Countryboy2

The last one that I know of was TSB15-0131.

The problem is, I never heard any "ticking/tapping or rattle type noise" on cold start before or after mine went completely out.

Rexey

that was just a sign to replace without further investigation. If yours failed with no sign, that's weird. I'm sure it's possible. Still no word from ford?

tetvet68

I've got a '11 FX4 (36,000 mi) that had some ticking on start-up but not always. It does have a high-idle miss on cold start-up that lasts only a few seconds...no check engine lights. Plugs were replaced at 30,000. It has a high-end catch can. I don't know the signs of the timing chain problem. Could that be one of the signs?
Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Rexey

the cold start up chain slap is a huge one. Dead giveaway. And yeah it's not every time because the adjuster is not always out of position.

tetvet68

Thanks. I suppose I'd better start a paper trail with my friendly Ford dealer. I have an ESP warranty out to 2020 and 75,000...sure glad I did that! Installed the catch can last January and still have a hard time believing how much crud it filters out...600 mile trip last week and about 7 ounces of crud filtered out. At least that stuff isn't feeding back into the intake to mess up the valves and plugs!

Rexey

I am a supporter of catch cans but have heard of ford trying to blame them for some failures. My opinion only remove it before you take it in.

Countryboy2

Yeah, Ford stepped up to the plate and offered to go a whopping $500 towards the repair. I told them that that was nothing more than a slap in the face considering this is a known defect.

So... I have spent the last 3 weeks trying to get this resolved and gave up last night and traded her in (as-is) for a new loaded 2016 2.7L EB screw XLT. I felt that the dealership stepped up and did the right thing by ignoring the issue and gave me a very fair price on the trade-in.

I just wish I could feel happy about having a new truck but honestly I just feel dirty like I've been raped or something.

I pray to God that I have not made another mistake by staying with Ford and going with another EB engine. I was very impressed with this little 2.7L EB on the test drive even though I could tell (feel) the difference between it and my 2011 3.5L EB. I only tow a small camper twice a year so I opted for the gas miser for my DC, rather than the 3.5L again. I figured the 2.7L was designed from the ground up for twine turbo's so in my mind it "should" be more reliable and hopefully allow me to put 300,000 on it like I had hoped for on my 2011.

My question now is. Should I add a catch can to this newer model and design or have they eliminated the need for it somehow?
Also, do I need to drill the 1/16" hole in the inter-cooler? I don't want to do anything that would void my warranty and I'm pretty sure the hole would void it.

Anyone aware of any other mods that I should do to this new 2.7L EB to prevent future failures like I have experienced with my 2011 3.5?

tetvet68

Frankly, I don't know what to tell you about the 2.7or even the newer 3.5. I heard the CAC has been redesigned and does a better job than the old version...but that's hearsay. I can tell you that in the '11's and probably through '14 they put a PCV system in for a naturally aspirated engine. The boosted engine has a lot of "blow-by" and under hard acceleration, put's a lot of pressure into the crankcase. If you take off the PCV hose on the driver's side, you will find oil in it...that's supposed to be the "clean side". On the passenger side, the PCV pumps all that nasty gunk right back into the intake manifold. The intake valves for the DI engine are not washed clean by gasoline but they still get hot and this gunk burns itself onto the back side of the valve...call it "coking" if you like. How good is that for the engine? Also, How good is that for the spark plugs? Since putting on the "Can" the residue on the tip of the exhaust has hardly any residue compared to be fore the "can". That probably means it's better for the cat converter.


When installed correctly, my RX Can has a hose run to the turbo intake pipes in front of the turbos. Normally when you stomp on the accelerator, the vacuum drops to near zero and the crankcase is pressurized by the blow-by. With the system I have, the turbos create suction on the PCV system so when the vacuum drops to zero you are still evacuating the crankcase...no pressure build-up and the gunk is filtered before it can be re-introduced into the intake manifold. How can that be bad for the engine? The SM at the dealership say Ford would have a hell of a time proving the "can" caused any problems. He told me they used to install "cans" when they did SVT upgrades on the mustangs.

Glassguy72

I have been reading this with interest lately and just out of curiosity has anyone noticed a difference in how much the catch can collects depending on the brand of oil used, or in other words has anyone noticed one brand produces less by-product than another? I'm new to the Ecoboost so I'm trying to soak up any information I can.

acdii

You wouldnt think the brand of oil would make much difference. It's mainly blowby products being caught. Temperature and humidity make the most difference. The water comes mainly from the moisture in the air, and the oil is mainly from what is being sprayed around inside the crank case. I would think the viscosity of the oil would be the key.

On that thought though, maybe some brands of oil lose the viscosity of 5W30 sooner than others, so when it gets closer to the change interval, some oils may introduce more in the can than others.