I think anytime you turbocharge a motor, the risk of having issues increases as opposed to a conventional fuel injected motor. History proves itself and my last 5.0 was issue free and that is just the way I like it !
Dan

 

Not to direct ill will towards the dealers servicing these vehicles, but if my truck were out of warranty and I were not mechanically minded, the dealer is the last place I am taking a vehicle, if it is a major repair, I would likely end up at an independent repair shop, the ford dealer or the gm dealer are not likely to help you find a used engine or a reman engine or even suggest a gm performance crate motor, the dealership garage is not in my mind geared for using a salvage yard engine, the dealer has to stand by the repair(as does an independent shop) and have a more captive audience with warranty repairs and people who are not that car savvy to think about the independent shops. Perhaps I am wrong, but this is my perception, so I believe that this engine can be replaced for much less than 15k, what is the dealer charging for a straight engine swap any way, just curious?

 

I'm not sure where the $14,000 price came in and why we think the engine will go out before 120,000 miles. On Auto Trader alone there are many examples of F150's with over 100,000 miles (some over 200,000 miles) that run great. The cheapest EcoBoost truck is $16,900 and has 203,000 miles.
A brand new crate engine can be found for a touch over $8K. An engine swap if you supply the engine can be done for less than 2K. For 10K you can have a brand new engine installed in a truck that is worth over 20K.
Why do we think the engine will go out at 120,000 and why do we think the truck is worth $14,000? I think that thread is suspect, either the truck is a POS or the thread is a joke.

 

My point exactly, a dealership is in it to make money, because of the high overheads, shop revenues have to be higher, I think that a properly cared for ecoboost will deliver plenty of miles< I do think how the engines are treated and driven have a lot to do with longevity!

 

Ford didn't just turbo charge these engines like in the 80's. These are from the ground up turbo charged engines designed to be turbo charged engines.

So many people just like myself remember all the issues with the SVT Mustang and the T-bird super coup. In the very beginning of the ecoboost rollout, i was a naysayer because my opinion was from the 80's. The more I read and researched the more apparent it was that Ford didn't just build an engine and slap some turbo piping on it.

I have nearly 45K issue free miles on mine would cheerfully buy another.

 

I'm looking forward to driving the 2.7 Ecoboost! That engine really seems like just wha' I need. I think it's going to a very tough engine.

 

You are right, but these engines are also much more complex than any turbo or supercharged engine ever produced....and the problems are just now beginning to be seen................if this is what we are seeing with this low percentage of vehicles at 1-2 years old with 30k-130k miles, what will we be seeing in 5 years:

"http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/31-f150-ecoboost-problems/8506-venting-crank-case.html

"my driver side hot pipe was covered in an an alarming amount of oil. The charg pipe, and intercooler had the yellow diluted gas, oil mix. The niple on the plenum was dripping oil"

2014 shudder and loss of power

"I'm at more or less a steady 45mph for 10min or so with no issues up until the stoplight before the interstate. Light turns green, we slowly creep off behind another car, when I go to merge I pick it up to half throttle or so, it downshifts, then shudders hard and falls on its face. I immediately lift and check my gauges, oil pressure, temp look fine but the check engine light is blinking."
"Same thing happened to my 13', it ended up one of the plugs was bad or out of gap. I do know the gap grows over time with these engines"

Timing chain stretch

"I've got a 2011 EB Screw with the 60,000 mile cold start rattle option. Love the truck but it started the rattle around 55K, just before my warranty ran out. Ford couldn't tell m the what the problem was, and now, at 75k, they want me to pay for 1/2 the repair"

Escape Ecoboost 2013

Ford EcoBoost Engine Fires and Violent Shaking

"it is prone to catching on fire, and many owners have told stories about the engine shaking, shuddering and stalling"

Image hit for Ford's EcoBoost engines

"But now, some owners of that 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine, also used in some Lincolns and Ford cars and SUVs, have sued Ford because the engine doesn't run right, they say.

Ford won't discuss the lawsuit, but the symptoms it cites — stalling and power loss — match complaints that Ford addressed last year in a bulletin to dealers, and by making a running change on the assembly line. That bulletin tells mechanics how to fix "Intermittent stumble and/or misfire" that is "more noticeable during humid or damp conditions" and "intermittent engine surge during moderate to light loads" in 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engines"

Solo Downpipe Install- FAIL

"I was descending a hill (the same one I do every day.) I turned tow/hall on so I wasn't riding my brakes. The truck started jerking and bucking. It was very consistent. Maybe every second. I can't tell if it is transmission or back pressure issue. I'm sick of paying $100 deductibles and the stealership. Every time I pick my truck up, I'm dropping it off a day or 2 later. Anyone have any knowledge of this issue?"

 

[QUOTE=j.grif;14849115]Not to direct ill will towards the dealers servicing these vehicles, but if my truck were out of warranty and I were not mechanically minded, the dealer is the last place I am taking a vehicleQUOTE]

I agree, but most of the independent repair shops will not touch any of the ecoboost engines...other than the most basic service or maintenance items.

Aluminum block & turbo engines for Detroit as we all know is nothing new, looking at the 1962 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was the top of the line F-85, had an aluminum block V-8 engine that was introduced to both the Buick Special and the Oldsmobile F-85.....including water injection system........it disappeared a couple of years later and the aluminum engine was replaced in both the Oldsmobile and Buick with a cast iron block................but there is one thing that is very consistant dating back to the 40's....

