Ecoboost Owners

[nyryan2001]

Baws-  why specifically are the Ecos tearing up plugs?

increased pressures in the cylinders?

i want to want the 3.5 Eco... but not till Ford works out all the kinks.  We've got 4-5yrs of Ecos now, you'd think they'd have the issues worked out by now.

[Fman]

Great question nyryan2001, you would think at least 100k on plugs?

[robbennett]

What issues are they having with plugs? I know the early ones had some issues and they have an updated Motorcraft spark plug and gap spec. 13 and up should be good. 

[thtrog]

The 2013 Boost I drive turned 100k miles this week, no plugs and contemplating getting them changed over Christmas break. The truck went to the shop this August for it's only non-maintenance visit, had to replace one turbo blow-off valve.

[Slayer]

10 hours ago, nyryan2001 said:

Baws-  why specifically are the Ecos tearing up plugs?

increased pressures in the cylinders?

i want to want the 3.5 Eco... but not till Ford works out all the kinks.  We've got 4-5yrs of Ecos now, you'd think they'd have the issues worked out by now.

Most issues have been worked out.  11-13 were the most problematic but all issues were minor.  I'm still pretty pleased with mine.  Likely getting a 2017 in a couple months with the new eco and 10 speed.  Gonna buy this time though because I'm driving more and that's making the lease option less viable.

[Bozboat]

Question 

I am thinking

1) that the trucks computer "learns" the way I drive over time 

2) the "learning" affects the transmission shifting and engine performance 

3) clearing this data gives me a fresh new truck

Do I need to drive it like a rental in order to preserve the full range of performance?

 

 

 

[NHolladay]

15 hours ago, nyryan2001 said:

Baws-  why specifically are the Ecos tearing up plugs?

increased pressures in the cylinders?

i want to want the 3.5 Eco... but not till Ford works out all the kinks.  We've got 4-5yrs of Ecos now, you'd think they'd have the issues worked out by now.

2017 marks the release of the GENII 3.5 Ecoboost.  They say it has all been updated and some redesign.  New HP and Torque ratings.  That engine is in new 2017 F-150 and the 2017 GT 40.  The transmission in the F-150 is the new 10 speed.  Not sure if that means the wait begins again for the engine to be road tested.

[Bozboat]

 

15 hours ago, Fman said:

......you would think at least 100k on plugs?

I asked this question and the service advisor said something like

"well these are forced air engines and so they are hard on plugs"

 

 

[MLBurns]

He is right, combustion temps are much higher with turbocharged engines. They can double in heat loads in a second or two under a load, lots of heating up and cooling on 6 plugs that are having to produce the same power of many 8 cylinder engines. 50-60k on a set of plugs in a engine that works that hard is pretty good if you ask me.

[nyryan2001]

10 hours ago, thtrog said:

The 2013 Boost I drive turned 100k miles this week, no plugs and contemplating getting them changed over Christmas break. The truck went to the shop this August for it's only non-maintenance visit, had to replace one turbo blow-off valve.

What was the symptom you knew something was wrong? What did it cost to replace?

[shawndoggy]

my cars must all be pieces of absolute junk, because to me spending $500 to maintain performance every 50k miles or so seems like a very reasonable cost of doing business.  Tires can cost twice that at least and don't last half as long sometimes.

[Fman]

$500 for 6 spark plugs and oil change seems outrageous to me.  Then again they don't call them stealerships for nothing.  I am also a DIY hack you tube mechanic that will always do something myself when possible to save a few bucks.  Guess I got way too much blue collar in me.

I think most buyers of new vehicles these days expect only to do oil changes, tires and brakes for the first 100k miles.  At least that is what I will expect when I pick up my truck come spring.

[minnmarker]

32 minutes ago, Fman said:

$500 for 6 spark plugs and oil change seems outrageous to me.  Then again they don't call them stealerships for nothing.  I am also a DIY hack you tube mechanic that will always do something myself when possible to save a few bucks.  Guess I got way too much blue collar in me.

I think most buyers of new vehicles these days expect only to do oil changes, tires and brakes for the first 100k miles.  At least that is what I will expect when I pick up my truck come spring.

BMW wanted $550 to do just the plugs in my X5. $70 in plugs and 40 minutes in the garage was a better deal. On the same note they wanted $1600 to replace the fuel pump and filter in my E46 M3. That took $400 for oem Parts and 90 minutes in the garage. I was thinking of going back to American or Japanese for next vehicle but I guess they're all out to steal. Most people must just shrug and pay.

[thtrog]

3 hours ago, nyryan2001 said:

What was the symptom you knew something was wrong? What did it cost to replace?

Wouldn't build boost and threw check engine light, this happened twice over a two week period. I'm not sure I would have noticed if I was not towing, the V6 is a dog with no boost!  IIRC the repair was around $275, including diagnotics. 

 

 

[Bawshogg]

As stated in this thread previously, the spark plug issues seem to be isolated to the earlier models. They are an iridium coated plug , and from what I have seen the seem to wear VERY well for a forced induction engine. The ground  strap electrode actually seems to wear out before the center electrode on the ones I have seen. I just saw plugs that were original out of a '13 last week that had 138k with no issues, customer just requested them be changed . Gap was .080" plus .

