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Concerns on the v8 over the 3.5 v6

ptr0687

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Hey everyone,

I'm new here but I ordered a Lariat with the v8 over the 3.5v6. I've been reading as much as I possibly can but it sounds like you cannot go wrong with either engine. I got the v8 as it has less moving parts so potentially won't break as much but wanted to know everyones thoughts. I will be hauling some outdoor fun toys on a 14ft trailer such as a SXS and a 4wheeler so my tow rate will be a bit under 5k on various weekends. Anyone disappointed they purchased the v8 over the 3.5v6?
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NEWT32

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Hey everyone,

I'm new here but I ordered a Lariat with the v8 over the 3.5v6. I've been reading as much as I possibly can but it sounds like you cannot go wrong with either engine. I got the v8 as it has less moving parts so potentially won't break as much but wanted to know everyones thoughts. I will be hauling some outdoor fun toys on a 14ft trailer such as a SXS and a 4wheeler so my tow rate will be a bit under 5k on various weekends. Anyone disappointed they purchased the v8 over the 3.5v6?
 

NEWT32

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I was the proud owner of a 2019 F150 XLT with the 5.0 V8. I like you bought the V8 for the same reasons as you did. It was not until I had the truck for 23,000 miles that I realized that I did not buy the legendary 5.0 that everyone grew up with. This engine was anything but a 5.0. The engine was not a true 302cu in. engine it was a 307cu in. due to the redesign. The engine had a list of changes. The list was so long that it is easier to say, "The 5.0L version shares no parts with its predecessors." In fact the V8 engine used in 2018 thru 2020 trucks and cars has been DISCONTINUED. Good luck getting parts for these engines in a few years. OH I forgot to mention, you cannot repair the cylinders due to the type of materials used to coat the cylinder walls.
My research on the V8 has discovered that Ford only built that ill fated motor for 3 model years. They obviously knew it was a piece of GOLD so they started on the NEW/REDESIGNED 5.0 for 2021.
Questions: When buying the new vehicle did the salesman explain to you that the 2021 V8 was the NEW version of the old V8?
Did he explain to you that the oil pump was WET BELT driven? This means the redesigned oil pump is driven by the crank shaft via a belt inside of the oil pan. That is right, to change the oil soaked belt you have to drop the oil pan. Sounds like another Ford Idea.
Did he explain to you how the new engine has cylinder deactivation and how it worked? I could not find a salesman that could explain it or one who knew it existed.
My 2019 started using 2 quarts of oil in 7500 miles. The Ford solution was to detune my engine and put in a longer dip stick. That is when I decided I did not need it any longer.
Please forgive me for the length of this post but I needed to vent and you needed to know.
 

Djlee1592

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Hey everyone,

I'm new here but I ordered a Lariat with the v8 over the 3.5v6. I've been reading as much as I possibly can but it sounds like you cannot go wrong with either engine. I got the v8 as it has less moving parts so potentially won't break as much but wanted to know everyones thoughts. I will be hauling some outdoor fun toys on a 14ft trailer such as a SXS and a 4wheeler so my tow rate will be a bit under 5k on various weekends. Anyone disappointed they purchased the v8 over the 3.5v6?
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I have the v8 in my current 2018 and ordered my 2021 with the v8 also. MPG isn’t a huge concern for me, so i mainly went for sound. While it might not be as fast as the 3.5 it’s still a strong engine. And that amount of weight towing won’t be an issue at all. I’m sure down the road I’ll switch or by then maybe even go electric, so why not enjoy the v8 while you can
 

Blueshound

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I love my 2021 5.0 and have 5,000 miles on it. It sounds great and goes like the dickens. As the previous poster said, it's been updated for 2021 with some new tech. If it breaks I will fix it or get something else. Don't go down the rabbit hole looking for problems.
 

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apMechorse

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Almost 13k miles on my 5.0 and I have had ZERO problems with the engine and no oil consumption at all.

I personally chose the 5.0 over other options because 1) V8; 2) No turbo that will need to be rebuilt @ 100k miles, and; 3) V8 - it's a truck after all.

I can't find the link for it now, but previously someone posted a video about the differences between the wet belt and metal timing chains. Basically the gist of it was it's too early to tell if there will be problems with the belt, but it is expected to have a longer service life than the chain did due to the chain stretching over time. The thought process being that tech has advanced enough that the belt is no longer just your basic old fan belt material and will actually "recover" better than the chain could.

As Blueshound mentioned above, don't get sucked in looking for problems, that can be easy to do if you read through these pages long enough and can quickly turn into a slippery slope.

Get what you want and be happy with it until it gives you a reason not to be. ?
 

F150Eh

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Hey Paul, welcome to the forum! :) I went with the V6 over the V8 mainly because I bought it to tow my new camper (6000 lbs dry) and my research showed the V6 is better for heavier tows and can perform better in mountains (note - I live nowhere near mountains, so this was an edge case nice to have lol).

I have a friend who bought a V8 for what others here have said - less moving parts (he works for an engine manufacturer and his experience is turbos need more repairs than non-turbos).

