Normally I agree with you, but "tough as nails" is a lot of faith. IMO pump & torque converter work is fairly serious. Perhaps this trans is tough but only at the expense of too soft of programming and alway forcing the truck to be in the tallest gear as possible at all times short of WOT. I still believe it too early to tell.

Even though the 6-speed in my '08 Chevy 3/4 6.0L gasser wasn't as sophisticated as the one in my new F-150 it was stout and shifted firmer if that makes any sense. Anyway only time will tell, if there is one thing I'm not impressed with right now it's the driveshaft/ yoke with this truck. I've been in and out of the dealer wrestling with them over the sloppy slip/ bump in the shaft.

 

Agreed, very serious in fact. But it seems to be limited to a bad batch and not a bad design.

 

I think Ford did their homework on the Ecoboost. The engine is well thought out but the automatic transmission in it is the best I ever drove. The programming allows you to give a little throttle progressively without a downshift even going up a steep grade. But if you push the pedal down, it shifts down smoothly without any hunting for a gear even under load. I can't recall a vehicle I ever bought that I was more impressed with its engineering.

 

Ford has been touting this as a "feature" its RWD vehicles for some time. I've had two Mustangs that both had driveshaft clunk, and my '99 Wrangler (I know, not a Ford) had it as well until I pulled the 'shaft and greased the splines.

Despite their own service manuals admonishing mechanics to lube the splines on the driveshaft yoke, they seem to only put a token amount of grease on them at assembly. Go figure.