100K mile tune-up.. (or things you should expect to go wrong on your truck).
NOTE: I'll likely edit this as I didn't spend too much time proofing it, if you find errors let me know and I'll update it. Putting this out there to benefit the Ecoboost community, maybe sticky it?
I decided to put together a list of stuff that commonly goes wrong on these trucks and that, as enthusiasts, we have to plan for. This should not turn into a thread that complains about Ford’s shortcomings, there are other threads for that. This is just facts in terms of what wears out. I will preface this with the following disclaimer: if you drive like a Camry owner or you don’t pull heavy loads, you may not notice misfires, weak coils, weak BOV diaphragms, Wastegate diaphragms, etc.. You might argue that you can or should get 200K miles out of the truck before messing with this stuff, etc. If you can get 200K miles out of it without doing this stuff, then great. I would say you are lucky and your driving style probably contributes to less wear and tear on your truck. If on the other hand you frequently expect to go full throttle and leave it there without a single hiccup, then all of this stuff needs to be in order.
Turbos: the CHRA (Center Housing Rotating Assembly): typically turbos get about 100K miles.. in my case I got 108K on the driver’s side before it started leaking oil. The center bearing wears out: .003 clearance is the max clearance, I saw .008 on the driver’s side and external leaks, .005 on the passenger side and not leaking. You can take off the turbos and have them rebuilt for $700 (turbo rebuild only), get reman Ford OEM turbos for $1400ish, or jump to Ford GT turbos for $2400.
Coils: The Coil on Plug Ignition system is great, provides plenty of performance, but they don’t last forever.
Plugs: gap them to .028, and if you need to replace them every 10K miles do it, seems ridiculous but that is what it takes for some of these trucks. Hopefully you are getting 30-50K miles out of them but in a small engine making this much power, you can’t expect 100K miles.
Throttle Body: The sensor detecting throttle blade angle goes bad and sends erratic readings to the ECU/computer. The ECU dumps boost (thinking the throttle is in fact shut or there is an error and it doesn't want a "run-away" truck) and may or may not leave your truck with excess fuel in the cylinders, fouling the plugs.
Catalytic Convertors: Some of us experienced them going bad a few times in < 100K miles. OEM calibration strategies use excess fuel to cool the cats, when that strategy goes too far, the excess fuel burns and melts the cats. If you have excessive misfire events, that unburned fuel goes downstream to the cats and does the same thing. You can buy a backpressure tester which screws in place of the upstream O2 sensor and measure back pressure. Compare one side to the other. You can also drive next to a wall and listen for what sounds like an air hose blowing off as a large volume of exhaust air tries to make its way through a tiny passage. OEM cat's retail for $1200, think about aftermarket catted downpipes for a little savings as well as good increase in power. Not to mention the OEM's are harder to remove/install then aftermarket.
BOV Diaphragm: (aka Diverter valve) On the 2011-12, there were two BOV’s and they were mounted on the turbo. On the 13+ models there is a single BOV mounted on the Intercooler. Vacuum is used to open the diaphragm when you lift off the throttle and to divert air from slamming into the closed or closing throttle blade, and it gets recirculated back to the inlet side of the compressor. On the 11-12, you can buy the diaphragm only and repair a torn diaphragm. The 13+, I believe they integrated the Solenoid that opens the valve, and the valve itself, into one unit. The diaphragm in that unit I do not believe is serviceable so when the valve goes bad you have to replace the whole valve and solenoid. It is a wear item, the turbo crowds know this, it is just part of what we have to deal with.
Wastegate Diaphragm: Each turbo has a Wastegate operated by vacuum to pull it open and dump excess exhaust gas rather than spin the turbine past what the engine needs for boost. Same idea: that rubber vacuum diaphragm can tear and you can lose boost because the wastegate is prematurely opening (or fluttering).
BOV/Wastegate Solenoid: Both the wastegates and the Blow Off valves are operated by a vacuum switch solenoid that is controlled by the ECU. Part number BL3Z-9K378-A. When required, the ECU sends a signal to open the solenoid; that allows vacuum from the engine to pull on the diaphragm of the BOV or the Wastegate. The wastegates are T’d off a single solenoid that is mounted on the intake manifold.
BOV Solenoid (same as above): The 11-12’ F150’s had individual BOV solenoids (2 total) each mounted at the turbo next to each BOV. On the 13+ the BOV solenoid is integrated with the BOV vacuum assembly and is not serviceable separately. For the 11-12 trucks use the same part number as the Wastegate solenoid (BL3Z-9K378-A) they sell for about $25 each.
