10-4........

 

The new engines all have their place IMO. The 3.7 is fine for a 2wd reg cab fleet vehicle but it's got no business in a crew. The 5.0 is also better suited to the smaller/lighter bodies but it could also be considered the base model in the crewcab, it'll certainly push the truck around better than the old 5.0 did. The 6.2 is a proper truck motor but I doubt it'll have a long life with ever stricter emissions standards comming down the pipe. The Blower is the motor to get.. in a new truck, but nobody with half a brain would buy one of these things outside a warranty so I forsee a lot of this generation F150 being 1 or 2 owner vehicles that go straight to the crusher at the first sign of trouble. It's too bad that there won't be many of these for guys like us to buy but that's good news for the manufacturer.. they get to sell more new trucks.

 

It was 1992, Im pretty sure thats WELL after the stupid CAFE laws. My grandpa totaled his 1991 F250 because of a blowout with like 2000 miles on it. So he went to ford with the check the insurance gave him and he ordered the truck he wanted. They never batted an eye and gave it to him. Where else could you get an XLT lariat reg cab LB F150 with a 6 cyl, every HD package known to man, 2wd with what amounted to imho (never was to sure but it was high!) F250 front coils, F250 2wd leaf packs (had more leafs than the 150s so Im guessing here), the ZF trans, and a cloth interior. When i went to buy a master cyl for it-low and behold the 150 didnt fit-but the 250 one did? I never did understand it, but it hauled way more than a regular 150-I had so much wet firewood in it I had to throw some int he cab to make the frontend heavy enough! I firmly believe it was some kinda *******ized F150 they custom made.

As for the main reason so many vehicles period have problems-its imho because of the complexity and electronic systems and so forth. In all honesty I much prefer simplistic designs that make sense. Some might feel Im not a true ford lover-but my current daily driver is a 1996 toyota t100. I bought it after owning an older camry and it NEVER gave me issues so I was more interested in mpg than hauling capacity when I wanted another truck. My old F150 served me well till I couldnt find a ground short and gave up and sold it to my buddy (it did have 280k too lol) for his farm. 215k On the toyota and no issues, I bought it with 165k. About all I have repaired is basics and it needed a new steering box due to miles or perhaps where i like to offroad-IDK. I cannot complain, the ford never gave me much trouble either. HOWEVER having been a mechanic for years and also doing alot of towing/roadside assistance-seems all the new vehicles have issues. But want a good laugh-mainly chrysler, mitsubishi, lexus (the hybrid systems do not work right and render the vehicle in operable as do the push button starts), nissans, and hondas. Fords, pretty dang reliable as are most toyotas, GM-hahahahah what hunks of junk, along with chrysler they had the most issues. The more complicated the vehicle the more problems they had.

My bottom line is I do not want, need or will take a new vehicle. To dang complicated, to many electronics and systems and WAY to expensive for what you get. Newest truck I would buy is a 03 and earlier superduty-preferably with the 7.3L but the 5.4L will do. Sure the trucks got miles, but if you find one in nice shape and R&R whatever it needs or you want it will be fine for years. Weak point sadly with Fords are the transmissions to a degree (not nearly as bad as others tho-im looking at you DODGE!). The E4OD and the 4R100 (same chit different name) needed to be much stronger than they built them-correct that and your good to go.

 

The EcoBoost has been tested and tested again to ensure longevity. Get on fordvehicles.com and go to the F150 section. At the bottom are the test videos that ford performed on the EcoBoost. They didn't take it easy, didn't make the test look harder than it was, or use fresh trucks for every test. One randomly chosen motor was ran to hell and back, then again just for fun. Check it out, it really is surprising. The EcoBoost shouldn't be a truck that will cause problems. Everything on the motor has been thouroughly examined and well thought out.

 

Ha! Fords "hero motor". I guess you believe everything that you read on the internet, see on TV, and is printed in the paper/magazines.

That motor had constant oil changes, every detail was monitored, and it had constant QA. As impressive as it was do you think that any other motor installed in Ford trucks in the last 30 years couldn't have done the samethings (with the exception of the 4.2 six, 4.6 2v and 6.0 diesels of course; they truly were truds).

 

You forgot to use the word "huge" in front of turd...

