2016 F150 2.7 Ecoboost

[jgp12000]

This March my timing gear fell apart at 52K miles, it took Ford 7 weeks to repair with their backlog. Firstly,their engineer told them to replace "all" the injectors without tearing into the motor.I know enough about vehicles to know this was a waste of time, and it was, long story longer, they ended up replacing all the timing gears & components. A week later I start getting an intermittent low oil pressure warning, usually at idle. It would normally just last 10 seconds, if not, restarting the truck would return to normal oil pressure. I thought something simple maybe the sending unit bad, or oil pick up tube/screen had fragments from the old timing gear? I immediately called and emailed the Ford dealer with the warranty expiration approaching at 60k.Well, after 6 months at 62k they finally took my truck in and gave me a F150 loaner FX4 with a 5.0L V8.Ford called back next day said I need a new motor ! thankfully covered under warranty, otherwise it would be 9k out of pocket. I have only owned 3 Ford trucks, and they have always taken care of me. A friend told me of another 3.5 Ecoboost F150, same scenario. Has anyone else heard of this issue? My 2.7 ecoboost gets  22-24 hwy 20 city and has some giddy up, but sometimes I wish I had gotten the 5.0L.

[foakes]

What most folks don't realize — and dealers will not tell you — is the main factor in gas mileage is now hard an engine needs to work to pull the same truck down the road as another engine that is a little larger — and more well-proven over the years.

The combined city and Highway difference in gas mileage between the 2.7 and the 5.0 is 2 miles per gallon.

At 15,000 miles a year & $4.00 a gallon — this is about $23 a month.

The 5.0 will perform better when hauling a load or towing — and will not be up to the red line most of the time.  

Thus — less wear and stress on the engine — because it is not working as hard.

So, while part of the true cost of ownership is gas mileage — but more importantly — how long will the engine last before needing a vehicle replacement or an engine rebuild?

Best, Fred

[jzumi]

Sorry for the woe you are going through; vehicle prob's are a drag.

My brother's hunting buddy is a Ford mechanic in Montana.  He did not speak kindly of Ecoboost motors at all.  I did not dig for any details and specifics; I just made a mental note to steer clear of them...

Right now if I was in your shoes, my wife would be saying, "Look on the bright side: we get to go shopping for a new truck."

Good luck!

[jgp12000]

My son-in-law is a Toyota man now, he had his lifters go out twice in his last Chevy truck, I will never hear the end of it... he calls the 2.7 a bubble machine or sounds like it anywho.

[Gfish]

I have a 2011 E350 Econoline Van(they call it a "wagon", as it can carry 14 people). It has the 5.4L-8cyl. and has some get-up & go for a 6000lb.+ wind resistant, 16' vehicle, when I punch it. Had it as a 2nd vehicle for 10 months now and have put less than 300 miles on it.


I see too much "junk" engineering on the things I've looked at. For example plastic gear-shift/steering column bushings, that are a very common wear-out issue on these and Ford P/U's. These things are probably lower quality than the plastic bushings you find on fishing reels. Pain in the butt to do all the disassembly, but easy to install the new ones. Prolly designed that way, like the crappy door handle mechanisms, to make Ford more $.

Kind of afraid to drive it as much as I would a primary vehicle, and so far I don't gotta. Has less than 60k miles. But what kinda expensive drivetrain problems could occur in the future? It was owned by an "outdoor adventure" tourist company and came with well used M/S tires, so chances are there are some hard miles on it.

However 3–good things so far, NO check Eng. lights, the tire P. Sensors work and "the time for an oil change" maintenance message is accurate. Haveta count the small blessings.

If could afford a new vehicle and wouldn't end-up frustrated by having to play the dealership game and losing(Paying too much), I'd stick with Toyota or Honda, whom have relatively good(far from perfect)repair/recall histories. Still though, new vehicles, even from quality companies, can be a crap-shoot.

[foakes]

You shouldn't have any problems with that engine, Greg.

The 5.4's prior to 2013 are engines that will go 200K to 400K miles.

Maintenance is key — and there might be a few little issues — but that is not likely, on average.

Best, Fred

[jgp12000]

I had a 2000 F150 supercab 4.6 Triton from 2003-2017 motor still good catalytic converter went out and heater core quit I didn't want to spend any more on a truck that old but it was a good one.

[Gfish]

Yeah, I've heard of the catatlytic converter issue. What's the symptoms?

[jgp12000]

mine just threw a CC code ran fine,I heard you could  take CC off punch metal rods thru to open it up but easier said than done and they stopped selling the test pipes, some folks used to cut the CC out, then straight pipe it, not sure if it threw an O2 sensor code then? I sold it fer 3k and the old man is still driving it to this day.

[wailua boy]

mine just threw a CC code ran fine,I heard you could  take CC off punch metal rods thru to open it up but easier said than done and they stop selling the test pipes, some folks used to cut the CC out, then straight pipe it, not sure if it threw an O2 sensor code then? I sold it fer 3k and the old man is still driving it to this day.

I think by gutting your secondary cats, you could avoid a check engine light but gutting your primary cats will throw a code.

[Gobi King]

I have a 2016 3.5 eco in a transit van.

I flog it, I mean I drive it like a mazda miata.

Ecoboost are NOTORIUS B-I-G for fuel dilution.

I drop my oil (synthetic 5w30) around 4k miles. I do filter change every other oil change.
When it is cold around 40F the oil does not flow well to the overhead, EVEN a full synthetic oil. I hear the overhead ticking for a miles plus till the oil heats up.

I have ZERO trust in a dealership says after Dx'ing the problem.

Timing gear fell apart? I am not sure I can visualize the issue.

There is a FORD mechanic on youtube, I will post a link, he does details root cause for common 3.5 eco and other ford motors.

[Gfish]

Here we just have a mostly visual vehicle inspection/year. Still can't figure-out how most guys seem to get away with the after-market window tint, cause they use a sensor gauge. But you could prolly do cat. conv. thing and pass. In Calie, they won't pass you with check Eng. light on.

Also tryin to visualize the the timing gear falling apart, is it in the crankcase? I think mine's outside, but it's a belt, in the 2010 Subaru, prolly a chain in the Ford.

I also don't trust the dealership mechanics to get it right when testing each component relative to a code/light repair. My fuel evaporative control system itself, has X number of components and sensors on the Subaru. The Haynes manual describes it as a "very complicated system, best left to professional mechanics", ha!

[jgp12000]

I got my truck back yesterday only took them 2.5 weeks this time, everything seems to be working great. New engine

[oldmanjoe]

  Dang what happen to the 75 minute rule .

[jgp12000]

What's dat 75 min rule Joe, brain fart here, happy new year!