2.3L Engine very promising

Its great to see this engine is used in a bunch of other vehicles. In 10-15 years when broncos have gone through 5-6 owners, it will be nice to be able to get parts at the junkyard from a variety of cars.
In farting around with my 05 Wrangler, its pretty much only donor vehicle is the cherokee, as seeing a wrangler at a u pull it is like finding a unicorn!

I'm encouraged that the reliability of these seems to be great so far.

I'm debating on changing my order from the 2.7 to the 2.3 to save some money and get my vehicle potentially sooner. Just don't want buyer's remorse. I doubt I'll ever do any serious rock crawling, mostly it'll be on muddy back roads in the SC Lowcountry or cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway. And it needs to tow a boat of course.

If I were going automatic transmission, and going to tow, I'd stick with the 2.7. Also remember, the resale value will most likely be higher with the 2.7.

Ford has probably identified/fixed the problem with the 2.7's, if there really was one to begin with.

I personally got the 2.3 because it was on the lot, and also came with a manual, which I love. The 2.3 is also about 50 pounds lighter than the 2.7 if you care about that at all.

I dropped our 4 door OBX 2.7 off at the dealer to get a paint chip fixed that happened during transit from MAP (they didn't have any techs available at the time to fix so they told us to bring it in later for free) and they gave me a 2.3l Bid Bend as a loaner. I was very surprised at the power compared to the 2.7. Different feel, sound and power band, but overall I'd say for daily driving there wouldn't really be THAT much of a difference. I'd still prefer the 2.7, but if anyone is on the fence about the 2.3 thinking it wont do the job, it will. Granted, our 2.7 only has 950miles on it and I was waiting to get an oilchange at 1000 before I start running it through it's paces a little more. But under 3k RPM is comparable.

Panaran

I dropped our 4 door OBX 2.7 off at the dealer to get a paint chip fixed that happened during transit from MAP (they didn't have any techs available at the time to fix so they told us to bring it in later for free) and they gave me a 2.3l Bid Bend as a loaner. I was very surprised at the power compared to the 2.7. Different feel, sound and power band, but overall I'd say for daily driving there wouldn't really be THAT much of a difference. I'd still prefer the 2.7, but if anyone is on the fence about the 2.3 thinking it wont do the job, it will. Granted, our 2.7 only has 950miles on it and I was waiting to get an oilchange at 1000 before I start running it through it's paces a little more. But under 3k RPM is comparable.

Yeah, I was honestly surprised at how much low end the 2.3 has. I looked up the stats and if you use premium fuel, you get quite a bit more power still, which I'm going to try when I fill the tank next.

I'm looking forward to seeing a hybrid version to see if they take advantage of electric motors for even more torque, or if they are going to only use the technology for mpg... in which case I'll stick to what I have.

ToddBronco2022

If I were going automatic transmission, and going to tow, I'd stick with the 2.7. Also remember, the resale value will most likely be higher with the 2.7.

Ford has probably identified/fixed the problem with the 2.7's, if there really was one to begin with.

I personally got the 2.3 because it was on the lot, and also came with a manual, which I love. The 2.3 is also about 50 pounds lighter than the 2.7 if you care about that at all.

Depends on what you are towing, a dirtbike, a sled or Lawn and garden tractor the 2.3 won't even know its there. Used to tow this stuff with a Pinto no problem.

Bronco V-8

Depends on what you are towing, a dirtbike, a sled or Lawn and garden tractor the 2.3 won't even know its there. Used to tow this stuff with a Pinto no problem.

Of course, yeah, I've got a 2.3 and will get a trailer. Just noting that more torque is usually better when towing things. :D

Quite happy with the 2.3s >300 ft/lb torque.

ToddBronco2022

Of course, yeah, I've got a 2.3 and will get a trailer. Just noting that more torque is usually better when towing things. :D

Quite happy with the 2.3s >300 ft/lb torque.

More Power argh argh argh

I upgraded to the 2.7L when I saw reports of more long-term carbon buildup in the 2.3L due to direct fuel injection directly in the cylinder instead of intake manifold. I did not want to take the chance, or at least have better piece of mind.

TexasFlusher

I upgraded to the 2.7L when I saw reports of more long-term carbon buildup in the 2.3L due to direct fuel injection directly in the cylinder instead of intake manifold. I did not want to take the chance, or at least have better piece of mind.

