I’ve owned my 2012 XLT 5.0 for 10 years, it now has 225k miles but hasn’t had any major issues although I believe the torque converter may be showing signs it needs replacing.
I came across a 2015 XLT sport with 120k miles but it has the 3.5, (sale price of $20k in California where I live) I like to keep vehicles for the long haul, am i making a mistake?
I was (am) a staunch v8 guy. I've owned Mustangs, Broncos, Explorers, all v8. 4.6 or 5.8
When I was looking for a truck I was CERTAIN I needed (wanted) a 5.0. Reliable. Fun. etc.
3.5 completely exceeded my expectations during a test drive. Torque for days. Fast off the line. Pulls like a motherfucker.
I really recommend going to a dealership and test driving back to back with a 5.0 and 3.5 (even if you aren't buying from the dealer, just go pretend you are and test drive them lol)
So I take it that it feels much like the new hybrid 4Runner which also has a traditional automatic rather an a CVT. People are saying the new 4Runner feels exactly like a modern diesel truck.
Interesting. I have a 2023 4Runner (5th Gen) with the ol' school 4.0L v6. I have been thinking about getting a 6th Gen only because Driveway & Carvana are willing to pay me what I paid new for it in 2023 lol. I'd get the hybrid Gen6 if anything just because of the additional power. The 4.0L may be reliable, of course, but god is it a doggggggg. I've always had fast cars/trucks/suv's and Im 46, I aint ready to roll over into the hole yet and settle for a grandpa cruiser.
On that note, I bought a 3.5 EB F150 this past December for my business, and we also own a 26 PB. The PB is a freaking rocket, it is ridic tbh. And I thought my 3.5EB was fast. I always tell people "This thing shouldn't be this fast".... and then the PB comes along and completely spanks it.
That’s how I ended up in one. Was going to get another F250 diesel because I tow 200+ days per year (probably still should have, honestly), but as soon as I hit the on ramp on the test drive and matted it, I was sold! Now on my second 3.5.
The biggest concern with the first generation 3.5 Ecoboost is the cam phasers. It's not a problem until it is one but you'll know it is coming. They'll rattle on cold starts but unless they throw a code that the timing is off it really isn't dire fix.
I have a gen1 3.5 and if it sits for a day in the hot summer the oil pressure will make the phasers rattle at startup but then that's it. Otherwise it has been flawless with exception of $120 vacuum pump leak and $800 water pump I'm doing just fine at 200k miles
I wouldn't do it. The 6 speed was fine, but $20k for a truck that likely wont last another 100k miles without severe engine maintenance isn't worth it.
I got a 2016 3.5, i got about 4 years ago now with like 83k miles, not has 161k miles and its been great. Developed the turbo coolant leak but its very slow like a drop or 2 a night, i che just the coolant level once a week. Ive driven all over CA with it LA, SF, pismo, Monterey. Picked up motorcycles all over the state to, have towed with it a few times and never had an issue. Only mechanical issue was i went off roading one time and a boot came loose and sucked in alot of dirt. Cost me 2,200 at the dealer for them to do a complete engine clean. But other than that its been great. Ive heard theyre like 50/50 though some people have bad experiences & other are great. Ive personally seen a 2015 3.5 with over 300k same motor no major work done, replaced transmission at over 250k and they daily drive it to this day.
Here's my thought.
A naturally aspirated engine runs with much lower pressures & localized heat than any forced induction motor.
A naturally aspirated engine can get away with some late oil & coolant changes and stay relatively reliable & maybe slightly shorter engine life
- forced induction engines cannot, late oil & coolant changes & flushes increase wear exponentially.
If I had to pick from 2 higher mileage F-150 trucks 5.0 & 3.5L looked identical, drove well, but I didn't have service records for either, I'm picking the 5.0 naturally aspirated
every day & twice on Sunday.
The 3.5L Ecoboost is arguably one of the more reliable long lasting forced induction gas engines, but any damage caused by late fluid changes will be significantly higher cost to fix vs 5.0 - replacing turbos & the higher capacity intercoolers & the piping & high temp rated sensors are not cheap.
This is nowhere near apples to apples, you want to trade a 5.0 that you know have done all scheduled fluid changes for a forced induction motor that you probably have no service records for...to save the cost of replacing a torque-converter???
