Ford 3.5L Eco-Boost V6 Gas w/10 Speed Automatic Transmission

[HDRider1960]

Originally Posted by RVtravelz

Yet Toyota just announced a 3.5 liter twin turbo V6 to replace the V8 in the all new Tundra. No V8 option at all.
Consumer reports is not an end all authority in my book.

The article was from 2018

I trust CR more than any evaluation available. I wish they did RVs

[tizeye]

Originally Posted by RVtravelz

Yet Toyota just announced a 3.5 liter twin turbo V6 to replace the V8 in the all new Tundra. No V8 option at all.
Consumer reports is not an end all authority in my book.

I agree. While I do read and subscribe to consumer reports, I've owned, including wife's current Fiat 500 which she loves, their worst rated cars. Almost universally I've thought "are we looking at the same car?" Of course the cynicism may be a hold over from the late 1960's when I was a car crazed adolescent able to spout every performance detail of the Vette, GTO, Mustang, etc. Month after month they would specifically not recommend this new fangled option called air conditioning as it just wasted fuel and was useless. Of course their orientation was their headquarters well north of Florida and were not sticking to the vinyl seats in the summer heat. Didn't take long for a teenager to figure that one out - and who buys a car today without air conditioning!

[Ron Dittmer]

I too take Consumer Reports with a grain of salt. They ding a car rating for the smallest of issues.

Our 2014 Nissan Altima 2.5L was rated poorly. Yes, over the years Nissan has had us in for some minor things they are concerned about, but so what. The car has been our best ever (our first was a 1967 Plymouth Fury) We just turned 100,000 miles and the car has only had consumable work required like brakes, tires, fluids, and battery.....with one exception......I replaced both front headlight assemblies due to a degradation of internal reflectivity. It cost me $200 and 2 hours of my time. It was no big deal.

I would use Consumer Reports only if I was "on the fence" selecting between two vehicles.

[Funengineer]

Lots of interesting comments and opinions. I wonder how many of them actually have personal, first hand experience with the Ford 3.5 V6 turbo.

[nodine]

It is ok to do research on products you are considering to purchase using sources like Consumer Reports, Amazon, etc., but you must learn to read between the lines because today most sources of information are biased by sources of revenue. For example, when you do a Google search for something notice how certain things always pop up at the top. That is because businesses pay Google to prioritize their business in the search engine. Also businesses pay individuals to make positive reviews at Yelp, Amazon, etc. It irritates me when I am searching for information about a subject and have to wade down thru numerous sales based links before I find anything remotely close to the answer. Today word of mouth is more important than it has every been.

And don't forget that people usually do not post positive experiences on forums but they almost always post about their problems. So if 99 people have a positive experience and only one has a problem with the product but only the person with the problem makes a post, well you get the picture.

Bob

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by nodine

And don't forget that people usually do not post positive experiences on forums but they almost always post about their problems. So if 99 people have a positive experience and only one has a problem with the product but only the person with the problem makes a post, well you get the picture. Bob

So true!

[chs]

Originally Posted by HDRider1960

One of the things I have leaned about the 3.5 is that the water pump is internal to the engine, when, not if, it leaks it dilutes the engine oil with water and causes engine failure.

Imagine what getting a water pump replaced would cost, and that is assuming some way you knew it failed before the whole engine failed.

https://youtu.be/UN3cjU3o0G4

Interesting video. Amazing water pump issue.

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by HDRider1960

It seems like absolute insanity to put the Ford 3.5L Eco-Boost V6 Gas w/10 Speed Automatic Transmission in a 11,000 pound RV.

This drive train will strain itself every mile it rolls. It is incredibly complex. It is extremely difficult to work on from a mechanics'' perspective.



https://leisurevans.com/wonder/specifications/

What? If you add the weight of a truck equipped with this combo and then add in the towing and payload ratings this is a great combo. Certainly not to much for this setup.
The engine and transmission are time tested and have been very reliable and long lived.
If you don’t like Fords that’s fine but look into the details and you’ll discover that this is a great idea.

[honestray]

of course they can. all they have do is fo to the drawing board and then into production. it’s all ‘leap frog’, nobody is king of the hill permanently in a competitive environment.

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by Ron Dittmer

I'd like to correct my previous statement of "full boost 100% of the time". I assumed the boost was "full" by the sound of the turbo as the motorhomes and pickup trucks towing, passed me by. Maybe it was as some people here stated, a "lot less" than full boost. I really had no way of knowing. My apologies for that statement.

One thing certain, I heard "turbo action" as they cruised by me at speeds over 70 mph. Maybe those vehicles are designed for turbo action applied for days at a time on the open road, carrying or pulling a combined weight of roughly 14,000 pounds. But for me, a person who never owned a turbo in a heavy duty application, it just doesn't seem right. I admit I am no authority on such mechanics. I mentioned it in-part because it surprised me to hear their turbos singing as they cruised passed us.

Friend's old turbo Caravan ran with some boost on the highway...75MPH was maybe 1.5-2psi. It ran perfectly (on its original turbocharger) at 280,000 miles.

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by Funengineer

Lots of interesting comments and opinions. I wonder how many of them actually have personal, first hand experience with the Ford 3.5 V6 turbo.

The water pump issue alone means I would never own a 3.5 V6 Ford of any sort, unless it included a lifetime, unlimited mileage parts & labor warranty of the cooling system.

I also have no firsthand experience with a Yugo, an Olds 260 diesel, or a HT4100 Cadillac...but wouldn't own any if you paid me to.

[dans1999f-53]

No van style is easy to work on. Also the Eco boost 3.5 is very impressive if not towing much

[Kat2222]

You can do a google search for Ford truck manuals and it goes past the 90ish trucks. We just used it to look up the F250 yr 2004. We were horrified how much power we DID NOT have due to the gear ratio.

[picker]

.........says who ???