justgotlky

I'm really looking hard at pulling the trigger on a 2013 screw lariat in the near future. I have rulled out the Eco and think that I want the 5.0 engine. (Dont want the turbos, shutter probs erattic mpg etc..)

I have big concerns on the 5.0 being a relaible engine after reading several message forums reguarding the issues of oil consumption,ticking,knocking and #8 piston cooling issues.

Are the problems with the 5.0 engines rare or a epidemic? What about the 2013 5.0? Any upgrades to address the problems?

Just need some honest answers.

Thanks all

Ryanab2

these problems are extremely rare except for the ticking of the cam timing chain.
Dont worry about it though, iwould say one in 10 has this. It poses no real threat or damage to anything, and they will fix it under warranty. good choice on the 5.0, i would hate to have one of those ecoboost lemons.

jmoore9

I'm on my 5th F150, worry about nothing! All 5 have been top notch!

corsica

I got an ecobust engine and have zero issues after 6k miles. Any car could be a lemon. This is where everyone comes with their issues. That is y u see them. People aren't searching forums when everything is fine and dandy. I don't make a post everytime my truck runs perfect bit better believe I am gonna post if I am having issues and need some tissues. So buy the truck ya want and don't worry. Odds r everything will work perfect

Tweak

I'm not sure I can help, but I have researched this and other forums, and bought a 2013 with the Eco. I traded in my problem free 5.4, and expect this one to perform equally well. The 5.0 was tempting. It's got a great growl, and is super smooth. I went Eco because I wanted the grunt, and the max tow pkg with the big mirrors.

This is my third F-150, and I hope it continues the trouble free trend. I believe that there are some folks out there with serious issues with their trucks, all trucks. Ford has bet the farm on the ecoboost and the 5.0, so I expect the majority will have a good experience.

But having problems is no fun.

All in all, I choose the Ford over the competition. I hope I did good. Only time will tell.

1500 miles and a long way to go.

Cleanmaxx Brian

I think the safest choice is the 6.2L. Old school tech...

No steering problems as it has hydraulic power steering

No falling on its face due to CAC (intercooler with water)

The price to pay is in the initial cost, the MPG, and maybe resale?

I have spent a lot of time on this forum and I understand your concerns... Some of this stuff is scary! Read the steering sticky! I know Ford is a better truck...but it saddens me to see more problems here than in the Ram forums.

yotehunter

There are a lot less Rams on the road than F150's.Research outside of the forrums show Ford and Toyota as the top in quality. Ford has more tech,and Toyota tried and true but boring.

ComputerGuy

I am not an expert on engine technology, however, Ford's 5.0 is an impressive engine. I have a 5.0 engine in my 2011 Mustang GT and in my 2013 Lariat. I have been following various Mustang forums since mid-2010 as well as reading one or more Mustang magazines a month.

Around August-October 2010 there were various people on the Mustang forums reporting ticking issues with their 5.0 Mustangs after the first oil change. There were a couple of theories floating around about what caused the ticking:
* The replacement oil filter recommended by the owner's manual is not identical to the factory supplied oil filter. If I recall correctly, the spring tension on the bypass in the replacement oil filter was different, and the opening and closing of that bypass was interpretted as a tick.
* The factory oil had an adder that was intended to reduce or eliminate the tick during break-in. If the oil was changed too early, a tick would develop.
* Timing chain problems.

I was concerned about a tick developing in my Mustang, so I waited for 7,300 miles for the first oil change. I park the Mustang for the winters, and at roughly 27,000 miles it still has not developed a tick. I have less than 2,500 miles on my 2013 Lariat, so it will be a while before the first oil change (for comparison, I had the first oil change in my 2004 5.4 at roughly 500 miles), but I am not anticipating any ticking.

