UPDATE: F150 EcoBoost Blew Up on Saturday

[jlcj7]

I bought a 2019 Raptor and am closely watching this. I don’t tow anymore (but also based on my track record wont keep past the factory warranty anyway).

 

[scottrus71]

You'll do fine.... easy on the gas and early on the brake. Let everyone else driving be the idiot!

So exactly opposite how I drive? Like I said, not worried, more excited to play with a new toy and get good with it!

 

[Pro Build]

Go Eco-Boost. I have 3 of them and I'm amazed with the performance and reliability. One has the 6 speed and it is more enjoyable to drive due to the jumps between shifts. The 10 speeds are so smooth that you don't feel the jumps..

 

[BlkGS]

Man, I'm good! Just find it funny.

PS... Plenty of 6.0s have been gapped by this ol' Ecoboost of mine!

What's done to it? The little 5. 3 in my Colorado makes quick worth of the ecoboosts... So your truck can't be stuck.

 

[TOGA]

UPDATE:

The motor has been pulled and the warranty company is sending out an inspector on Wednesday.

The dealer sees no reason the company shouldn't cover the engine, so we'll see wha they say.

 

[Jameson Clark]

Would you buy another Ecoboost of that era? I'm looking for Expeditions, preferably a '15-17 to be within our budget but threads like this make me reconsider and possibly buy something older to stick with the V8. I don't really care about mpg but prefer the added power, looks and tech of the '15-17 models. 18+ is out of our budget.

Sorry for the delay.

YES! I would buy another without hesitation if mine was totaled tomorrow! I put mine to work regularly. When we go to the lake, I pull our 38' camper and my wife pulls the boat with an Explorer Sport that also has the 3.5 Ecoboost. Camper loaded weighs in about 9400lbs.

 

[Sugarcharged]

RAM V8 Hemi is a great option. No turbos to cause issues and cylinder deactivation on the newer models you can get 20 mpg highway not towing. Just food for thought. I love mine.

 

[Jameson Clark]

RAM V8 Hemi is a great option. No turbos to cause issues and cylinder deactivation on the newer models you can get 20 mpg highway not towing. Just food for thought. I love mine.

Just a friendly piece of advice. Get a tune to delete the MDS on your Hemi. Your lifters will thank you!

 

[2kwik4u]

Just a friendly piece of advice. Get a tune to delete the MDS on your Hemi. Your lifters will thank you!

Read the same with GM DoD system. Haven't done it yet on mine, but have considered it a few times.

Interestingly on the GM system, it's usually a clogged oil passage as the root cause, the lifters just need cleaned and reinstalled, but the DoD oil diversion system has to be cleaned/replaced to get it working again.

 

[TOGA]

Ford pulled the engine, with me rolling the dice on coverage to the tune of $2K, for the company to send out an inspector.

He came out yesterday and the dealership got a response late this afternoon.

Good news is God answers prayers and they are going to cover the engine.

Now I have to choose the option.

They are not going to replace with a new crate engine.

I can:

1) have a used engine they have located installed. I do not know what model year, but it has less than 50k miles on it. I assume it is out of a wreck. They state it will have a 12 month / 12k mile warranty. More on that later.

2) they will cover all labor and $4,900 toward parts. Ford expects me to be in for @ $2k above what they will pay for. This engine would have a 3 year / 36k mile warranty.

An assumption that I am working on clarifying is that the warranty I currently bought is still in place and the engine is really covered for another 2.5 years and 25k miles which is the balance of what I bought and the 12 /12 warranty they are stating is separate from that overall warranty. It wouldn't suprise me if they try to shorten it though.

I am also working to find out what model year this engine is.

My gut tells me to go with the used engine and go find another truck. I know there are conflicting thoughts on the reliability of this engine, but my trust is gone. This way I'm not out any money and the truck is running and under warranty for a year.

I'm still being pulled back to a Tundra. My last one ran without issue pulling this boat until 200,000 miles when I wanted a newer truck that had bells and whistles not offered in 2007.

Time for y'all to chime in and let me know your thoughts.

 

[2kwik4u]

I would put the used engine in it, then trade it ASAP for something else. Use the $2k you would be out for the "new" engine as a down payment on the next one. Might not be the best financial decision, but I would have lost faith in the truck as well at this point, and would be ready to walk away from it.

 

[bronze_10]

I agree with @2kwik4u .... swap amd sell as soon as u leave the lot.

Also, when checking on your warranty... some of them in the fine print have a total dollar amount they will spend regardless of the time of the warranty.

 

[jacoviii]

@TOGA had the same exact thing happen on a 2013 ecoboost at 80k miles, luckily not while towing. Saw the rod sticking out the side of the block and knew it was bad. Since truck was out of warranty, dealer was only interested in taking it as a trade on a new truck. Not sure why anyone would buy the same truck when their well-maintained engine just blew up for no good reason.

Found an independent shop through friends, owner sent a picture of 4 ecoboosts with the same issue that he was dropping crate engines in... THAT WEEK!! Said he does 10 crate engines in F150s a month...

Long story short, the turbos on these do not have post-oilers, the bearings get loose, impeller blows up, gets ingested into the engine which throws a rod about 60% of the time.

