F150 Ecoboost Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.
1 - 20 of 44 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Sorry in advance for the long post...
Having problems and wanted to reach out and hopefully get some input from some of the knowledgeable members on here. Thought a separate thread might get more attention and be more helpful than sticking it into my build thread. Haven't put much time or significant miles (only about 3k miles in the last year) on the truck in quite a while and I'm ready to get back in the saddle and get everything sorted and perfect, I do have a few little developments for my build thread and will update it in a bit. I don't drive it as a daily anymore as I mainly use a work truck, every other weekend I'll use it for some errands or just take a stroll on the freeway to break off the cobwebs.

Current Setup:
2011 FX4 chassis
Full bolt-ons
Forged bottom end
Pocket port, fancy valves, springs, and retainers
Full Race GT/ 'OEM+' turbos with block off plates on the diverter valves
TurboSmart IWG-75 wastegate actuators, pretty sure they have 7# springs in them, preloaded to 4 turns I believe
Converted to single TurboSmart BOV on the Full Race charge pipe, reference line from throttle body spacer
Full Race PCV delete kit
Full race dual chamber catch can installed on firewall
Amosil Super Synthetic 0w-40 and Mobil1 filters
99% of the time I'm in manual shift mode with traction and advance trac controls turned off.

Symptoms:
-Top end sounds slightly off and feels like there's unclaimed power on the table
-Overall feels a little laggy at times down low. Sounds funny to complain because in wet-ish conditions it will spin heavy 34" load-E AT tires and kick sideways in 4th gear at 70mh
-Whirring/ turbulence noises like a jet plane, probably just intake noise and wastegate fluctuation noises.
-Lots of air from the BOV when decel or coasting above 2500 - 3k rpm's. Could be normal, could be wastegates not opening enough?
-Not hitting #/min that I'd hope to see. Trying to get as close as possible to the 60 #/min max of the GT turbos, but progress is halted due to the following issue
-Lots of valve train noise, I attribute it to the valves and stiffer springs
-Variable Cam Timing is not hitting its target inputs. See graph below of what @Boostking is commanding vs. what I'm datalogging. Seems to be mechanical rather than tune related
-Odd clacking noises from what I believe are the cam phasers. Only hear it for 1-2 seconds if I'm slowly rolling to a stop, or if I hold idle at around 1,000- 1,200 rpm's.
-Occasional clack at cold start for just a second, I generally prime the motor when its been sitting for a while
-Oil in exhaust. Smells fuel rich and like there's oil being burned
-Oil in hot side pipes and elbows from the compressor outlets
-Hot pipe fittings have popped off the compressor housings before. The clamps provided by Full Race seems to be too wide to leave some unclamped silicone while clamped on the correct side of the barb/ bead rolled type compressor outlet fitting. Temporarily installed a hose clamp on the passenger side and it hasn't had an issue yet
-Lots of signs of oil coming from the BOV. Everything in that vicinity gets some oil film on it
-Catch can not catching any oil. Bone dry since install with the new engine and setup
-I lose about 1/2 - 1 quart of oil between oil changes

Guesses:
I'm assuming the low #/min, VCT advance, turbo seals, and empty catch can are interconnected issues. Plenty of info out there showing increased crankcase pressure raising the oil pressure, which can push oil past the seals, and probably affect VCT functions. I bugged @RMB_Ryan a ways back and flushed the oil and started using Amsoil at his recommendation. No change in datalog results

Approaches:
-My first approach was checking to make sure all my wiring, grounds, vacuum, evap, etc. lines. All seem to be in place and routed correctly to my knowledge.
-Planning to pull apart and check seals on the wastegates and BOV, and pull plugs and coils and send a scope down
-Can I troubleshoot resistance of the phaser solenoids and/ or cam and crank sensors?
-Next step seems to be to add an external oil pressure sensor, and hopefully hook it into my Livewire TS+ device. I reached out to SCT asking if they recommend specific sensors that would work with the analog livewire inputs. They told me to dig around the PIDs, but from what I've read the Gen1 motors don't provide that info to the PCM.
-Been wondering if I should temporarily hook up cheap mechanical gauges to the catch can lines to monitor crankcase vacuum or pressure and drop through the can

Any suggestions on things to check or where to start? Videos or articles I could check out? The video link below seems to be the most relevant I've found, but I don't have IDS tools and assume the dealer wouldn't be too much help or cost effective. I'm very willing to post any more info you guys feel is relevant (vacuum routing, pictures, datalogs, etc.)
 
