Hey fellas, my brother in law is looking at buying a 2014 F150 with the Ecoboost. I have a 2017 with the Coyote engine which I’m familiar with. I don’t know a whole lot about the Ecoboost platform. I have heard the early year models had some issues so I wanted to check with you guys to get your thoughts on any possible issues he might run into with that particular year model.

I just want him to get a solid truck. Any comments much appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

I've had a lot of ecoboost trucks and while the power is addicting, I've had issues with every single one of them. I just took delivery of a 2015 yesterday with 70,000 miles and the timing chain is bad and it has a front valve cover leak. Ford did not address any faults up until 2017. They had 6 years to make minor changes and improve reliability but they decided it was cheaper to fix under warranty then spend $ to address failure points. I am looking at roughly $3-4,000 to fix my issues with a 70,000 mile truck. This is our 15th ecoboost.

So in short, it WILL leak from various areas around the engine, your timing chain will stretch, your 02 sensors will go bad, fuel economy will be the same as a V8. God forbid you don't have any turbo issues. If you are set on an ecoboost, make sure to get an inspection. Have them take the wheel well liners off and see if the turbos are leaking. Check the vacuum pump on the rear of the engine as well that is faulty on '13-14 trucks.

Or you can buy a 5.0 or 6.2 and not worry. There's a reason mostly every single Ford tech pick the 5.0 over the eco.

 

Thanks man. This is exactly the info I was looking for. I was trying to encourage him towards the 5.0L powertrain like I have but we can’t find a decent one with 4x4 and somewhat low miles within his budget (25k).

I think I’ll tell him to pass on the ecoboost.

Thanks again for the reply!

 

I have a 2012 3.5 ecoboost, have kept the oil changed at 3,000 miles and still on the original timing chains and components, I had the after the cat the O2 sensors go bad, other than that just kept the plugs changed at 30,000 miles and I`m almost to 160,000 miles and no leaks on the motor.

 

The largest issue to worry about on the 3.5 EB is timing chain stretch. It's like a $3500 job for a shop, or something like $1500 in parts and 18 hours of work to do yourself. It's a common issue, but that certainly doesn't mean that EVERYBODY will have it like 5.0only claims. The running theory on the forums is to change your oil at 5,000 miles to help prevent it. I just rolled over to 90k miles on mine and the truck has been reliable.

And don't forget the 5.0 has had it's own growing pains.

 

Agreed, though I am in the portion that has chain issues. It was something like 1000 for parts and tools, though 18hrs is about right.

 

I have 113,000 miles on my 2014. The only issue I had was exhaust stud breaking in the back. I had some seals wear out, but at 100,000+ miles, I'd expect to replace some seals.

If you do your due diligence before buying any used vehicle, that makes the biggest difference. For someone to buy a vehicle and it instantly have timing chain issues, that means they didn't do their due diligence prior to buying. I don't care what vehicle/engine/etc you buy. Have a trusted mechanic check it out and take it on an extended test drive, none of those short 3 mile ones that dealers like you to do. Take it home for the night if they will let you.

I've bought quite a few used vehicles now, and the only one I ever had problems with (my rzr) was the one I didn't have a mechanic check out. As soon as I took it to my mechanic, he was like yup, I could have told you this. Luckily it wasn't too bad of a repair but still a new top end on the engine.