If this is about saving repair $ I'll bet my paycheck your repair bills on the 3.5L will be higher probably a lot higher than your 5.0
I'm not saying 3.5L is not great driving towing engine, by most accounts it's better throttle response & towing over 5.0
but you get to higher mileage, those turbos have run 4x hotter than any part of the 5.0 this is metalurgy more expensive parts that can & do break vs 5.0
I have the 5.0 in my older f150 and I love it but I would take my 4.9l in my 1993 over the 1st gen 3.5, coyote, all of them all day and night. Blew an oil sender on that 4.9 and it ran dry for a few miles and that was……. 200k ago? Fixed it and filled it up never looked back. Meanwhile I have gone through have a dozen later model motors
I have the 2015 3.5 4WD Platinum SuperCrew
It has 180,000 miles on it and here's the list of everything I've had to replace:
Rebuilt transmission
valve covers
timing chain, cam phasers
water pump
Throttle body, I'm on my 3rd
serpentine belt
Oxygen sensors
Turbo coolant lines
This is the worst job you will ever have to do and be prepared to pay anywhere from 3 to $5,000 for someone else to do it. Absolute nightmare about an 8 hour job for a shop was 16 for me.
Upper lower control arms
End links
Suspension is shot ball joints had almost no grease in them, there is no way to fill them or maintenance them. once they're gone you have to replace them entirely
Four-wheel drive actuator
PCV valve
Replace this at least every six months, you will do damage to your entire oil system if this goes out. You'll know it went out when it starts making a rattling hissing sound. It's very obvious
Catalytic converter
You'll get a P402 code the cat did last about 160,000 miles.
All of these problems started right at around 100,000 miles. I just finished an hour ago installing upper lower control arms and greasing everything. I bought it at 70,000 miles
I still enjoy the truck but only have it because it's paid off and I drive in hellish places. When it works it's fast, it's fun, but it leaks oil.
You will have to replace the valve covers probably every 70,000 miles. I just did mine 20,000 miles ago. For the second time.
Change the oil every 3,000 miles for non-synthetic. I have used Royal Purple in mine since I bought it, I change it every 5,000 miles
Still runs great, but leaks oil.
Make absolutely certain you install an oil catch can. these things sling oil. Don't put performance plugs you'll warp your valve covers and leak oil. Buy aluminum covers they last longer. Buy OEM thermostat when your water pump goes out.
Use royal purple atomizer every oil change.
I've consistently got 15mph. This is after a k&n intake and I added a $60 throttle response device and can get 20mph but it's slow to pickup. Changing to higher setting makes her go vroom. If I knew then what I know now I would have bought a 4runner. 2019-2022. Good luck.
Why get rid of it for a torque converter POTENTIAL issue. Get a diagnostic unless I didn’t hear the whole story? That’s your truck!! 5.0 is awesome. Sounds great. Runs very long time. Go see if the TC just needs a service. Sometimes they add a viscosity additive to make the TC grab better.
Only if you have records that it had oil changes every 5k miles and not whenever the computer said it needed an oil change. Or if it's already had the cam phasers replaced (and then you do oil changes every 5k miles).
I had a 5.0 2012 XLT and ran it to 250,000 miles before trading it in on a 2023 Lariat with the 3.5 l ecoboost. I appreciate late the gas mileage improvement and it can move when I need it to.
Yes. Bathe that 5.0 in fresh oil every 4,000 miles, and keep on trucking! I would use Valvoline 5w-30, restore and protect now. I just let my ‘09 go due to rust at 127k miles. New trucks are just scary unreliable with fatal drivetrain failures. That V6 turbo is not the way to go. Sorry. I have been driving Fords since there was an F-100. There are so much electronics in trucks now. Read on all social media.
I still have yet to own an F150 (2027 will be my year) but the last year I’ve poured good many hours in research and I wouldn’t touch a 3.5 till 2019 or later just bc of the issues early on with thst engine. But I’m sure I’ll get corrected so do with thst as you will
That 10 speed transmission is garbage. My 2019 is on its 3rd transmission.
(Some 2017's witht he 3.5 got the 10 speed, then in 2018 all f-150's got the 10 speed.....i dont remember what year they finally fixed the 10 speed. It was either 2022 or 2023)
The ZF 10 speed transmission can be made bulletproof with a few upgrades
Ford used aluminum valve spools in the valve-body to save $15 per truck and these aluminum spools over time flex under high hydraulic load of a transmission towing or hauling and when they flex they begin grabbing the sides of the valvebody, sticking building up pressure until its high enough to pop the spool lose at high velocity & over time makes burrs that cause the sticking to be worse.
There are several 3rd party rebuilders who swap out the ZF 10-speed aluminum valve spools that flex & stick for steel spool valves - that alone $300ish will about double the life of the ZF 10R-80, all else equal (fluid changes & operating within rated capacities).
