amschind
Well-known member
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.
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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