Ford 150 EcoBoost power in Mountains

[Westfalia]

The TT V6 EcoBoost has else been in the Ford Flex since 2010.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Yes, and don't know if it's the same engine, but Ford had a turbocharged V6 in the Thunderbird in the mid 80's, so the technology is not new.

It is SO not the same engine, nor the same engine management technology, nor the same fuel injection technology.

Turbocharging isn't new to the industry in general nor is it new to Ford, but direct-injection plus turbocharging with gasoline engines is a HUGE improvement in flexibility over older port-injected and TBI methods.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by RamblinManGa

Hi from GA. . . to Bob & Mike // just wondered why you wanted a 6.2 gasser vs the new 6.7 diesel. I'm hearing great things about the 6.7 and I bought a V10 F250 (08) cause 'I don't want a diesel' I love my truck BUT it gets 10 mpg (+or-) whether I'm pulling or not. Ford folks say yep that's the V10 ! I haven't heard anything about the new big V8. Just curious, I'm trying hard NOT to buy a new truck !!! Regards, Craig

Hi, I'm not a big Diesel fan and I'm not sure how well the Ecoboost will work for me. A larger gas engine will not have to work as hard, and in the real world, hold up better. As a retired Ford mechanic, I can give you a similar comparison. With enough air pressure, [150 to 175 PSI] [typical shop pressure] I can remove the lug nuts on my Lincoln with a 3/8" pistol grip impact gun, but at the recommended basic air pressure of 90 PSI [typical home compressor pressure] I can remove my Lincoln's lug nuts with my 1/2" pistol grip impact gun. Both will do the same job, but the smaller gun/engine has to work harder to do it.

[GinMame]

Greetings Everyone!
I recently test drove a F-150 EcoBoost. Overall, I was impressed by how smooth, quiet, and quick the truck was. That said however, I have to agree with Bob, you are essentially asking a small engine to do the work of an engine more than twice it's size. Ford's turbo engines extend back to the 2.3L in the '80 Mustang and '84 Thunderbird, so I'm sure that they more than enough data points to figure out how to build a turbo engine that will be durable in an F-150. So I would be willing to give the EcoBoost a try. However, my mechanic told me about fact that recent Ford gassers have a problem with the spark plugs getting stuck and having to be drilled out at a cost of about $300 per cylinder! Ouch! So I suspect that I will probably either go Super Duty diesel or go GM. I'm curious though, has anybody ever had this problem on a late model Ford truck?

Cheers All,
GinMame (Rion & Nobuko)

[Gene]

I was talking to the service manager at a Ford/Toyota dealer today and we were discussing the EcoBoost. He also has doubts about the Ecoboost engine lasting a long time when it is used to tow a lot. These are the same doubts Bob and Gin' expressed. I started to wonder about this when I saw that although the EcoBoost has great mileage without a big load, it drops down to Tundra numbers when towing—this indicates to me the engine is working very hard under a heavy load. It may be a light duty truck only. So, sell your EcoBoost at 75,000 miles before the engine starts to complain.

The comment about drilling out plugs is interesting. Were those gas engines direct injection engines only? Some direct injection engines (other manufacturers) have had problems with valves getting dirty or eroding very fast because they are not cleaned by the fuel mixture. The fuel in injected directly into the cylinder rather than through the valve port as I understand it—and what is the valve used for then? I don't see how this would be the same problem with the plugs, however. I had a Nissan 21 years ago that had problems with an aluminum block whose threads were too soft for the plug thread, but I never had to drill a plug out. It was a pain changing plugs and not cross threading them or over tightening them. I managed and sold the truck at 145,000 miles.

Gene

[DMT]

My brother is a service manager at a Ford dealer, and he mentioned the potential issue of spark plugs seizing in the head. I changed my plugs at 50k instead of the 100k recommended for the 5.4l because of this. The 157" wheelbase with the two part driveshaft will have a bearing failure at about 40k which will require a tow in to the dealer. Mine failed at 38k. The 5.4l will develop an exhaust manifold leak on the right side. This will happen sooner or later depending on how hard you work the truck. Mine made it to about 45k. Funny thing about the manifold leak. The service guy at the dealership told me it was very common on this engine. I remarked that it was somewhat mind boggling that with the history and quantity of F150's that Ford makes they could not solve such a problem on this engine. He looked at me, grinned and said "They did fix it - they don't make the 5.4 anymore!"

My previous truck was a 1st generation Tundra but when I traded in 09 I saved over $9k on the comparable Ford vs. Tundra. Jury's out on whether that was a good move. Let you know in a few more years. I will say this - my 02 Tundra was more of a Japanese truck and it was bulletproof. I didn't get the same feeling of solid reliability when I test drove the new Tundra. And the Ford is much better set up for towing. Everything is integrated (brake controller, anti-sway, tow/haul mode) and works seamlessly together. The 6 speed transmission in tow/haul mode will control my speed on downhill grades quite effectively - much easier on the brakes. The shift pattern is noticeably different as well, holding gears that extra bit longer. Not sure what the new Tundra has but my old one simply cut out the overdrive when in tow mode. Hopefully they have improved on that.