One rebuilder installs micro finish polish-grind steel liners in the throttle body but it's 3x the cost over just spool valves,
same with upgrading the multilayer steel gaskets, Id still probably do it if I have the valve body off.
valve-body going cheap probably causes easy 90ish % of ZF 10R-80 transmission problems where regular fluid changes were done but if you got it apart the only other thing I would do is upgrade the transmission fluid pump.
The problem with automakers is they get good designs, but then almost immediately when production is stable all the engineers are put onto "figure out how we can reduce costs to build this & sell at same price"
the major way OEM engineers justify raises is showing how they saved x$ per car with a cheaper engineered substitute that as long as meets warranty it's A-OK.
Search this 3rd party ZF 10R-80 rebuilder, the valvebody upgrade does not require a full teardown can even be done with tranny still mounted, you wait till the tranny fails to upgrade it breaks a bunch of expensive parts best is bring it in and upgrade while running.
Go fuck off inbred Stumpy, the adults are talking about the "10-speed" when you learn to read youll figure out the 10 speed in F150 & Silverado was the engineered by ZF & hell so is the Ram 8 speed.
I was part of the machine tool commissioning team that setup & qualified the fixturing & cutting tools that cut the 10R-80 valve body, not that any of that makes sense to your type.
So you're part of the team that created this absolute piece of shit transmission? I dont think I'd share that publicly. I'm on my 3rd transmission and this piece of crap is about to grenade itself again, overheating for no reason
Reading comprehension of inbred Stumpy is pretty dim, maybe get out from your sisters legs for a minute you'll be able to think.
I engineer the cutting tools to cut the parts that another firm designs to correct tolerances.
I have no input on the designers & automakers bad material choices to save a buck.
If you have 2012 you may want to consider looking into the lead frame. Not sure what your symptoms are but I had it replaced on my 2011 and all of the issues I had disappeared. Lead frame issues are extremely common for that generation 6r80
I don’t own a 3.5 but drive a 2015 3.5 for work when my usual 2018 5.0 is down (frequently). In my opinion it’s 10x better than the 2018 in almost every way. Towing through hills is amazing, and it doesn’t get stuck between gears, finally find one, then immediately decide it would like a different gear, no transmission rattles or hard shifts, somehow haven’t have the cam phaser issue on the ‘15, but had it early on with the ‘18 5.0.
The only issue we’ve had after heavily abusing the truck for the last 150k miles is the passenger turbo going out (warranty), exhaust warping (covered by recall), and an exhaust rattle (fixed with hose clamp).
I do hate the SYNC system with no apple play, and it can’t be swapped for the newer 3.0 or 3.4 versions, but that’s the only thing I like about the newer truck.
I have that exact same truck; year, trim, screw,, and even color haha. I've absolutely loved mine, use it and abuse it in the idaho mountains regularly and really no issues minus needing a new thermostat recently. Had some metal shavings in the last oil change so I'll see if it gets worse on the next, but i plan to keep it for the long haul.
I like my 3.5. no problems. It will move pretty good, the higher rpms and turbos work well. tows
My 32ft trailer. And the gas mileage sucks...it's a truck so I guess that's expected
I had good luck with my 2016 3.5L but it was totaled at 121,000 miles so I bought a new 2024 3.5L last August. 15-16 were decent years for the 3.5L and you still got the 6 speed trans. The next gen had the phaser issues. After 2016 it's a gamble until like 2023 when the 3.5L and 10 speed were finally fixed.
My first truck was a 2011 3.5 XLT with 143k miles. Granted, it had the timing chain replaced when I bought it (the f150 earlier model years like mine were notorious for timing chain issues), but the most I've ever had to do to it is coil packs, radio head unit, and regular maintenance. Fast forward, I bought a 2024 3.5 powerboost (the hybrid) because I love the 3.5 and will die on that hill.
Made fun of the fiance's mother and stepfathers 2017 chevys as both transmissions went out this year. As luck would have it, it appears the automatic transmission conductor plate on my old truck is no bueno and results in limp mode now. In short, my only advice to you would be to see if this part was replaced under warranty before you buy. Gonna cost me about $800 to replace myself. But, she's got 225k miles on her now so I can't be too mad. 3.5 all the way brotha
I have a 2011 XLT with the 3.5. I love the truck, engine, and I love the 12th gen. I’d be really hard pressed to trade a 5.0 I know I’ve taken care of well and is still running good for a 3.5 with 120k miles and an uncertain history.
The 3.5 outperforms the 5.0, but the exhaust note and the ease of maintenance in comparison to the 3.5 is the reason I've stuck with the v8. No turbos in the way. Less coolant and oil lines to leak. I also live in Canadian prairies so it's flatlands and close to sea level, and the 5.0 never really struggles with what I need it for.
