NFR F150 & Ecoboost

Non-fishing related
Speaking of older trucks.....

With our impending move east, I'm increasingly under pressure to sell my 2000 F150 Xl. It's got the 4.2 , 5 speed, just a basic truck.

Still haven't made the decision to list it yet, but it would make a nice budget 1st truck
 
Speaking of older trucks.....

With our impending move east, I'm increasingly under pressure to sell my 2000 F150 Xl. It's got the 4.2 , 5 speed, just a basic truck.

Still haven't made the decision to list it yet, but it would make a nice budget 1st truck
I've got a 2001 F150 Supercrew I bought in May 2000. It has the 5.4 liter engine and still runs well. Just over 250K miles.

Stew
 
Speaking of older trucks.....

With our impending move east, I'm increasingly under pressure to sell my 2000 F150 Xl. It's got the 4.2 , 5 speed, just a basic truck.

Still haven't made the decision to list it yet, but it would make a nice budget 1st truck
where ya heading?
 
I've got a 2001 F150 Supercrew I bought in May 2000. It has the 5.4 liter engine and still runs well. Just over 250K miles.

Stew
The 2-valve 5.4l engines like yours were solid. The subsequent 3-valve models were not.

My '98 5.4l F150 has 235k and runs great.

I'm skeptical that a twin turbo V6 with 10-speed transmission will be anywhere near as long lasting, especially if it used for towing and hauling.
 
Did a deep dive on the 3.5 Ecoboost when considering one that included a talk with my mechanic. Apparently the two most critical steps to durability is synthetic oil changes every 5K and the installation of a catch can kit, which prevents oil vapors from circulating into the intake, causing carbon/sludge build-up and messes with the fuel delivery system lowering octane. The reason Ford doesn't sell trucks catch can equipped is they require regular draining of captured/condensed vapors.
Conversely, the Coyote 5.0 is considered pretty bulletproof, and remains very popular with hot rodders who can tweak hundreds of additional hp out of them.
 
Did a deep dive on the 3.5 Ecoboost when considering one that included a talk with my mechanic. Apparently the two most critical steps to durability is synthetic oil changes every 5K and the installation of a catch can kit, which prevents oil vapors from circulating into the intake, causing carbon/sludge build-up and messes with the fuel delivery system lowering octane. The reason Ford doesn't sell trucks catch can equipped is they require regular draining of captured/condensed vapors.
Conversely, the Coyote 5.0 is considered pretty bulletproof, and remains very popular with hot rodders who can tweak hundreds of additional hp out of them.

oil vapor from PCV getting burned or dropping out of vapor into the intake is nasty stuff. We see especially excessive amounts of oil when blowby increases and over filling of oil. The trick is to use a catchcan that drains back to the sump with a one way valve to the sump. That cures the problem often seen with guys who are reaching intermediate level trackday drivers and keeps the car smog legal. I raced a 2019 Mustang GT with the gen 3 5.0 coyote motor and won my regional championship and the car wasn't even fully sorted. That's a great motor!
 
Adding on these HORSEPOWER ADDITIONS. several Major Dealers offerin these big metal boxes you can CHAIN to the outside of the Truck to make it stronger and MORE HORSEPWER. More HORSEPARR!!!!! bonus is if you chain it to the side of The Truck then you can just swipe the weaker cars OFF THE ROAD. Get out of the way!!!
 
Did a deep dive on the 3.5 Ecoboost when considering one that included a talk with my mechanic. Apparently the two most critical steps to durability is synthetic oil changes every 5K and the installation of a catch can kit, which prevents oil vapors from circulating into the intake, causing carbon/sludge build-up and messes with the fuel delivery system lowering octane. The reason Ford doesn't sell trucks catch can equipped is they require regular draining of captured/condensed vapors.
Conversely, the Coyote 5.0 is considered pretty bulletproof, and remains very popular with hot rodders who can tweak hundreds of additional hp out of them.
Interesting... To me the full synthetic oil change every 5k is a no brainer. I do them myself. I can do 2 vehicles at home in less time than it takes to drive to town and wait for a grease monkey. Auto companies bragging about 10k or more between oil changes are just trying to sell more vehicles.

