Ford's Eco-Boost 3.5L V6 Twin Turbo

[Jeffro]

Been really checking out the online dealer sites, etc, and am very seriously thinking about a F150 with that motor, instead of the 5.0 V8 or particularly the 6.2 V8. My 2000 Z71 Chevy has 4.10s and when I got it, I thought "Whee! Quicker!" Now, it just costs too much.

Pretty well ruled out Government Motors, partly for political reasons, and partly because their interiors aren't as good (IMHO) as the current ride. Cheapened 'em up a bunch. If I wanted to tow, I'd sure consider the 3/4ton Ram just for the Cummins, but most of my neighbors have them and their cabs just don't last like Ford's or GM's do. Of course, they are used in more extreme conditions - one nabe has broken the frame on his twice. Still runs and pulls, though. All beside the point, since I'm not in need of heavy towing capabilities. The GMs and Fords under the same strain do seem to hold up better.

'Yotes and Nissans seem overpriced and there is a poor selection out here.

Gonna be 4wd, too. Needed it and damn glad I had it with the last two vehicles.

So, has anyone had any hands on experience with the turboed V6 in a F150? I've seen the teardown videos and such, but not heard much real world experience. It is a price swing to get the thing compared to the 5.0 - Ford has $500 cash back on top of the extra cost of the V6 as well. Do they really get 21mpg highway? I have read that the 5.0 is a far better motor than the old 5.4.

[Aglifter]

Run the %*%( away! Mom has one - POS, stutters sporadically in the rain, under heavy acceleration (FoMoCo's response was that they "knew about the problem, but had no fixes").

Same mileage as the 5.0

[slowpoke]

Put a 4BT into your 2000 truck?

[Termite]

I giggle every time I hear the term "eco-boost".....

[Greg]

I giggle every time I hear the term "eco-boost".....

I giggle every time I think how much Ford paid someone to come up with that term. (Way too much.)

[Jeffro]

I giggle every time I hear the term "eco-boost".....

Sure sounds economical.....

[g-man]

Have one in the F-150 Platinum 4WD. It's been a good motor for us thus far. Better mileage than my GMC got with a 5.3 liter, with better get-up-and-go. Haven't had the stuttering problem Aglifter mentioned. Mileage-wise I'm averaging ~15.5 in combined driving here in HI on regular and ~16.5 on premium. While that doesn't seem like a huge increase, the % mileage goes up is bigger than the % price difference, so it's worth running the premium. Biggest issue for us here is that we have a 2-mile 5%+ grade coming into our neigborhood, so hauling the [edit: looked up the curb weight and found 5500lbs, which I find a bit light...] nearly 3 ton truck up that hill every time we come home pretty much submarines the mileage. On the highway in AZ we were getting between 19 and 20 average mileage, so with a 2wd and some slightly shorter gears (yes, shorter since it doesn't run at the sweet spot until you're FLYING, which can become cost prohibitive for other reasons...) I can easily see it being a 21mpg hwy truck.

The crew cab setup has a good bit more space than my old Dodge did, though not quite as much as their new Mega Cabs. Don't ask me about longevity yet... we've got about 28k on ours, so it's by no means high mileage. It'll remain to be seen how the turbos hold up, but I'm seriously considering picking up a Flex with the twin-turbo setup when I get back to the mainland.

[Aglifter]

I wouldn't mind one in a Flex myself - it seems to be a particular problem with some F-150s.

[Jeffro]

Interesting article about the problem, what the cause is, Ford's crummy treatment of customers, and the possible solution.

[NVGdude]

I have read that the 5.0 is a far better motor than the old 5.4.

Other than the "spitting spark plug" problem which was due to folks not reading the manual, the 5.4 was a very solid engine. I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on 5.4's without any serious issues.


I'd take a 5.0 over the ecoboost myself. I don't like the way that it only really performs in a narrow rather high RPM power band. The "limp mode problem" is probably overstated but it's all over the F-150 forums.