To all you Gen 4 guys who had a Gen 3 (EB)

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LovinPSDs

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So we're looking to upgrade into a EB Expedition. We currently have been traveling fulltime for the past year but will be settling back down and looking for the do all rig moving forward.

I'm torn between a Gen 3 EB and a Gen 4. For those of you that have owned both what are your opinions? I don't really lose much sleep over gadgets and tech. Regardless we'd go L/Max for the bigger fuel tank and extra towing ability (Small camper or boat)

when it comes down to it, just wondering if the Gen 4 is really worth an extra $10k. A 2017 is pretty reasonable these days.

What are ya'lls thoughts? Good to be back by the way... Been yanking a 40' 5th wheel around with a dually for a year so kinda fell off the boards. Glad to see the Payload thread is still rockin!
 

LokiWolf

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Tech wise there is VERY little difference between a 2017 and a 2018-2021. Both are Sync 3 with wired CP/AA.

The major differences is the Engine and Trans. Gen1 3.5 in the 2017, Gen2 3.5 in the 2018+. The Gen 2 motor has more power, and has both DI and PI. The 2017 is a 6 Speed Trans, and the 2018+ is the 10 Speed. The 2018+ get the advantage on those items. The one thing in my opinion where the 2017 Excelled was the towing pack with the Nivomat load leveling shocks. They made a wporld of difference in my opinion when towing. The 2020 we have has CCD, and technically in Tow mode it increases the valving in the rear shocks, but DOES NOT work as well as those Nivomats did. The 2020 tows well, but in my opinion with the shocks the 2017 did better. As far as every other thing, the 2020 is better. More power, and more comfortable.
 
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LovinPSDs

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Loki - I’m one of those guys who can’t leave hood enough alone.. so a tune for sure, maybe IC and intake just because. Also Hellwig bars most likely happen

One thought was save the money on the 17’ for some parts.

Do the load leveling shocks only come on certain packages in the Gen 3?

Deep down I’d like a Gen 4 but I’m also cheap
 

LokiWolf

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Loki - I’m one of those guys who can’t leave hood enough alone.. so a tune for sure, maybe IC and intake just because. Also Hellwig bars most likely happen

One thought was save the money on the 17’ for some parts.

Do the load leveling shocks only come on certain packages in the Gen 3?

Deep down I’d like a Gen 4 but I’m also cheap
It came with the Heavy Tow package. Also for some of the years it could be optioned separately, but honestly can't remember. Best is to look under. The shocks look physically different.

Tuning REALLY wakes these things up! Also, after tuning, and even without tuning especially if you are towing the single best thing you can do is a quality aftermarket IC. Stock intake actually flows pretty good. There is some improvement to be had by a quality aftermarket setup, but not nearly as much gain as the IC.
 

JExpedition07

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Based on my assessment of driving both the gen 2 Eco is a lot better than gen 1. I genuinely thought the 5.4 V8 behaved better with the 6 speed than the older EcoBoost, something is not right with the downshift pattern on that combo. 10R80 and gen 2 EcoBoost blows pretty much everything else on the market away on power and the downshift pattern is perfect.
 
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LovinPSDs

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It came with the Heavy Tow package. Also for some of the years it could be optioned separately, but honestly can't remember. Best is to look under. The shocks look physically different.

Tuning REALLY wakes these things up! Also, after tuning, and even without tuning especially if you are towing the single best thing you can do is a quality aftermarket IC. Stock intake actually flows pretty good. There is some improvement to be had by a quality aftermarket setup, but not nearly as much gain as the IC.


I was going to go either 5-star or gear head on tunes and still researching intercoolers. I know what’s out there for F150s but not sure what fits the Expeditions.

I guess we’ll see what I can get for ours and what I can find on the used market. We have a low mileage 2012 XLT (short wheel base and captain second row)
 
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LovinPSDs

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Based on my assessment of driving both the gen 2 Eco is a lot better than gen 1. I genuinely thought the 5.4 V8 behaved better with the 6 speed than the older EcoBoost, something is not right with the downshift pattern on that combo. 10R80 and gen 2 EcoBoost blows pretty much everything else on the market away on power and the downshift pattern is perfect.
Good info, I appreciate that!
 
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LovinPSDs

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Tech wise there is VERY little difference between a 2017 and a 2018-2021. Both are Sync 3 with wired CP/AA.

The major differences is the Engine and Trans. Gen1 3.5 in the 2017, Gen2 3.5 in the 2018+. The Gen 2 motor has more power, and has both DI and PI. The 2017 is a 6 Speed Trans, and the 2018+ is the 10 Speed. The 2018+ get the advantage on those items. The one thing in my opinion where the 2017 Excelled was the towing pack with the Nivomat load leveling shocks. They made a wporld of difference in my opinion when towing. The 2020 we have has CCD, and technically in Tow mode it increases the valving in the rear shocks, but DOES NOT work as well as those Nivomats did. The 2020 tows well, but in my opinion with the shocks the 2017 did better. As far as every other thing, the 2020 is better. More power, and more comfortable.


Hey Loki - where do you stand with reliability of the EB motor? Gen 1 or Gen 2, kinda get mixed responses
 

ExpyNole

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You absolutely want the gen 2 3.5 ecoboost if anything for the port injection keeping the valves cleaner. Gen 1 3.5 EB really needs the intake manifold pulled and valves walnut blasted at around 100-125k miles due to carbon buildup. Not to mention a more efficient transmission and more hp/torque due to a massive upgrade overall.
 
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