3.5 EB probs?

[Nakita23]

I sold my 2011 expedition XLT last year and have been wanting to get an EL because of our family size for trips. I was only wanting to get a 2014 or 2013 because of the 5.4 Triton but have considered the 2015 through 2017 3.5 eco boost.

My question is, is the eco boost in the 15-17 the 2nd generation Eco Boost? I ask this because I have seen that the second was a lot better with not caking deposits on the intakes. I have seen that you need to replace the spark plugs every 25000 miles.

Does anyone have bad experiences with their 3.5 eco boost? Is anyone running an oil catch can?

 

[Speedboosted]

The 15-17 Expeditions run the first gen 3.5. I took a JLT can from a previous Mustang I had and ran new hoses to work on the passenger side. Trimmed the engine cover and reinstalled everything. It definitely collects some oil.

 

[Nakita23]

Okay well I guess I follow-up question to that would be, do you have any idea how much it would cost for the intake cleaning while doing a timing chain? I asked this because I just recently watched
FordTechMakuloco video comparing a first Gen to a second Gen Ecoboost and the differences were amazing. He also suggested cleaning those intakes around a 100,000 miles.

 

[Brons2]

The 5.4 3V is not maintenance intensive? I don't view the EB as more troublesome, and it's a way better driving experience.

 

[Timo2824]

Okay well I guess I follow-up question to that would be, do you have any idea how much it would cost for the intake cleaning while doing a timing chain? I asked this because I just recently watched
FordTechMakuloco video comparing a first Gen to a second Gen Ecoboost and the differences were amazing. He also suggested cleaning those intakes around a 100,000 miles.

Spark plugs every 70-100k, I know 3.5 first gens with 120k+ miles with the original plugs in them at my work with no issues. They've also never had the intake valves cleaned, but they are in 3/4 vans that are always loaded, not sure if the extra heat helps keep them cleaner. We typically run vehicles 150k miles, the Ecoboost has actually been very reliable overall, out of 20 we just had a throttle body go bad, that's it for engine issues. The v8's sound better, but that's really the only pro I can think of.

 

[Nakita23]

Yeah the wife really wants to stay with the 5.4 for that sound so a '13 or '14. I had a MagnaFlow muffler on it my 2011. It did sound good but I also know it cons based off Fordtechmakuloco videos. May go with a base '15-'17 & just upgrade to Android auto. Really I just need reliability & space. Def want to stay with an Expy tho

 

[Speedboosted]

Okay well I guess I follow-up question to that would be, do you have any idea how much it would cost for the intake cleaning while doing a timing chain? I asked this because I just recently watched
FordTechMakuloco video comparing a first Gen to a second Gen Ecoboost and the differences were amazing. He also suggested cleaning those intakes around a 100,000 miles.

It's an unpopular opinion but I don't give much value to what that FordTechMuck guy says, he has a whole business around attracting views to his channel with catchy/scary headlines and topics. Yes he's a tech, and does good work (seemingly), but remember he only sees the vehicles that have issues. He doesn't see the hundreds of thousands of other vehicles driving around just fine day to day. There's plenty of good info, but also plenty of clickbait going on.

The second gen has a myriad of its own issues to deal with, personally the intake valve/port injection would not be a swaying factor to me. Change the oil on time, treat it well, and you'll have a good engine. 3v 5.4s aren't exactly drama free motors either. I pulled the spark plugs out of mine at 74k miles which appeared to be originals. They were due for change, but there was no issue so I wouldn't consider them overdue. At least they're single piece plugs

I don't know if upgrading the head unit on a base 15-17 is as easy as just swapping it over using a metra/etc dash kit and brand xxxx radio like on previous models. You'll want to look into that more because I was under the impression the only viable swap for those is the whole Sync3 conversion, which would be way too costly to do vs just buying a similarly equipped XLT with the 202a package.

 

[JasonH]

The 2015 - 2017 is Gen 1 without port injection. I'm at 146,000 miles on my 2017. Carbon build up is probably the last thing you would need to worry about. I use mine for towing. So far, I've had 1 head gasket failure (uncommon), leaking driver turbo manifold (common) and what sounds like timing chain slap. It's a great engine, but I think durability may vary substantially based on how it's maintained and used. The turbo manifold thing appears to be a design defect, as Ford has released an updated part made using stainless steel instead of cast iron. The timing chain, I think it just goes after awhile if you're really working the engine. Either get one with a warranty, or budget for a few expensive repairs. Apart from the issues above and some other minor ones (plugs, gaskets, valve cover leak etc.) the engine itself is fairly solid. Starting in 2018, they have the Gen 2, which had its own phaser issues that were released addressed with an updated part.

 

[JExpedition07]

The 18+ is a lot more for the little bit extra. I’ll never own a steel truck again, too much rust imo.

 

[Goldnpaw]

Howdy all,

I just did plugs and scoped the engine. Clean as factory new. 72,000 miles, I run 92,93 octane 98% of the time. I did have them do an injector and fuel system cleaner as well. Before and after showed no difference. Plugs were very clean as well. Ran smooth before, runs smooth now. 2017 eb1. Synthetic oil only since first oil change.

a co worker has 2017 bought new, like I did, and he has 186k miles with zero issues with eb1.