The catch can kit I've never heard of. Any actual data on how much that can or will extend the life of the eco-boost or other platforms? I'm looking at purchasing a truck or van to pull my boat and provide some reasonable overnighting accomodations. This thread and similar ones have been great reads BTW.
 
Interesting... To me the full synthetic oil change every 5k is a no brainer. I do them myself. I can do 2 vehicles at home in less time than it takes to drive to town and wait for a grease monkey. Auto companies bragging about 10k or more between oil changes are just trying to sell more vehicles.

The catch can kit I've never heard of. Any actual data on how much that can or will extend the life of the eco-boost or other platforms? I'm looking at purchasing a truck or van to pull my boat and provide some reasonable overnighting accomodations. This thread and similar ones have been great reads BTW.
An oil catch can for a Ford F-150 intercepts oil mist, unburned fuel, and moisture from the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system before those residues can re-enter the engine's intake. [1, 2]

Why F-150 Engines Benefit
    • Direct Injection Protection: EcoBoost engines use direct injection, meaning fuel is sprayed straight into the cylinders rather than washing over the intake valves. Without a catch can, blow-by gases deposit sticky carbon buildup on the valves over time. [1]
    • Cleaner Intake Tract: The can traps oil vapor in a physical reservoir or filter mesh, keeping your intercooler and intake manifold free of sludge
    The K&N Air Oil Separator (SKU 81-0800) protects your truck's engine from blow-by oil and costs about $157.99
 
I'm looking at purchasing a truck or van to pull my boat and provide some reasonable overnighting accomodations. This thread and similar ones have been great reads BTW.
2015-2021 Tundra with 5.7 litre. Proven engine and drivetrain, transmission rock solid (unlike Ford and GM 8 & 10 speed models). If chasing horsepower a reliable supercharger is available. My neighbor uses (abuses) them on a ranch/farm truck and gets 3-500K miles out of them.
 
Here is a reasonable economical way to look at 2 separate but related issues. The 5k synthetic oil change. Use what the manufacturer says to use. If conventional oil is needed you can upgrade to syn at your wallets expense. There are good reasons to use syn but the average ownership period is 10 years or 100k miles and any car today can go 100k on the cheapest oil and almost no maintenance. At resale or trade in the dealership isn't going to give you more because you used synthetic oil. Syn oil might be more economical in the long run only if you extend the oil change interval that syn oils allow. The best way to determine your oil change interval regardless of oil type is oil testing and manufacturer recs. Blackstone will test oil and has the best rep in the industry. goggle them and you can see a sample oil report.

catch cans: The idea behind the CC is to collect and condense blowby oil vapor before it condenses in the inlet track. We uses these on our racecars all the time but not for the reason streetcars would use them. The cheap style CC collects and must be manually emptied. The better CC's collect and oil condensate drips back through one way valve to the crank case and the air and minimal oil vapor is burned in the intake. Unmeterd oil vapor without CC burnt in the intake of direct injection ICE motors leaves ever growing foul on valves and slowly decreases performance, fuel economy etc. BMW's are the most notorious of having this problem and the maintenance cost is about $1000. Even with BMW's this was an every 40k mile or so occurrence so that would happen once during average ownership. We clean the back of valves really easy with walnut shell blasting and once access is gained takes about 10 seconds per cylinder to do this job. Overall time a couple hours. Even with CC this job will not be eliminated but reduced. It's a symptom of direct injection and not an if but a when. With a F150 you might never need to clean the valves during ownership but by 50k there will likely be subtle performance fall off that joe average will not feel. Most mechanics consider 50k walnut shell cleaning of heads a routine maintenance item regardless of CC use. I would not bother adding more complexity or another failure point in my life unless you have good understanding of this system or are a DIY guy who likes to play with stuff.
 