Regarding oil consumption, you probably should plan on a little oil consumption in the first 5,000 miles - possibly a quart. It seems that the 5.0 will use a little more oil if it is driven hard. I have added a half quart of oil to my 2013 Lariat to bring the engine's oil to the full spot on the dip stick, which probably is not unreasonable considering the age of the truck, and the fact that I have been running it more aggressively than the Mustang. The Mustang might use a half quart in 7,300 miles, which still leaves it in the safe section of the dip stick.

The #8 piston cooling issue that you mention is largely a non-issue. From what I read on the Mustang forums, that #8 cylinder does tend to run hotter than the others, so Ford by default retards the timing on that cylinder (at least that was the case on the Mustang version of the 5.0). Third party tuners that try to pull additional power from the 5.0 were responsible for _all_ of the confirmed #8 cylinder problems (although there were some reported #4 and #7 cylinder issues in supposedly stock Mustangs). The early third party tuners sometimes disabled the knock sensors while advancing the timing, somtimes leading to the #8 cylinder's piston breaking apart due to excessive knocking and heat. The #8 cylinder is also supposedly the furthest away from the knock sensors, so even if the tuner did not disable the knock sensors completely, it was still possible that timing was not pulled fast enough to control detonation in the #8 cylinder. Add in the chances that someone would pump in 87 octane fuel into an engine custom tuned for 91 or 93 octane, and the results probably were not ideal.

Since new, the 5.0 in my Mustang has averaged 27 miles per (U.S.) gallon, with a high of 32.29 miles per gallon on a single tank covering 466 miles (on 91 octane premium with no Ethanol), and a 3,100 mile average of 31.39 miles per gallon. While there is no chance that the 5.0 in the 2013 Lariat will approach the MPG numbers provided by my Mustang, I suspect that I could be seeing 4 to 5 MPG better than the 5.4 in my 2004 F-150.

My Lariat in stock form has almost no throttle lag when pushing the gas pedal to the floorboard after driving at a steady pace for 5+ miles (it will nearly instantly drop to second gear when hammering the throttle at 45 MPH... I tested this feature one day when I notice that one of the Ecoboost owners from work was at a gas station - he had an odd grin on his face when I saw him later at work.). The throttle in the Mustang is much more of an on/off switch - almost no reaction for 2 to 5 seconds, followed by a surprised look as the nose of the car comes up in the air and the spedometer jumps by 20-30 MPH in a heartbeat. The 2004 truck, the first with Ford's drive-by-wire, almost always has a 2 or 3 second throttle lag when putting the thottle to the floorboard.

My Lariat reminds me a lot of my Mustang... if the Mustang was dragging a trailer loaded with 1,800 pounds. The 5.0 is an extremely smooth engine at low throttle input, but transforms into a completely different character when given a bit more throttle input.

If I had bought the Taurus SHO in 2010 as originally planned, rather than my Mustang, I would probably have an Ecoboost in my Lariat. It only took one rev of the engine to 7,000 RPM in a Mustang to change my mind.

P.S. get the 3.73 gears in the rear.

Mike Up

I went with the 5.0L for the same reason as you. I've read hardly of any issues with the 5.0L. I think the Mustang was the Guinnea Pig for the F150, as most of the issues have been ironed out.

This is one hek of a truck. As mentioned, just get the 3.73 gears as they really should be standard with the high revving nature of the engine with the 4.10 as an optional gear.

I just love this truck. It's a blast to drive. Even funner to drive than my previous 2004 Nissan Titan (when it wasn't in the shop for something ).

caperJ

5.0 is a great truck I loved mine. I now how the Eco and am equally impressed from when I went from my 4.6 to 5.0 I had a smile. It returned again when I got the Eco. Either is good it's an F150 so that says it all. You can have problems with any engine or make, it's the nature of any consumer product. I will say with my Nissan's I thought there warranty process was far superior to Ford when it came to notifying you of issues and fixing them. Less hassle when dealing with Nissan for warranty repairs, Ford customer service I would rate as the lowest of any I have dealt with in any vehicle I have owned. To clarify I had no issues with any my F150's just a piece of junk Escape Ford refused to properly repair so I traded up to the F150.