared too tall in first. A 6sp auto behind it, that would be sweet.

Marty

30-40 year old trucks s u ked for towing compared to 10-20 year old trucks which leave a lot to be desired compared to new ones.
Just because you “can” do something doesn’t mean there isn’t a better or sometimes much better way to do it.

[blt2ski]

If the 5.4-6.0 current V8 motors arent powerfully enough for you. I can not imagine what it would have been like 30&40 yrs ago with. 125hp 292/300 CI I6 up front! I have a 255/355 vortec 350 in my 2500. Plenty powerful for the upwards of 10-15k lb gcw I run at. Only real issue, is 4l80e trans is geared too tall in first. A 6sp auto behind it, that would be sweet.

Marty

[Diamond_c]

I agree, I would want a bigger motor in a 3/4 ton. I’ve got a ‘06 Chevy with a 6.0 and sometimes it’s not quite enough.

[LITEPHIL]

From what I've seen this engine is very weak in a 3/4 ton truck. I've helped a guy get unstuck with a 3/4 ton 4x4 in the sand in Mexico. He was pretty buried in the sand but even in low range it didn't have enough beans to spin the tires. Others seem happy with them in the 1/2 tons.

[TomG2]

Ford through their "Fly by wire" throttle linkage managed to make the 5.4 feel less responsive than it had to be. "If" you hang your foot in it hard enough and long enough, it will finally mosey on down the trail.

[Lynnmor]

My son has a F250 5.4 CC 4X4, when towing he cannot use high gear anywhere and much of the time is down a couple of gears. I couldn't stand such mediocre performance.

[Groover]

The 2wd drive version is rated for 9,700lbs with the 3.73 and 11,700lbs with the 4.10 gearing according to the 2008 towing guide.
500lbs less with 4wd for each.

2008 Ford towing guide

My 1991 F250 was rated to pull 12,500lbs with 230hp. I wasn't always the first to the top of the hill with a heavy load but I did always get there.

[dodge_guy]

The 5.4 should’ve came with 4.10 factory and 4.30 optional. I don’t think they would’ve saddled the 5.4 with a 3.73. The Excursion was the same, 5.4 got 4.10’s stock and the V-10 got 3.73’s stock. 4.30 was optional on both.

Now that I look, being an 08 with the better trans they probably did put th 3.73’s behind it. I wouldn’t want to tow anything heavy with it, but it will do the job.

[Hannibal]

Our 2010 5.4/3.73 F-250 has treated us very will for the 11 years and 107k miles we’ve owned it. Adequate power around the southeast towing our 8500~ lb 5th wheel and our current 8500~lb TT. Best part about the 5.4 is their reliability. Not even a hint of trouble from ours. When I bought my new F-250, DW kept the 2010 as her primary ride.

[camperfamily]

They do the job. Just have reasonable expectations of it.

Had a friend follow me across I-80 & 90 from NJ to SD driving on of those towing a ~6000 TT. I had a 9500# 5th behind my 13' PSD. Simply put they could not keep up. We swapped positions and I followed. Slowly. A v10 of that vintage would be much stronger. I've towed a large 5th with one, it did reasonable well.

So staying local, acceptable. Long distance or mountainous terrain... pass. JMO.