Alright Ive had both and I think its time to put up a poll. Ive driven both motors enough miles to know them through and through. The ohv has great down low torque (for a 6). And the sohc has great top end power but still has decent down low torque. IMO i pick the sohc since 6's will never be torque monsters to begin with. What do you prefer?

 

after owning two OHV's and now my 2001 with the SOHC i prefer the SOHC by far. i have nothing against the OHV by any means, its a great motor and my 93 beater had 245,000 on it when i sold it but i love the power from the SOHC. its also a smoother running engine as well.

 

i like the SOHC. i haven't driven an ohv, but i have ridden in one. and by that alone, i liked the feel of my truck more. plus for a truck, it pulls nicely at the higher rpm's

 

I've never owned or driven in an SOHC I've just heard about the evil timing chain issue, but I really like my OHV. Very reliable. at 175k it's still running strong and its easy to work on. I can put the pedal to the floor anytime and it takes it with ease.

 

I had a beat up 2000 4.0 OHV with 180k, and a low mileage 2001 4.0 SOHC. Both of them were automatic, 4x4, with 4.10 gears.

I really wish I hadn't sold the OHV truck to get the SOHC truck. Granted the SOHC was probably a little quicker, and got better mileage, but I miss the OHV. It just had so much more torque, and seemed bulletproof to me.

I'd rather have the OHV. I prefer the low end torque over top end HP (Hence why I have a 7.3L now lol)

That low end torque made it feel like much more of a truck, a workhorse, than the top end of the SOHC.I'm not knockin the SOHC, as it was pretty quick and got around 20mpg for me. And I've heard the SOHC's can run for a long time as well, but there was just something about that OHV that I loved.

 

I've also had both and my 1998 Ranger had *****, but my 2004 has bigger *****.

 

lol 6's will never be good torque motors, its not worth lookin for good torque in a 6 unless its the 300 ci. I-6. but the ohv is a strong motor but when you rev it out it falls on its face.

 

OHV has "more low end torque" because of the displacement... not the valve control setup.

All other things equal, DOHC>SOHC>OHV

 

the ohv isnt really much bigger at all. and they are cammed completely different. ohv 2750-4200 rpms, sohc 3000-5200 rpms... the ohv really doesnt make much better down low torque imo.. 6's suck at torque making anyway. and if you have 4 valves per cylinder your gonna make more power, better air flow.

 

4.0 OHV and 4.0 SOHC both have near 4.0 L displacement. I don't know if their stroke is different but the cam is the main factor that determines the torque difference in these engines and the SOHC has only slightly less torque (2-4 lb-ft) under 1600 rpm. Otherwise, the SOHC dominates.

I do prefer the SOHC over the OHV. At over 110K miles on my SOHC, it is running better than when it did new.

 

i think that its the bore and its only a .o1 difference so thats not gonna make it any different really...

 

ive drove and worked on both. i love the ohv motor cause of it low end torque. and ease to work on. now dont get me wrong the sohc motor is a great motor lots of pep and power its just a newer and more complex motor mostly cause of all the durn timeing chains it has.. im a old school guy i just like older motors with the cam in the block not in the heads

 

after owning and towing with both, even with the so called low end torque of the OHV, my SOHC will get a trailer moving off the line faster than either of the OHV's ive had and it can get out of its own way on the highway without thinking about it. even with the timing chain rattle i would still take the SOHC over the OHV. although i do miss my 96 STX with the OHV in it, i loved that truck and i wish id never sold it.

 

Ive never experienced the SOHC but I voted for it anyway lol. Its frustrating having a motor that is so stubborn in the high RPM range. I never even push mine past ~3200 because it just doesn't seem like it likes reving higher than that.
Upsides, it is reliable.

that's exactly how I feel about my OHV at 142K.

 

IMO push rod motors are a dying breed.................

so I voted for evolution.

 

well to tell you the truth man the hemi lives strong and thats a pushrod i love them but in a v6 gotta go with ohc because only v-8's really need down low torque, and you can rev the ohv to almost 5,000 itll do it. my ohv had awesome torque (for a 6) but i gotta love those sohc revs.

 

Cam in block for me. I hate cam in head motors imo.. but i am all old school hell i wish my truck was still carbed lol

 

It seems like I've seen dyno numbers that show the OHV don't really make much more torque at low RPM, but different dynos with very different trucks = useless.

I've had two 4.0L OHV trucks and one SOHC.
For low end grunt, long term reliability, OHV hands down. Yes it does drive like it has better low end grunt. Does that mean it will pull a trailer faster? Probably not, but still...
For speed and smoothness I would choose the SOHC.
Mileage is a wash I would say. I never get good mileage in anything, but I was pretty much able to match mileage between similar (as similar as they can get) setups between SOHC and OHV when I tried.

 

I Don't know, that 5 liter Ford motor looks pretty good.

YouTube - Comparison: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 vs 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS vs Dodge Challenger SRT8!

I know it's one , biased opinion, but the ford did really well.

I enjoy the no nonsense tech of pushrods, but technology has it's place as well. It really all boils down to what you prefer.

Thank goodness for choice IMO

 

I think this thread is funny because if you go to RPS, there is a thread like this and most like the OHV...lol

 

X2

When I was looking for my ranger I was looking for an OHV, but I ended up getting a SOHC. Since that's all I've driven, and it's proven to be good so far, it got my vote.

 

well the ohv has the clacking in the heads which sounds terrible and the sohc has a timing chain rattle, so they are both noisy motors but the ohv noise is worse or does the timing chain rattle get worse as well b/c my sohc has only 19k on it.

 

I like how my OHV sounds when you start it when its cold and put it in drive, its got that deep grunt sound( not sure exactly how to explain it maybe other OHV owners no what I'm talking about) I believe from the Cam. I wish it sounded like that when it was warm as well haha

 

Is it more of a deep throaty sound? I think I know what you're talking about, although its been over 2 years since I sold my OHV

 

ive seen too many ohv's fail in day to day conditons. ive seen sohc's fail in day to day conditions. but i know that the ohv couldnt be pushed as hard as a sohc and still drive away. they may suck fuel and and not be the most smooth running thing, but i know its not gonna leave me hainging...only real complaint it changing the plugs on my sohc