5.0 vs 3.5 - more reliable when driven hard?

[dochawk]

Doin 0-60 in 3.5 in a XL and in the next moment towing 12k is unlike anything

All fun and games until you have it tow its own trailer to the track, and it disappears in a puff of logic!

?

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[boo radley]

With good maintenance the turbos have been shown to last. All diesel trucks have turbos. And the tuning of the eco is insane. With stock everything but tune and intake mods on 33in all terrain and 4door I’m in the 11s if I have to change turbos at 100k it will be well worth it. Doin 0-60 in 3.5 in a XL and in the next moment towing 12k is unlike anything

I was always dead set against a 6 cylinder gas powered truck.

5.4 or 5.0 is what I only bought. Then I drove a 3,5 Eco upon the salesman's recommendation. Holy moly what torque and pep. I know that the turbos generate the power and that they will eventually fail like water pumps and alternators. They are secondary components and its rare if they last. Particularly since FMC builds these components to fail.

I love the 3.5 its racecar fast.

 

[boo radley]

This is a pretty childish pissing match, the only thing I’ll add is that there are way more reports of late model 5.0’s getting the engines replaced than in either EcoBoost variation.

I hear that the 2.7 is a piece of 5hit.

I know that the 6.7 Powerstrokes have had issues with the timing gears spinning on the crankshafts.

 

[JExpedition07]

6.7 PowerStroke is likely my next purchase as a 5.0 boy, the 5.0 to 6.7 pipeline is a thing for some reason. They have a few issues with the C4 but timing gear issues are very rare, it’s a solid engine. My research has turned up no crankshaft issues. Duramax has issues with the keyway on the crankshaft though.

I have been hammering the truck now with the business, I think the 6.7 is a smart choice with the miles I put on (especially the towing miles). It would be nice to have that shelf life.

 

[fassford]

I was always dead set against a 6 cylinder gas powered truck.

5.4 or 5.0 is what I only bought. Then I drove a 3,5 Eco upon the salesman's recommendation. Holy moly what torque and pep. I know that the turbos generate the power and that they will eventually fail like water pumps and alternators. They are secondary components and its rare if they last. Particularly since FMC builds these components to fail.

I love the 3.5 its racecar fast.

 

[fassford]

I think maintaining the the truck is key. Turbos need clean oil and these new turbos are water cooler. The older gen 3.5 worked out a couple bugs. But turbos are not unreliable. Also the location of them is accessible. And they are temp controlled by coolant. I’d take turbos over cylinder de activation any day. And peak torque is at 2500 rpm so the turbos and engine work together to spread the stress lol. Same mentality with racing in 4h 50/50 power distribution to front and rear drive shafts lol. I love this eco, never been hooked on the V8 rumble so that didn’t factor into my decision. What factors were power, mpg, tow rating. I never intend to max the towing, but if max is say 10,000 8k would be pushing it. Mine is rated 13,200 and 8 is as much as I like to tow because we have so many hills and winding roads.

 

[fassford]

All fun and games until you have it tow its own trailer to the track, and it disappears in a puff of logic!

?

Fingers crossed. I monitor a/f closely and change oil and trans fluid a lot. On my 4th set of spark plugs about to be 5th and just hit 40k really hard miles. I think they need to be well maintained and pushed

 

[fassford]

I hear that the 2.7 is a piece of 5hit.

I know that the 6.7 Powerstrokes have had issues with the timing gears spinning on the crankshafts.

I asked some well respected tuner about the difference in stoutness between the 2.7 and 3.5 and he said he’d go 3.5 21, on every time. The oil pump belt? In the oil just didn’t sit right. There are so many of these engines and transmissions on the road that I figure as long as truck don’t rust I’ll just buy wrecked engines and trans and throw them in. They really aren’t as complicated as people make it out to be. Now the computer stuff sure is. But mechanically engine swap is probably one day of swapping and a second of finishing details and fluids.

 

[fassford]

I just realized, when people prefer sound over performance is like picking a 9 in makeup that’s actually a 6 compared to taking a real 8.

 

[NavyChief]

I just realized, when people prefer sound over performance is like picking a 9 in makeup that’s actually a 6 compared to taking a real 8.

This is why we do superchargers. Then we get performance and sound.

See your real 8 is also an 8 on the crazy scale where the 6 can be modded with fake boobs to become a 9.5 but is still a 6 crazy. When you pop the hood no one is looking at the paint job.

 

[24Carbon150]

I hear that the 2.7 is a piece of 5hit.

I know that the 6.7 Powerstrokes have had issues with the timing gears spinning on the crankshafts.

Actually the 2.7 is pretty damn reliable. My buddy put a shit ton of miles on his without ever having a single issue and they are surprisingly peppy, just limited on towing Capability.

 

[Dakar09]

For the love of God, the 5.0L is not a pig and performs very well. CD is annoying when you really think about it but is virtually unnoticeable in daily driving. Stomp the loud pedal and off she goes. Throttle contoller wakes it up tremendously, even without going supercharger. And 3.73 rear is a must.

Drive both and get what you feel is best for you and the most fun. I guarantee either the 3.5 or 5.0 will be more fun than the 2.7 in the grand scheme of things.

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