Just a few weeks ago, David Long – owner of Omega Auto Clinic in Kansas and the person behind the Car Wizard YouTube channel – created an interesting video revolving around a 2010 Lincoln MKT that’s essentially a total loss after the turbos on its 110k-mile 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine are failing. Such a repair would cost $4,000-$5,000 including labor, which is roughly what the vehicle is worth as it sits, which is a shame. Regardless, this is a common problem with that particular powerplant, and that’s also the case with this 2013 Ford Flex featured in a new video from Long.
This 2013 Ford Flex is powered by the non-EcoBoost 3.5L V6, which recently developed a coolant leak that prompted the owner to take it to Long for a diagnosis and repair. After a little investigating, Long discovered that the leak was coming from a “weep hole” located near the freeze plug. Problem is, this particular hole exists to inform owners when the water pump has gone bad, and if things get too far gone, it can actually even leak coolant into the oil.
While a water pump replacement might sound pretty simple to do, that isn’t exactly the case with this Ford Flex. As Long points out, this process involves removing the whole front portion of the engine, including the timing covers, main pulley, timing chains and guides, and all the associated hardware such as one valve cover, the intake, a motor mount, and various other bits and pieces It’s a 10-14 hour job that costs around $4,000 in total, in fact, and in this case, the owner of this Ford Flex already paid to have the same thing done four years ago. It’s a massive disappointment for the owner that they’re already facing such a repair again, and as such, they’re opting not to do it a second time, which is quite understandable.
As Ford Authority reported early this year, Ford just settled a water pump lawsuit pertaining to a variety of models built between 2007-2020, including the Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, Ford Flex, Ford Fusion, Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, and Lincoln MKX. Thus, as Long notes in the video, it’s probably a good idea to avoid purchasing one of these vehicles, unless someone plans to spend a few weekends replacing the water pump at some point.
Comments
Ford, the home of coolant intrusion and turbo failures. From a bunch of mostly European-made (in my case, from a poor country) engines. The former was going on even in the early 1990s, for chrissakes.
On my 3.7 Mustang they put the water pump internally in the engine, behind the casing. So, if the weep hole wept nothing, water went internally into the oil. How’s that for engineering.
The water pump is designed to last the life of the car but like all things in a car, a certain number fail. I personally have a 09 Taurus X with 225k miles and never had a problem.
That being said;
– $4000k+ in labor? it’s about half that in labor depending upon where you live
– parts? $60k and a decent used one likely >$30k and you’ll never escape the risk of costly repairs as long as you own a car.
Found On the Road, Dead: Part 237.