New Hunting Rig

[MThunter398]

When I broke the news to my Dad that I was moving to Montana full time (not just for work) I also told him I was looking to buy a pickup. My first car had served me well in Wisconsin, having access to side by sides and other pickups for my hunting needs. But I knew MT would be a totally different story. My uncle had just bought a new truck, and decided not to trade in his old 08 F-150, Dad said he would ask about it for me. Long story short, and a significant family discount later, I became the proud owner of said F-150. It served me well, taking me all over MT on countless trips and adventures. Sadly today was the end of its era. 210,000 miles and a decade of WI rust finally became to much, eating away wiring, suspension, exhaust, and a sizable amount of the bed. The local chevy dealership had a 2013 F-150 with a ranch hand bumper, flat bed, and only 90,000 miles. Perhaps not a cross country road trip rig, but a perfect fit for my trap line and to winch up elk, deer, and hopefully a bison here soon.

PS. If you take care of a 5.4 Triton it will live forever.

PPS. The 3.5 EcoBoost is a joke, get a 5.0 if at all possible. My wife has an EcoBoost, its been nothing but a nightmare...

 

[Airmedic1]

Nice truck!

 

[Addicting]

I had a 5.0, get the eco boost if it is available. The 5.0 is nothing but trouble.

 

[WestKyHunt]

It is all about year model on all the engines mentioned above. Some years were absolutely garbage and others will last forever

 

[WapitiBob]

90,000 in 3 years on a 3.5 eco, nothing wrong with late 2020 builds or newer when you change the oil. All the oils; diff, tranny, all of it.

 

[buckbull]

My sister had a f250 with the 5.4 and spark plugs would shoot out of the heads. She had a good mechanic that installed helicoils until she could dump that turd.

 

[Hunt4Meat]

My 3.5 eco was awesome and loved to drive it with no issues. It would pass everything but a gas station, never got the economy posted, however never drove it like a turtle either. Wouldn’t hesitate to get another if it was in the rig I needed.

 

[WestKyHunt]

It would pass everything but a gas station, never got the economy posted, however never drove it like a turtle either.

The running joke is; you either get Eco or boost, never both lol

 

[rmyoung1]

My sister had a f250 with the 5.4 and spark plugs would shoot out of the heads. She had a good mechanic that installed helicoils until she could dump that turd.

My brother’s did the same thing. Stupid truck would wait for me to come into town. We’d take it out on a hunt, and then it’d blow the plugs.

 

[Hunt4Meat]

The running joke is; you either get Eco or boost, never both lol

Guess I was always on boost, no grass grew,lol…didn’t even jack it up or have aggressive tires, just heavy right foot.

 

[rjthehunter]

My sister had a f250 with the 5.4 and spark plugs would shoot out of the heads. She had a good mechanic that installed helicoils until she could dump that turd.

Yeah, my only experience with ford trucks involved my ex wifes ford. Ejected a spark plug one night when she was driving home. Towed it home and put a helicoil in it myself the next day. What overpaid idiot thought 3 threads was enough to hold in a spark plug on an aluminum head???

 

[mtmuley]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

 

[KB_]

2015 expedition with the Eco Boost has been great. The first gen eco boost were troublesome I have heard but 2015 and beyond are pretty dang good engines. Your not getting posted mpg unless your on the highway going 70. Its just not going to happen.

 

[KB_]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

6.2l boss is pretty good. I had a 6.8l v10 for a long time and that motor was nothing but stone cold reliable. It also drank fuel like Chris Farley drank booze.

 

[JEL]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

I have a 04 F150 with the 5.4. 215,000 miles. No issues at all. Changed the plugs out at 100,000. Also have an 08 F250 with the 6.4 diesel. 145,000. Only issue I've had with it is two blown AC compressors and a leak in the radiator.

 

[Dave N]

2010, 2005, 2002 and 2000 F150s all with the 5.4 and I never lost a plug. The 2010 I changed them at around 150K and sold it at 264K running fine.

 

[rjthehunter]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

No!

6.2l boss is pretty good. I had a 6.8l v10 for a long time and that motor was nothing but stone cold reliable. It also drank fuel like Chris Farley drank booze.

I'd consider a decent engine to be good on fuel as well as reliable.

 

[trackerbacker]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

Well....


300 i6.

6.9idi

7.3 powerstroke OG (the real one, not the false early 7.3 born of the 6.9idi, or the later computerized 7.3)

3.7 in a 2011 f150 I put 280k (had 6k miles when I bought it in 2014) miles on with 2 water pumps and an alternator. Gave it to one of my guys in 2020.

3.5 eco in a 2015 f150 (bought in 2020 with 13k miles on it) I put 268k on. Still tooling around in it and will for the foreseeable future.

Since 2014 I've personally put about 550k miles on those 2 engines. Both are still in operation. The only fixes were 2 water pumps, a throttle body and a fuse location/weather issue on the 3.7, and 1 water pump, and 2 sensors and (soon to be) exhaust manifolds on the 3.5eco.

.............I also had a 2005 6.0 powerstroke I put 150k on, never had an issue other than cold weather starts if it wasn't plugged in...........

Now that the short list is done....let's talk about the long list......

 

[perma]

Has Ford ever made a decent engine? mtmuley

Not to mention the 5L, or 302 for the old school folk. They've been making that engine for years.

 

[mtmuley]

Not to mention the 5L, or 302 for the old school folk. They've been making that engine for years.

The Chevy small block was the longest running production engine. Just seems like Ford has always jumped around looking for the next best truck engine. Sorry, the 302 was made for 30 some years, not 80. I even had one in a 1970 Ranchero once. The 10 years were the Windsor plant engines. mtmuley