Ford 3.5 Ecoboost - extended idle times

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This is for the Ford experts,
How is the Ecoboost 3.5 engine? 2016 ones?

Any data fro police vehicles with a lot of engine hours from idling?

I like the power on it, but wanted some feedback on idling for 8 plus hours in summer temps reaching 100F and winter temps around 30 F

Thanks,
 
Just about 70K miles on my 3.5 Ecoboost. No issues, other than the V6 has a slightly rougher idle than my 5.4 V8 F150. No surprise there. It idles at 600RPM and simply has fewer combustion events per revolution than the V8, which idles at 700 RPM.
 
Can't think of any reason it would be worse than idling any other engine. The turbo is barely moving at idle so there would be little additional wear there.

I'm at 111,920 on one and 76k on the other and they have been stellar.
 
Ok, thanks guys, I doubt I will see the high miles like you guys,
I plan on getting the transit van for fishing trips with grandma and girls, like a day camper :)
My girls are petrified of bugs, and they will not let me open the windows.

I read about intercoolers filling up with water and then hydrolocking the engine
any chance of that in the new engines?
 
Originally Posted By: stockrex
I read about intercoolers filling up with water and then hydrolocking the engine
any chance of that in the new engines?


It was the early F150's and only happened when driven in long steady damp or raining weather. What would happen is the incoming air would cool and condense in the intercooler. When you floored it that cocktail would vaporize and get sucked in. Don't remember any hydrolocking because of it but there may have been one or 2. Ford had a few TSBs on it and as of the last one it's not been an issue. I had the issue on my F150 as it was an early build but they did the latest TSB and it's not happened since.

It's not been an issue for a long time so I'd not worry - it's an awesome engine. Can be thirsty but the power sure is fun!
 
grin.gif

Great, no worries about intercooler.

As for oil, it spec 5w30, I am going with synthetic and 5k OCI cuz of the idle times and 10k filter change. Basically I am doing an oil drop myself and then next one at dealer.
 
I'm no expert, but I do have a 2017 F150 Police Package with a 3.5 Ecoboost and a 10 speed as my patrol vehicle. It had about 10 hours of idle time when I got it back from the upfitter who installed the lights, radios, siren and K-9 insert. It now has probably 25 hours of idle time. We have to keep our vehicles running most of the time in South Texas because of the dog. Two weeks ago with right at 1300 miles I had a catastrophic engine failure. It had no power (kind of what I would imagine the 3.5 would be like with no turbos) then went into limp mode and lost oil pressure. Now it sounds like a diesel and the dealer found metal chunks in the oil. The truck wasn't run hard and I'm the only person who has ever driven it other than the mechanic who did the PDI. I'm not saying the idling had anything to do with this problem, but the upfitter has seen several Ecoboosts Explorer Interceptors with high idle time with major issues, like melted pistons. I doubt I'll find out the cause of my issue, as Ford is replacing the entire engine the dealer is not disassembling it, but I sure would like to know what happened.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DeputyDog
I'm no expert, but I do have a 2017 F150 Police Package with a 3.5 Ecoboost and a 10 speed as my patrol vehicle. It had about 10 hours of idle time when I got it back from the upfitter who installed the lights, radios, siren and K-9 insert. It now has probably 25 hours of idle time. We have to keep our vehicles running most of the time in South Texas because of the dog. Two weeks ago with right at 1300 miles I had a catastrophic engine failure. It had no power (kind of what I would imagine the 3.5 would be like with no turbos) then went into limp mode and lost oil pressure. Now it sounds like a diesel and the dealer found metal chunks in the oil. The truck wasn't run hard and I'm the only person who has ever driven it other than the mechanic who did the PDI. I'm not saying the idling had anything to do with this problem, but the upfitter has seen several Ecoboosts Explorer Interceptors with high idle time with major issues, like melted pistons. I doubt I'll find out the cause of my issue, as Ford is replacing the entire engine the dealer is not disassembling it, but I sure would like to know what happened.


I'm sorry to hear that, as I've been wanting the production version of the Explorer Police package. Do you like the way it drives? I need some cargo capacity for work and enjoy driving a sporty vehicle. I currently drive a 2011 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, but my aircraft parts and supplies get wet in the back....

