I am looking at buying a new F150. The salesman was talking up the turbocharged V6 for towing. I don't know if he is right or not. My concern is the longevity of the turbocharger. If I bought the TC V6 would I run in to more maintenance issues upward of 100,000 miles as opposed to the V8?

Could you guys share your thoughts?

 

If your planning on towing a lot or it has a large frontal area go to a 250 diesel. If it's only a week or two a year either will do the job. The smaller v6 will give more mileage if it's your daily driver but the 3.5 will pull easier.
The 2018's have dual injectors to possibly solve the intake valve problem on direct injection engine of any make. Google direct injection problems to learn about them. Turbo or not they will have future problems that's why Ford changed for 2018. I just sold a 2013 Eco and bought a 2018 5.0, you know my position.
One other thing to ask your sales person. How many trucks do you have on the lot with 5.0's? There are ZERO, NONE, 00, in my area. They want to sell what they have and 5.0's aren't it.
Ford is headed toward all 6's for many reasons but for me I miss my last 96 F150 5.7...

 

Turbos have been around long enough that the problems are almost none. They are water and oil cooled so doing your regular maintenance of keeping clean fluids will keep them running as they should.
This is my third turbo vehicle and the first two went over 120k and 200k without turbo issues before I got rid of them. A short cool down (idle) period after driving can help by letting the heat dissipate from the turbos before they spin down.

 

Today turbos are not the problem and I also owned them without any problem either. Today as ALL the manufactures know direct injection brought with it not only performance and more effiency but because of emissions an oil vapor with PCV systems. Ford appears to have found a remedy with a combination of direct and port. Many vehicles will not have the problem with the intake valve because they are used a lot. Your city cars/trucks with light use are most the ones showing the problem. The aftermarket and Ford performance knows the fix and its oil separators/catch cans. They are however illegal because they alter the emission system and need maintenance.
Every vehicle should have one and should have from 1962 when they became standard equipment at least in California. They are especially needed with supercharged vehicle and all thes engines today using such light weight oil. Guys say they don't work but my 2003 Honda Civic will trap 1-2 ounces in 1000 miles.
My 2018 F150 5.0 will get a Ford Performance one in its first week. Same one for an "off road" Mustang just happens to fit a 5.0 F150 5.0 imagine that. My dealers fleet manager has one on his wife's Fusion Eco-Boost.
Sorry for the rant, I like all kinds of engines and seemed to have all at one time, but being a gear head makes me look and learn.

 

I keep a vehicle 15-20 years and I take my time researching a vehicle before I buy. I took 6 months before buying my truck. Based on longevity and less problematic I went with the 5.0. I tow a 4X8 utility trailer (2000lbs max), 6X12 enclosed trailer (3500lbs max), a 22' boat (4000lbs max) and a 21' travel trailer (6000lbs max).
Best thing is to do your own research and decide for yourself, there are EB and 5.0 fanatics on forums that get pretty nasty if you don't side with them. I haven't seen too much on this forum, that is why I like it.

 

I am the same type of truck owner. This posting was part of that research. However, I do understand folks can get passionate about their position.

What I have learned here is I should be less concerned about the turbocharger than I should be about direct injection. I am not clear. Is there something I about 2017 models' direct injection and only look at 2018's?

 

The turbos themselves might not be a big problem but look at the ecoboost overall. Some problems I have read about off the top of my head;
plastic oil pan leaks
plastic oil drain plug breaks
improper oil servicing (need to follow manual)
Throttle body causes loss of power (TSB for replacement)
excessive oil usage (TSB has heads replaced)

I seriously considered an EB until reading about the problems.

 

Totally understand. I am not as concerned about turbos as I once was, but because I am someone who would keep a truck for near 20 years I tend to buy something that has been around and proven. Therefore, I am leaning V8 right now.

I appreciate the details on ecoboost.

 

A voice on the other side - I love my Ecoboost. Of the 15,000 miles on my ‘15, 5,000 have been towing. This is my first turbo’d engine in a tow vehicle and I don’t plan to go back to NA. I can get 20 MPG out of the truck light, with care, and it’ll tow anything anywhere.