Productive thoughts/comments/edits welcome. Just trying to help the community out.
NOTE: I'll likely edit this as I didn't spend too much time proofing it, if you find errors let me know and I'll update it. Putting this out there to benefit the Ecoboost community, maybe sticky it?
I decided to put together a list of stuff that commonly goes wrong on these trucks and that, as enthusiasts, we have to plan for. This should not turn into a thread that complains about Ford’s shortcomings, there are other threads for that. This is just facts in terms of what wears out. I will preface this with the following disclaimer: if you drive like a Camry owner or you don’t pull heavy loads, you may not notice misfires, weak coils, weak BOV diaphragms, Wastegate diaphragms, etc.. You might argue that you can or should get 200K miles out of the truck before messing with this stuff, etc. If you can get 200K miles out of it without doing this stuff, then great. I would say you are lucky and your driving style probably contributes to less wear and tear on your truck. If on the other hand you frequently expect to go full throttle and leave it there without a single hiccup, then all of this stuff needs to be in order.
Turbos: the CHRA (Center Housing Rotating Assembly): typically turbos get about 100K miles.. in my case I got 108K on the driver’s side before it started leaking oil. The center bearing wears out: .003 clearance is the max clearance, I saw .008 on the driver’s side and external leaks, .005 on the passenger side and not leaking. You can take off the turbos and have them rebuilt for $700 (turbo rebuild only), get reman Ford OEM turbos for $1400ish, or jump to Ford GT turbos for $2400.
Coils: The Coil on Plug Ignition system is great, provides plenty of performance, but they don’t last forever.
Plugs: gap them to .028, and if you need to replace them every 10K miles do it, seems ridiculous but that is what it takes for some of these trucks. Hopefully you are getting 30-50K miles out of them but in a small engine making this much power, you can’t expect 100K miles.
Throttle Body: The sensor detecting throttle blade angle goes bad and sends erratic readings to the ECU/computer. The ECU dumps boost (thinking the throttle is in fact shut or there is an error and it doesn't want a "run-away" truck) and may or may not leave your truck with excess fuel in the cylinders, fouling the plugs.
Catalytic Convertors: Some of us experienced them going bad a few times in < 100K miles. OEM calibration strategies use excess fuel to cool the cats, when that strategy goes too far, the excess fuel burns and melts the cats. If you have excessive misfire events, that unburned fuel goes downstream to the cats and does the same thing. You can buy a backpressure tester which screws in place of the upstream O2 sensor and measure back pressure. Compare one side to the other. You can also drive next to a wall and listen for what sounds like an air hose blowing off as a large volume of exhaust air tries to make its way through a tiny passage. OEM cat's retail for $1200, think about aftermarket catted downpipes for a little savings as well as good increase in power. Not to mention the OEM's are harder to remove/install then aftermarket.
BOV Diaphragm: (aka Diverter valve) On the 2011-12, there were two BOV’s and they were mounted on the turbo. On the 13+ models there is a single BOV mounted on the Intercooler. Vacuum is used to open the diaphragm when you lift off the throttle and to divert air from slamming into the closed or closing throttle blade, and it gets recirculated back to the inlet side of the compressor. On the 11-12, you can buy the diaphragm only and repair a torn diaphragm. The 13+, I believe they integrated the Solenoid that opens the valve, and the valve itself, into one unit. The diaphragm in that unit I do not believe is serviceable so when the valve goes bad you have to replace the whole valve and solenoid. It is a wear item, the turbo crowds know this, it is just part of what we have to deal with.
Wastegate Diaphragm: Each turbo has a Wastegate operated by vacuum to pull it open and dump excess exhaust gas rather than spin the turbine past what the engine needs for boost. Same idea: that rubber vacuum diaphragm can tear and you can lose boost because the wastegate is prematurely opening (or fluttering).
BOV/Wastegate Solenoid: Both the wastegates and the Blow Off valves are operated by a vacuum switch solenoid that is controlled by the ECU. Part number BL3Z-9K378-A. When required, the ECU sends a signal to open the solenoid; that allows vacuum from the engine to pull on the diaphragm of the BOV or the Wastegate. The wastegates are T’d off a single solenoid that is mounted on the intake manifold.
BOV Solenoid (same as above): The 11-12’ F150’s had individual BOV solenoids (2 total) each mounted at the turbo next to each BOV. On the 13+ the BOV solenoid is integrated with the BOV vacuum assembly and is not serviceable separately. For the 11-12 trucks use the same part number as the Wastegate solenoid (BL3Z-9K378-A) they sell for about $25 each.
Productive thoughts/comments/edits welcome. Just trying to help the community out.
