The Demise of the 2.7
12-11-2018, 01:34 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
The Demise of the 2.7
In September of this year while traveling to NY for my sons wedding and a extensive trip to see the NE: Maine, Vermont, etc, my 2016 2.7L Eco blew up in Utica, NY. After waiting for 3 hours for Ford to provide a tow, they said they couldn’t locate me using my phones GPS, I got a local company (my cost $270) to tow me to Don’s Ford of Utica. After arriving and waiting for a verdict, the service manager said, “You obviously have a major engine malfunction.” The crank broke or a rod or both. There goes the vacation only two days into it. Don’s Ford was able to get me some good rental rates using Enterprise to drive 1200 miles back home, but I only have three days to do it. In the mean time, my aunt was dying in Dearborn, MI which was another trip I was going to make and couldn’t. She died the day the engine blew up.
The service rep told me that it would be at least a week before they could get any warranty coverage from Ford. I continued to call (NOT ONCE did the service people call me on their own, they only called me when I left two or three messages) the service people through a very tedious telephone system where there was never a human answering the phone. This went on for over two months. During the two months, Ford approved a complete replacement, but not as a long-block or a crate, but a short-block which caused serious assembly issues which I will cover later. Finally the truck was completed, two months, two weeks later. I tried to get Ford to ship it back to me to no avail. I tried to find someone on UShip but the bids were way too high. I decided to fly to Rochester, NY and rent a car, at my cost, to Utica, about 45 miles away. And no, Don’s Ford did not want to pick me up at the airport. This all happened during the largest snow in November in the NE in many years. I arrived at Don’s Ford about 1330 hrs and the service person told me they started it and the red light came on, which they said, was a vacuum leak which will be fixed shortly. Three hours later, I left the dealership (with less than a 1/4 tank of gas) to drive to Geneva, NY where my son lives with his new wife. When pulling off the NY Thruway, I smelled a very strong smell of gas. Hoping that it wasn’t me, I pulled into the hotel’s parking lot and smelled strong gas again. It was dark by then and I didn’t have a flash light, so I waited until the next morning to investigate. I still smelled gas, but did not see a obvious leak and the truck did not start, it started for a second, but then shut down. I contacted the local Ford dealer, Friendly Ford, to see if their service department was open, which it was. I got Ford to make the tow this time and it arrived to the dealer by 1100. The truck got it in the service department in record time. I’m sitting there with my son, who is a lawyer I might add, when the very nice service manager came out to deliver me the bad news. He said the main problem is the fuel rales were not installed correctly and there was at least 1 qt of gas in the valley between the cylinder heads. I could just see me driving down the road with a Kamikaze Ford killing me and everyone who got in my way. He said there other issues: the fan shroud was not attached to the frame and the left turn signal was not working and they couldn’t find the wiring harness.
I think the service manage talked to the sales department while this was going on, and Friendly Ford called Don’s Ford and the service guy there said, “sell him a new truck....” After talking to my wife, who was still back in Kansas, and my son, I decided to buy a new 2018 F150. Friendly gave me a fair full Blue Book price and even though the 2016 was paid off, I took out a $14500 note on the new truck, which was not too bad.
In the mean time, I have sent a two and half page–single spaced–to Ford asking for reimbursement for my travel expenses both way’s for my trip(s). If I don’t get reimbursed I will sue Ford for a lot more considering that I could have died on the way to my son’s house with a major fuel leak in the engine compartment. My argument to Ford is that they should have sent a crate engine instead of a short block which caused Don’s Ford to have to assemble all the upper cylinder sections of the engine. The Ecoboost engines from Ford are very complex, particularly in the head areas, requiring a very excellent Ford mechanic, which obviously Don’s Ford’s mechanics were not.
Oh I might add that I had to have the oil pan replaced in 2017 which is a habitual, reportable problem with the 2.7. Whether or not this added to the problem is unknown. There was one suggestion that an oil journal was not oiling the rod/crank for one cylinder that It may have plugged up with a piece of junk origin unknown (maybe from a small piece of gasket from the oil pan when it was replaced???) I know it was NOT due to lack of oil changes, I changed the oil every 5000 miles and had records to prove it.
If anyone knows of who to contact for legal advice ( I can’t use my son he is a judge), I would appreciate it.
