Comparison of 5.4 to 7.3 nonturbo idi, towing mpg ETC

Hey guys, havent posted on here in a while looking for any first hand info you might have on a 2v 2003 f250 5.4.

My story is, i live in the mountains of Colorado. I am looking at a 2003 f250 5.4 6 speed manual 4x4 extended cab shortbed. gorgeous truck. I wanted another diesel 9currently have a 92 idi 7.3) but around here people just get too much money for a truck that is falling apart and not cared for.

Anyways, finding a diesel that was cared for thats a extended cab shortbed with a manual trans is pretty much impossible, so im considering this 5.4 it has 4.88 gears and 35 inch tires which should be around equivalent to 4.30s with a stock tire. One advantage of a gas vehicle is i could double it as a daily driver (my commute is 4 minutes, i try to avoid using the diesel). This truck will have no trailer 95% of its life, but that other 5% will most likely be pulling a 18ft car hauler with some junk vehicle on the back that i am parting out.

My nonturbo 7.3 is a slug in the mountains and i imagine the 5.4 will be the same, im just wondering if that motor can really take the abuse i put my 7.3 through. Would love to buy the 5.4 and supercharge it, but those kits are getting difficult to find for the 2 valve version. If i need to spend 7k on a new supercharger kit I might as well just wait for a diesel imo.

Anyways, if anyone has any insight in mountain towing with the 5.4, or its mpg/reliability when compared to the 7.3 nonturbo, go ahead and chime in! Basically im trying to confirm the 5.4 will be able to handle the occasional tow duty pulling 10000ft elevation passes. Forced induction would clearly be ideal.

Would hate to go the dodge route, but I also found a 2003 2500 with the 5.7 hemi and a 6 speed manual, and from my research that hemi seems to be comparable in MPG and blow the 5.4 out of the water with power.

Both these vehicles would also fit in my heated garage, unlike my extended cab longbed diesel, so that would be nice for the cold winters

I've never done that elevation in a 5.4, but my experience has been that their torque down low is admirable. It's a truck motor for sure. Not fast by any means, but torquey. Just like your 7.3 though, get that weight behind them and high speeds aren't going to happen on a grade. The altitude will only aggravate that issue. The 6spd will help, but power is power. If you're used to a nonturbo 7.3 I would imagine it will perform very similarly.

The 5.4s I've used have been solid trucks ready to give you 250k no problem with moderate use, or up around 400k if they ran highways a lot. Fuel mileage is not a thing in them though. Weren't designed for it.

Maintenance wise it is important to use good oil and filters in them, and to actually use a torque wrench and anti seize when doing spark plugs.

The dodge will give better power, but as is typical with Chrysler I didn't like working on them as much. Some stuff is just harder than it should be (like, for instance, changing all 16 spark plugs you can't get to). It's not a bad motor, just not my favorite. Neither here nor there; power wise the difference will be noticeable.


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