Blue Oval technician and YouTuber Brian Makuloco has long been keen to provide us with a wealth of information regarding ways to identify and repair common issues with a variety of vehicles and powerplants, but at the same time, he also puts out quite a few videos showing us various common problems with Ford EcoBoost engines, specifically. It’s a pretty well-known fact that many first- and second-generation versions of the Ford EcoBoost family have plenty of common issues that owners (or shoppers) should look out for, and now, Makuloco has identified yet another one.
This particular problem pertains to the roller followers in the second-generation twin turbocharged Ford 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine, which was used in a wide array of models over the years. The second-gen 3.5L EcoBoost uses roller followers instead of the direct acting mechanical buckets present on the first-generation version of that same engine, but unfortunately, those components are also apparently coming loose over time and “chewing up” the outer portion of the cam lobe that they come into contact with.
Roller followers are also a weak spot on the old three-valve 5.4L V8 Triton engine, and some have experienced this type of issue on a select number of 5.0L V8 Coyote engines as well. Makuloco notes that he’s starting to see it pop up on the second-generation 3.5L Ford EcoBoost V6 now as well, which is obviously not great news for owners, who should be aware of it before it’s too late.
This is just the latest common Ford EcoBoost issue that we can add to a rather long list – including heavy coolant consumption with the 2.0L I-4 EcoBoost, as well as many related to the 3.5 – such as exploding internal parts, excessive carbon buildup, phasers, and even complete failures that can result from engines that are tuned aggressively.
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And lets not forget about the millions of 10r80 transmissions exploding everywhere !
In G M and Ford
I’m spotting a pattern here …
That kind of comment sounds familiar JB. (JustBu_____t).
Ford needs to fire all there engineers and start over. They are going to bankrupt the company.
With so many good makes out there it never ceases to amaze me how ppl still buy FORD vehicles – it’s the Boeing of the auto industry.
There is a mistake in the 2nd paragraph. The old three valve 5.4 Triton was a V8 not a V6.
Nothing spells success like high prices and unreliability. At least all the manufacturers are following the same theme – they all are producing expensive crap.
Bought a 2013 F150 without Warranty in 2020. Truck came from Canada originally 97K original miles when I took ownership. Purchased car shield 1st thing. Drove the truck around 20K for my job. Lost power on the freeway one afternoon. Took it in to my shop. Variable timing issue. Took it to a mechanic shop in Bothell WA. They investigated and found a broken component in the timing chain shaft. Motor was shot. Car shield agreed and covered the used motor. Ford shouldn’t be putting this garbage on the market without full protection. Embarrassing for them.
I’m the unfortunate owner of a 2016 Edge with a faulty EcoBoost 2.0. It’s criminal that Ford isn’t taking responsibility for these issues in the form of a recall or buy back program. My vehicle, with 68,000 miles and regularly maintained, is basically a pile of scrap unless I’m prepared to spend $9,000 for a new long block. And now the new gen 3.5 EcoBoosts are showing up with problems so I have no confidence that this “fix” for the 2.0 would even leave me with a vehicle that won’t have future problems down the road. Never mind the brake line issues, the water pump issues, the insanely poor functioning SYNC system, and the list goes on. This is the second Ford I’ve owned in my life and they’ve both been plagued with problems. To say I’m disappointed doesn’t even begin to cover it.