1)The more complex the engine, the more issues and shorter life they have

2) Technicians at both dealers & independent shops will likely be absent of the skills, knowledge &/or equipment to properly troubleshoot issue and effect repairs...ie availability of trained, qualified, experienced techs will be substantially less....this is just an inherent impactor. Some Mfgs (such as GM with the Mercury Marine built 350 V8's in the Corvette's in the 80's) required that the dealer perform NO REPAIRS (including routine water pump replacement, etc. and specified the engine be pulled and sent to Mercury for all repairs and they dropped a 350 targetmaster engine in the vette's while repairs were conducted........just how much patient does a customer need to have or will tolerate....only time will tell.

3) Customer tolerance for higher repair costs & longer down time for troubleshooting and part availability (as compared to less complex/conventional engines) will be reduced at a higher frequency than N/A , less complex engines.

 

I still think the EcoBoost is the right engine choice. It looks like there are only 2 companies out there pushing the envelope in the truck segment, Ford and Dodge. Everyone else is just waiting, following or bashing.
There are the same hand full of issues that are written about over and over again on the internet.
You can find many examples of EcoBoost trucks with over 150,000 miles that run and drive great just by looking at used car lots or you can believe 3 people from Ohio or all the people on the Tundra sites.

 

Ok, then let's talk about the carbon build-up issue that come with all gasoline direct injection engines....not even the Europeans in the past decade have been able to "cure", ultimately causing long-down time for maintenance (top end engine disassembly (including pulling the heads) or just tossing the engine after 50k miles because of 1) no maintenance and 2) the heads are "baked" beyond repair (in may cases) or required complete valve jobs and/or the cylinders/piston assemblies are damaged so bad that there is now extensive damage requiring full machine work/rebuild.....ask any MB or BMW mechanic......

 

The German car makers have had a tough go of direct injection. I don't think you can directly compare Ford's (or GM's) direct injection systems to the German makes. The German makes adapted a port injection engine to work with DI while Ford completely built the new engines with DI in mind. Also engine makers have learned (at the expense of VW & Audi) that injection timing as well as valve timing are important to keeping the valves clean. It is common in newer DI engines to overlap valve timing to get un-burnt fuel back up on the valves. Then there is the fact new that technology advancements and new software updates keep coming.
Remember when Ford tore down their EcoBoost test mule engine it was relatively free of carbon deposits.
Just to be safe I enjoy spirited driving to keep engine temps up to aide in burning off carbon

 

fuel, air and ignition, all engines start with the basics, with government regulations covering CAFE and Emissions, we consumers are forced into this new technology perhaps kicking and screaming, if you want new there is a price to pay, so all of the automakers are forced into putting variable valve timing, direct injection and turbocharging into engines to meet these government regs, I know that I am telling you nothing new, but this a reality that we wont escape if we want a new car or truck to drive, the 5.0 coyote engine is a great engine also, but simple?, I don't think so, it only lacks direct injection and turbo's, so not a simple engine. The new 2.7 engine, if I am not mistaken, has duel fuel injection of some sort that is both port and direct, that may be a strategy for the coking on the intake valve stems that all the Europeans have been having big issues with(most notably VAG). None of this happens without computers fast enough to deal with real time exhaust emissions to alter fuel and timing to keep it clean, My first turbocharged car(80 turbo trans am) couldn't compete with my current experience with this 3.5 in a truck that weighs 2000# more, My truck will run circles around that turbo trans am and get much better fuel mileage to boot, so is this technology making cars cleaner and faster on less fuel? YES! p.s. flatheads are indeed cool!

 

As many curve ***** as you throw at the 3.5L EB, you continually neglect to include the growing pains associated with the 6.8L, 4.6L 3V, both 5.4's and the 5.0L. The engine internals of the 3.5L EB are no more complex than any of the engines that I mentioned and the TiVCT engine complexity has been around now for over 10 years with Ford.

Still, no one is showing the numbers of units affected by any of these issues. I had my oil changed at my dealer 2 weeks ago and I asked my well seasoned service advisor about the 3.5L TSB's, timing chain stretch and some shuddering issues and he told me very simply to stop reading the internet. He stated that his dealer has not seen ONE major ecoboost repair since they came out in the F-150's and he's one of the highest volume F-series dealers in my area. Perhaps the issues that are noted on here are more regional. Perhaps some are related to poor maintenance habits and perhaps some are related to poor driving habits. IDK.

It's been said to my face numerous times by different folks who drive turbo engines that the ecoboost needs to be run hard like a diesel. This engine is not designed for and will not last long under the ownership of an in town driver buying groceries and mall shopping. These engines have got to get on the freeway and run like hell to keep clean and stay healthy.

Or, we could all go back to the gutless 300 I-6 and get 17 MPG's and have a 4000lb towing limit. I owned two of them, no thank you sir. Reliable? Yes. Useful? Barely.

 

What about all the high mileage EcoBoost owners here on FTE? If I'm not mistaken there's one with over 200,000 miles on his without any issues. If the issue were that common for this design you'd see more of them.

Prove me wrong though. Can you find some examples of this happening?

 

Flat heads are cool