05 heads? Better? Same?

[whd507]

I found a wrecked 2005 aviator with a really clean engine, with lower miles than mine. Mine is running fine, but I want a spare anyway. There is an 03 available with lower miles for less, but I've been hearing the tick for 17 years now, if it's better, I'll get it.

[Ambitious1]

Yes, the 05 Aviator came with the 9-thread heads instead of the 4-thread, so it is an improvement. In addition, Ford had worked on the cooling issue with the final version of the DC heads. So yes, if you can get a set of DC cylinder heads from an 05 Aviator, you'll have the best version. This link will give you more info:

https://www.terminator-cobra.com/castings.htm

[whd507]

Thank you for the link. I got the good heads, and the good block. It was a pretty late production aviator, so I lucked out.

[whd507]

DC heads, and CC block.