And yet another good informational video by someone that works on these daily!! Keep em coming.

 

Ok so some may know about this some may not but it is something that is coming on strong with many showings at dealerships across America. So as most know it is timing chains that are prematurely stretching causing this startup noise. The news is that there is updated parts out there to address this and Ford now has a TSB on this issue formally admitting to it being a common problem. I go over it all in this video. There is also a link to just how it sounds in the description of the video on youtube. Hopefully more dealers will be willing to dive into the engine with some guidance from Ford now.

Could you try to find out more on when the upgraded chains were installed in the trucks? I had a dealer run my vin. I have a 14' build date 3/3 and according to build sheet, it does not have updated parts. They said however that does not mean I really don't have them. Ford could have not updated the build sheet with new part numbers aka all ecoboost build sheets state the same parts. It a large dealership and he said they have only had a few trucks come in so far with this issue.

"Think one guy says the chain on the 14 is heavier ?
For a 2014: AT4Z-6268-C for the chain, AT4Z-6K254-A for the tensioner arm and BA5Z-6L266-B for the tensioner it's self.

For my 2011: AT4Z-6268-A for the chain, AT4Z-6B274-A for the arm and BL3Z-6L266-A for the tensioner.

Notice the arm has a totally new part number. Others are just updates. I'm curious to know why the 14's get C and B versions of the parts, but they are not retrofitted to the older engines? These updates are just from the last 6 months or so. Last time I looked, there were no differences. There are additional updates to the other valve train components, but these are the three parts that I'm placing blame upon."

The same guy says "A quick G search shows others with complaints as well. Haven't bothered to read up on them to see how prevalent the problems are.. " Someone posted Flex owners and other platforms replacing the chains as well."

 

FYI

My truck is the example in FordTechMakulocos video. This truck had the TSB-0194 completed about 10 days ago and the problem surfaced again with less than 300km on the truck. This engine has deeper issues.

I believe it's related to the long oil change intervals Ford recommends accompanied by the fuel dilution in the oil along with soot from the turbos. These motors never had a chance.

Notice how the TSB changes from 5/w20 oil to 5/w30 and a full synthetic? What about all the guys who've been following Ford's recommendations with the 5/20? They are destroying their motor at Fords direction.

Really pissed off at Ford right now.

 

FYI My truck is the example in FordTechMakulocos video. This truck had the TSB-0194 completed about 10 days ago and the problem surfaced again with less than 300km on the truck. This engine has deeper issues. I believe it's related to the long oil change intervals Ford recommends accompanied by the fuel dilution in the oil along with soot from the turbos. These motors never had a chance. Notice how the TSB changes from 5/w20 oil to 5/w30 and a full synthetic? What about all the guys who've been following Ford's recommendations with the 5/20? They are destroying their motor at Fords direction. Really pissed off at Ford right now.

Ummm I believe the f150 Eco was always 5w30.

 

Great video thank you. qbfordguy seems like your the first I'm reading about that states this engine doesn't have a chance, or is it yours was built on a Friday? I'm really hoping this engine succeeds, v6 turbo is the wave of the future, maybe.

 

The intervals are way to long, that's not saying the 11-12 models may have had crappy chains, not sure on that one.
As a mechanic i would never go with the factory interval.
I go every 3000mi and full synthetic in mine.
Anything turbo from any other manufacture gets full synthetic from the factory, not sure what ford was doing when they pulled the semi syn crap.
O yhea, they were trying to make it cheaper for the customer to increase sales of their product.
Just remember that the manufactures are not looking out for you, they are in it for their own A**'s plain and simple.
As a consumer you need to be smarter than them and do your own research,don't just blindly go with what they say.

 

It was 5w20 for 2011 and for at least part of 2012 I believe.

What I find odd about the timing chan issues is the Ecoboost is heavily based off of the Duratec 35, which I would assume share much of the same timing parts. So what is causing the issues to creep up on the Ecoboost and why isn't this an issue with those other motors or the 3.7 in the mustangs and base F-150s?

 

Same exact parts except for one minor guide which has no impact on the issue. Further I’m sure the 3.7l have the same problems. They are no different other than some cam timing, but VCT or cam movement is identical.
The oil type isn’t a cause of the issue, and the issues have been confirmed.