I agree with you - I don't think you can go wrong with either engine. Looking forward to seeing pics of your truck posted here when you get it! :)
 

Doyouevenboost

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I was the proud owner of a 2019 F150 XLT with the 5.0 V8. I like you bought the V8 for the same reasons as you did. It was not until I had the truck for 23,000 miles that I realized that I did not buy the legendary 5.0 that everyone grew up with. This engine was anything but a 5.0. The engine was not a true 302cu in. engine it was a 307cu in. due to the redesign. The engine had a list of changes. The list was so long that it is easier to say, "The 5.0L version shares no parts with its predecessors." In fact the V8 engine used in 2018 thru 2020 trucks and cars has been DISCONTINUED. Good luck getting parts for these engines in a few years. OH I forgot to mention, you cannot repair the cylinders due to the type of materials used to coat the cylinder walls.
My research on the V8 has discovered that Ford only built that ill fated motor for 3 model years. They obviously knew it was a piece of GOLD so they started on the NEW/REDESIGNED 5.0 for 2021.
Questions: When buying the new vehicle did the salesman explain to you that the 2021 V8 was the NEW version of the old V8?
Did he explain to you that the oil pump was WET BELT driven? This means the redesigned oil pump is driven by the crank shaft via a belt inside of the oil pan. That is right, to change the oil soaked belt you have to drop the oil pan. Sounds like another Ford Idea.
Did he explain to you how the new engine has cylinder deactivation and how it worked? I could not find a salesman that could explain it or one who knew it existed.
My 2019 started using 2 quarts of oil in 7500 miles. The Ford solution was to detune my engine and put in a longer dip stick. That is when I decided I did not need it any longer.
Please forgive me for the length of this post but I needed to vent and you needed to know.
It took you 23000 miles to realize you didn’t have a single cam pushrod engine…?
 

Pedaldude

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I have the 5.0 V8 and one of the reasons why I chose it and the F-150 over the 6.2 and an F-250 was the better fuel mileage. Since my mileage is about the same, I have been second guessing the decision, only time will tell though and I have yet to put any real highway miles on my truck. Though, to be perfectly fair; had I ordered a SuperDuty, I likely would have spec'd the new 7.3 pushrod engine.

Since I don't put a lot of miles on my vehicles, if the oil pump belt is a problem, it will either fail during the warranty period or I will have plenty of warning from other owners if they develop pattern failures, same for cylinder deactivation. I am not worried about rebuilding the engine, since it's pretty much a losing proposition on most of the new designs. You are usually better off with a crate motor over attempting to save money on a rebuild or even a salvage engine.

If you enjoy rebuilding engines, stick with a flathead Ford or the 'legendary' original 302ci 5.0 which is just as much of an anachronism today as the flathead was in the 80's. They both have a ton of support for parts and rebuilding. I know people who have successfully rebuilt old school motors that rivaled factory power and reliability, only to be defeated trying to rebuild Modular V8s, even ones with iron blocks. Not that it can't be done, just that it's not easily done anymore by amateurs whose primary purpose is downing cans of beer late into the evening.

I would never get a turbo vehicle, just too much more to go wrong, even if you get lucky and don't have any failures; the resale value of the V8 is better according to my own search to locate a used truck. I started looking for a replacement for my '06 Silverado when it hit 100K miles, which had been such an excellent truck, I would have gladly replaced it with a new Silverado except for all the problems that I was hearing from people who hated their newer trucks. I couldn't find a used Coyote V8 truck that made sense to purchase used, either the miles were way too high, or the price wasn't in line with how much it should have depreciated.

During my two year failed search for a used F-150, there were tons of low mile Ecoboost trucks and many of those had listed their recent 'maintenance' and the associated high cost of replacing turbos or turbo components. I had gotten the feeling that several of the Ecoboost owners were just looking to unload their money pit trucks combined with the opposite feeling about the V8 owners, which had their trucks for sale for such damn high prices that I can't help but think that they didn't actually want to sell them!
 
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ptr0687

ptr0687

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Thanks everyone for your replies and thoughts. I am sticking with the v8 as that was in my first truck I ever owned after freshly turning 16 long ago. I get everything has their problems and appreciate that but I can replace oil if on a road trip, turbo, not so much.

Really excited we can bypass the auto on/off now with Ford as I would simply be pressing that button every time I climbed in the truck. I think its goofy sitting at stop lights and hearing the car next to you simply shut off, to me its scary as hell. Hoping to hear back from my dealer tomorrow on the potential change.

Truck has a current build date of 10/4.
 

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dhrandy

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I think you'll be happy. I bought the V8 because I'm pulling a camper and wanted the higher payload. I also went a little lighter on some of the options to keep the payload up. I think as far as driving with a camper in the mountains, it will depend on the mountains. I live in NC, not Colorado. The 3.5 V6 would have pulled better, but you're also working those turbos harder. They get the same mileage too. I didn't want to bump up to the Powerboost, that was just out of the range I wanted to pay.

I was originally going to go with the 2.7, but again I wanted more payload....
 

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Hey everyone,

I'm new here but I ordered a Lariat with the v8 over the 3.5v6. I've been reading as much as I possibly can but it sounds like you cannot go wrong with either engine. I got the v8 as it has less moving parts so potentially won't break as much but wanted to know everyones thoughts. I will be hauling some outdoor fun toys on a 14ft trailer such as a SXS and a 4wheeler so my tow rate will be a bit under 5k on various weekends. Anyone disappointed they purchased the v8 over the 3.5v6?
I can tell you that all of our Ford technicians would rather work on a 5.0 because there's more room under the hood and easier to get to stuff. For whatever that's worth.
 

Bryan Simon

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I can tell you that all of our Ford technicians would rather work on a 5.0 because there's more room under the hood and easier to get to stuff. For whatever that's worth.
Hey, who is posting under Albert’s name?????
 

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