elfiero

"Lastly with respect to your comment on my post earlier, as time goes on I"m sure there will be shops and locations that will stock rebuilt turbos for these trucks so your down time is minimal, you get a core charge, and send the busted one back when done. Just like an alternator or other item you buy. There are many turbo shops around the country that stock rebuilt factory turbos for that very reason on a lot of other OEM turbo vehicles. With the sheer volume of what Ford is selling of these trucks, I'm sure an option will eventually pop up and you won't even be down more than a few hours to perform the swap of the turbo(s). Right now unfortunately that isn't an option, but I certainly hope and assume that eventually it will be."


While I respect your attitude and opinions, I think this here might might be a bit of pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. Do you have any idea how hard it is to properly"refit" a turbo spool? especially after one loses a bearing?
I think the Achilles heal to these turbos could be when people keep them as occasional use trucks. NA engines don't like it too much, and turbo engines, well they like it even less. Super tight precision bearings(as found in turbos) DON'T like to sit, and they DON'T like moisture. I hope yours runs perfectly as long as you need it to, but let's come back and revisit this thread in say, 15 years.

TJPlatinumEB

Yes I do have an idea of how hard it is to fit everything. I've personally sat and watched countless turbo's be rebuilt over the past 15 years. I started working for a race team right out of high school that had a drag Supra and we ran into some QC issues with the monstrosity of a turbo on that thing. We also kept about 10 extra ones just in case. We had a member of the crew who traveled with us and had the tools and capability of rebuilding a turbo in the trailer. If we were in an area that had better facilities than we did, we might have a local place do it, but I watched it done MANY times.

And absolutely yes I agree that they don't like to sit and don't like moisture. However, all of the ones I've owned and had rebuilt have "caps" or covers for both compressor and exhaust housings and of course oil ports and coolant ports if they are equipped. They can sit for quite some time this way and not have issues at all, if they have been properly rebuilt and sealed.

My current Supra I bought 3 years ago now and it came with a new shortblock that had not been installed and a turbo that was almost 4 years old that had not been run in that time at all. Previous owner bought new ready to rebuild car and never got around to it. I ran a good amount of oil through it before installing it, primed it properly before starting the car, and it has worked flawlessly since.

Just like anything, with some very simple measures of preventative maintenance and going a little above and beyond to ensure quality, it is entirely possible. This is also not a pie in the sky situation as you seem to think. I can name about 10 shops around the country that stock these OEM rebuilds for other vehicles and guarantee them for 1yr/10 or 20k miles. I don't think they would do too well if they kept having them returned for bearing issues.

biscuit141

Just curious how these turbos differ compared to turbos in diesel trucks. Alot of those engines seen much harder use, more miles, etc and people are not scared of the turbo(s). Maybe because it's the only option with diesel I don't know. Just asking the question, I'm not a turbo expert. I do have a 2003 Ram 3500 with the Cummins turbo diesel in it at home with 222,000 miles and the original turbo. It's more truck than I need and have been considering the Ecoboost as a replacement.

Tabman10

I currently have an EcoBoost and have the same concerns while I am presently trying to decide if I should hold on to my truck... I am not that impressed with some issues of this initial generation of the engine - such as my horrible idle and surging..etc...not to mention that the dealerships do not yet know how to diagnose/service them very well and charge me for doing nothing. To be honest, I would not buy another EcoBoost until at least the next generation of powertrain (hopefully 2017 with the new 10-speed tranny). Looking on the market now, I hate to say it but I think that GM has a better strategy than Ford in actually refining V8's that don't require turbos. The 6.2L beats the EcoBoost in both HP and Torque. Coupled to their 8-speed, it also gets better mileage with better performance.... If I had to buy new today, I would be very tempted to look that way...and lets just say that I get an A_Plan discount...

biscuit141

How many miles on your ecoboost? What year? I would be buying used. Was looking at a 2013 with 62k miles and I only drive 5-6k mes a year so I would have a long way to go to get to 150k. With the 5.0 I was worried about the knock that people are experiencing and not knowing what is causing it. I like the new GMs but buying new isn't an option for me.

RealQuiet

The Ecoboost will last one million miles...

Tabman10

My Truck is a 2012, and I am at about 62,000 miles. To be fair, I think that every engine out there has some issues that you can find on boards such as this one, and people complaining about the service that they receive... Overall though, for a truck that I would be keeping for a long time, I would probably be more comfortable with a big V-8 based on the lack of refinement / service that I have experienced. Given the fact that other companies can get better performance and mileage with that route, I really wish that more people would sound off to Ford about being on the wrong path...
Good luck with your choice.

NASSTY

I don't think they are on the wrong path, it's just a longer path. In a couple years when Ford has an 8 or 10 speed transmission they will be more competitive in the MPG wars. The Ram Hemi was never known for good fuel mileage until they put an 8 speed behind it. Chevy has the cylinder deactivation. I don't even want Ford to go that route.

Stu Cazzo

NASSTY