Is the 5.0L engine a interference engine? COuldn't find this anywhere on the site or on the web. It might be common knowledge to you guys but I totally forgot.

 

no its not. i believe the way it goes is this, USUALLY, pushrod engines ARE NOT interference. i believe ohc(sohc & dohc) engines are though. but, NOT our beloved pushrods engines. gotta love it !!

 

that's what I thought but I was discouraged when I went to a Ford Dealer and they had no idea... thanks for your help

 

When you went to the dealer, did you talk to a sales person or a tech? Sales reps don't know tech stuff. An easy way to tell if your engine is interference is to take a spark plug out and shine a flash light into the cylinder. If you see the top of the piston has notches in it (like for the valves) then it's an interference engine.

I don't know of many V8's that are interference type engines. Most are 4-bangers or V6 cars. The main reason to run an interference engine is to increase your compression (notice how most 4 cylinders have a 9.8:1 or higher ratio).