As an example of the latter, we towed our 25’ Sea Ray to Lake Powell last year, and went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the way. The engine didn’t care that it was at 7000’, and it actually got better MPG up there and still had the same power. I’ve done the same trip before with NA engines and they were way down on power.

Another example - my brother and I towed Big Blue back from Florida on a car hauler. The truck probably goes 6500#, the trailer 2500#, and we probably had another 1000# in parts and tools, for a total of 10k pounds. We towed at 75 MPH for 1000 miles and got 9.0 MPG. My Toyota-loving brother was impressed, to say the least. In fact, he recently towed similar weight with his Tundra and said “I know it was about the same weight and I only towed at 65 MPH, but in spite of only getting 9 MPG I still like my Toyota.”

 

I had to check the post date to make sure this thread wasn't from 2011! . We've been having this same conversation for seven years here, and overall nothing has been decided. Lots of guys swear the V8 is more reliable. Lots of other swear there's no data to back that up.

Ford has put a million or so of these ecoboost engines into trucks and isn't having excessive warranty issues or customer loyalty problems.

Two things that aren't disputed is that the V8 sounds better and the Ecoboost is more powerful. Aside from that everything is conjecture.

 

Amen! I, too, looked at the original post date before I responded. And I recently said that the place the Ecoboost loses for sure is on the exhaust note. I remember when the Dodge Viper came out and some magazine said its V10’s exhaust note sounded like a UPS truck. Well, that might be a compliment for the 3.5L EB.

But, if I want exhaust notes I’ll drive Big Blue with it’s glass packs bellowing. Or, some day, Dad’s truck with the intended dual Magnaflows. However, for long distance towing it’ll be the EB.

 

I was all for the V8 until I saw the torque curve on the 3.5 Eco. Closest thing to a diesel torque curve that a gas engine could have. I've owned several big-block pickups (460 V8, 454 V8) and this little 3.5 Eco puts them all to shame, the way it will pull a load up a mountain pass. Plus, when I'm not towing the mileage is pretty darn good.

I'd say if you tow a lot, go with the 3.5 Eco. If only occasionally, then either engine will do fine.

 

My '17 3.5 Eco now has 5800 miles, with close to 2500 of them towing one of 3 trailers...19' Bass Boat (~3200 lbs), 23' Sea Ray (~6000 lbs), 26' Travel Trailer (~7000).

The drivetrain never fails to impress me. It is absolutely silly how easy that motor/trans combo pulls. I am coming out of a 2007 5.4L. I am up approx 3mpg towing each of those relative to the 5.4, and up from 16.5 hwy to slightly over 20 empty (20.2 to be exact).

I will say that my '07 carried the weight better. I'm not sure if it's tires, steering, sway control, or (most likely) cab/bed configuration. My '07 SCab 6.5' controlled weight effortlessly (never towed the TT). My '17 SCrew 5.5' seems what I'll call "floaty". I have replaced the rear shocks with Bilsteins, and although it's made a big difference, it still doesn't feel as planted as my '07.

 

I've been able to tow the same trailer with all 3 engines, and I have to say, the 3.5L Ecoboost is the best for towing by far. Mileage was good, power was excellent, and stability was good. The 2.7 Ecoboost was better than my old 2001 RAM with the 360!




Folks mentioning using a 3/4 ton for full time towing are probably right, as the stability is the main issue I see.

 

That's the thing. All the V8 lovers seem to think the EcoBoost has to "work harder" because it's a V6. P-shaw. The EcoBoost doesn't have to work as hard as the NA V8. Just look at the torque curves. At 1500 RPM, the EcoBoost produces 100 more ft-lb of torque. At 2000 RPM it's still close to the same.

The torque curves don't cross until you are over 5200 RPM, and both on the way down. In the bread-and-butter range of 1500-3500 RPM, the EcoBoost is way ahead of the V8. No contest.