-Check the PCV function.
-Check VCT screens for blockage
-Check timing chain for stretch
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
-Check the PCV function.
-Check VCT screens for blockage
-Check timing chain for stretch
Thanks for the reply. I forgot to add I have a PCV delete.
And I was hoping to try and troubleshoot things without pulling apart valve covers or front timing cover. We'll see if anybody has ideas or insights or if I'm stuck with the harder stuff
 
I’ll read through this in earnest tomorrow and see if I can get you some comparative data this weekend.

Upon first glance, I’m inclined to think something is up with the VCT solenoids. Plugged possibly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Id be returning the pcv system to stock. Theres not a lot of ways the crank could pressurize and that should eliminate one
 
  • Like
Reactions: BRoell
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Does it have crankcase pressure at idle? You can test that by removing the oil cap and placing a piece of paper on top of it.

You should have zero pressure coming out of the cap.
Haven't checked yet but I will when I get home today. I've seen you mention it in other threads and it slipped my mind to check
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Does it have crankcase pressure at idle? You can test that by removing the oil cap and placing a piece of paper on top of it while idling.

You should have zero pressure coming out of the cap.
Checked yesterday and the paper flaps, so positive pressure. Didn't have any time today but I plan to remove and inspect the catch can tomorrow. I think I recall reading somebody had an issue with a blockage or something previously
 
Checked yesterday and the paper flaps, so positive pressure. Didn't have any time today but I plan to remove and inspect the catch can tomorrow. I think I recall reading somebody had an issue with a blockage or something previously
I would for sure double check that the lines are not blocked. Even without the PCV hooked up, you should have zero pressure coming out.
 
Well, I went out and got you logs today from my truck and they will be completely useless. I forgot to add the PIDs for desired cam positions.

I made some changes to the tune and will try and sneak out tomorrow night and get the correct logs at the same time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Well, I went out and got you logs today from my truck and they will be completely useless. I forgot to add the PIDs for desired cam positions.

I made some changes to the tune and will try and sneak out tomorrow night and get the correct logs at the same time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A for effort! I appreciate your time and energy. Hopefully you had some fun in the process
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
I cleaned the truck, wiped down the engine bay, and removed and drained the catch can and that’s it so far. About 2 oz of strong fuel smelling oil.

I'm not on the @Blown F-150 or @sleipnir pace at the moment. I think I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and remove all the piping and valve covers to inspect compressor wheels and solenoids.

Might be worth the effort to log individual cam banks like Blown's above. In my head if they're different readings its a solenoid. If they're both off then its either 2 bad solenoids, or something like sensors or pressure causing them to misbehave??
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blown F-150
Discussion starter · #16 ·
I did pull the valve cover to -AN adapters and found the passenger side full of oil, while the drivers side I could only see black plastic no oil. Does that hint towards anything or par for the course?
 
I did pull the valve cover to -AN adapters and found the passenger side full of oil, while the drivers side I could only see black plastic no oil. Does that hint towards anything or par for the course?
I'd like to know too because that seems an awful lot like my valve covers. Went to put on my upr -10 an pcv adapters and saw the passenger side full of oil too. Maybe that's what my smoking is about
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
Mr. @RMB_Ryan or anybody with some knowledge and experience...
Would the increased valve spring pressure cause any of the VCT issues?
 
  • Like
Reactions: sleipnir
@RMB_Ryan I would like to know too because I'm having the same issue as @BRoell and if this will stop my smoking I need to know
 
1 - 20 of 44 Posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top