Some Advice? Ecoboost Blew yesterday 124k Mi?
 

Hello forum crowd,

I have a 2012 F150 4x4 Ecoboost 3.5 Platinum. I bought it last year used, with 100k miles and have never owned such a nice vehicle. I was driving home from work yesterday when I heard a loud bang followed by lots of smoke. A little icon of a wrench lit up on the display. At first I thought I blew a tire because the truck was shaking so bad, but I pulled into a side street and cut the engine because smoke was coming from under the hood. The truck has just over 124k miles on it now.

I had heard people having trouble with the turbos, so I thought maybe the right hand one blew. There was a lot of oil dripping down. Called tow truck and hauled it over to Ford to take a look. Got a call this morning that the engine had blown. They could have me running by next week and could finance the repair if I wanted...So worried, I asked how much, they said $14,900 more/less with taxes. I only paid $22k for the Truck to begin with, so there is no way on this planet I can put that into the truck.

I called around and found reman motor for about $6k, but they don't come with the turbos, and Ford said mine were now full of oil, not sure if that would make them unusable or not.

I found a pull from a salvage yard, 74k miles with turbos still on it for $3300 +300 core. I have replace an engine back in the day on my old 1992 f150 and it wasn't too difficult, but under the hood of this beast is a whole different story, not even sure where to start. Guessing a Hanes or Chilton might have R&R information in it.

So, have any of yall replaced the 3.5 ecoboost yourself? Im wondering if it is doable, and very interested in your thoughts. I didn't think a motor would blow after 124k miles, granted I didn't own it for the first 100k.

Thanks all!

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-35T

I don't see why it wouldn't be doable yourself. Couple things I would do, though, when you put a new motor in: Oil catch can. And empty it every couple weeks. Pull the intake manifold and have the intake valves cleaned (assuming they are gummed up with carbon given the direct injection motor does not wash fuel over the intake valves). pull oil pan and clean it out good.

Check the used turbos for shaft play, make sure they are not contacting the housings and they spin freely. Make sure on initial start, you prime the oiling system (pull fuel injection fuse, crank several times to get oil flowing)

Thanks for the info! I've been doing some more research. I can get a crate longblock from Ford for $5,500 compared to the used engine for $3,300. Its a lot more, but I plan on keeping the truck for a long time. The crate motor does not come with Turbos, so I would either try to reuse mine which have 124k mi on them, or on ebay I seen a new set for $850. (Ford wants $900+ just for 1)

I also went talking to my local parts house and found a few shops that replace engines. The costs are all over the place.
Install Labor Costs:
Ford:$4,000
Local #1 $2400
Local #2 $1600
Local #3 #1050
So, I plan on visiting the #3 shop and see how they are setup. $1k vs me doing it myself, I almost would rather pay. At $1600, I'm would leaning towards doing it myself. My local ford place printed out the removal and install tech docs for me as well.

So if I go all out, $5,500 Reman Motor (3yr warranty), $900 Turbos, $1050 install, $300 Misc (Water pump, spark plugs, oil, antifreeze) would be $7,850.

Otherwise Used motor $3,300(90 day warranty), $1050 Install = $4,350, difference of $3500!

What do yall think. Im not made of money, and this will knock my savings down to almost nothing.

I have performed a Re & Re on an ecoboost with an autowrecker engine, took me14.5 hours and i swapped over the turbos, flushed the cooling system, changed the oil, and test drove it in that time as well. Hope that helps you when considering labor costs.

Damn that REALLLLLLLLY sucks.

Another reason why I lease these days.. These new vehicles aren't like the old days where you can fix something without needing a tech book or a set of special tools to remove fuel lines, nuts & bolts or any other nonsense.

I'd pay $1500 for a shop to do the swap for me. Unless you have buddies and plenty of beer to make it a weekend project!

Did they tell you what happened?

If it were me, I'd save the labor and buy beer, a stand, and a hoist, have some friends over (and the big assumption: you have sufficient tools) and tackle it in a day.

Have the engine ready to go on a stand, pull the old motor out, swap.

You may be able to get away with NOT disconnecting any of the AC lines such that it needs to be recharged.

$15K? Holy crap. My engine replacement last year was $7K installed, and that was with a new Ford engine. (luckily I bought an extended warranty when I bought the truck used) Could have done it for a couple grand less by going reman. Why so much?

This "exact thing" happened to my 2011 3.5. Had 68K miles, just leaving work, and kablam! Lots of metal crunching sounds. My dealer quoted me $12K for a new long block. Missed the powertrain warranty by 6months. I ended up calling Ford customer service and filed a claim. I turned over all service records. 100% maintenance+service performed by the dealer. They came back with a bit over $5K for my out-of-pocket. I had them install the new engine, and traded it to the dealership on a new '18. Couldn't hurt to file and see what Ford says. Good luck!

That right there is enough to keep me from considering an Ecoboost truck. Cost of replacement is ridiculous. I was quoted $4500 from a mechanic I know when my engine went out (using a Jasper reman), but I was still under warranty. He said the new 5.0's are are around $5500 for the Japser.