I loved the ecoboost until it self-destructed. It’s still in the family since it has a brand new engine and is completely worthless, but when I got my new truck this year, I went with GMC and a boring old v8

How would the motor ingest a bearing? Kind of sounds like you have no idea how a Ford ecoboost intake is plumbed. How in the hell would a bearing make it though the inter-cooler that sits very low in the system then straight up a intake. You do know that the in side of a inter cooler has fins just like the outside but the run the other direction. My wife blew a turbo on her Mazda speed 6 (ford ecoboost) turbo shaft broke in two. The exhaust turbine fell in to the cat. The intake turbine fell into the compressor housing bearings on both sides. It had little to no power smoked like crazy and she still drove it home.

 

[anmut]

Ford pulled the engine, with me rolling the dice on coverage to the tune of $2K, for the company to send out an inspector.

He came out yesterday and the dealership got a response late this afternoon.

Good news is God answers prayers and they are going to cover the engine.
Tea

Now I have to choose the option.

They are not going to replace with a new crate engine.

I can:

1) have a used engine they have located installed. I do not know what model year, but it has less than 50k miles on it. I assume it is out of a wreck. They state it will have a 12 month / 12k mile warranty. More on that later.

2) they will cover all labor and $4,900 toward parts. Ford expects me to be in for @ $2k above what they will pay for. This engine would have a 3 year / 36k mile warranty.

An assumption that I am working on clarifying is that the warranty I currently bought is still in place and the engine is really covered for another 2.5 years and 25k miles which is the balance of what I bought and the 12 /12 warranty they are stating is separate from that overall warranty. It wouldn't suprise me if they try to shorten it though.

I am also working to find out what model year this engine is.

My gut tells me to go with the used engine and go find another truck. I know there are conflicting thoughts on the reliability of this engine, but my trust is gone. This way I'm not out any money and the truck is running and under warranty for a year.

I'm still being pulled back to a Tundra. My last one ran without issue pulling this boat until 200,000 miles when I wanted a newer truck that had bells and whistles not offered in 2007.

Time for y'all to chime in and let me know your thoughts.

Trade and do it quick after the repair so it won’t show up on a VIN check.

 

[Rammrodd]

How would the motor ingest a bearing? Kind of sounds like you have no idea how a Ford ecoboost intake is plumbed. How in the hell would a bearing make it though the inter-cooler that sits very low in the system then straight up a intake. You do know that the in side of a inter cooler has fins just like the outside but the run the other direction. My wife blew a turbo on her Mazda speed 6 (ford ecoboost) turbo shaft broke in two. The exhaust turbine fell in to the cat. The intake turbine fell into the compressor housing bearings on both sides. It had little to no power smoked like crazy and she still drove it home.

He wasn't stating that the bearing was ingested, he's saying the bearing gets loose and the impeller breaks apart and the impeller gets ingested.

 

[jacoviii]

He wasn't stating that the bearing was ingested, he's saying the bearing gets loose and the impeller breaks apart and the impeller gets ingested.

It can't no way no how. How far does a bug a 75mph make it through your radiator? Not far at all. Now how does a piece of metal fall up a charge tube and down to the IC then though 20" of tight fin. Then up another intake tube? Yes there is vacuum but no ware near enough.

 

[Plpbecks]

@jacoviii You make good points. I didn’t have my camera inside the engine when it blew up, so I can’t tell you exactly the path of failure. I’ve worked on many a turbo engine and agree that it’s unlikely large parts of the turbine made it through the intercooler. Unknown if failure was through the hot or cold side of the turbo. From what I’m told, turbo failure in these does not always result in total engine failure, but very often it does, and when it does it’s a rod through the side of the block as in my and OP’s engine.
I’m not the expert on this, there are dedicated 3.5 ecoboost forums online where users have catalogued hundreds of similar failures with the same symptoms, and would be a better guide to failure modality.

 

[Dixie Highway]

So you’d have a 2014 truck with an under 50k mile engine (less than the one you have now). I get not knowing the history of the one they’re swapping in, but personally I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a used truck with under 50k on it. Assuming it was moderately well maintained, would you really have a reason to distrust the new engine? You could reasonably ask for a compression test on the replacement, get some insight into the condition from the installing technician. Obviously it’s your money, but on a 2014 F150 you’ll get maybe what, $15k or so trade in value, could you replace the truck for that? Unless you’re set on a new truck, you won’t get into anything similar for less than $20-$25k? Again, just playing devil’s advocate here and thinking aloud.

 

[BlkGS]

I would put the used engine in it, then trade it ASAP for something else. Use the $2k you would be out for the "new" engine as a down payment on the next one. Might not be the best financial decision, but I would have lost faith in the truck as well at this point, and would be ready to walk away from it.

Agreed. 0% for 84 months won't hurt either. Turbos are good for power or economy but not both and not reliability.

 

[Seadeals]

I am glad you got good news with warranty options. I like my truck a lot and have done some nice upgrades, so replacing the engine would be my likely pick in a similar situation; but I don’t think you have any attachment like I do. It will be hard to not be paranoid with the truck after something like that, so if you don’t mind the money to get out and upgrade to the Tundra you prefer, I say go for it and don’t look back.