Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ford 3.5 eco boost vs 5.0

Finally cried uncle on the 2011 3.5 on left with 366,000 and change. Sample of one. It was a good truck. Very quick acceleration, and good power. Probably averaged about 17.5, but when towing the MPG really suffered. It was a low maintenance sorta abused truck that treated me right. No experience with the 5.0 but have friends that have had really good luck with them.

The truck on the right is a 2018 2.7 with 40,000 miles. Still very quick acceleration @ about 21.5 MPG. My gut says this one won’t last nearly as long. These ecoboost engines turn over low RPM at cruise. Probably 1500-1600 RPM and they don’t weigh much which I think helps with engine and chassis wear. Lots of good trucks out there and kinda a crap shoot to how they treat ya.

I have a sample of one. My dad’s eco boost has 180k with only the normal wear and tear issues.

I have a 2015 3.5 and has over 100,000 miles.

It still runs like a top and tows strong.

It does have the sport mode if one was feeling the need to smoke a car at the red light.

I like it.

Turbochargers aren't wear items, it's rare to have to replace one. They're not like brake pads. I've owned several turbocharged vehicles and never had to do anything to the turbochargers. The one I have now has 400,000 miles on it and the turbo has never been touched.

I'm sure someone will chime in with "my uncle's third cousin said he had to replace a turbocharger 10 times" etc. but the fact remains that a properly engineered turbocharger will last longer than the engine or the truck itself. Someone always chimes in with "a turbo costs XXX to replace" when these discussions happen. The chance of having to replace a turbocharger are remote, it's not something I'd concern myself about.

When the echo boost first came out they had problems with the turbos.

They have not had trouble since.

I always hear crap about the turbos going out these days and it all stems from the first year.

It gets old.

Old saying "no replacement for displacement" 5.0

I have the 3.5 ecoboost, 10 speed, 2018 f150, crewcab, 4wd, not any issues to date besides the seatbelt recall, and radio screen recall.
Interstate I'm getting 19 to 26, average 22mpg, in town 17 to 19.
Little over 50k miles, great truck, glad I choose the 3.5.
It pulls my 12' trailer with polaris ranger like it's not there. Pulling trailer I average 18mpg though.
I have a 36 gal tank, elect locker, tow package, trailer controler, back up assist which I don't use.
Off road it just goes where I point it, but I don't do stupid chit with it.
1 son has a 2015 2.7 ecoboost, the other a 2019 with the 5.0. Neither has had a single problem, the 5.0 does not get the same MPG as the 2.7, or my 3.5 though.
The 5.0 does tow nice.

I have a 2014 F-150 FX4 with a 3.5 ecoboost. I bought it new and it now has 80,000 miles on it. Not one issue so far. Power out the azz.

Ron

The new Raptor is eco.

And there's lotsa good reasons why.

My work truck has the 5.0, it’s spunky and gets over 18 mpg. About 85k without a problem. No experience with the eco boost, but I’m sure impressed with the 5.0

The 5.0 has been a very good engine for Ford for a very long time, but there are no flies on the 3.5 Ecoboost. IIRC, it has a higher hp rating than the base 5.0 and better mpg ratings also. Turbos have one big advantage over naturally aspirated injected motors- turbos give excellent low end torque for towing and off the line acceleration.. and today's turbos are extremely well made. As long as the oil in a modern turbo is maintained and filtered it will last as long as the engine ...

I know at least 3 guys who have or had the 3.5 EB and loved them. If you didn't know which engine was in the trucks, you would swear it was a V8... the 3.5 is the same block and many parts that are used in the new Ford GT....

I have an eco-boost and love it. 2016, 4x4, super cab. It’s a 2.7l though. Averaging 19.4mpg with mixed driving, not towing. It blows the doors off any 5.4 or 5.3l I’ve had. Not even close. I get 12mpg pulling a 20’, tandem axle, 5000# boat around 4 days a week.

I’d probably get it over a 5.0l for your use. You hear of people on the inter webs that “know someone” with trouble with an eco-boost. They have no experience themselves most of the time. They just read about it. I know, I know, unbelievable on the fire.

Edited to add: I average 30,750 miles/year driving.

Bullschit

This may be folklore, but I like to let turbo equipped motors idle for a minute or more to let oil circulate throughout before shutdown.

I Haven’t had any turbo issues with numerous turboDiesels and gas turbos that I’ve operated and owned.

No direct experience to report with ecoBoost.

Mechanics I know are more leery of the Direct Injection aspect , more than the turbo boost.
But they do wok in concer within the design. Heat is the biggest enemy.

5.0 has water pump failures and acs module failures. Had those issues and apparently they are common with 5.0 f-150s

I ordered a 2021 3.5 power boost hybrid a few months ago. The dealer said it was scheduled to build last week so if all goes well I should have it by the end of the month. It is a hybrid but it's supposed to be faster than the 3.5 ecoboost yet it's rated at 24mpg Town and highway. It's also got a 7.2kwatt generator built in. I hope it actually shows up soon.

Bb

Twin turbos are for play cars. Timing chain issues are not folklore, nor cheap.

Buy what you want, it is your money.

I think that most newer vehicles will make it to 200k, especially without towing, so I wouldn't worry too much about that aspect. I'd devote my efforts to other business needs and not brand X vs brand Y.

I have my own brand biases, but if I were buying for my own company I would factor in purchase price and resale over anedoctal reports. And fuel economy, for a fleet, as it can add up. For personal use with one or two trucks, I don't worry about fuel economy.

Okay, I don't have personal experience with these other than a neighbor that has an earlier 3.5 and as far as I know he hasn't had any trouble and loves his truck. However, I like motors and like reading about them, looking at stuff online, shooting the breeze with my mechanic, etc.

IIRC, the potential problem with the earlier ones was carbon buildup on the valves due to the DI. Its likely sort of the same problem the early FICHT Evinrude outboards had when they went to DI. I understand Ford has corrected the problem by going to port and direct injection as has Toyota and likely GM. Port injection "washes" the intake valves with fuel but they still have the DI for performance and economy.

If I had to guess I'd say short tripping an older Ecoboost probably exacerbates this issue. They were built for performance, not to putter around the corner to the store and pick up some groceries. Same as those old Evinrude motors. They were built to haul ass and people were blowing them up trolling.

Also I understand that you need to do oil changes on a DI motor more often than manufacturers recommend because of potential fuel dilution. Manufacturers tell you to do an OC every 10k miles so they can sell you on low maintenance cost. If I had one I would go back to the old standard of an OC every 3 to 5k miles.

Same here. 3.5 is my preference, followed by the 2.7, then the 5.0. The 5.0 is good for noise and a bit better at engine braking. That’s all IME.

Only on the campfire. SMH