Ford 150 3.5L Ecoboost vs Ram 1500 3.0 Ecodiesel?

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I had a 3.0 Ecodiesel and it sucked. My first and hopefully only lemon experience and dealing with FCA was a nightmare but they finally bought it back. Other than the motor it was a pretty nice truck. Better equipped than my 2017 3.5L EB but that was my own doing, can't really compare a Laramie to an XLT.

But the 3.5L EB kind of sucks too if they can't figure out this cam phaser crap. Which they won't.
Cam issue isn’t affecting all trucks. Mechanic buddy says he thinks Fords parts supplier pulled a switch on material type to a cheaper material very common issue in the Auto biz right now. The old switcher oo to cheaper materials once your quality part gets the approval.
 

skrypj

Well-known member
My understanding is the 3.5ecoboost got added to the F-150 in 2011, is there a big difference between the early years and the more newer years? My thinking is I could probably pick up a used 3.5 ecoboost for a good price. As much as I'd love a new 2021, I'm thinking that would be cost prohibitive right now.

I'm near the SF bay area so gas prices are obscene right now.

The first gen 3.5 was 2011-2016. There was some minor changes during that time. In 2013 they got larger turbos, although the power rating stayed the same. Some of the issues with the 1st gen:

-Timing chain stretch. Ford used one long chain for both cylinder banks so it was more susceptible to stretch issues. Solution seems to be short oil change(5k or less) and making sure you get the truck hot once in a while. This does not happen to everyone and it seems to be an issue on trucks that dont get worked. We have seen some 400k mile trucks that towed every day for work that were still on the factory chain.
-Warped exhaust manifolds. Ford seems to have used the same manifold stud pattern as the non turbo V6. Its a terrible design and there is a big gap between studs toward the back of the manifold where the turbo is bolted on. Get it hot enough and they will warp. You can tell they warped because the rear most stud is usually snapped off. The manifolds will make a high pitched chirping noise when the truck is cold and you hit the gas.



2017 was the first year of the second gen and included some major changes:

-Dual injection. The 1st gen was only direct injected, the injector spray directly into the cylinder like a diesel. Second gens also have port fuel injectors. This helps mpg’s at low loads, but also washes the intake valves clean, which is an issue for direct injected motors
-Two timing chains. So now each bank gets its own smaller chain. Chain stretch is not an issue but they messed up the cam phaser design so there is that now, which may be fixed.
-redesigned exhaust manifolds. No more warped manifolds
-electronic wastegate actuators. Not a big deal but just gives the pcm much better control over boost.
-10 speed trans.
-Turbos might be slightly bigger than the 2013-2016 turbos.

In 2018 the 3.5L got even larger turbos to match the ones in the Raptor with the 450hp 3.5L. Again, no change in the power rating but this allows the truck to make full rated power right to 12000’+ of elevation.

The 2.7L got dual injection, the 10 speed, and a small torque bump in 2018
 
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Grassland

Well-known member
The coyote, despite pretty much being a mod motor, doesn't seem to have as many issues until you get to oil consumption in the 2018+ ones I think. Whenever they went to direct injection.
The 2.7 seems to be holding up best outside of those couple years of defective engines I wanna say 2016 to early 17.
And of course the non turbo cyclone motors in longitudinal direction are great. Just missing all the extra power.
 

skrypj

Well-known member
How big of an issue is the cam phasers?

It's enough of an issue that if you bought a used truck I would consider an extended warranty. Its not that it results in catastrophic failure, but you don't wanna pay for that out of pocket. Its a decent job and would probably cost $2000 if you had them replace all the parts while they are in there. A lot of the people I have talked to have had them replaced while still in warranty, so it can strike at lower miles, but if you grab a used truck that is outside of Ford's warranty you will be on your own.