I'd be far more concerned with the 2.7's reported seizing than long term carbon buildup. Especially since it's quite easy, relatively speaking, to clean the carbon buildup off... and you are still going to have to clean the valves and intake ports at some point anyways. There's even youtube vids that show how someone can do it themselves.

What I'd really like to see is an 3.0L+ inline 6 option.

I have the 2.3 and the only concern I have is that they didn’t include both port and direct injection. Ford added port injection to the 3.5 and the 2.7 after the engines were initially introduced. It seems like this should be a standard feature for all turbo engines. It’s not like they sell many inexpensive cars anymore so this shouldn’t be a significant impact on margin.

TexasFlusher

I upgraded to the 2.7L when I saw reports of more long-term carbon buildup in the 2.3L due to direct fuel injection directly in the cylinder instead of intake manifold. I did not want to take the chance, or at least have better piece of mind.

A majority of the vehicles on the road are direct injection, this is not something unique to the 2.3L. Direct injection is much more efficient, makes more power, produces better fuel economy and creates less emissions than a port injected engine. When they say long term carbon buildup, you're talking about potential issues more than 100,000 miles down the road. A full synthetic or synthetic blend oil mitigates carbon buildup and if you change the oil and spark plugs at regular service intervals, that further reduces buildup. It's not as big of a deal as the reports generated by companies trying to sell cleaning products would have you believe.

Someone said somewhere that the 2.3 was superior for one major reason; it didnt have rev hang because of the direct injection. Driving a manual with rev hang can get weird

ChetC

A majority of the vehicles on the road are direct injection, this is not something unique to the 2.3L. Direct injection is much more efficient, makes more power, produces better fuel economy and creates less emissions than a port injected engine. When they say long term carbon buildup, you're talking about potential issues more than 100,000 miles down the road. A full synthetic or synthetic blend oil mitigates carbon buildup and if you change the oil and spark plugs at regular service intervals, that further reduces buildup. It's not as big of a deal as the reports generated by companies trying to sell cleaning products would have you believe.

My naturally aspirated 5.0 has direct and port injection. Fuel economy and emissions requirements have increased the amount of recirculated gases going over the intake valves. I had a coworker whose Escape had a very rough running engine as a result of carbon buildup not too long ago. It’s definitely a thing for anyone who plans to keep a GTDI car long term. Sure you can take your engine apart and clean it, but you can also take your engine apart and replace the head gasket. People don’t seem too enthused about that though. I don’t plan to use a catch can or special oil so we’ll see if frequent oil changes and use of top tier gasoline makes a difference.

FourWheelKyle

Someone said somewhere that the 2.3 was superior for one major reason; it didnt have rev hang because of the direct injection. Driving a manual with rev hang can get weird

Thanks, that answers my question as to potentially why Ford went the route that they did with direct injection only despite the risk of carbon buildup: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-ca...-in-modern-manual-cars-is-there-for-a-reason/

FourWheelKyle

Its great to see this engine is used in a bunch of other vehicles. In 10-15 years when broncos have gone through 5-6 owners, it will be nice to be able to get parts at the junkyard from a variety of cars.
In farting around with my 05 Wrangler, its pretty much only donor vehicle is the cherokee, as seeing a wrangler at a u pull it is like finding a unicorn!

And now Jeep owners have everything from Chargers, Challengers, Journeys and even minivans to get parts from. :LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO:

ToddBronco2022

If I were going automatic transmission, and going to tow, I'd stick with the 2.7. Also remember, the resale value will most likely be higher with the 2.7.

Ford has probably identified/fixed the problem with the 2.7's, if there really was one to begin with.

I personally got the 2.3 because it was on the lot, and also came with a manual, which I love. The 2.3 is also about 50 pounds lighter than the 2.7 if you care about that at all.

The resale value isn't likely to be higher than the additional cost if at all. If one engine ends up having a better reliability record, that one will command the higher resale price. So far that tends to favor the 2.3L, but too soon to mean much at this point.

markregel

The resale value isn't likely to be higher than the additional cost if at all. If one engine ends up having a better reliability record, that one will command the higher resale price. So far that tends to favor the 2.3L, but too soon to mean much at this point.

Resale on the 2.7 will only be higher because you paid more for it to start with.