Highlander
The Strong, Silent Type
Is it just me that thinks that Ford HD trucks are more reliable than the SD?
Also, is the 6 speed, usually mated with the 6.2 gas, a reliable transmission?
F150 - 2.7L vs 3.5L vs 5.0L
- Thread starter D45
- Start date
Also, is the 6 speed, usually mated with the 6.2 gas, a reliable transmission?
Todd780
OverCamper
Not sure what you mean by Ford HD vs SD. Fords HD truck is called Super Duty?
Not sure if it's the same trans in the F150. But my F150 has the 6 speed and aside from the lead frame needing to be replaced it's been fine.
The lead frame is common problem in the 6 speed F150's. If my truck were a year older it would have been part of a large recall due to this trans.
tacollie
Glamper
The 3/4 and up seem to be decent. It's anecdotal but everybody I knew who had a F-150 sold it in and either bought a RAM or Tundra because their F150 lived in the shop.
17'+ F250 got the 6r100. All other 6.2 with 6 speeds got the 6r140. They are both pretty solid. The 6r140 was on the diesel trucks for a lot of years. The 6r100 is a little another shifting imo. It's rated for less torque but still overkill for a 6.2.
Highlander
The Strong, Silent Type
Sorry, yes I meant F250 vs F150. It's not uncommon to see an F250 gas at 200K mile that runs just fine
There are some people who still recommend going with a 6.2 and 6 speed instead of the new 7.3 and 10 speed due to the fact that both item, the 6.2 and the 6 speed have got very good record.
Grassland
Well-known member
Imma drive my slowish 3.7 that's not great on gas and smile as it's only been in the shop for leaking oil pan gasket and failed speaker harnesses (and the blower fan rattling) outside of routine maintenance in almost 8 years.
I'm going to count my parking brake seizing up on seldom using it and road salt
I'm going to count my parking brake seizing up on seldom using it and road salt
Explorerinil
Observer
Don’t discount the f150, I have a few friends with the 2.7 and 3.5? They have been problem free, but my friend with the 5.0 has had just as many problems with his as I have the one I use at work. I do agree the super duty line up seams to be very reliable. At my work, the road maintenance guys have a huge fleet of fords with the 6.2 gas, they are problem free, and I mean totally problem free. I was talking to one of them the other day and they have a 2014 f350 with the 6.2 gas they plow parking lots with, they told me it’s never had a single problem and never been in the shop other than regular maintenance. I got a friend that owns a small electric company, he has a fleet of about 10 ford trucks, he told me the other day when I was checking out his new f350, that he never has any problems with his gas powered super duty’s, just his diesel one (turbos, and emissions).
I will say, my f250 is a very solid well designed truck.
Explorerinil
Observer
Yeah if you were in a cleaner enviroment I bet you wouldn’t have that issue.
Highlander
The Strong, Silent Type
Are you referring to the atmospheric 3.7 that ford replaced with a new 3.3?
I wonder how does those two compare in terms of performance and reliability?
deserteagle56
Adventurer
???
Wonder who's buying all those F150s I see on the roads, if they are all in the shop? Survey I saw asking F150 owners if they'd buy another F150 resulted in a resounding YES.
onemanarmy
Explorer
They sell millions of F150s every year. The forums are the places people go to vent about problems. Its a very small percentage that when gathered on one forum can seem to be the majority, but its not.
Explorerinil
Observer
The 3.3 in our explorer squad cars has been flawless and take in mind they run pretty much all shift, stop and go, hard accelerate and slam on the brakes.
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
Surprised the shop hasn’t charged me rent as much as my truck has been there. It’s soured me on the brand which is disappointing as I liked the truck if it was reliable.
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
My family sample size is not good for Ford. 2 F150s, both garbage..
What years were/are they?
Grassland
Well-known member
SI Senor.
NA 3.7 cyclone. The first gen Ecoboost 3.5 along with the 3.5 NA and cyclone where all designed together. For whatever reason, 3.7 and NA 3.5 don't suffer problems like the EB.
I'm guessing they don't suffer timing chain stretch because they don't have massive amounts of torque available early in the power band.
The 3.3 adds dual injection to the design, it's similar power in a similar band to the 3.7/3.5 so with factory tires I imagine it outperforms the equivalent 3.7 truck because the new trucks weigh so much less than mine.
Prior to COVID insanity, there were very large discounts on the 3.3 so it was high on my list of consideration as a replacement. Now with discounts gone, a 2.7 truck is a scant $1200 more or something equipped the same way
We'll see how my 3.7 tows the trailer 10,000km across the country this year. If it's fine, 3.3 might still be in the running.