EcoBoost Makes Ward's 10 Best Engine List

I've got 65k on mine with about 30k of it towing. No problems.

I looked on AutoTrader a year ago and saw a few examples of the 3.5 with 200k on them and a dozen or more over 150k. No way to tell if they towed at all.

I was a fan of the Ecoboost when it came out, even though I haven't owned one. I might be getting an Ecoboost Interceptor sedan in the next week or two at work though.

My camper takes me out of half ton range though, so I'll be interested if/when Ford gets comfortable putting these in 3/4 ton trucks, even if that means a slightly reduced tow rating.

Ram offered the 5.7 engine in the 3/4 ton truck, with a slightly lower payload and a slightly lower tow rating than the 6.4 or 6.7 engines. Same frame, I would expect same or similar axles and brakes. If Ford offered a 3/4 ton with 2500 lbs payload and 13,000 lbs towing with the Ecoboost engine, that could sell a bunch. People that don't like loading a F150 up that high and like the "overbuilt" design of the 3/4 ton, but want lower torque than the 6.2 gas without paying the premium for the 6.7 diesel.

Again, it comes down to cost. If Ford could offer the Ecoboost in a 3/4 ton for a good amount cheaper than a diesel, I think they would sell.

To say V8's don't have cooling problems would be turning a blind eye. A number of engines later in life had their firing order changed for just this reason.

I am surprised at the life of turbos in cars and trucks today but have also been wary of just how long they will last and what the extra heat and pressure loads will do to the rest of engine over extended time.

The boosted 4-cylinder can now replace the older normally aspirated 6-cylinder and the boosted six replaces the eight. I'm still waiting to see if they will do a boosted eight for commercial use...

I have about 60k on my 2013, about 10k of that towing about 9500lbs. No issues to speak of. I changed plugs at 40k. Needs a brake job. Been a solid truck and gets a heck of lot better economy around town than any v8 I've ever owned. It's my all time favorite engine.

I should note that I have a 2.7l and 2 2.0l EB's in my fleet that have also been trouble free, but they are lower mileage.

Me to...am a big block fan, but know am in the minority that is shrinking...

It boils down to PSI on the piston top for any ICE

Small displacement crammed with big block amounts of air and fuel behaves like a big block, as the PSI force to the crank is in the same ball park as a big block. Know folks don't understand why their tiny displacement gets similar/same MPG towing same/similar trailer as a big V8...telling that they don't understand this crammed amount of fuel/air into a small cylinder thing...

Issues 'have been' blowing holes in the pistons, bending connecting rods, bending cranks, wearing out crank journals, blowing holes in cylinder walls and the biggie...keeping a small surface area block/head cool while producing big block amounts of power.

There just isn't enough surface area on these small displacement ICE's to manage the amounts of heat...unless expensive to design, test and build measures are taken

Part of the why there is a engine oil spray inside the block jetting to the bottom of the piston/rod/crank. Would assume the journal bearing dia & width is in the order of a big block's...and bet even larger, as that amount of power is spread over 4 journals or 6 journals vs 8 journals.

Minor stuff that will kill these small displacement ICE's quickly is engine oil PSI/GPH. If the oil film is lost and the journals go metal to metal too often...catastrophic failure very soon... A misfire one time too many on these small displacement with big block amounts of fuel/air can destroy itself in a hurry. Betcha they go into any of the levels of limp mode more easily/often than my big block

Duty cycle rating for towing heavy is way different than when using the same TV as a 'car'. Folks who compare racing vs towing miss that point and/or do NOT understand duty cycle rating

Still waiting for the used and rebuild market reports. As how much is left to rebuild is still a big question to me

I never gave much thought of the 2.7, always thought the 3.5 would be better. Incredible power for sure from both engines. I am curious how many who tow with the ecoboost has excess of 200k on them. Not a dig but curios because the ecoboost engines seem to be very popular and I wonder about longevity since it's been brought up before.