Ecoboost vs Hemi
Hey guys I need some guidance. I have a 2013 F150 3.5L Ecoboost with the 3.55 axle. I have 70,000 miles on it. I bought it used about 2 years ago and have been up with it until this past month. I ...
Forum Discussion
To the OP:
There are a fair number of Ecoboost owners on this forum and to my knowledge none of the owners here have had engine issues serious enough to cause them to change to another rig. There are a couple of guys who wanted a bigger truck to better handle heavier loads and windy conditions. With that said I am not aware of anyone on this forum who have 150k miles on their truck either. There just have not been enough years since 2011 to accumulate the miles given how most of us drive.
You mention the truck rocks from side to side when accelerating from a stop? I can observe a slight rocking feeling when accelerating hard under load. This may be a 'feature' of the transmission so as a general rule I do not accelerate aggressively when towing. That does not mean I creep off the line, it just means from 0-20 I don't push it. I am not in that big a hurry. If I recall correctly the manual specifically advises against hard acceleration from a stop when towing. Not sure if you are accelerating hard or not, just thought I would share this observation. I tow 8k without an issue, but I have a heaver suspension package on mine (per signature) and LT tires.
Whenever you have a repair it is easy to ask the question 'do I trust this truck'. Mechanical items will fail on occasion. It happens. Repair it and move on. If you see a pattern of failure and you don't trust the truck then maybe it is time make a change. In this case it sounds like the shop may not have addressed the root cause so you are dealing with the same issue. Sure helps things if you can have confidence in your mechanic.
Your father-in-laws Hemi has springs for the rear axle and while that may bring a more comfortable ride it likely has less payload than your truck. The Hemi is a good engine but you will be running at higher rpms. No big deal, but I personally like the torque curve on the Ecoboost which allows me to run at lower rpm and hold the gears longer. If you do decide to move to another rig and are towing 7k and want a Hemi I would consider the 2500 with the 6.4.
As for me I plan on running my truck a long time. If I need to have the valves cleaned at some point in the future, well, there are worse things than that. I like how the truck pulls and am happy with the mileage.
Good luck to you,
Stu
There are a fair number of Ecoboost owners on this forum and to my knowledge none of the owners here have had engine issues serious enough to cause them to change to another rig. There are a couple of guys who wanted a bigger truck to better handle heavier loads and windy conditions. With that said I am not aware of anyone on this forum who have 150k miles on their truck either. There just have not been enough years since 2011 to accumulate the miles given how most of us drive.
You mention the truck rocks from side to side when accelerating from a stop? I can observe a slight rocking feeling when accelerating hard under load. This may be a 'feature' of the transmission so as a general rule I do not accelerate aggressively when towing. That does not mean I creep off the line, it just means from 0-20 I don't push it. I am not in that big a hurry. If I recall correctly the manual specifically advises against hard acceleration from a stop when towing. Not sure if you are accelerating hard or not, just thought I would share this observation. I tow 8k without an issue, but I have a heaver suspension package on mine (per signature) and LT tires.
Whenever you have a repair it is easy to ask the question 'do I trust this truck'. Mechanical items will fail on occasion. It happens. Repair it and move on. If you see a pattern of failure and you don't trust the truck then maybe it is time make a change. In this case it sounds like the shop may not have addressed the root cause so you are dealing with the same issue. Sure helps things if you can have confidence in your mechanic.
Your father-in-laws Hemi has springs for the rear axle and while that may bring a more comfortable ride it likely has less payload than your truck. The Hemi is a good engine but you will be running at higher rpms. No big deal, but I personally like the torque curve on the Ecoboost which allows me to run at lower rpm and hold the gears longer. If you do decide to move to another rig and are towing 7k and want a Hemi I would consider the 2500 with the 6.4.
As for me I plan on running my truck a long time. If I need to have the valves cleaned at some point in the future, well, there are worse things than that. I like how the truck pulls and am happy with the mileage.
Good luck to you,
Stu
