The 4.6/5.4 mod motors came out in 1991 and are still in use today in the big vans. Pretty long run.

My story: my '02 E150, bought new in 2003, has a Romeo 4.6, which they converted to PI (power improved) heads circa 2001. My engine always seemed to have a light ticking. About 42k miles into my ownership, I found on this site reference to a TSB that Romeo heads in the early PI years, 2001-2003 I think had inadequate cooling channels at the rear of the heads, making exhaust valves carbon up and stick a bit, causing a ticking. I assume these valves would also have a short lifetime. TSB solution was new heads. No extension of warranty for this fix.

I had very fortunately extended my warranty to 5/60 but was beyond the 3/36 warranty. I also was on very good terms with my svc manager and at 42k miles I got a new pair of heads, cost would have been $4200 but I paid the $100 dedictible. If I had not had the warranty extended, it would have been on my dime, or I would have had to live with it and hope that it never really smoked the valves or worse.

So anything new, example being my cylinder heads, can cause a problem which does show itself for a few years. I guess I'm saying that anything that is relatively new will take a few years to prove itself even if it seems like a proven engine. Also maybe that I can be really unlucky with vehicles sometimes.

My replacement heads also have more spark plug threads than my originals, so I am happy about that, and the van is great at 99k miles today. You know, I had to pay them for new spark plugs because they were going to screw back in the originals

If I wanted a vehicle available with the EB, I'd not really hesitate to buy it because it's such a darn appealing engine...but I think I'd run the warranty out an extra year or three just in case. How's that for a compromise?

And frankly I trust the 6.2 just because it's a cast iron 2-valve good ol' V8 built like a truck motor. And the 5.0 is just a nicely redone mod motor but I really like that engine too.

George

 

So, to some folks, the moral of the story is to buy a 1996 F-150 with the much heralded 300 and Mazda M5OD and never ever upgrade.

Yeah that was a smart a$$ comment. But you can't read all the woe is me stories on FTE and assume that every engine will be problematic, every transmission will fail and that Ford will deny every claim for warranty work.

No one wants to read even one horror story, it plants a seed of doubt but let's be realistic.

 

This is kind of the same thing I was wondering. I'm really interested in the EcoBoost and love the truck, But I mean, a truck engine with twin turbos is a new concept. I plan on keeping the truck at least 5 yrs, so I have to wonder what the life of this engine will be, It's one thing to have things wear out 4 yrs down the line, but quite another to have catastrophic engine failure!!! (not saying that it will, just talking here).

2012 is only the 2nd yr for this engine so owners are only entering the 2nd year of use. I haven't seen anyone with say 75,000 miles on it yet to give us a report. Just thinking out load here......

 

This is engine has been employed in Ford vehicles for the last three years. It came on line in the Lincolns then it made it's way into the Taurus SHO, Flex and then the F-150.

This engine is way over built with six bolt main bearing caps, diesel like forged pistons, engine oil cooling jacket near the oil filter, and water cooled turbos.

You are right to be concerned, but, I haven't read a solitary negative report of reliability or endurance as of yet.

 

If you are on market for a new truck, I would purchase the extended warranty once the factory bumper to bumper warranty expires for the peace of mind especially being the newly designed engine model. My driving experience on ecoboost F150 was awesome and mind boggling, would love to own it one day.

 

All I can contribute is, if someone is not confidence in buying a particular truck then they probably shouldn't. I surely wouldn't trust total strangers in convincing me to buy.

 

Everyone has to stop worrying about what MIGHT happen. Just go out and buy what you want(preferably an Ecoboost) and drive the hell out of it! Life is to short!

 

I would love to have the Eco-Boost engine myself. But I can't justify one to the treasurer right now with only 48K miles on the clock. But I'll have one in a couple of years. As to the 6.0L problems, a lot of the problems were owner induced by adding programs with extreme cylinder pressures as well as not using the stock engines as they were intended to be used. A diesel is not a good grocery getter engine. Too much stop and go. They were made to run on the open road. But that engine was also plagued with some quality issues from Navistar. I know first hand of some machining on the heads and block decks that were out of tolerance on flatness that were still let go to meet the production deadline. So the problems were not all on Ford. Unfortunately, it has resulted in Navistar closing the Indianapolis plant and 1500 people losing their jobs.

