Brian Makuloco – a Ford technician and purveyor of the YouTube channel FordTechMakuloco – has made quite a few videos about the Ford EcoBoost line of engines and the many unique quirks and known issues pertaining to those powerplants in recent years. This includes clips pertaining to coolant woes, carbon buildup, and even why it isn’t a good idea to aggressively tune an EcoBoost engine. The latest in this series of sorts has now arrived, and it covers a baffling engine failure involving a Ford F-150 and its twin turbocharged 3.5L V6 EcoBoost powerplant.
A 2017 Ford F-150 came into Makuloco’s shop that is making bad rattling noises, signaling that it needs a timing job. However, he has a 2014 model with the first-generation version of the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost that also needs a timing job, but it’s making even more noise under the hood. Funny thing is, there aren’t really any signs that the engine has gone completely bad, and it even runs seemingly normal, too.
While there are no lifters or followers that can fail in this engine’s mechanical bucket system, according to our tech, it is making a ticking noise from cylinder one that certainly sounds like something similar to that issue. Thus, Makuloco starts taking things apart and looking for the culprit, and in fact, he actually ends up removing the entire engine out of the pickup once he realizes that it’s toast. After taking the EcoBoost apart, he shows us the resulting metal shavings and a destroyed piston skirt in the oil pan.
Even though Makuloco notes that the owner took good care of his pickup and changed the oil frequently, it seems as if cylinder two let go for reasons unknown. This also explains why he had no issues with misfires or any sort of compression loss, as this wasn’t a total destruction – just one piston exploding and causing a slapping noise. Ultimately, Makuloco calls this a “freak accident” where the casing had a small crack and one day, it just blew apart – a truly unfortunate accident by anyone’s standards.
We’ll have more interesting videos like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authorityfor the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
Very curious as how many miles were on the engine, and why the piston couldn’t be replaced? Seemed that the cylinder wall was in good shape
Replace a single piston???
Your right; either the owner was not truthful or the manufacturing of the piston metal was minused an element in the making of the mass produced piston(s) or the oil viscosity failed to stabilize the friction within those mobile parts?!
Lots of timing jobs all the time, ( just did mine ) 3.5 eco boost body off, very expensive. ford made defective cam phasers. And the 10 speed trans is shot as are literally millions of 10 speed ford transmissions.
The 10 speed is shared with Chevrolet!
Rich, we have a 2016 f150 limited with 3.5. We have 124 k on it with no engine issues. Was wondering if we have a belt or chain, what mileage would the timing need changing and the cost to have it done. Appreciate any other suggestions you might have as well on this engine.
Chain. You have a gen 1 and that was not prone for phaser problems. Chains should not be routine maintenance like 17+ and “lifetime”
It would be extremely hard for me to change from a EcoBoost 2.7 to say a 5.3 dinosaur V8 from GM. Just no comparison, I recently tried a new one and there was nothing I liked how it drove. I’ve even drove 6.2 power pretty good but go to 12-15 mpg truck. No way, was so happy to get back my old F150.
If it was a defective piston, that’s probably a 1 in a Million occurrence, EcoBoost rotating assembly’s seem to be very stout if decently maintained. The cam phasers are a different issue, it seems like it’s getting better but Ford should have learned everything it needed to know after the 3-valve 5.4 debacle. The 2.0 in our Focus ST has been perfect in 90k miles and the 2.7 in my ’23 Bronco runs great and is quiet but I’m holding my breath. Unfortunately these complex variable and de-activatable valve trains in LS and Hemi’s alike seems to cause an equal share of problems. I’d have happily paid more for the option of a updated 5.0 Windsor in my Bronco.
