First Post here - and new to the forum. I had been a member years ago on FTE, but haven't been active in a while, and this seems to be the new cool place to be

I've owned 8 Ford trucks in my life, most purchased new and have not had anything major go wrong during the warranty until now. I guess I'm lucky. My previous 2010 did have timing chain adjusters replaced, VCT and camphaser replaced..all covered under a ESP plan luckily - That plan paid for itself. Those repairs where at 50K miles.

I traded that truck in less than a month ago, for a 2017 XLT 3.5L EB - Love the new truck. More power than I'll need for a while.

After less than a month, and approx 1K miles - I started hearing a clacking / ratcheting noise upon initial decel, and sometimes under light tip in acceleration. It sounded to me to be transmission related but since I was in the cab - hard to know. This occurred mostly only when cold, and would lessen when hot to barely noticeable. I made an appointment.

I dropped the truck off the night before and met the service advisor the next morning to demo the sound. He heard it before we left the parking lot and had a service tech come out - opened the hood and they ran alongside trying to pinpoint the issue. I left the truck with them.

After a day - I called, and was told they had a call in to Ford hotline to see what to do or if anyone else had anything similar - it was a new issue to the dealership. They think its from the front top of the engine and can feel it on the VCT solenoid with their hand. Ford still hasn't responded in 24 hours.

Arrrgh...this is the 2010 all over again.

Just venting and letting you all know.

Regardless of the issue - at 1300 miles - pretty disappointed. I don't want my engine opened up this soon. (or ever if I could avoid it)

I'll keep posting to this thread as I find out more.

I doubt I'll ever trust this truck again.

I haven't even made the first payment.

 

Yep, got rid of my 2015 EcoBoost for a 2017 5.0, ZERO regrets.....hope it all works out.

 

That really sucks, and I hear you about not wanting the thing opened up, i have that same thought. As soon as they open it up, it will never be the same, might be just superstition today. I guess it depends on who does the work, the kid or the pro.....

I hope they fix it without too much issue.

 

Sounds like a faulty phaser or a timing chain issue.

 

Yeah - Or what else the scratch or damage while doing the work. My last truck I had to use a hot water extractor to get the dirty marks off the seat. People don't care near as much if it's not their property. I hear they make less on the warranty work, so they rush things. Might not be true.

What irritates me is that it's been two days now, and they haven't even begun to do any work...still waiting for Ford to respond.

 

Which is why I got rid of the 2010 - After only 9000 miles, the replacements they put in where starting to sound like the ones they removed.

 

I would look into the "lemon law" in your area. You have the makings of a claim...

 

I'm a long way from a claim - four repairs for the same issue - or thirty repair days in two years under 18000 miles - If I remember from years ago - that may not even include these two days waiting to start a repair??

Anyways - Just waiting for now I guess. No calls or information.
I'm not sure why Ford isn't bothering to reply to the dealership. I find it hard to believe that this is a new unreported issue for these engines. I can't be the only one. The dealership refuses to touch or tear down until Ford tells them what to do?? They had my previous truck with cam phaser/vct solenoid, timing chain tensioner, tranny harness replacement, front cover gasket replacement - back to me after 1.5 days.

Keeping records, phone call logs, and emails for now.

 

I think it starts from the date it goes in, but I can't swear to that. That's tough stipulations though.

It certainly is odd that Ford isn't getting back to them, provided that is the truth. I've experienced dealers telling me they were waiting on another dealer, when really they were just doing nothing with their info... (Paint chip from bedliner when I bought my truck, my dealer paid dealer down here to fix, dealer down here was "waiting" for approval from my dealer after my dealer sent them everything)

 

Mine has done this a couple times. It sounds like the ratcheting noise you describe. Only when the engine is cold. It's hardly noticeable but its there. Also only happens under slight tip in then deceleration. After the coolant temp gets above 110 or so its gone. Very curious to see what the outcome is with yours. Hopefully they get it squared away quickly so you can enjoy your new truck.