An oil catch can for a Ford F-150 intercepts oil mist, unburned fuel, and moisture from the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system before those residues can re-enter the engine's intake. [1, 2]

Why F-150 Engines Benefit
    • Direct Injection Protection: EcoBoost engines use direct injection, meaning fuel is sprayed straight into the cylinders rather than washing over the intake valves. Without a catch can, blow-by gases deposit sticky carbon buildup on the valves over time. [1]
    • Cleaner Intake Tract: The can traps oil vapor in a physical reservoir or filter mesh, keeping your intercooler and intake manifold free of sludge
    The K&N Air Oil Separator (SKU 81-0800) protects your truck's engine from blow-by oil and costs about $157.99
Looked into adding one to our Exploder with the 3.5 twin turbo and factory tow package. We're at 132K miles right now.

There's not a good, reasonably easy to find, place to install it without tearing the front apart, and even then you've gotta be very very careful.

Also dug into the catch can idea online and can't find a real benefit. More cons than pros from what I've seen, but in the end, a toss up.
 
where ya heading?
@SurfnFish
Sorry missed that. Or maybe I replied privately.
We crunched a lot of numbers and decided to sell the Fed Way house, move to central Pennsyltucky to a temporary lodging and complete the renovations on the inherited property amd then make that our permanent home.

Completed the trans con move 2 weeks ago. Still unboxing, but only what we really need for the next year.

In the end, I donated Old Paint though vehiclesforverterans.com. I know it will get a good home through them after getting some tlc.

Too many were trying to get a decent hard working truck with 182k on the clock for next to nothing. Couldn't believe the number of entitled A****les who were so insulting when answering the ad. My friend of nearly 40 years lives in Idaho. He was trying to help sell it, and got so disgusted that he stopped being involved.

Sorry, overshared .
 
Here is a reasonable economical way to look at 2 separate but related issues. The 5k synthetic oil change. Use what the manufacturer says to use. If conventional oil is needed you can upgrade to syn at your wallets expense. There are good reasons to use syn but the average ownership period is 10 years or 100k miles and any car today can go 100k on the cheapest oil and almost no maintenance. At resale or trade in the dealership isn't going to give you more because you used synthetic oil. Syn oil might be more economical in the long run only if you extend the oil change interval that syn oils allow. The best way to determine your oil change interval regardless of oil type is oil testing and manufacturer recs. Blackstone will test oil and has the best rep in the industry. goggle them and you can see a sample oil report.

catch cans: The idea behind the CC is to collect and condense blowby oil vapor before it condenses in the inlet track. We uses these on our racecars all the time but not for the reason streetcars would use them. The cheap style CC collects and must be manually emptied. The better CC's collect and oil condensate drips back through one way valve to the crank case and the air and minimal oil vapor is burned in the intake. Unmeterd oil vapor without CC burnt in the intake of direct injection ICE motors leaves ever growing foul on valves and slowly decreases performance, fuel economy etc. BMW's are the most notorious of having this problem and the maintenance cost is about $1000. Even with BMW's this was an every 40k mile or so occurrence so that would happen once during average ownership. We clean the back of valves really easy with walnut shell blasting and once access is gained takes about 10 seconds per cylinder to do this job. Overall time a couple hours. Even with CC this job will not be eliminated but reduced. It's a symptom of direct injection and not an if but a when. With a F150 you might never need to clean the valves during ownership but by 50k there will likely be subtle performance fall off that joe average will not feel. Most mechanics consider 50k walnut shell cleaning of heads a routine maintenance item regardless of CC use. I would not bother adding more complexity or another failure point in my life unless you have good understanding of this system or are a DIY guy who likes to play with stuff.
do you work in the vehicle maintenance biz ?? if so, where?
 
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