I had a 2020 Platinum F150 with this 3.5 engine, powerful as it was I had oil consumption issues from 5k miles. Last Ford I had was a 2010 F150 with the 5.4 Triton, that lost an engine due to a cam phaser at 110k miles. Meanwhile my 01 Silverado with the 5.3 is still going strong with 480k miles pulling a lawn trailer and never had more than a valve cover off to replace gaskets. I bought a used 2020 GMC Denali with the 6.2, still have it with 160k miles and driving it every day, runs like new and I haven’t even done plugs yet. My company only runs GM work trucks, and the 15 we just sold spent every day of its life towing heavy and at 368k miles it didn’t smoke or make any noise, only thing we every had to replace was the torque converter on the 6 speed Trans. I used to manage a repair shop in the early 2000s, we had a company called PTI that transported railroad engineers all over the country, they changed their oil at 15k mile intervals and only used GM products, they had two ASTRO Van’s both over 700k miles on the original 4.3 V6 without any engine issues, though most everything else had been rebuilt or replaced. Everyone’s got their stories, I have a hundred more Ive experienced, but I’ve personally seen too many ford truck failures, and they’re like a damn dream compared to the Dodge ram’s issues. I’ll stick with my lowley GM 6.2 that gets 20mpg on the highway and still sounds like a truck.
My 96 f150 5.0 just turned 453k . Original engine and transmission. Love My 2015 f150 lariet 5.0. 58000 no problems. 23 hwy mpg
I’m a ford senior master tech. The problem is that the piston rings can expand and contract alot more than the piston can. Root cause is a leaking fuel injector causing more heat on the affected cylinder than the rest causing the cylinder wall to get washed out and eventually because oval shaped
Hence the ticking/pinging or slapping noise
I have a 17 mustang 2.3. Ecoboost. 131k very happy with it engine /trans wise. Original belts. Till this weekend. Just did original brake pads up front 130k rears i did at 113k. My 2011 ford flex 3.5 n/a makes horrible noise at idle like rod knock. Original water pump lasted 252k. Bought it for 1k. Only thing i didnt do was chain and guides.. 🤬. Cuz i was gonna flip it. Was in beautiful shape. My 99 7.3 has 522k smiles on it. Only transmissions and water pumps. Never been molested. Crewcab btw.. SEEMS LIKE QUALITY IF INTERNAL METAL IN ENGINE BLOCKS HAS GONE TO CRAP.. (CHINA)
Those 3.5 engines are junk. Water pumps that fail and some dumb engineer thought it was a good idea to put it inside the case behind the timing. Rod bearings that are made of cardboard. Even if the waterpump leaks it just leaks inside the engine, killing everything! Garbage!!
Pretty sure at least gen 2 3.5 water pumps are external. I know someone who replaced their edge 3.5 twice
Had a 2012 f50 with the new eco boost. And it was in the shop 45 days the first year and Ford never fixed the issues associated with it. Junk, I traded the truck and will never own another Ford.
Retired tech here, just seems like engines today being ask to do a lot per liter. Turbo’s just add to heat, and I don’t believe people change their oil as often as they should or claim. The intervals favor saving the planet not saving the engine. I am surprised they do as well as they do with all the increased emission regulations basically leaning the engines as much as possible. At least Gen 2 Ford Ecoboost engines have both port and direct injection. Used to be turbo engines required higher octane, not the 87 junk. Knock sensors only do so much and with fuel prices people probably putting in wholesale gas which isn’t always the octane it claims. The alcohol can affect high pressure direct injectors too. Definitely todays engines much less forgiving with abuse.
There is nothing about this that should leave any supposed “Ford tech” baffled.
It’s such a well know issue Ford themselves issued a service message to their technicians about it. I don’t know a single tech working in a ford garage that has not seen this exact failure in that line of engines.
Sad that this so guys peddles himself as an expert.
Haha.. trying to copy Toyota, again
The 2grfe is a far better v6..
Just like the 2urfe v8 is better than fords 5.0 coyote v8…
What about those of us that have a faulty Ford, that have been put out with no vehicle and a financial burden? Even though Ford knows that this engine is faulty they haven’t fixed the problem or compensated those of us that have sunk thousands into a poorly made vehicle!!!