Howdy -

I got to test drive a 3.7 yesterday. Wasn't planning on it, but the wife was driving, and she knows I am looking for a truck... She saw me eyeballing the trucks as we drove by, and turned in...

Anyway, on to the testdrive. Truck was an XLT Screw, 5.5' bed, 2wd. Wife has not been the the Screws, she really liked the room in the back. My last truck was a '97 Scab with the 4.2 @ 5 speed manual. The good news, the new motor really has some pep. Compaired to my old 4.2, it had better pickup, expecally at highway speed. Of the line, it would move, but it is not a hotrod. Overall, it moved the truck better than the 4.2. One thing that supprised me (even though I read about it) was the 7k shiftpoint. The motor is really screaming at that point, sounds pretty cool, and still pulling hard when it shifts at 7k.

The bad news, I don't like it when auto transmittions do the 6-2 shifts when I hit it, or the 6-3 when all I want is a bit of extra ommph to pass/merge on the freeway. this motor dosen't have a lot a low end, so anytime you bump the gas, you get one or two gears dropped. If you like high reving motors, this is could be a plus, but for me, IDK if it is dealbreaker, but I am going to give the 5.0 a better look now...

Also the sound - it was a pretty loud motor any time you were accelerating. At speed, it was quiet, but when it reved, it was pretty loud. Also, it sounds like a v6, not the foux-v8 sound that the 4.2 had...

Other than the motor, I really liked the truck. it had the split bench, and it was nice & comphy. dash layout was nice, and the wife really liked the room in the back. I still have a bit of time (planning/hoping to buy in March/Truck month). by then the Eco-boost should be out, so I may still end up with a v6...

Jerrry

 

Good review. I haven't read much on here about the new v6, mostly all the reviews are about the ecoboost or 5.0. Sounds like Ford has really hit a home run with all the new engines.

 

I still think the 4.2l can run circles around the new 3.7l and Ecoboost. Why? It's industrial grade. Same goes for the Triton V10 6.8l.

I don't see Ford promoting Ecoboost nor the 3.7l anywhere in the lineup of Ford Power Products Matrix of engines and there is no talk of it. Until they do, I won't buy one, because it is still considered a "consumer/household grade" not an industrial engine. When I start seeing these put in industrial emergency hospital grade gensets and water pumps, then I'll reconsider. But I highly doubt it will happen for some reason or another.

Edit:

I also call a bluff on that whole schmeal with the ecoboost running a 24 hour track at WOT pulling a loaded trailer at 80 mph. My truck can pull that same trailer in 5th doing 80 mph under 2500 rpms. So I don't believe it. Secondly, it would get enough momentum to get beyond 80 mph as it says. There's just something really fishy about it. Heck, my buddy pulls his 9000 lb travel trailer and does 90 in on I95 with his overloaded F350 5.4l. I just don't believe it.

 

Not trying to call BS or anything, but the 3.7L V6 isn't available in the SuperCrew trucks. Only the 3.5L Ecoboost is an option.

Just confused at what engine you are referring to. :o

 

Good call, I was surprised to see when he said it was a SC with a V6. Too lazy to check on Ford's website and to limit my drool factor of looking at new trucks.

 

Check again. You can get the 3.7 in a Super Crew, XLT, 2wd, 5.5' bed. If you want the 6'6 bed, or 4x4, or a higher trim than XLT, you cannot get the 3.7.

Jerry

 

I am not sure where to start with your reply... the 4.2 running circles around the 3.7? I had a 4.2, and the truck I test drove was bigger and heavier than my old Scab, but it still had much better acceleration, at all speeds. As for the industrial grade comments, they might hold water, except that the 4.2 could not hold it's water. Look around, if you haven't. The Web is littered with stories of the 4.2 drinking it's anti-freeze. That was how mine died too. The 3.7 may be untested, but is that better than tested, and failed (4.2)?

Don't get me wrong, I really liked my 97 Scab w/ 4.2. If it had not died, (or I had caught the warning signs sooner) I would still be driving it. But I would not consider it the banner of reliability either.

Jerry

 

Wow. Guess Ford is pretty confident with the new 3.7L. Too me though, as heavy as the newer truck are as compared to the older trucks, it still seems a bit weird for them to have that motor as a Screw option. But if it works, then why not? :shrugs:

 

Jerry, that issue with the 4.2 was fixed midway through the 98 model year. It was simply some bad gaskets.

What were the gas mileage figures on the sticker on that 3.7 Screw?

Manual, you are blowing smoke out your butt again. The 4.2 was not an industrial engine when it first came out - Ford converted it to industrial when they finally ran out of 4.9 I6's. The 4.2 was simply a stroked 3.8 car engine. You know darn well that I like my 4.2 as much as you like yours, but you are just way out in left field with your comments. It will be interesting to see what Ford replaces the 4.2 with in the industrial catalog when they run out of them.

Your buddy needs to be locked up and the key thrown away for doing 90 mph pulling a 9k trailer with *anything* - that's just reckless. Then again, I have a suspicion that you are just talking out your *** on that one.

 

Good to know they fixed the issue...

The sticker listed (I think) 17-23. I know the 23 is correct, but I am not sure on the city #, I could be off.

Also, the truck had only 3.? on the odometer, so I didn't bother to check the dash mileage readout. That, plus I don't trust them...

Last note, maybe should be an add on to the OP - If I could get this motor with a 6- speed manual, I would probably buy it.

 

The 3.7L sounds very promising. But if I were to buy a new truck, I'd make sure my V6 has two turbos attached to it

 

I test drove a 3.7L directly after test driving a 4.6L 2V Reg Cab STX. The 3.7L pulled a lot harder above 3K RPM's and was definitely quicker overall. I did not like the cannister vacuum cleaner exhaust note. It was fun to drive but I prefer the 5.0L SuperCab I went home with.

My son averages 30 highway mpg in his new '11 Mustang with the 3.7L with manual transmission.

This engine most certainly has a future...

 

So would I - a regular cab short bed.

I don't need that.

 

Sounds like a nice little engine. With gas soaring, I think people with larger trucks would look into this as a commuter if they wanted a truck still, but in a more economical package. Maybe, maybe not?

 

That is exactly why I am looking at it. I have a 80+ mile a day commute, so the idea of 15mpg is a real turnoff. I started looking at the Tundra 5.7, but the 14-15 combined turned me off. After that, I was thinking Taco - we have a 4runner now, and the room is OK, I love the 4.0l V6, but I really wanted a full size. (plus the Taco crew cabs look goofy) Then I hear about the new Ford motors.

I really want to like the 3.7. The idea of getting a real combined of 19-20 in a full size crew cab gets me excited. :o However, 2 things are holding me back. One is the 6-2 shift. If it was followed by a swift kick in the a$$, I would not mind, but getting a screaming motor for 10 seconds every time I need to merge is a downer (says the guy driving a 12 year old auto/civic - I swear that car does a 4-1 shift just to **** me off). The second is, when I had my '97 Scab, I kept telling myself my next truck would be a 4x4. But the 3.7 can't come Screw 4x4... Do I really NEED 4x4? no - it would get used maybe 1-2 times a year, mostly on beaches that a 2wd would do OK on. But "I's wants its"....

what to do, what to do....
....