Separate topic:
If oil is being diluted to a 5w20 whom ever is running their oil to get that thin is not running good oil or it is too long of a service interval. Further, a tune can be far to rich, (very common) and diluting the oil prematurely. Blow bye, too much crankcase pressure will cause quicker fuel dilution as well due to improper ring seal and piston ring flutter from too much pressure across the ring backs.

 

So what is causing the issues to creep up on the Ecoboost and why isn't this an issue with those other motors or the 3.7 in the mustangs and base F-150s?

The general consensus seems to be the following.

1. Fuel dilution in the oil.
2. Soot particles from turbos entering the oil. (very hard substance)
3. Too long recommended service intervals.

qbfordguy seems like your the first I'm reading about that states this engine doesn't have a chance, or is it yours was built on a Friday?

When you consider the fuel dilution, turbo soot and long service intervals if you follow Fords direction for maintenance your engine doesn't have a chance.

The thread about this issue over on F-150 Forums is HUGE with dozens of trucks affected. I know of at least 5 trucks now that have had a total engine replacement and coincidentally they all had this timing chain stretch issue. This motor has many troubling issues and any Ecoboost from 2011 - October 2014 can be affected as per the TSB. I expect this issue to plague Ford Ecoboosts for a few years, just watch....

 

Hopefully not, but i have owned mine since new and treated it with full syn and syn oil filters since it's first oil change at 3500km and every 5000km's after.
If this happens to my 13 in the future i will know it is not oil or interval related.
Since i think it definitely is oil and interval related mine should not have this issue, only time will tell.

 

I believe it is 2011 only related. I havent read about anyone with 12+ have this issue.

 

you can now. my 2012 just started to have these exact symptoms yesterday. 42xxx miles on the truck. right after a cold start the truck would make a loud metal on metal sort of clink/rattle sound and the truck would shake. it happened 4 times yesterday. one time the truck was still idling in the driveway while I waited for my daughter. the 2nd time it happened right after a cold start and I was leaving a parking lot (approx 75 feet), the clink/rattling noise happened and it felt like the tranny lost all power and the rpms revved to 3000. took a couple of seconds and i had power again and continued on down the road like nothing happened. the other 2 instances happened last night on the way to pick up my daughter. same issue as the 2nd time it happened.

 

My 2013 has been doing this rattle on cold start ups for the second day in a row today. Guess I should take it to the dealer ASAP. Hopefully they won't brush me under the rug as they seem to be doing to everyone else.

 

Damn... Best of luck to you man. They generally won't do anything until your engine throws a code once it's out +6 degrees on timing. Before that ever happens your truck will lose performance, torque and get crappy mileage. Still, they won't care until it throws a code, or you get loud and persistant enough. But here I am AFTER the fix and the noise was back within a week. I'll be putting up some more recordings soon.

 

I got my first 'free' oil change at the dealer and their sticker said to come back at 5000 miles or 5 months. They overfilled it by a full quart and who knows what actual weight they put in?? The sticker and the invoice said 5w30, but you know all they have is 5w20! ha, ha!!

I've done 2 oil changes since then and I've only got 11,500 miles on it total.

No loud noise when I start up and I start up in a garage, so I'd think it would be noticeable if it was present.

Just hope all this stuff stays away from me!

Mitch

 

Your truck is pretty low mileage to have the timing chain issue show up BUT that said there are a few 2013's that have come down with the issue. You'll know it when you hear it. The sound is unmistakeable but often intermittent until there is a lot of slop in the chain.

 

For those interested, attached is the TSB.

 

We'll my truck only has 13K miles on it. It kinda pisses me off that I am already having issues with a year old truck. I also have the 7 year free maintenance plan and so far had two oil changes from the stealership! I am going to taking my intake and charge pipe off and return the tune back to stock before I take it in for service. From the many pages that I have read about this topic it seems like the replacement chain doesn't always fix the issue.

 

From the many pages that I have read about this topic it seems like the replacement chain doesn't always fix the issue.

I have yet to see a truck fixed (on forums/ or youtube) that didn't have the sound come back. Some went much longer than others, but my truck was making it again within a week. There have been several engines replaced due to this issue as when the dealers dug deeper they found worn main bearings, cam caps and other tolerances that were way out. The thread on F-150 Forum has a few but it takes a lot of reading.

