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5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard?

amschind

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I think that the 3.5 is the most AND least reliable engine. The 2.7 is the strongest build of them, but it also has the worst Achilles' heel of any of the F150 motors. As is often the case, the devil is in the details. The first gen Ecoboosts in the transverse mounts had a water pump build into the inside of the timing chain cover such that nobody replaced one until it killed the engine with a dreaded milkshake.....and then got replaced along with the entire rest of the motor. The longitudinal mount 3.5s used an external water pump which could still fail and leak, but it did so onto the user's driveway instead of into its own oil. One of those failure conditions is obvious and easily repaired, the other is completely undetectable until is fails catasrophically.

The 2.7/3.0 is build like a monster, but drives the oil pump with a rubber belt submerged in hot engine oil. If you could get a kit that replaced that belt with a chain, it would probably be the best engine available for the F150.
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CoolCoyote

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There is one thing you can't argue about which engine is best, and that's the exhaust note.

We are very lucky that the 2.7, 3.5, and 5.0 all perform remarkably well.

I'm a 5.0 guy, as to me there's nothing better than a Coyote V8, but the 3.5 is pretty amazing as well.
 

Samson16

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Absolutely. M3 starts at $76,000. Mustang Dark Horse 4th gen 5.0L has 500 horsepower and 3.8 sec 0-60 for $20,000 less
C’mon J. Ten second Google search to sink your 56k Dark Horse silliness.

Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? IMG_2048
 

JExpedition07

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C’mon J. Ten second Google search to sink your 56k Dark Horse silliness.

IMG_2048.webp
Bro you literally cannot be serious? A Dark Horse starts at $56,000, an M3 starts at $76,000. You think dealer mark ups don’t apply to the M3 lmfao. The reality is the American DOHC V8 curb stomps turbocharged competition in this bracket dollar for dollar, GM has caught on to this with the new 5.5 DOHC in the Vette. I can buy a 760 horsepower GT-500 for the cost of a M3 with performance pack. The motor is 10X the motor that BMW has, the only thing holding it back is RWD. Hell, buy a GT and get the 800 horsepower FP800 pack and you are still ahead.

I am a red blooded American, not a euro boy. I’ll stick to my 8 pistons till you pull them from my cold dead hands. George Washington didn’t surrender to the British, I’m certainly not surrendering to their engineering.
 
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amschind

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On other thought: some of the inherited wisdom around turbo longevity is ignoring the fact that these are water/oil cooled turbochargers. An oil-only turbo can have its bearings coked up by a carless driver, thus the marked difference in longevity between the turbo on a Cummins inline 6 and the nearly identical turbo on a Volvo inline 5: oddly, the vehicle and driver WRAPPED AROUND the turbo are what make the difference. A water/oil cooled turbo with correctly designed thermosiphon is basically impossible to kill apart from a manufacturing defect. I've mentioned this before, but the PB is harder on its turbos than the soccer mom with the Volvo S60T who wanted an excuse to get a new car.
 

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Samson16

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Bro you literally cannot be serious? A Dark Horse starts at $56,000, an M3 starts at $76,000??? You think dealer mark ups don’t apply to the M3 lmfao!! The reality is the American DOHC V8 curb stomps turbocharged V6 competition. I can buy a 760 horsepower GT-500 for the cost of a M3 with performance pack.
Oh they kill because they’re cheap. The M3 is destined for
Bro you literally cannot be serious? A Dark Horse starts at $56,000, an M3 starts at $76,000. You think dealer mark ups don’t apply to the M3 lmfao. The reality is the American DOHC V8 curb stomps turbocharged competition in this bracket dollar for dollar, GM has caught on to this with the new 5.5 DOHC in the Vette. I can buy a 760 horsepower GT-500 for the cost of a M3 with performance pack. The motor is 10X the motor that BMW has, the only thing holding it back is RWD. Hell, buy a GT and get the 800 horsepower FP800 pack and you are still ahead.

I am a red blooded American, not a euro boy. I’ll stick to my 8 pistons till you pull them from my cold dead hands. George Washington didn’t surrender to the British, I’m certainly not surrendering to their engineering.
If you really love America stand up and salute the finest Ford makes. That’s right ladies and gentlemen it’s the 3.5 Ecoboost at the top!!!

Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? IMG_2049
 

JExpedition07

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Oh they kill because they’re cheap. The M3 is destined for

If you really love America stand up and salute the finest Ford makes. That’s right ladies and gentlemen it’s the 3.5 Ecoboost at the top!!!

IMG_2049.webp
No, that title belongs to the Mustang GTD’s 850 horsepower 5.2L V8. Fords halo top shelf engine. Your lovely GT is on the chopping block and dead after the 2023 model year, this comes in 2024!
Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? IMG_5467
Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? IMG_5468
 
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Snakebitten

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I have a very basic, almost analog 2.7L flat6 from Germany. It's a masterpiece. I'm just saying.

Not a 0-60 kinda thing, admittedly.
 

Snakebitten

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America includes my funny neighbors to the north.
Well, North America certainly does.

But you have to at least have a slice of apple pie to seal the deal. :)
 

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tony72cutlass's'

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America includes my funny neighbors to the north.
Well, North America certainly does.

But you have to at least have a slice of apple pie to seal the deal. :)
no word of a lie I literally just ate a slice of apple pie 30 minutes ago….

We have a farm box subscription and it being so wet up here this year we have literally bags upon bags of apples in my garage
 

Snakebitten

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Glorified beetle? Just kidding.
Same gene pool I suppose.
I crossed the continent over 2 summers in a 1972 VW Vanagan. Me, the wife, and 2 little ones. 60 days of cherished memories, with no itinerary and not much money in my pocket.

I learned to love that little air cooled flat 4. :)

Yea, the Porsche is NOT a BMW, Mercedes, Audi.
And sings a Naturally Aspirated song that can bring chills.
 

Eskram

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I’m at the gym while I have this conversation, it’s really firing up my V8 power on this bench press. I just naturally aspirated lifted 240 with my 7.3 GODZILLA STRENGTH :mad::love::ROFLMAO:
Imagine what you could lift with two turbos, an electric motor, and 7.2kW of generator power!!


Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? 1698884786882
 

Samson16

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No, that title belongs to the Mustang GTD’s 850 horsepower 5.2L V8. Fords halo top shelf engine. Your lovely GT is on the chopping block and dead after the 2023 model year, this comes in 2024!
IMG_5467.png
IMG_5468.png
Hopefully it will have as much success as this glorious example of American excellence!

Ford F-150 5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard? IMG_2050
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