 

not to be a total jerk here, but are you going to pay for the replacement engine beyond the extended warranty?

Why are people hesitant? because every new design has some inherent teething pains. nearly every single new anything ever put in a vehicle has had some issues untill it is completely sorted out. To expect that any of the new engines are an exception to this is optimistic.

... i know, i know ... 6 bolt mains, diesel like pistons, water cooler at the oil filter .... everything that modular motors have had since thier birth, and they had problems too.

I'm not trying to be pecimistic here, just a dose of reality. Here's the facts, the only engine in the current line up that has seen truck service before 2011 is the 6.2, and then only in the raptors.

sure, the taurus SHO ... huge success, no arguement, but it dont pull 11K lbs. The 3.7 kics butt in the mustang, but that's not a truck and cant pull 5k+ lbs either. 5.0, same thing ....

I think the worry is warrented. I like to get 150,000 miles before i even consider a trade. And worrying about replacing a motor or transmission beyond 75,000 miles is reasonable.

I commend you for being able to throw caution to the wind and do what you wish without worry, however, if a major repair (motor or trans) comes up unexpectedly and far before I have saved enough to replace the vehicle, and without the available funds to trade up or even fix it. Then i would be completely SCREWED.

just my thoughts .....

 

Well said meborder, and I have to agree. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles in a short number of years. I have a 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix with 118,525 miles on it. I've owned two previous Corollas both of which have gone over 100,000 miles so I know how sturdy their engine and tranny is. Heck, I've only had to pony up about $15k for them... For $35K, you darn right I'm gonna do my research and determine whether I'm throwing money to the wind....

 

It's a basic engine problem, even carried over into International chassis in commercial use. 4-bolts per cylinder requiring aftermarket head studs to guarantee proper head gasket sealing, poor (read: high wearing) valve-train/rocker setup, FICM issues, injector issues, dirty block casting requiring coolant filters, EGR cooler problems, etc. The 6.4 is even worse, higher torque head bolts with smaller bolt heads, short block requiring complete disassembly to remove the freaking camshaft. The crankshaft has to come out before the cam!!!! It's honestly like International/Navistar decided to play a bad joke on their customers. International had some MAJOR, MAJOR problems on the engineering front, I can fully understand why Ford sued them...and they deserved it. The knucklehead engineers behind the 6.0/6.4 couldn't have been the same guys that came up with the PSD 7.3, unless they dropped too much acid or suffered from severe head trauma in the meantime.

The 6.7 is like a breath of fresh air, with actual discernible LOGIC behind everything they decided to do with that engine. Ford building one HELL of a diesel is like that one final jab to Navistar.

 

I wish I could rep you for the second time in two days but I'm all out of scooby snacks. Can someone please show this man a little love?

 

I got you covered, Tim.

 

Throwing caution into the wind is like throwing farts into the wind. Sooner or later, the smell comes back at you.

But seriously, a vehicle purchase is often the second largest purchase a person makes, after their home. These trucks are expensive, 35k-45k is the norm, new.

Plus, the twin turbo system is unproven, since the turbo's are not sequential, like the 6.4 liter diesel, but they are one for each bank of cylinders. This is a new deal for Ford.

I would say wait 3 model years, before taking the plunge and dropping your hard earned money on one. By then, MULTIPLE people out there would have taken them to 100k miles or beyond, and have experienced reliability and/or common problems.

Real world driving and conditions often reveal problems that cannot develop in the manufacturer's laboratory and field testing conditions. Case in point, the 6.0 liter diesel. Yeah, whether you like it or not, it's the perfect example. Don't forget the Pinto...

 

Well, I guess for those guys that need a truck this year the new engines seem to be a saft bet. But I'm not at the need part yet. I'm in overdrive in the WANT department however. These new F-150's are nothing short of sharp looking. They are a sweet looking truck, especially the FX4 model, new wheels look great. Anyway, I agree with Powerdude, real world driving is the true test. So, the count down begins for a 2013-2014 FX4, man that almost seems to long to wait and that's a long time to covet. Lord please forgive me!!