Good luck with your dealer.

 

I'm making an appointment today, I'll report back with the dealers response.

 

I hate hearing things like this because I love my truck. The dealer does free oil changes for the life of the vehicle and does them at 5k. Im going to stick to that because I have a full warranty until 75K miles so around that time I may be on the hunt for something different.

 

It is hard to believe that Ford can't come up with a good solution to the timing chain problem. It seems to me that Ford is using inferior metal with improper heat treatment to manufacture these chains with. I wonder if thicker dampers and longer piston travel to take up more chain slack would allow these motors to make it to 200-250K miles? A gear drive timing setup would be an excellent fix and a good way to make a $.

 

It would be too long of a run to do gears. It is a really long chain. I'm not sure how piston travel would affect it. Not saying it wouldn't, just saying I don't understand it.

 

Update December 25th 2014


Here is what the my truck sounded like this morning... This is POST timing chain replacement (TSB 14-0194).

 

Update December 25th 2014 Here is what the my truck sounded like this morning... This is POST timing chain replacement (TSB 14-0194). YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S2_mwyeH2A

Any chance next oil change you willing to try pennzoil ultra platinum? I just want to see if a really high grade oil prevents the noise.

Also have you ran synthetic since the timing chain replacement? Also a ford oil filter at every oil change?

And that sucks the noise is back. I really hope this gets figured out for you.

 

Mine did it slightly this morning on start up. Not loud nor very long like. Less than half a second. 3300 km into OCI. Will be checking my oil when I get home tonight to see if the level is high and if it smells of fuel.

 

Yikes. I would say 600 km it would be pretty hard to wear out another chain.

Yeah, I don 't think the chain has stretched in that short amount of time, I will tell you though after getting the truck back from the chain TSB it seemed to have more power/ torque/fuel economy. Now, about 4 weeks later it seems that running poorly again. I believe there is pre-mature bearing wear and/or sprocket wear and/or something else going on inside this engine that is causing this. It took 6 starts from the "fix" to hearing the noise again. Another guy had the chain done (F-150 Forum) and it made the noise on the first start-up when picking up from the dealer AFTER repair. My truck isn't the only one like this.

 

It sounds like no oil pressure for a few seconds or lost its prime. How do the variable timing sprockets work? Could those be making noise till pressure comes up? To me if your chain is stretched , wouldn't it make noise all the time? I don't have a clue what the inside of these engines look like or operate. Just throwing my thoughts out there. I have heard that oem filters are best because some aftermarket filters may not have a check valve in them, and oil can drain into pan. Don't know for sure though.

 

My truck did this the other day after cranking it for the first time in months. Hopefully it was just a loss of oil on the top end from sitting up... This truck has less than 20k miles on it...

 

Gross... I had this exact noise this morning for the first time since I've owned the truck. 2013 with 61k miles on it. Temp was 38F here in austin when I started the truck, coldest its ever been since I own the truck. Oil was changed ~1k miles ago with mobil 1 5-30 synth, I'll double check, but I doubt there is any problem with the oil level. Have folks had ford actually do anything for them on the TSB under warrenty?

 

Well it looks like I am in the same boat as you dnellans. I haven't cold started my truck in about 4 months because I commute so far the wife drives my truck and I drive her car but since she is off for the holidays I decided to take the truck this morning. I remote started it walking out the door and it sounded exactly like the video posted by fordguy. I have already gone through the whole deal with the CAC and now this...good thing I bought the extended warranty. 2011 with 67xxx run with full synthetic since I bought it with 17xxx changed every 5000.

 

Welcome to the forum, matt60. As a next step, I'd recommend making an appointment at your dealership so they can diagnose. Come back and tell us what you find out; I'll be able to assist once the dealer has looked things over.

Crystal

 

started it up this morning at 65F out and heard it again (a couple days in between without hearing it on any start). Going to make spot to take it in unfortunately. I gotta wonder if it's an oil pressure problem rather than the spring or chain stretching if guys have it coming back so soon.

 

Its not a spring or necessarily a stretch thing, the TSB is for Phasers and the timing chain. But I too believe it's an issue with oil not getting to the top end quick enough or the oil draining back to the sump from the top end. Since the oil filter sits horizontal rather than vertical this is my belief.