 

Have you driven one? Have you seen them hooked up to a 30' camper passing you on the highway. If the internet/tv/paper/magazines are all so wrong then why have they all had something on it? If you really think you have a better point of view on it, please share. I have been up close and personal with these trucks and can attest to their performance. Go ask any ford technician which motor he wants in a brand new F150 and see what he says...really, go try it.

 

OK since you are on the hook for being a Ford mech... Have their been any problems with the 9.75 alxe in the new F150's???? I have had 2 friends do rebuilds now under 100K... Didn't know if there was a deadly intermitent problem they have or not???

Any how... I am waiting on the ecoboost... I don't have any problems with the power, mpgs, etc... I just want to see their reliability last under normal use for 200K by some hard working farmers before I jump on the band wagon... That and $40K for a new truck is a little steep...

 

The 9.75" has been a good rear end. I would have to say that your friends are two of the few that have had problems. They're not bulletproof, but they are doing well. All rear ends will break eventually. Even the 8.8" has occasional problems. I can definitely understand waiting to get an EcoBoost to watch longevity. Granted, Ford has tested the snot out of these motors, but still, nothing wrong with waiting and watching. And yeah, $40k for a new may be a fair price, but its still $40k.

 

I like my 10.25 sterling! LOL...

And yeah when you make $45K/year and the wife is still in school you really don't get the option of having a $40K truck...

BTW... my BIL has a 5.4 in his (i think...) 09 F150... I was just wondering which engines use the same tranny bolt pattern???

 

Not real familiar with the new transmissions but i think all mod motor bolt patterns are the same. I could be wrong though.

 

If I was buying a new F150, all I want to be able to do with it is be able to get stuff from the back without an 8 foot step ladder. I honestly don't care if the truck is manual or automatic because, I do alot of highway trip's to pick up fairly big machines for my company and I prefer the automatic because it makes traffic easier to deal with. If I want a manual, I'll get a sports car.....

What happened to inline cylinder engines? Why did they stop? It's not like the engine bay of the F150 has shrunk so saying "to save space" is even a worth fighting for.

Why don't we go back to full hydraulic transmissions? My AOD has had no problems(outside of my wonderful brother breaking the tv cable). Why must everything be electronically controlled?

 

Have to agree with you on the inline thing. Inline 6's were fantastic for towing/hauling. The only reason I can think of is for fuel mileage. But even then, the new V6's don't get any better mileage than the V8's. They're too overworked.

 

Yeah my dad owns a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and a 2000 GMC Jimmy. The jeep has way more tourqe and just power all through out the range. It just sounds like a factory machine instead of a car. the Jimmy is such a pig, but it sounds neat. And the jeep's engine is a 4.0 while the GMC is a 4.3 both with automatic transmissions. The mileage between the two are almost no different either...

 

[quote=ChristopherN;10520359]What happened to inline cylinder engines? Why did they stop? It's not like the engine bay of the F150 has shrunk so saying "to save space" is even a worth fighting for.[quote]

I'm with both of you guys on the I6 comments... I hear the USPS is still running the 300 I6 in their delivery trucks and that ford is still manufacturing blocks for the USPS fleet. I could have been lied to though... I guess we need someone from Ford or USPS to confirm or deny that. Either way I6's were the best SBF truck motor ford has ever built. If they could have figured a way to pull more power and use less gas I bet they would still be using them... The only reason most ford guys don't like them is b/c they cant pull 10K at 65-70mph down the interstate. I love my I6 and it would take a miracle to make me give it up at this point!

V6's should be like the 302... left in cars!!!!!!!!!!!!! I6's are different b/c they make enough low end torque!

If Ford wanted to increase mpgs they should work on putting super alternators on the trucks to power electric PSP's, electric AC, electric smog pumps, and electric water pumps. that would take all the drag off the motor and leave 1 alternator pulling power off the motor... then make the cabs and front end from aluminum and fiberglass to cut body weight...

BAM!!!!!!!!!!! extra 5-7mpgs...

I've also heard some companies have been experimenting with front wheel drive trucks that have rear disconnect 4x4... This cuts drag on the motor since you don't have a standard t-case and rear end contributing to paracitic drive train loss... It's kind of like a beefed up awd suv... Who knows how tuff they would be but the idea came from the baja sand racers which are pretty dang tuff! Projections as I recall added another 4-5mpgs...