I know this is just a matter of opinion but I am looking at motorhome and see most come with a 454 Chev or 460 Ford. I am wondering which is the better engine as far as maintenance and durability. Again I realize it is just a matter of opinion but would like to hear some comments.
454 engine vs. 460 engine
- Thread starter thudson
- Start date
Kirk
Senior Member
454 engine vs. 460 engine
I would assume from your post that you are shopping used since the 454 is now known as the Vortec, even though it is the old 454, reworked and the Ford is not the V-10 which is actually a 10 cylinder 415 cid engine.
That said, you will probably find that both of those engines have an excellent track record and serve very well, although both are gas hogs. I would stay with one that is recent enough to have fuel injection as our first motorhome was just 1 year too old to have it and the mileage difference was about 15%. But either engine will last a very long time if it has been well maintained and both are very repairable. Generally, in those motorhomes, the GM chassis had a softer ride but poor handling while the Ford had a stiffer ride but much better handling. Both were good chassis but tended to be easily overloaded in the larger motorhomes. So watch the actual weight as compared to gross weight rating.
I would assume from your post that you are shopping used since the 454 is now known as the Vortec, even though it is the old 454, reworked and the Ford is not the V-10 which is actually a 10 cylinder 415 cid engine.
That said, you will probably find that both of those engines have an excellent track record and serve very well, although both are gas hogs. I would stay with one that is recent enough to have fuel injection as our first motorhome was just 1 year too old to have it and the mileage difference was about 15%. But either engine will last a very long time if it has been well maintained and both are very repairable. Generally, in those motorhomes, the GM chassis had a softer ride but poor handling while the Ford had a stiffer ride but much better handling. Both were good chassis but tended to be easily overloaded in the larger motorhomes. So watch the actual weight as compared to gross weight rating.
454 engine vs. 460 engine
Hi thudson, if your a GM man then you'll mostly like the 454 better, if a Ford guy like then the 460 is more to the likeing. I've owned both in MH's never had a bit of trouble with either, my experience is this: from the stop light the 454 takes off and goes, and the 460 is much slower, when pulling mountain grades the 460 has it over the 454. The 460 had multi port EFI since 1989, and the 454 got TBI injection in 1990 and GM used that until about 1997 when they call the 454 a Vortec 7100 or the 7.1L. The 460 was one of the best engines Ford ever built they had the least warrenty issuse with it than any other engine thur the 460 era. Both engines had exhaust manifold issuses when installed in MH's, the 454 seemed to have alittle more problems, Ford started with the OD tranny the E4OD in 1987 and Chevy came out with theirs the 4L80E in about 1990, before that GM used the Turbo 400 and Ford the C-6 both excellent 3 speed trannys. The 454 was a little harder on spark plugs and especially the plug wires, more so with the stock maniflods, with headers both engines run cooler and are cooler in the engine compartment. The fuel injected OD rigs get at the min. 1/2 mpg better mileage. And I agree with Kirks post Hope this helps.
:laugh: :bleh: :approve:
Hi thudson, if your a GM man then you'll mostly like the 454 better, if a Ford guy like then the 460 is more to the likeing. I've owned both in MH's never had a bit of trouble with either, my experience is this: from the stop light the 454 takes off and goes, and the 460 is much slower, when pulling mountain grades the 460 has it over the 454. The 460 had multi port EFI since 1989, and the 454 got TBI injection in 1990 and GM used that until about 1997 when they call the 454 a Vortec 7100 or the 7.1L. The 460 was one of the best engines Ford ever built they had the least warrenty issuse with it than any other engine thur the 460 era. Both engines had exhaust manifold issuses when installed in MH's, the 454 seemed to have alittle more problems, Ford started with the OD tranny the E4OD in 1987 and Chevy came out with theirs the 4L80E in about 1990, before that GM used the Turbo 400 and Ford the C-6 both excellent 3 speed trannys. The 454 was a little harder on spark plugs and especially the plug wires, more so with the stock maniflods, with headers both engines run cooler and are cooler in the engine compartment. The fuel injected OD rigs get at the min. 1/2 mpg better mileage. And I agree with Kirks post Hope this helps.
:laugh: :bleh: :approve: