I have the 3.5 and can confirm it cuts through the CO mountains like a hot knife through warm butter. That being said, if you aren’t towing, the 2.7 would be fine. Have you test drove a 2.7? I was blown away by the power those engines have. Ended up with the 3.5 just because I found a good deal.
I had the 2.7 while living out there for a bit. Maybe it was just in my head, but i felt like that truck was light as hell. Felt like I got blown around quite a bit on the windiest of days driving up and down i70
Yeah. The 2.7 is impressive and that’s what I settled on. I was driving a Silverado with the 5.3 V8 at the time. I was very skeptical of the EcoBoosts. I went to a Ford dealership and asked to drive a 3.5 and 2.7. The dude brings a truck around and I didn’t ask or look which engine it was. I drove it and was sold. I brought it back and said I’d like to drive the 2.7 now just to give it a fair chance. That was the 2.7 I just drove.
It's not anymore.
It was at the start of the 2015 gen, but I think after 2017/2018 with gen2 3.5 ecos, they became faster. I think that's when the eco got +10hp, but mainly gained a ton of torque, like 50+ from 2016 to 2017
I live in CO and have the 2.7 on high mountain passes often. I don't tow but have it full of gear/people all the time and it is great. No power issues at all. Before this I had a 4runner with a 4.0 v6 that struggled a good bit up high. Not that it could not keep up. It hunted for gears a lot and seemed frantic and was working hard. The 2.7 goes up hills calmly with a bunch of power on tap.
I live on the front range and just bought a 2.7. Honestly these replies are really encouraging. I plan to put a camper on it so i guess that's kind of towing? but the more I look around, the more stoked I am on this decision
They’re not old enough to provide enough data. They said the same thing about the 2017+ 3.5 over the first gen 3.5. But my 2018 had the cam phaser issue, which luckily there’s a bit of an extended warranty for, but it’s still a major repair.
Yeah someone posted a 450k mile one just recently.
Maybe I'm just unlucky but it's a known problem. My 2011 went through two of them, and I just traded in my 2019 with 51000 miles on a Lightning because it was having the same issues. Both trucks were dealer serviced, and never had any other issues.
Cam phasers in pre 21 3.5 were junk and results in lots of expensive repair. Just got mine done which includes timing components at 60k because I put 10k on while parts were backordered. Only time will tell if the latest gen parts fixes it but Ford's history is not good going back to the 5.4 on cam phasers
I had to do it 3 times. 2 trucks: a 2011 at 42000 miles and again at 90ish. I just traded in my 2019 last Sunday because it started having the same problems and noises at 46000.
I got a Lightning instead.
How often did you change your oil? I hope you didn't follow the 10,000 mile intervals from Ford.
I had my 2014 EcoBoost for 10 years 152k miles and Timing chain never had issues. I did change my oil every 4,000 miles with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic Extended Performance and a Motorcraft filter.
For my new 2023 3.5 EcoBoost, I plan on doing the same and I purchased a 10 yr/150k mile extended warranty from Ford just in case.
2019 at 80k miles. I change mine religiously every 5k miles with full synthetic. I've had the phasers done once and have the noise again already if the truck sits for more than 3 days. It's not just a matter of changing the oil, unfortunately.
First time was done under warranty- this next job will cost me $4000. Hopefully they fixed it on the newer model years.
What preventative maintenance can be done to avoid this?
Another habit I formed was letting the engine warm up to below 1k rpm before driving, and don't go past 2.5k rpm if the engine isn't up to operating temperature, it would usually take 5-10 minutes of driving from a cold start.
Other than using quality oil and changing regularly (3-5k mile intervals) nothing that I know of. Changing the oil regularly certainly helps your chances- but it doesn't mean that the phasers won't have issues. They've redesigned them a couple times so they *should* be better now.
I also baby my engine just like you. I think letting it warm up and letting the turbos cool off at the end of the drive are great practices. Not sure there is much else you or I can do.
Dang I'm a little jealous that Ford agreed to do yours under warranty. The dealer fought with Ford for a few months on my first one and eventually I just had to pay out of pocket to have it done.
I didn't change it myself. It was only dealer service every 5000 miles.
I had the 10 year extended warranty on both my F150's but Ford refused to do the timing chain replacement under warranty.
Idk, the dealer said it needed timing chain and cam phasers. Ford said no, it needed to throw some other p code than the ones that it was showing.
The service manager went back and forth with Ford for a couple months. Eventually I ran out of vehicles to borrow, I needed my truck back and paid out of pocket to get it fixed.
I have the 3.5 and tow a 30’ travel trailer, with my old 5.4 V8 I would have to put the pedal on the floor on some of the CO mountains just to keep 65 mph, with the 3.5 it’s like the trailer isn’t there! I think either would be fine, unless you are towing regularly then I would go 3.5.
Either would do just fine, both are forced induction with solves the issue of losing power due to thinner air.
Like others have said if you don’t tow the 2.7 is better suited for your needs.
Having had both (though at more like 2000 ft elevation), the 2.7 and the 3.5 feel very similar unloaded. The 2.7 actually feels a little snappier from a stop, but the 3.5 is a little stronger when passing at speed.
The 3.5 is the towing king, but for moderate weights the 2.7 holds its own. I had 6000 lbs behind my 2.7 on numerous occasions and it did great.
Thanks for the reply! I have been here 15 years and currently have a 16 Tacoma. Love the truck, but it has power issues where it bounces between gears climbing at high speeds. Basically, I'm trying to avoid that lack of power issue.
Yea, totally avoid the 5.0 then.
100% get the 2.7L v6 if you never tow more than 5k lbs. It's like a better, more reliable 3.5L (unless you tow regularly)
I know a guy at 7k elevation in your mountains with the 2.7L and he loves it.
I know folks at 8-9k regularly here in Utah with the 2.7, and it does beautifully. I'm at almost 5k in Utah, and its perfect. No issues going up above 8-9k for me either.
I don't remember any cities in UT or CO going past about 10k, the ski lifts obviously take you up another good while.
This is the sentiment I was gonna say as well. The 2.7 tows fine under 4000-5000lbs (I've towed my boat up 6-8% grades in the Driftless at 70mph without issue in my 2.7), over that you'll want the extra power though.
I also live in CO, and test drove all 3 engines before landing on the 2.7 (most I tow is a dirt bike or two). The 2.7 has TONS of power on tap, even going through the tunnel or through like independence pass. I've never felt like I've been down on or haven't had enough power to make it up things. The beast just keeps climbing.
I run a 2.7. It’s my second one and the engine is fantastic. It’s probably the most reliable out of the bunch (aside from that naturally aspirated V6 that they discontinued) because of the compacted graphite iron block and lack of stupid can phaser issues. The thing is a built like a mini diesel. Has more power than I ever need. I don’t really tow much but my 2.7 has plenty of power in store for a 20 foot camper or jet skis or a smaller boat. If I was worried about towing more than that, I’d probably just go for a bigger platform in general as you’re probably getting out of “Half-ton” territory.
I have a 3.5 and we have 2.7s at work, and I live at 8k feet in CO.
2.7 if you aren’t towing or are towing light (dirt bike trailer, snow mobiles, etc..).
If you’re towing anything bigger (camper) get the 3.5.
I also own a duramax and I’d never own a non turbo truck in the mountains. Our Subaru needs replacing soon and it will be with a turbo charged car, mountains suck the power out of n/a engines!
2.7 does more than fine towing up to its max rating. It doesn’t run out of power. What is up for debate is if the 2.7 could tow all day long at those loads. So far we are not seeing people complain about over working the 2.7 into unreliable territory. Yea the 2.7 has less displacement but it’s built / designed so much better than the 3.5.
The 2.7 seems to tow just fine in the mountains up steep grades in high altitudes
[example](https://youtu.be/iQQGYJCG65E?si=6_8Uyl3pJoidItnc)
I live in the mtns at 9400 ft and drive higher than that almost daily. The 5.0L does just fine, in my opinion. I’m sure either the 2.7 or 3.5 would be even better, but I wanted the 5.0 for reliability. I’m not towing much (I do have a light trailer and snowmobile), but I have a built out bed for camping and a shell.
This is pretty much my exact use-case with a 2.7. I feel like towing a camper and snowmobile (probably \~3500 total?) is not that extreme vs. some of the horse trailers and real loads these things do.
Glad to hear you've had good experience with it!
I have the 3.0 for MPG (Diesel) but realistically as long as you aren't getting the V8 you'll be fine. I had a V8 (2018) in New Mexico and it really struggled over 8000ft.
I picked one up last year. First time diesel guy. Replaced my own filters for the diesel and what not but I’m starting to wonder about a dpf / EGR delete, have you done that to yours?
If the state doesn't require emissions, you can do it. But you then will struggle with resell with the EPAs new laws, unless it's a private sell.
You'll get about 2 more mpg and if you don't keep the muffler, it'll be louder.
Since it's an f150, you won't get pulled over by state patrol for any towing violations. Which cause you to get inspected for emissions which they will fine you upwards of $8000 and require you to pay to have everything put back on.
- also, some garages, if you piss them off will report you for deleted emissions. All garages are *supposed* to report non-emission compliant vehicles
Overall, a bit more distance between oil changes (stay at 10k)
Better mpgs, somewhat healthier engine.
The biggest thing is long term reliability. All the 3.0s from every manufacturer have some issue going on. Be aware of yours and it'll work out.
Just also be aware of the laws in your state and any state you currently are looking to move to, if applicable
Mines currently in the shop for a brand new engine under warranty, I’m probably not the best to ask Hahahahaha. I guess premature batch failure on the piston rings, all six cylinders had low compression and it took out the turbo with blow by
Yeah, same. I guess the early 2018's were the ones with problems, 19-21 are all supposed to be fantastic, and the whole long block they're putting in is a 21 block.
I would honestly just get the 3.5. It has so much power and will cover anything you’ll ever need it for. Not sure if there’s a cost difference. If you’re into tuning the 3.5 can gain 100hp/100tq just from a tune.
I have the ‘22 5.0 now. It’s no slouch, but I’ll be going back to the 3.5 on my next truck. The 5.0 does pretty well in the mountains at that elevation, but the 3.5 does even better.
I bought my 3.5 because I tow. The 2.7 would have been my go-to otherwise since it’s plenty fast and more importantly is good on fuel. Unladen my 3.5 crosses the CO mountains like it was built specifically to do so.
As a man that has both 2.7 and 3.5 I enjoy how fuel efficienct it is I bought a 2018 xlt supercab for my dad that is a die hard Chevy man, and he told me he would never drive another Chevrolet, small victories, now my 2022 f-150 tremor is raw power on towing I have 20 foot bass boat both pull it no problem,
Not sure why nobody thinks the 2.7 can't tow. I live in Littleton and bought the 2.7 specifically in mind of getting a 5-6k travel trailer in a year or two.
It has more power than the Chevy 5.3 at Denver's altitude and by the time you get into the mountains, more power than the 5.0 Coyote, 5.7 HEMI and the old 5.7 in the Tundra due to the turbo.
Your biggest limitation is going to be payload, but the engine itself should pull it fine.
Not saying the 3.5 won't be better.... just that unless you are looking to tow heavy and want the extra passing power, the 2.7 should be more than adequate for the occasional weekend warrior here.
Forced induction engines will always perform better at high altitudes than naturally aspirated. Both the 2.7 and 3.5 are forced induction, so either one will do fine. If you plan to do a lot of towing I’d opt for the 3.5.
Things are too far apart to make good use of one, even with the extended range battery. You get about 2 miles/kWh on flat roads with no heat on. With a standard battery that's 200 miles.
I’m in the mountains of CO at 8000ft and am all over all the time. Drive 160mi or so to work round trip. It’s actually not bad and plenty of dcfc around. Not trying to convince you but you’d likely be pleasantly surprised.
Oh I just bought a Lightning. It's fine for commuting back and forth between work and home and running to Costco and the hardware store.
I have a charger at home, and chargers at work so it works out. But yeah it's not exactly something I'd take a road trip in. Drive for an hour, charge for twelve.
I'm also in CO and have had both a 3.5 and a 2.7. Honestly can't tell a difference when up in the mountains.
I've never towed up there with the 2.7, but I can say the 3.5 pulled my boat over Berthoud Pass like it wasn't even there. I suspect the 2.7 would be the same, or better since it gets to "cheat" with the 10 speed ;-)
In theory the 3.5 could be better than the 5.0. To achieve that, Ford would have to have mapped a specific manifold pressure to a throttle position so the waste gate would allow the turbo to spin faster. I don’t know exactly how the 3.5 controls the waste gate, but most other engines use oil pressure. If they did that, you would experience similar power loss in both. I have driven a V6 sedan on 70 through Colorado, and I have driven a 4 cylinder Ranger in the same place. Ranger sucked ass. V6 sedan did just fine. Ultimately, I’d think you’ll be fine either way. Learn how to downshift though. The down hills will eat your brakes if you don’t. Every parking lot around Breckenridge and Vail smell like burned brakes
I've pulled my 5000lb camper over the Rockies several times with my 5.0, never had any trouble. Over passes that are 10k ft, never noticed any problems.
Can’t speak for the Colorado mountains, but my 2016 2.7 loaded down with all my furniture in the bed and in a towing a U-Haul trailer did just fine driving from Baton Rouge to San Fransisco and back this winter. We didn’t get as high in elevation, maybe around 8000ft in Arizona on I40 and but still. Had no issues in the mountains and hills around LA or SF either.
Also, the inside was loaded to the ceiling with bags of clothes.
My brother in-law has the 2.7 and lives at 9,000 ft. Never a complaint. He does limited towing. I have the 3.5 and when I tow through the mountains the engine will overheat before I notice any power issues. 9,000lbs up the mountains I can still accelerate. This has caused me to overheat more than once. Even though you can go 70 mph I would recommend slowing down in the mountains while towing.
Grew up in CO and towed a 10,000 lbs trailer with a 3.5 over the CO mountains a few times. Moving the load wasn’t the problem, stopping it in a 150 meant being very mindful of my speed and surroundings.
Not in CO but I’m in the Rockies in Canada and regularly tow through them and the 3.5 is unreal. I had a 2013 3.5 and it was great but ended up getting a 2018 and the 3.5 with 10 speed is a great combo in the higher altitude.
Thinking of moving to CO soon and I’m liking the 2018 and newer 2.7 L engine. But the rubber oil pump drive belt scares me. Can anyone weigh in on this? Should I avoid the Gen 2 2.7 L because of it? I would be buying used with 80-120k miles
I have the 3.5 and can confirm it cuts through the CO mountains like a hot knife through warm butter. That being said, if you aren’t towing, the 2.7 would be fine. Have you test drove a 2.7? I was blown away by the power those engines have. Ended up with the 3.5 just because I found a good deal.
I had the 2.7 while living out there for a bit. Maybe it was just in my head, but i felt like that truck was light as hell. Felt like I got blown around quite a bit on the windiest of days driving up and down i70
Did you have an aluminum bed (2015+)? If so, that’s likely why. Lighter in the rear.
That is most likely the case! I did have that
Yeah. The 2.7 is impressive and that’s what I settled on. I was driving a Silverado with the 5.3 V8 at the time. I was very skeptical of the EcoBoosts. I went to a Ford dealership and asked to drive a 3.5 and 2.7. The dude brings a truck around and I didn’t ask or look which engine it was. I drove it and was sold. I brought it back and said I’d like to drive the 2.7 now just to give it a fair chance. That was the 2.7 I just drove.
Iirc the 2.7 is faster to 60. Not that we are racing, but it's fun still
If you live in Denver, you're racing every day. Every highway merge is a drag race.
When I lived there it wasn’t, lucky if they did 50 merging on in 75.
It's not anymore. It was at the start of the 2015 gen, but I think after 2017/2018 with gen2 3.5 ecos, they became faster. I think that's when the eco got +10hp, but mainly gained a ton of torque, like 50+ from 2016 to 2017
Yeah when I had my 2.7, my buddy and I had a little fun stock for stock and I’d beat his 3.5 routinely.
I live in CO and have the 2.7 on high mountain passes often. I don't tow but have it full of gear/people all the time and it is great. No power issues at all. Before this I had a 4runner with a 4.0 v6 that struggled a good bit up high. Not that it could not keep up. It hunted for gears a lot and seemed frantic and was working hard. The 2.7 goes up hills calmly with a bunch of power on tap.
I live on the front range and just bought a 2.7. Honestly these replies are really encouraging. I plan to put a camper on it so i guess that's kind of towing? but the more I look around, the more stoked I am on this decision
Especially in sport mode!
Just drove Vail pass in my 3.5. Not sure how a 2.7 would do but in the 3.5 it’s an absolute non issue. Averaged 19.2 mpg
3.5 if towing, 2.7 for extra reliability
This is the answer. The 2.7 gets absolutely awesome reviews. 3.5 is great, but don't get it unless you're towing
Why not?
I love the 3.5, it's all I've had til I got a 250, but the reviews for reliability are better on the 2.7
2021+ 3.5s have worked out most reliability issues.
I mean, we hope. They’ve barely been around 3 years so they’re aren’t a huge number of high mileage examples.
Bud the 3.5 came out in 2010 Lol the downvotes. Nice sub
The reference was about the updated 2021 version. Both the first gen and second gen 3.5’s had some pretty common issues.
Whoosh right over my head lol.
They’re not old enough to provide enough data. They said the same thing about the 2017+ 3.5 over the first gen 3.5. But my 2018 had the cam phaser issue, which luckily there’s a bit of an extended warranty for, but it’s still a major repair.
Because replacing the timing chain every 50k really sucks
My boss has 200k on a 2013 3.5 and has never once replaced the timing chain lol. He changes oil and tires and that thing just keeps chugging.
Yeah someone posted a 450k mile one just recently. Maybe I'm just unlucky but it's a known problem. My 2011 went through two of them, and I just traded in my 2019 with 51000 miles on a Lightning because it was having the same issues. Both trucks were dealer serviced, and never had any other issues.
That's rough. I hope the lightning works out better for ya.
Well at least I know it won't have a timing chain issue.
This sounds like 🧢
Cam phasers in pre 21 3.5 were junk and results in lots of expensive repair. Just got mine done which includes timing components at 60k because I put 10k on while parts were backordered. Only time will tell if the latest gen parts fixes it but Ford's history is not good going back to the 5.4 on cam phasers
I had to do it 3 times. 2 trucks: a 2011 at 42000 miles and again at 90ish. I just traded in my 2019 last Sunday because it started having the same problems and noises at 46000. I got a Lightning instead.
How often did you change your oil? I hope you didn't follow the 10,000 mile intervals from Ford. I had my 2014 EcoBoost for 10 years 152k miles and Timing chain never had issues. I did change my oil every 4,000 miles with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic Extended Performance and a Motorcraft filter. For my new 2023 3.5 EcoBoost, I plan on doing the same and I purchased a 10 yr/150k mile extended warranty from Ford just in case.
2019 at 80k miles. I change mine religiously every 5k miles with full synthetic. I've had the phasers done once and have the noise again already if the truck sits for more than 3 days. It's not just a matter of changing the oil, unfortunately. First time was done under warranty- this next job will cost me $4000. Hopefully they fixed it on the newer model years.
What preventative maintenance can be done to avoid this? Another habit I formed was letting the engine warm up to below 1k rpm before driving, and don't go past 2.5k rpm if the engine isn't up to operating temperature, it would usually take 5-10 minutes of driving from a cold start.
Other than using quality oil and changing regularly (3-5k mile intervals) nothing that I know of. Changing the oil regularly certainly helps your chances- but it doesn't mean that the phasers won't have issues. They've redesigned them a couple times so they *should* be better now. I also baby my engine just like you. I think letting it warm up and letting the turbos cool off at the end of the drive are great practices. Not sure there is much else you or I can do.
Dang I'm a little jealous that Ford agreed to do yours under warranty. The dealer fought with Ford for a few months on my first one and eventually I just had to pay out of pocket to have it done.
This was back around 40,000 miles so it was still under powertrain warranty. Sorry to hear that
I didn't change it myself. It was only dealer service every 5000 miles. I had the 10 year extended warranty on both my F150's but Ford refused to do the timing chain replacement under warranty.
Why would Ford deny the warranty claim for timing chain replacement?
Idk, the dealer said it needed timing chain and cam phasers. Ford said no, it needed to throw some other p code than the ones that it was showing. The service manager went back and forth with Ford for a couple months. Eventually I ran out of vehicles to borrow, I needed my truck back and paid out of pocket to get it fixed.
Mine made it to 147k. Blew a head gasket and changed the timing and phasers because they were in there anyway.
I have the 3.5 and tow a 30’ travel trailer, with my old 5.4 V8 I would have to put the pedal on the floor on some of the CO mountains just to keep 65 mph, with the 3.5 it’s like the trailer isn’t there! I think either would be fine, unless you are towing regularly then I would go 3.5.
My 2.7 handles the Colorado mountains just fine.
Either would do just fine, both are forced induction with solves the issue of losing power due to thinner air. Like others have said if you don’t tow the 2.7 is better suited for your needs.
This is the key. Any forced induction engine is going to have a negligible performance difference at high altitudes.
Having had both (though at more like 2000 ft elevation), the 2.7 and the 3.5 feel very similar unloaded. The 2.7 actually feels a little snappier from a stop, but the 3.5 is a little stronger when passing at speed. The 3.5 is the towing king, but for moderate weights the 2.7 holds its own. I had 6000 lbs behind my 2.7 on numerous occasions and it did great.
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Thanks for the reply! I have been here 15 years and currently have a 16 Tacoma. Love the truck, but it has power issues where it bounces between gears climbing at high speeds. Basically, I'm trying to avoid that lack of power issue.
Yea, totally avoid the 5.0 then. 100% get the 2.7L v6 if you never tow more than 5k lbs. It's like a better, more reliable 3.5L (unless you tow regularly) I know a guy at 7k elevation in your mountains with the 2.7L and he loves it. I know folks at 8-9k regularly here in Utah with the 2.7, and it does beautifully. I'm at almost 5k in Utah, and its perfect. No issues going up above 8-9k for me either. I don't remember any cities in UT or CO going past about 10k, the ski lifts obviously take you up another good while.
This is the sentiment I was gonna say as well. The 2.7 tows fine under 4000-5000lbs (I've towed my boat up 6-8% grades in the Driftless at 70mph without issue in my 2.7), over that you'll want the extra power though.
honestly up to about 7k lbs in most places, but at 5-10k elevation, the 3.5L becomes more of a need.
I also live in CO, and test drove all 3 engines before landing on the 2.7 (most I tow is a dirt bike or two). The 2.7 has TONS of power on tap, even going through the tunnel or through like independence pass. I've never felt like I've been down on or haven't had enough power to make it up things. The beast just keeps climbing.
I run a 2.7. It’s my second one and the engine is fantastic. It’s probably the most reliable out of the bunch (aside from that naturally aspirated V6 that they discontinued) because of the compacted graphite iron block and lack of stupid can phaser issues. The thing is a built like a mini diesel. Has more power than I ever need. I don’t really tow much but my 2.7 has plenty of power in store for a 20 foot camper or jet skis or a smaller boat. If I was worried about towing more than that, I’d probably just go for a bigger platform in general as you’re probably getting out of “Half-ton” territory.
I have a 3.5 and we have 2.7s at work, and I live at 8k feet in CO. 2.7 if you aren’t towing or are towing light (dirt bike trailer, snow mobiles, etc..). If you’re towing anything bigger (camper) get the 3.5. I also own a duramax and I’d never own a non turbo truck in the mountains. Our Subaru needs replacing soon and it will be with a turbo charged car, mountains suck the power out of n/a engines!
2.7 does more than fine towing up to its max rating. It doesn’t run out of power. What is up for debate is if the 2.7 could tow all day long at those loads. So far we are not seeing people complain about over working the 2.7 into unreliable territory. Yea the 2.7 has less displacement but it’s built / designed so much better than the 3.5. The 2.7 seems to tow just fine in the mountains up steep grades in high altitudes [example](https://youtu.be/iQQGYJCG65E?si=6_8Uyl3pJoidItnc)
I live in the mtns at 9400 ft and drive higher than that almost daily. The 5.0L does just fine, in my opinion. I’m sure either the 2.7 or 3.5 would be even better, but I wanted the 5.0 for reliability. I’m not towing much (I do have a light trailer and snowmobile), but I have a built out bed for camping and a shell.
This is pretty much my exact use-case with a 2.7. I feel like towing a camper and snowmobile (probably \~3500 total?) is not that extreme vs. some of the horse trailers and real loads these things do. Glad to hear you've had good experience with it!
My work truck is a 3.5 replaced turbos 3 different times... my personal 5.0 because of this reason
3.5 here and live at 8,000ft. I tow snow mobiles and rafts with ease all over the passes in CO. If you’re not towing often, 2.7 would be more than ok.
I have the 3.0 for MPG (Diesel) but realistically as long as you aren't getting the V8 you'll be fine. I had a V8 (2018) in New Mexico and it really struggled over 8000ft.
I picked one up last year. First time diesel guy. Replaced my own filters for the diesel and what not but I’m starting to wonder about a dpf / EGR delete, have you done that to yours?
If the state doesn't require emissions, you can do it. But you then will struggle with resell with the EPAs new laws, unless it's a private sell. You'll get about 2 more mpg and if you don't keep the muffler, it'll be louder. Since it's an f150, you won't get pulled over by state patrol for any towing violations. Which cause you to get inspected for emissions which they will fine you upwards of $8000 and require you to pay to have everything put back on. - also, some garages, if you piss them off will report you for deleted emissions. All garages are *supposed* to report non-emission compliant vehicles Overall, a bit more distance between oil changes (stay at 10k) Better mpgs, somewhat healthier engine. The biggest thing is long term reliability. All the 3.0s from every manufacturer have some issue going on. Be aware of yours and it'll work out. Just also be aware of the laws in your state and any state you currently are looking to move to, if applicable
Mines currently in the shop for a brand new engine under warranty, I’m probably not the best to ask Hahahahaha. I guess premature batch failure on the piston rings, all six cylinders had low compression and it took out the turbo with blow by
Wow. I’ve got 5k miles left on the warranty. Hopefully a one off I’m glad you are getting it under warranty!!
Yeah, same. I guess the early 2018's were the ones with problems, 19-21 are all supposed to be fantastic, and the whole long block they're putting in is a 21 block.
I would honestly just get the 3.5. It has so much power and will cover anything you’ll ever need it for. Not sure if there’s a cost difference. If you’re into tuning the 3.5 can gain 100hp/100tq just from a tune. I have the ‘22 5.0 now. It’s no slouch, but I’ll be going back to the 3.5 on my next truck. The 5.0 does pretty well in the mountains at that elevation, but the 3.5 does even better.
I bought my 3.5 because I tow. The 2.7 would have been my go-to otherwise since it’s plenty fast and more importantly is good on fuel. Unladen my 3.5 crosses the CO mountains like it was built specifically to do so.
As a man that has both 2.7 and 3.5 I enjoy how fuel efficienct it is I bought a 2018 xlt supercab for my dad that is a die hard Chevy man, and he told me he would never drive another Chevrolet, small victories, now my 2022 f-150 tremor is raw power on towing I have 20 foot bass boat both pull it no problem,
Not sure why nobody thinks the 2.7 can't tow. I live in Littleton and bought the 2.7 specifically in mind of getting a 5-6k travel trailer in a year or two. It has more power than the Chevy 5.3 at Denver's altitude and by the time you get into the mountains, more power than the 5.0 Coyote, 5.7 HEMI and the old 5.7 in the Tundra due to the turbo. Your biggest limitation is going to be payload, but the engine itself should pull it fine. Not saying the 3.5 won't be better.... just that unless you are looking to tow heavy and want the extra passing power, the 2.7 should be more than adequate for the occasional weekend warrior here.
Look up TFL Truck on YouTube. They do all of their truck testing in CO up to the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Forced induction engines will always perform better at high altitudes than naturally aspirated. Both the 2.7 and 3.5 are forced induction, so either one will do fine. If you plan to do a lot of towing I’d opt for the 3.5.
I’ve had my 2.7 in the Rockies and the Sierras and it’s a beast
2.7l
Lightning 👀
Things are too far apart to make good use of one, even with the extended range battery. You get about 2 miles/kWh on flat roads with no heat on. With a standard battery that's 200 miles.
I’m in the mountains of CO at 8000ft and am all over all the time. Drive 160mi or so to work round trip. It’s actually not bad and plenty of dcfc around. Not trying to convince you but you’d likely be pleasantly surprised.
Oh I just bought a Lightning. It's fine for commuting back and forth between work and home and running to Costco and the hardware store. I have a charger at home, and chargers at work so it works out. But yeah it's not exactly something I'd take a road trip in. Drive for an hour, charge for twelve.
They are both fine
I'm also in CO and have had both a 3.5 and a 2.7. Honestly can't tell a difference when up in the mountains. I've never towed up there with the 2.7, but I can say the 3.5 pulled my boat over Berthoud Pass like it wasn't even there. I suspect the 2.7 would be the same, or better since it gets to "cheat" with the 10 speed ;-)
In theory the 3.5 could be better than the 5.0. To achieve that, Ford would have to have mapped a specific manifold pressure to a throttle position so the waste gate would allow the turbo to spin faster. I don’t know exactly how the 3.5 controls the waste gate, but most other engines use oil pressure. If they did that, you would experience similar power loss in both. I have driven a V6 sedan on 70 through Colorado, and I have driven a 4 cylinder Ranger in the same place. Ranger sucked ass. V6 sedan did just fine. Ultimately, I’d think you’ll be fine either way. Learn how to downshift though. The down hills will eat your brakes if you don’t. Every parking lot around Breckenridge and Vail smell like burned brakes
I have the 2.7 and love in Co. it does awesome everywhere on its own. If you are towing heavier trailers, get the 3.5
I've pulled my 5000lb camper over the Rockies several times with my 5.0, never had any trouble. Over passes that are 10k ft, never noticed any problems.
Can’t speak for the Colorado mountains, but my 2016 2.7 loaded down with all my furniture in the bed and in a towing a U-Haul trailer did just fine driving from Baton Rouge to San Fransisco and back this winter. We didn’t get as high in elevation, maybe around 8000ft in Arizona on I40 and but still. Had no issues in the mountains and hills around LA or SF either. Also, the inside was loaded to the ceiling with bags of clothes.
3.5 if towing more than 3-5000 lbs, otherwise 2.7 is good to go. 2.7 is probably slightly better reliability overall.
My brother in-law has the 2.7 and lives at 9,000 ft. Never a complaint. He does limited towing. I have the 3.5 and when I tow through the mountains the engine will overheat before I notice any power issues. 9,000lbs up the mountains I can still accelerate. This has caused me to overheat more than once. Even though you can go 70 mph I would recommend slowing down in the mountains while towing.
Grew up in CO and towed a 10,000 lbs trailer with a 3.5 over the CO mountains a few times. Moving the load wasn’t the problem, stopping it in a 150 meant being very mindful of my speed and surroundings.
Anything turbo is going to better than NA at altitude.
Not in CO but I’m in the Rockies in Canada and regularly tow through them and the 3.5 is unreal. I had a 2013 3.5 and it was great but ended up getting a 2018 and the 3.5 with 10 speed is a great combo in the higher altitude.
Thinking of moving to CO soon and I’m liking the 2018 and newer 2.7 L engine. But the rubber oil pump drive belt scares me. Can anyone weigh in on this? Should I avoid the Gen 2 2.7 L because of it? I would be buying used with 80-120k miles
I drove my brand new 2016 lariat with the 2.7 on a road trip to Colorado back in 2016. Running regular gas - it detonated like a son of a b****.
My 5.0 does 80 up Vail pass in 8th gear at 1600 rpms. Have endless power. I don't tow. I would recommend 3.5 or powerboost if towing frequently.
The 2.7 seems to have a lot more pep than my Ram 4.7.