thoughts on Ecoboost

[huskyfan68]

Having too many issues with the 09 F150- The 5.4 that year is proving to be to problematic. I borrowed a friends 3.5L Ecoboost to pull my 5000lb trailer and it pulled with little effort. Looking for feedback on dependablity

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Here is a great video on the EcoBoost.

The guy does a great job of talking about the good and the problems with this engine.

When this guy talks about this being a high performance engine he is a 100% correct. This engine needs to be thought of as pretty much a race engine. As mentioned, race engines need impeccable maintenance.

Another thing about this engine and engines like this. They don't have much duty cycle. That's why class 8 diesels have a big CID displacement in them. We can make big power with a little engine but when the weather turns hot and the mountains get steep you need that big mass to displace the heat the engine produces.

In short, if you are going to pound on this engine day in and day out up steep mountains in hot weather this engine is not for you IMHO.

If you are a weekend warrior and pull a trailer now and then in easy or moderate conditions this might be a great engine for you.

[Bionic_Man]

I have a 2019 Expedition MAX as a secondary tow vehicle for my 7000 pound boat.

Power has never been a concern. Actually is nothing short of impressive.

MPG solo is bette than the 6.2 Yukon XL Denali it replaced.

A couple of real complaints. It gets REALLY hot towing through the mountains in Colorado. Like 245* hot. Both engine and tranny.

It sucks fuel when towing. Coming home from the lake this weekend was 8 MPG on flat ground with no wind at 75 MPH.

Towed a very light 17’ fishing boat back from North Dakota a few weeks back. 75 mph with some wind and I was at 9 mpg. There really doesn’t seem to be a huge difference in MPG when towing regardless of weight.

And pretty much all the 3.5 right now have the recall for the cam shaft phasers. Mine sounds terrible at start up and it’s been on the parts list since September.

[MitchF150]

bgum wrote:
Anything that needs that much attention belongs in someone else's garage.

Yep, and that's why mine is in my garage.. 😉

I thought towing something heavy always needed some extra 'attention' while doing it?? 🙂

Mitch

[BarabooBob]

I have 229,000 miles on mine. At 185,000 I had to have the timing equipment replaced. At 215,000 miles I had an exhaust manifold warp. Not cheap repairs but nothing that busted the bank either. I only tow about 3500 pounds but have never had the engine heating up and I have towed over many 11,000 ft passes (most of the major ones) including I70, Trial Ridge Road, Beartooth, and 14A going both directions. We have put 50,000 miles of towing on the truck. I d3etermine my tranny gear by watching the tranny temp and shift if it gets above 200 degrees. I have never run out of power.

[Mike134]

I have 48,000 on mine with no issues.

As someone above mentioned keep the RPMs around 2200 gives the best gas milage when towing. 9-11 MPG for me depending on wind direction.

[IdaD]

My sister has a couple, one in an F150 and one in an Expedition. They have about a 6000-7000 lb loaded travel trailer. One of them, and I think it's the F150, has trouble overheating when towing on long grades in warm weather. I don't know if there's something wrong with it or they aren't managing it properly per a couple of posts up. Aside from that I think they've been pretty happy with them. The only other thing I've consistently heard about Ecoboosts is that the fuel economy is terrible when towing.

[Lwiddis]

I don't have a Ford 3.5 Ecoboost but a number of my friends do. They are happy.

[BurbMan]

We leased a 2018 Explorer Sport with the 3.5 EB and only towing experience was a double axle U haul cargo trailer that was probably 3k lbs when loaded up. Power was awesome, I could tow that trailer at 70 mph all day long up and down hills....except for the 7 mpg and 18 gal tank that had us stopping for fuel every 2 hours. Could almost set your watch by the fuel stops. We put about 20k miles on the Explorer before the lease was up but zero problems.

This motor has been out for several years and don't hear many if any issues with the longevity on the internals etc. Gotta run premium gas though. I think for a 7K trailer it really comes down to how far and how often you tow, I don't think there's any question it will get the job done reliably.

[Grit_dog]

Not a ford guy but 2 thumbs up for the eco boost.
Just do a little research. First cpl years had an intercooler thing going on. And some/all have cam phaser ? issues. But GM and Ram have issues too.
Eco boost is generally good though. Or they would t be largely the same engine 10 years later.

[bgum]

Anything that needs that much attention belongs in someone else's garage.

[MitchF150]

Been towing with my 13 F150 Ecoboost since new. First with the old #5000 TT I used to tow with the 97 F150 with the 5.4. Different 5.4 than in your 09 however.. You could not give me a truck with the 5.4 3v in it... Garbage IMO..

Anyway, Moved up to a #7000 TT in 2019 and have not looked back.. I did have to switch to 92 octane fuel for the Eco however to take advantage of all of it's potential.. Which, BTW, has proven to me anyway, that it does make a difference... 🙂

You do gotta watch how much 'boost' you give it on the grades.. Those turbos will heat up the motor pretty quick. Also, don't lug the engine either thinking you are saving gas by lowering your rpms while towing... Don't work that way.. Yes, your rpms are lower, but your boost is higher, so it just dumps more fuel in it, and also creates more heat at the same time.

Keep the rpms around the 2200 range while on the flats and it'll actually give you a bit better mpgs than running lower rpms..

I'll give it a 'thumbs up' with the disclaimer that you have to know your rig and just not put it in gear and stab the go pedal.. 🙂

Good luck! Mitch