[Valhalla2Go]

We recently bought a 2011 F150 lariat super crew with $750 ecoboost and max tow package, 3.73 axle, and 157" WB (the 6.5' bed vs the more prevalent 5.5' bed). To give you an idea, I traded in my 2008 F350 diesel super crew - for the following reasons:

1) Diesel fuel costs more and is harder to find in general.
2) F350 diesel & Eco-Boost get about equal MPG when towing
3) Eco-boost gets far better MPG during the 80% of the time when we are not towing
4) Smaller aluminum engine yes but with almost all of the huge torque at 2000 rpm the engine is not truly "working harder" than a larger block V-8 spinning at 4000RPM
5) "pick-up" aka speed and torque when pulling onto an on-ramp or from stop light blows away diesel towing or not. Unbelievable to be hitting 60MPH with trailer in tow coming up the ramp.
6) F150 properly hitched with equalized front and rear axle and even with off-road package is much gentler ride for passengers as well as the trailer - no more stuff dumped on floor from more stiff/rigid F350 suspension.
7) 11,000+ tow capacity is far more than ever needed with 27' FB loaded to max.
8) turbo like diesel does not have the "aspiration issues" and loss of power of a typical gas engine at very high altitudes - like Vail pass etc.

My guess on the shudder between 1st and 2nd (I think I have felt it) is that is the point when truck is hitting 2000rpm and max torque - if you punch the pedal while towing the truck almost skips forward for a moment as all that power comes to bear across the TV & TT. If you ease into it the shudder does not occur.

True that this truck is harder to come by on a lot but just like any vehicle purchase you need to do your homework - I did not want the chrome package but the truck had everything else perfect and the dealer came down @ 4k from MSRP which is in line I thought.

The rear view camera with zoom function, big F350 like telescoping mirrors, and built in sway control and brake controller are a towing dream - pulled the trailer around the area (Colorado Springs @ 7,000 feet) and loved the way everything felt and worked together - will report back after a more grueling trip up into the high country.

Biggest problem I had to overcome when making this decision is the limited rear axle weight (you need to limit the junk in your bed - we typically travel light and I have moved a lot of the trailer necessities - electrical and plumbing related stuff into the trailer). If you carry a ton of kids, dogs, motorbikes etc you may be in trouble. The Pirelli Scorpion OEM tires are workable but soft - very smooth ride unhitched. Will replace with better choice when they are shot in @ 30k miles.

The 2008 diesel was new technology and I had zero issue with the new engine or the truck. Got the extended warranty and not going to sweat the new engine - turbo has been around for a long time and I think Ford's engineers are on a better track then back in the day......

Thus far the truck has blown me away compared to my F350 and prior F150..... Should have been given a more gutsy name like "power-boost" IMHO.....

[Streamer1492]

Thanks for the input, I never "punch it" when pulling the trailer. Slow easy starts, we do notice the shutter more when we are starting at slight uphill incline. I'll try and check rpm when shutter starts next time I pull the AS. Yes, I do have aboput 1000 pounds in the bed and the 28' w SO is 1100 tounge weight. Pulled Vegas to LA (with bed empty) and tried with and without tow mode, with and without limited slip, slightly faster starts and creaping starts, and combinations of all or the above and noticed same problem. Transmission guy at Ford in Silverton, CO. pulled around their lot several times with trailer and could recreate problem before and after resetting "whatever" learning modules. He then put in transmission in manual mode and force to stay in 1st gear and the shutter gets much worst if transmission is not allowed to shift to second. He really think it needs "shims" in the pinon, but the engineers at Ford disagreed. So they are working on fix, and so far everybody at Ford, doesn't think it is hurting to drive or pull. Actually bothers my wife much more than me.

[BigAl]

I have one as well with supercab and 8 foot box. My payload is 2670 lb which is a lot in my opinion.
My question to you who tow: Do you tow in all six speeds or do you lock out one or more speeds? If so why?
Just wondering if it hurts to tow in overdrive. I don't use the tow haul on fairly flat terrain. That's what the manual says will give the best fuel economy.
Love the way the truck handles all situations.
Al

[perryg114]

It will be interesting to see how the Ecoboost does long term. If Ford did their home work and sized the bottom end components to handle full time full boost torque then it should last well. I would definitely run synthetic oil in it. The nice thing about a turbo is it compensates for altitude like a turbo-diesel and it has low RPM torque. Most turbos of the past were designed for quick short bursts of HP. If you tried to tow with a turbo you would burn something up. Turbos got a bad rap in the late 80's and early 90's till you hardly ever saw one in an American made car, even Mitsubishi stopped putting them in the Eclipse. Turbos are very efficient because you are using wasted heat to drive a turbo and boost HP. So you can have a much lighter engine that puts out the same as a V10 and it gets better mileage when you are not towing because now you are paying for a V6 fuel consumption instead of a V10. Now weather it will last as long as a V10 and be as trouble free remains to be seen.

For now, I am staying with my V10 Excursion. I can buy a lot of gas for my gas hog for the cost of a new truck.

Perry

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by GinMame

... However, my mechanic told me about fact that recent Ford gassers have a problem with the spark plugs getting stuck and having to be drilled out at a cost of about $300 per cylinder! Ouch! ...

I remember that being a problem when I worked in a machine shop in the mid-1980s. Of course, it was cheaper then.

The problem wasn't nearly as bad (non-existent in fact) once the factory plugs were removed and replaced with Champions. I never saw anyone who had drilled out a plug go back with Autolites.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by BigAl

My question to you who tow: Do you tow in all six speeds or do you lock out one or more speeds? If so why?Just wondering if it hurts to tow in overdrive.
Al

I just did 3000 miles towing from Southern Colorado to Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons and back. Did some extreme grades and passes. Usually left in 6 speed drive and let it find it's own gearing. On the downhills, I tried locking out 5th or 6th, or using the manual gear select to maintain or select one gear at a time. The tow mode is also great for the descents as it will help you maintain your speed based on what you have braked to. What's nice is that you have three options to suit the situation or momentum.