Hi,
I am thinking hard about the new 3.5 Ecoboost but have reservations about the turbos. Have not had any experience with turbo's but have always felt the more complex something was the more trouble prone it would be. Also, the thought of replacing turbos after the warranty period makes me nervous.

Tell me something that makes me feel better about a vehicle with turbo.

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

If history is any indication, when a new engine has "issues", they seem to pop up in unexpected areas. For example, spark plugs on the 5.4 or piston slap. Not saying that the turbos or DI on the EB won't have any problems (knock on wood), but I think the odds of the new EB having a problem are the same as any of the other new motors (3.7, 5.0 or 6.2). I'd bet if any of these engines have a problem, it will be something nobody has talked about.

 

Turbos are not a common item to fail, especially now that Ford has added water cooling to cool them off. Farm tractors have had them for years and they work hard and long hours.

The turbo's on the 6.0 Powerstroke had issues because they were variable vane and the soot clogged them up. The ecoboost has fixed vane turbos.

Main problem with turbos in the past was people would turn them off with out letting them cool down. This caused coking of the oil and bearing failure. Through siphoning of coolant after you turn off the engine Ford has prevented this problem.

If I was to worry about anything on a new Ford truck it would be the new electric steering and they all have it except for the 6.2.

 

In about 30K miles I'll be talking to partsguyed about a Ford ESP. I'm actually less concerned about his truck mechanically than I am the paint and sheet metal thickness / integrity.

 

Johndeerfarmer, I am very interested in reading and learning about the ecoboost cooling, siphoning and lubricating system. Please provide some links to good articles where I can do some research. Thanks!

 

I would be more worried about which financing model to choose than the turbos. These are proven engines and have been in production for several years, in other models of Fords. I have 18,000 trouble free miles, and many of them hard.

 

These EcoBoost engines have been in production for several years in other Fords? I thought these were something new? What models were these engines used in?

 

They first came out in the Lincoln and the Taurus SHO 2009 I think? But then rebuilt it for the trucks with stronger internals to handle the abuse of towing and heavy payloads.

 

A little Ecoboost history lesson for you all. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...N8JRAEnBtof4Rw

The first engine debuted in 2007 in a Lincoln and was named the TwinForce.

 

Thanks for the link, but I don't call two years a proven engine with several years of production.
my interests in this engine is also the turbos, & will they hold up under real world conditions. Ford sure in the past hasn't had what I would call good luck with turbos. I read some things on the F150 board that added a few questions also.

 

Ford has had their issues with turbo charged engines for sure but I'm not aware of any large scale turbo failures.

The turbos have never been an issue for me. In the beginning I was more concerned about the transmission but not anymore.

My only issue now is how the heat from the turbos and piping will affect the engine and electronics over a lifetime.

 

I wouldn't be too concerned about the turbos. The V6 Ecoboost has quite a few things in common with the 7.3 Power Stroke diesel and that engine has more than proven itself in the truck community. Garrett makes the turbos for both engines and there are lots of them out there with hundreds of thousands of miles without any issues. The fixed vane turbos are rock solid (at stock boost levels).

 

well if two years in service isn't a decent starting point, you'd better go back to horse an buggy. with tighter emmission specs every year, next years engine will have changes either to design or to programming. those changes may or may not affect reliability

 

Probably the only difference on the EcoBoost is the block castings for a rear drive may be different than for a front drive to facilitate engine mounts. Otherwise the design would be the same. The only issues that I know of at this time are the intercoolers accumulating moisture and causing some driveability issues. It doesn't appear to be major, just irritating. Turbos don't seem to be a problem.

 

I agree two years is a good starting point but not yet proven. Yes the 7.3 was in my opinion the best diesel Ford ever had. It was proven. I saw my share of 7.3s with over 300,000 miles & still going strong.
The more I read about the EcoBoost in the F150 the less impressed I get. I'm hearing 17.5 mpg, Any air disturbance on the front may cause inter-cooler trouble. Then the scariest thing is Dealers threatening to void warranties with any add-ons, cold air intakes or exhaust mods, the ability according to one post that the dealers can tell if you ever added a chip or tuner. Ford has a real reputation for bad dealers & voiding warranties. As far back as the 1970s.
So as with everything new I will wait & see what a few years & miles do in the real world. If they are still around in 10 years I might buy a used one, if I'm still alive that is the thing with being old time is getting shorter & shorter.
But I will keep checking in to see how things work out. These forums seem to bring out the good & bad of whatever brand your looking at.
Craig