Gentlemen,

Long time member, first time on the F150 forum... I am thinking about buying the new 150 Ecoboost but have some concerns. I had an 04 F150 with the 5.4, great truck, after a whole lot of miles I bought a F250 with the 5.4 and love that truck too. A new home means a much farther commute and that means that the 12 mpg from the 250 isn't cutting it. I have been pondering a Ecoboost but fear that this engine just hasn't proved itself yet. I am always careful with things on their first year and since nobody has any amazing stories with this engine yet, like "I have 300k miles on the clock" type stories, I am scared. So after a long introduction, the question is...

Does anyone know of any issues with this engine yet? I been reading through the forums and the guys who own them love them, and the thing is without a doubt a little monster, but is it the right choice? Looking to do the change this month, so any insight you fine gents have is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Like anything else, something new can be risky. I get your apprehension as I feel the same and I'm also looking at an EB truck tomorrow.

This engine has been out for a couple of years now in the Lincolns and Taurus SHO. Granted, the truck version will be tuned a little differently but inherently still the same engine.

I've heard nothing negative from any of the vehicles that employs this little beast. You know in the back of your mind that people with an SHO are runnin' them pretty hard.

I say, go for it.

 

The Koolaid tastes good. Drink it!

 

Like Tim said, the EB engine/platform has been in use in a number of vehicles already. Flex, Taurus, MKT and MKS. It does very well in those applications and I expect that to continue with the F150.

If you have the coin for it, go for it. You won't be disappointed.

 

The entire engine lineup is new, so unless you want the 4.6/5.4 in a used one you have to pick your poison. I haven't heard anything bad about any of the new engines. If it were me, I'd seriously be considering the EB, coming from a diesel ( I kinda miss the kick in the pants when the turbo spooled up). If you haven't seen the torture videos I suggest you watch them- it sold me

 

There's two thing that have me concerned with this new EB other than it's new. I usually stay far far away from anything new from Ford for good reason.

This EB seems to be the exception to that rule so far except for:

1) Poor MPG in freeway driving conditions (65-75 MPH) I've not seen anything close to the 21 they say it will get.

2) Towing MPG's If you tow anything with any kind of weight your MPG's will suffer big time. Being in boost all the time to move big loads up any kind of hills will result in MPG's way under 10.

IMHO I'm thinking you'd be better off with the 5.0 if you tow allot.

 

You need a 2wd with 3.31 gears to get 21mpg. But I can promise that I get much better than 10mpg towing 8000# in the mountains. If you are referring to the putc test they did, that was dumb. They started at the bottom of one of the steepest grades in the US from a standstill and then floored it several miles to the top. Then complained the mileage sucked.

 

Gents,

First of all, thanks to all who have responded already, your defenitely easing my mind. It didn't even occur to me that if I want a 2011, I have to go with a new engine either way. And I also didn't think that this engine has been in use for some time so thats a plus. As for the torture tests... I did see them on the Ford website and from what I've read on similar forums, Ford really tries to make them as real as possible, however, it is a marketing / sales tactic also, so there is always a bit of doubt in the truthfulness of said tests. I must admit though, after seeing the tests, I felt like a little kid in need of the latest and hottest Christmas toy for the year.

Just one more question about the mileage.. what are the real world mpg numbers for this engine.. I do tow some, mostly a 4k lb boat, and about 5 times a year, a 7k lb trailer, but outside of that, I'm pretty much all highway all the time. Is 16 really as good as it gets?? I'm in the northeast and no 4X2 will do, and don't care for the 3.31 axles.

Last thought... as much as I love the F150 and can't see myself driving anything smaller, imagine a Ford Ranger with this EB engine. That would be a serious little monster, and probably a ton of fun to drive. Think about it Mr. Ford....

Thanks again guys for the input...

 

I've been driving an Ecoboost for the last couple of days and the information display says the MPG is right around 15.8 still. However, the truck has less than 600 miles on it so we haven't run through enough tanks of gas to get any solid numbers. I did notice that it has a feature where it calculates the distance to empty based on whether you are towing or not so that is pretty neat. I suppose it can do this because it knows when you have a trailer plugged in. I also like how the display tells you which gear you are currently in so that will help when towing also.

Personally, I think the engine itself is a modern marvel and quite possibly could be the biggest advancement in truck engines since the big three decided to outsource their diesel engines. The technology itself seems quite robust as well. Direct injection and turbos have been in use for quite some time so it's natural for the technology to begin to appear in gas engines eventually.

My only concern so far is the transmission. The engine is so powerful and has a tremendous amount of low end torque that I wonder how well the trans will hold up. Factor in the fact that lots of owners 'accidentally' overload their trucks and we could begin to see transmission issues appear. While scrolling through the information center I found a spot where it tells you the trans fluid temp in degrees and the temp was 188, which seems a bit hot for regular driving. Granted it was about 113 outside in the middle of the day but later that evening when the sun was down the trans temp was still about 177 so that has me a little concerned. The placement of the intercooler seems odd to me. I wonder if having the intercooler out front was causing the engine coolant and/or trans fluid to get hotter than Ford would like so they decided to put it down low. Seems like it's location is a 'fix' for some other issue to me...

Lastly, for towing, I am having a hard time accepting that dual electric fans will keep everything cool when pulling a huge grade in 110 degree heat. Maybe it's fine but still makes me wonder. I guess I am just an old fashioned guy who is used to having a direct drive cooling fan for the radiator. We are trying to get about 1000 miles on it before we tow this weekend. Not sure which trailer it will get but we might give it a try with about a 7000 lb load to see how it does. Looking forward to trying it out...

 

If they built the 6R80 anything like the 5R110 torqshift behind the diesels then you shouldn't have any worries. That beast was as good as the Allison and could easily handle 500 HP. Member Mark Kovalsky (sp?) is a retired Ford auto trans engineer, I'm sure he could put your mind at ease. I doubt those temps are anything to worry about.

 

Yeah, so far the trans seems really good. I just worry about the temps being so high and I am not towing anything yet. Could be normal operating range for the conditions. A good haul up the mountains with a decent size trailer should help put my mind at ease as well.

 

I wouldn't be too worried about the tranmission. This is how the transmission name/numbering works for Ford.
6R80 means:
6: Speed
R: Rated for
80: 80*10 = 800 (you multiply the number by 10)
so you get
A 6 speed tranmission rated for 800 lb-ft

Just like the 5R110
5 speed rated at 1100lb-ft

 

I only have a couple hundred miles on 4by4 eco, supercab 3.55. I am still on the first tank of gas, and the computer is showing 18mpg. This is mostly driving back roads, lots of lights (i don't think I have hit a green light since I bought the truck) and beach traffic. If you drive it correctly and keep out of the turbos you can get above 20+ on the highways. The start/stop kills it though.

 

I have 200 miles on mine and I'm averaging 18 mpg mixed. 4x4 with 3.31 axles. I set the CC this morning on 65 and I was getting 24+ for t he duration of my interstate trip which was about 15 miles. Then off the freeway and back down to 17+.

The toughest thing about the EB is keeping my foot out of it! This thing wants to run like a scalded dog.

 

Had the same new product apprehension so took mine with a 5L V8, also because of towing...might experiment next time.