The issues with the earlier plugs were cracked insulators that would leak spark and carbon track. Honestly for the amount of oomph that little mill has ,  VERY few major issues as a whole. I loved mine with a tune, just didn't like the boat being heavier than the truck type deal on certain mountain passes. Never a complaint in the power department. 

 

 

[Nitrousbird]

I'm not some big Ecoboost fan, but 100k spark plug intervals on a turbo motor is just not realistic.  My wife's turbo Audi called for them @ 50k; took me a FULL 15 minutes to swap them out.  Yikes! 

My N54 @ 2x stock boost eats plugs.  20-25k max.  Oh no, not 45 minutes and $75....what will I do??!!!  Of course with the pansy nation that we are becoming, too many wimps out there are afraid to do very basic maintenance and would rather spend 10x the money (and using up more time) than just doing it themselves.  Pathetic.

[Tims]

6 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

I'm not some big Ecoboost fan, but 100k spark plug intervals on a turbo motor is just not realistic.  My wife's turbo Audi called for them @ 50k; took me a FULL 15 minutes to swap them out.  Yikes! 

My N54 @ 2x stock boost eats plugs.  20-25k max.  Oh no, not 45 minutes and $75....what will I do??!!!  Of course with the pansy nation that we are becoming, too many wimps out there are afraid to do very basic maintenance and would rather spend 10x the money (and using up more time) than just doing it themselves.  Pathetic.

Guess you can consider me a pathetic pansy, as I absolutely refuse to piss away time doing menial maintenance on my daily driver. I would much rather spend it working on my boat, airplane, or other hobbies. Therefore having a newer vehicle with long maintenance intervals is extremely important to me, and I am sure many others, that place value on other activities.  Different strokes brother.....

I hope they figure out a 200k spark plug soon.  

 

Edited December 19, 2016 by Tims

[jrvs23]

 

5 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

I'm not some big Ecoboost fan, but 100k spark plug intervals on a turbo motor is just not realistic.  My wife's turbo Audi called for them @ 50k; took me a FULL 15 minutes to swap them out.  Yikes! 

My N54 @ 2x stock boost eats plugs.  20-25k max.  Oh no, not 45 minutes and $75....what will I do??!!!  Of course with the pansy nation that we are becoming, too many wimps out there are afraid to do very basic maintenance and would rather spend 10x the money (and using up more time) than just doing it themselves.  Pathetic.

On my old civic the plugs were right on top and easy to change in 10 minutes no big deal. The boat is easy as well. My highlander is due soon and I checked into doing it myself. No way! I would have to remove multiple hoses, throttle body, and a bunch of other stuff to get at the back plugs. The dealer has it down for a 4 hour job. Doesn't seem like "basic" maintenance to me. They can have it. I also can't risk having a vehicle down for a day. 

Not all vehicles are built the same with ease of maintenance in mind

[bsacc]

On 12/15/2016 at 7:26 PM, Fman said:

I don't own an ecoboost, just wondered on the newer trucks if even the plugs are able to DIY.  I will be buying a truck this spring and ecoboost is one of them on my list.

The plugs on the ecoboost are DIY.  It's pretty simple, everything is right there on the top of the engine.  Watch a couple youtube videos and you'll be fine.  I change my plugs every 30k and I recently put a catch can in...search it on youtube if you've never heard of it.  It catches all the crap that Ford designed to re-circulate back into your injectors.  Some nasty stuff...

Biggest thing I noticed with plugs and the catch can are no "tremors".  The engine is much smoother and has less hesitation.  Gas mileage was supposed to increase but I didn't really see that.

[granddaddy55]

Just pulled boat with my new 2.7 in tow haul and cc and it was amazing watching this thing climb the flyovers and bridges with zero stress and no high revs, smooth as silk and when they ignore my boat and truck turn signals no problem just boost it or not! And get over

[Slayer]

I just pulled the trigger on a 2016 ecoboost.  I take delivery tomorrow.  It will be my third eco.  This one I purchased and the other 2 I leased, so I'm interested to see how the performance stacks up after 150k miles or so.

 

 

[Slayer]

Pics will be coming tonight.  I bought a fully loaded lariat.  It's a pretty nice rig.  Nicest rig I've ever owned.  Kinda nuts, but I'm going to enjoy it.  

[That Guy]

I picked up one as well a week back....already spend some money on stuff for it, haha.  Love it so far

[Bozboat]

On 12/18/2016 at 2:48 PM, Nitrousbird said:

I'm not some big Ecoboost fan, but 100k spark plug intervals on a turbo motor is just not realistic.  My wife's turbo Audi called for them @ 50k; took me a FULL 15 minutes to swap them out.  Yikes! 

My N54 @ 2x stock boost eats plugs.  20-25k max.  Oh no, not 45 minutes and $75....what will I do??!!!  Of course with the pansy nation that we are becoming, too many wimps out there are afraid to do very basic maintenance and would rather spend 10x the money (and using up more time) than just doing it themselves.  Pathetic.

[Bozboat]

Dude, you must be the happiest being out there having got everything figured out, fast and cheap. Not all of us "Pathetic Wimps" use those measurement sticks. It is posts like yours that make me wonder why I bothered to log on today.