I think the Florida State Trooper Explorers look great!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DeputyDog
I'm no expert, but I do have a 2017 F150 Police Package with a 3.5 Ecoboost and a 10 speed as my patrol vehicle. It had about 10 hours of idle time when I got it back from the upfitter who installed the lights, radios, siren and K-9 insert. It now has probably 25 hours of idle time. We have to keep our vehicles running most of the time in South Texas because of the dog. Two weeks ago with right at 1300 miles I had a catastrophic engine failure. It had no power (kind of what I would imagine the 3.5 would be like with no turbos) then went into limp mode and lost oil pressure. Now it sounds like a diesel and the dealer found metal chunks in the oil. The truck wasn't run hard and I'm the only person who has ever driven it other than the mechanic who did the PDI. I'm not saying the idling had anything to do with this problem, but the upfitter has seen several Ecoboosts Explorer Interceptors with high idle time with major issues, like melted pistons. I doubt I'll find out the cause of my issue, as Ford is replacing the entire engine the dealer is not disassembling it, but I sure would like to know what happened.


A local department here went away from the Twin Turbo Interceptors as they had excessive oil burning/consumption issues with their cars since new. Their problems started at low mileage. They are now running the non Turbo version for patrol and have not had any issues.
 
Originally Posted By: klt1986
DeputyDog said:
A local department here went away from the Twin Turbo Interceptors as they had excessive oil burning/consumption issues with their cars since new. Their problems started at low mileage. They are now running the non Turbo version for patrol and have not had any issues.


I my neck of woods the Leos are running the non Turbo. They never shut them off as the temp is in the 90's with heat index at 110 daily.
 
Originally Posted By: FORD4LIFE
Originally Posted By: klt1986
DeputyDog said:
A local department here went away from the Twin Turbo Interceptors as they had excessive oil burning/consumption issues with their cars since new. Their problems started at low mileage. They are now running the non Turbo version for patrol and have not had any issues.


I my neck of woods the Leos are running the non Turbo. They never shut them off as the temp is in the 90's with heat index at 110 daily.


Not quite that hot here yet but they run them the whole shift regardless. K9 officers have went to Tahoe's and like them much better.
 
The Explorer Interceptor comes with a 3.7 V6, which appears to not be available in an Explorer other than the Interceptor. The Ecoboost version is basically the Explorer Sport, I had one and loved it. I don't ever remember Ford making a civilian version of any police package vehicle. Of course I also saw some road tests of civilian Crown Victoria's compared to the police package and the civvy version was quicker and faster.

On my F150 I removed the tailgate and put an ARE MX series topper on it with the full liftgate, as I figured it would seal better & be more weatherproof than a tailgate/liftgate arrangement. ATC makes a two drawer system, the drawers run between the wheel wells and go the entire length of the bed, so they're almost 2' wide and 6 1/2' long each. There's a slider on top of the drawers so I've got loads of storage and the whole bed length is still available and easily accessible, I just lost a little more than a foot of height due to the drawers & slider. So far I liked it, it seemed to be exactly what I was hoping for other than the engine grenading with only 1300 miles....

As far as drive & ride, it drives great and the ride is much more comfortable than my old Tahoe. The Tahoe being a pursuit rated vehicle has a much harsher, almost sports car like ride. The F150 doesn't handle nearly as well as the Tahoe did, but that was a trade off I was willing to make. I needed the room more than anything, I didn't have enough room for a small suitcase if I had go to a school or something out of town. Now I've got lots of room, I even have a 12 volt refrigerator in the back. Actually I HAD a refrigerator in the back, it's currently sitting on the floor in my garage. I figure by the time I get the truck back it will have been down for at least 5 weeks.

Originally Posted By: Cujet
I'm sorry to hear that, as I've been wanting the production version of the Explorer Police package. Do you like the way it drives? I need some cargo capacity for work and enjoy driving a sporty vehicle. I currently drive a 2011 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, but my aircraft parts and supplies get wet in the back....

I think the Florida State Trooper Explorers look great!
 
Originally Posted By: DeputyDog
The Explorer Interceptor comes with a 3.7 V6, which appears to not be available in an Explorer other than the Interceptor. The Ecoboost version is basically the Explorer Sport, I had one and loved it. I don't ever remember Ford making a civilian version of any police package vehicle. Of course I also saw some road tests of civilian Crown Victoria's compared to the police package and the civvy version was quicker and faster.



Yeah but they always test them with all the equipment, that slows them way down.

I have a Caprice PPV for my daily, never in service. Where the fully upfitted care runs like 14.00 to 14.20. Mine with just the extra battery and some other police stuff, but no divider, electronics or lights runs 13.60's...
You need to get rid of all your equipment...
smile.gif
laugh.gif


I know the local sheriff's dept runs Non turbo cars and some Caprice with the 6.0.
 
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