If you go for test drives, make sure you can cold start the truck. It basically will sound like a cummins when you cold start it if the phasers are bad.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
How big of an issue is the cam phasers?
Warranty fix and for a few months the bigger issue was parts availability causing people to be in a rental for a few weeks waiting on parts

Cold start ie first morning start up loud sound. Pretty easy to spot. Lots of pretty good videos on YouTube ?
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Warranty fix and for a few months the bigger issue was parts availability causing people to be in a rental for a few weeks waiting on parts

As mentioned the 2.7 in the last say 2 yrs has been really solid. It’s put into a few vehicles in slightly different versions so Ford had to get it sorted fast or it was going to cost them big.

As a most current version 3.5 owner I would totally shop the 2.7. In fact if I were shopping vehicles in the 2.3 -2.7 availability the most recent 2.3 and the 2.7 for the say last 2-3 yrs are really nice engines. I think my mid / late yr 2019 3.5 is nearly as sorted out as the 2.3 -2.7s now. I hope.
 

deserteagle56

Adventurer
I'm inclined to go for the 3.5L over the 2.7L because the difference in mpg is minor but the payoff is nice. I think having the 36 gallon tank on the 3.5L is a must.

I spec'd my truck with the 36 gallon tank. Here's a couple extremes of what I've seen as mileage with my 3.5 Ecoboost. These are examples of the miles I've gotten out of one tank of gas.

First is after 708 miles of easy commuting...and 98 miles still left to go!
DSC01628r.jpg

And...after towing ~ 4000 lb on a 16' trailer, very un-aerodynamic, into a ferocious head wind at 70 mph:
DSC05087r.jpg

A huge difference between the two. 360 miles less on that one tank of gas. But you'll never lack for power. My truck has the 3.55 gears and despite pulling that load into that headwind at 70 mph it only shifted down out of overdrive twice in that 348 miles.

And by the way...the mpg shown on the truck's display in the photos is optimistic by 1-2 mpg. Mine has always been that way...there's a way to correct that but I haven't bothered.
 

skrypj

Well-known member
I spec'd my truck with the 36 gallon tank. Here's a couple extremes of what I've seen as mileage with my 3.5 Ecoboost. These are examples of the miles I've gotten out of one tank of gas.

First is after 708 miles of easy commuting...and 98 miles still left to go!
View attachment 657839

And...after towing ~ 4000 lb on a 16' trailer, very un-aerodynamic, into a ferocious head wind at 70 mph:
View attachment 657840

A huge difference between the two. 360 miles less on that one tank of gas. But you'll never lack for power. My truck has the 3.55 gears and despite pulling that load into that headwind at 70 mph it only shifted down out of overdrive twice in that 348 miles.

And by the way...the mpg shown on the truck's display in the photos is optimistic by 1-2 mpg. Mine has always been that way...there's a way to correct that but I haven't bothered.

Lol, yeah, I have gotten 6.7 mpg towing my 5500 lb travel trailer through Wyoming into a nasty headwind. Not having the 36 gallon tank would have been horrific.
 

skrypj

Well-known member
Sounds like the 2021 2.7 heavy tow pack can be had with 36 gallon tank??. Geeze. Also got a 2k bump in tow capacity.
That would make for one hell of a long distance rig.

I won't call it a deal killer, but one of the hurdles for me with the 2.7 is that you cannot get it in a supercrew, 6.5' bed, 4x4. Only a 2x4. I have the 6.5' bed now and really like it.

It is nice to see they have opened up the 2.7 Payload package to work with more options like the 302A and 36 gallon tank though. The Payload package would be manditory for me as I would easily use the payload of a regular 2.7 when I tow.
 
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calicamper

Expedition Leader
Just rough numbers that 2.7 with 36 gallon tank. My last big trip with my Toyota? LoL it would have been like 6 fewer fuel stops??.
Traveling with that 2.7 36gal combo and family in their Toyota would have been like a constant “nah I’m good but we’ll meet you at the park we’ll go let the kids play for a bit ?
 

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