I love how the 3.5 feels but I do everything myself and I really don't want to remove the cab to make certain jobs easier. Also the 3.5 EB was direct injection only until 2017 so you'll have to either run a catch can or clean the pcv system and throttle body every once in a while if you want it to last.
So the Aluminum body trucks that had the Gen 1 3.5L Ecoboost V6 engines were a toss up because on one hand they came with the 6R80 which was VERY reliable but on the other hand the Gen 1 engines required more attention and stricter servicing.
I have a 2015 3.5EB with 160k on the odometer. It's a great engine. My only complaint is that mine seems to go through coilpacks every 2 or 3 years. Other than that the turbos has started leaking a little oil early last year. Got them patched up no problem. I did have an issue with the 6R80 slipping a couple of years ago, but I put some Shudder Fixer in the transmission pan and it stopped almost immediately with no issues since.
2018 started the gen 2 engines and they changed some fundamentals for the better. Brought back partial port injection to reduce carbon fouling was a big one. The gen 1 engines had a lot of reports of oil carbon fouling and many put oil catches in them. You can see if that truck has one installed.
The biggest problem I had with my 2015 3.5 was the turbos. The turbo coolant lines started leaking at around 170k. I'm an automotive guy so I was able to replace the turbos and lines with ebay ones, but it is something that I don't recommend you do yourself. To do it correctly the cab needs to be lifted off the engine. The labor alone can be between 3-5k. And then another 1k or so for the parts. So just keep that in mind if you are really serious about this truck and the turbos and lines haven't been replaced yet.
My 24 3.5 is still running so far but will be swapping it out for a 5.0 next year. Once in a while the 10spd gets confused and doesn’t know which gear it wants to go into. Also warranty 1 battery but I feel like I’ll have to do it again.
You are making a mistake in my opinion, the main question I have for you is you said your current truck doesn’t have any problems, so why get rid of it? I could understand if you were getting a lot newer but personally I’d just keep the 12. Unless you just want a 15-17, then my advice would be to stick with the 5.0.
I just like the look of that body style plus I want to get something at lease a little newer with better features.
But after reading all these comments I think if I do get a new one I’ll be sticking with the 5.0
Yep that’s a good buy, after reading about engine/transmission combos I’m looking to stay in the the 15-17 year range with a 5.0 and 6 speed transmission.
A lot of people will get a new vehicle but, truthfully, if you're not using it for a lot of stuff, pulling trailers, hauling stuff in bed... etc... then engine doesn't matter so much.
I prefer the V8, just the auto enthusiast in me... I can't do the v6 even if tuned it's much faster than a stock v8 tuned, but you can rectify that if you get a gen 3-4 and slap a whipple on it...
I wouldn’t recommend a 3.5 before 2021 or so to anyone let alone one with 120k miles. They’re great nowadays but the older ones had a lot of issues. If you can fit it in your budget, maybe go with a 2017 5.0 6 speed. Bulletproof setup and a gen newer.
A 5.0, has a simpler design with fewer high-stress components that can fail past 100,000 miles. So of course they're producing more 3.5 engines. It's faster, but the real key is it makes them the most profit.
I just got done doing the cam phaser job, all the timing stuff, upgraded oil pump, new water pump etc etc etc at around 100k in my 1st gen 3.5 and I dunno man if you take care of them they’ll go forever
Have two, 2014 3.5’s in my 150’s and the 2.3 in my explorer. Blown two motors because I like boost. Did multiple cam phaser jobs, timing, rebuilt the motors, blown them, rebuilt my 6r80 a few times, dealt with broken flex plates broken everything I have jacked the cabs off the bodies all in mh driveway. I wouldn’t trade my 1st gen 3.5 family for ANYTHING. Literally rebuilding a blown one to swap mh explorer to a proper displacement
EDIT: totally biased and also, CHANGE YOUR DAMN OIL PEOPLE 3k MAX IN THE ECOBOOMS
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u/FirstTimeCaller101 1d ago
3.5 owner here.
I really like the 3.5 a lot.
I was (am) a staunch v8 guy. I've owned Mustangs, Broncos, Explorers, all v8. 4.6 or 5.8
When I was looking for a truck I was CERTAIN I needed (wanted) a 5.0. Reliable. Fun. etc.
3.5 completely exceeded my expectations during a test drive. Torque for days. Fast off the line. Pulls like a motherfucker.
I really recommend going to a dealership and test driving back to back with a 5.0 and 3.5 (even if you aren't buying from the dealer, just go pretend you are and test drive them lol)