The service rep told me that it would be at least a week before they could get any warranty coverage from Ford. I continued to call (NOT ONCE did the service people call me on their own, they only called me when I left two or three messages) the service people through a very tedious telephone system where there was never a human answering the phone. This went on for over two months. During the two months, Ford approved a complete replacement, but not as a long-block or a crate, but a short-block which caused serious assembly issues which I will cover later. Finally the truck was completed, two months, two weeks later. I tried to get Ford to ship it back to me to no avail. I tried to find someone on UShip but the bids were way too high. I decided to fly to Rochester, NY and rent a car, at my cost, to Utica, about 45 miles away. And no, Don’s Ford did not want to pick me up at the airport. This all happened during the largest snow in November in the NE in many years. I arrived at Don’s Ford about 1330 hrs and the service person told me they started it and the red light came on, which they said, was a vacuum leak which will be fixed shortly. Three hours later, I left the dealership (with less than a 1/4 tank of gas) to drive to Geneva, NY where my son lives with his new wife. When pulling off the NY Thruway, I smelled a very strong smell of gas. Hoping that it wasn’t me, I pulled into the hotel’s parking lot and smelled strong gas again. It was dark by then and I didn’t have a flash light, so I waited until the next morning to investigate. I still smelled gas, but did not see a obvious leak and the truck did not start, it started for a second, but then shut down. I contacted the local Ford dealer, Friendly Ford, to see if their service department was open, which it was. I got Ford to make the tow this time and it arrived to the dealer by 1100. The truck got it in the service department in record time. I’m sitting there with my son, who is a lawyer I might add, when the very nice service manager came out to deliver me the bad news. He said the main problem is the fuel rales were not installed correctly and there was at least 1 qt of gas in the valley between the cylinder heads. I could just see me driving down the road with a Kamikaze Ford killing me and everyone who got in my way. He said there other issues: the fan shroud was not attached to the frame and the left turn signal was not working and they couldn’t find the wiring harness.
I think the service manage talked to the sales department while this was going on, and Friendly Ford called Don’s Ford and the service guy there said, “sell him a new truck....” After talking to my wife, who was still back in Kansas, and my son, I decided to buy a new 2018 F150. Friendly gave me a fair full Blue Book price and even though the 2016 was paid off, I took out a $14500 note on the new truck, which was not too bad.
In the mean time, I have sent a two and half page–single spaced–to Ford asking for reimbursement for my travel expenses both way’s for my trip(s). If I don’t get reimbursed I will sue Ford for a lot more considering that I could have died on the way to my son’s house with a major fuel leak in the engine compartment. My argument to Ford is that they should have sent a crate engine instead of a short block which caused Don’s Ford to have to assemble all the upper cylinder sections of the engine. The Ecoboost engines from Ford are very complex, particularly in the head areas, requiring a very excellent Ford mechanic, which obviously Don’s Ford’s mechanics were not.
Oh I might add that I had to have the oil pan replaced in 2017 which is a habitual, reportable problem with the 2.7. Whether or not this added to the problem is unknown. There was one suggestion that an oil journal was not oiling the rod/crank for one cylinder that It may have plugged up with a piece of junk origin unknown (maybe from a small piece of gasket from the oil pan when it was replaced???) I know it was NOT due to lack of oil changes, I changed the oil every 5000 miles and had records to prove it.
If anyone knows of who to contact for legal advice ( I can’t use my son he is a judge), I would appreciate it.
12-11-2018, 01:39 PM
#2
Ford does not do "crate engines", even if you got a long block they would still have to transfer and replace some of the fuel system components that don't come with a long block. What ended up being the cause of the failure? If its just in the bottom end that is all ford will replace. IMO going after ford will do nothing, if you decide to sue I would go after that particular dealer.
the oil pan probably had nothing to do with the engine failure
the oil pan probably had nothing to do with the engine failure
Last edited by djfllmn; 12-11-2018 at 01:43 PM.
12-11-2018, 06:51 PM
#4
Senior Member
Sorry to hear about that and at the worst time.
PS. i stopped reading your post because that large endless paragraph or yours was giving me a headache.
PS. i stopped reading your post because that large endless paragraph or yours was giving me a headache.
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jmslf150 (12-12-2018)
12-11-2018, 07:30 PM
#5
So you're going to sue Ford because Don's Ford mechanics screwed up the repair. If your son, the lawyer, advised you to do this you should sue him to get the money you paid for law school back.
As for everything else I can understand. Being stranded 1,200 miles from home would have me just as mad. But considering how awful this dealership was at fixing it you should also question if their diagnosis was accurate also. When you say it blew up what exactly do you mean?
As for everything else I can understand. Being stranded 1,200 miles from home would have me just as mad. But considering how awful this dealership was at fixing it you should also question if their diagnosis was accurate also. When you say it blew up what exactly do you mean?
Last edited by RL1990; 12-11-2018 at 07:32 PM.
12-12-2018, 08:50 AM
#6
Save the Manuals!
Sounds like Don's Ford is the one at fault for the issues here. I've come to believe that if I ever have any major issues like this on a road trip its a better option to rent a uhaul and just tow the truck myself back home. You are much more likely to relieve good service from local dealer and not something far away who knows they will never see you again.
12-12-2018, 09:44 AM
#7
Member
Thread Starter
Trending Topics
12-12-2018, 09:50 AM
#8
Senior Member
Neither. That said when you type incorrectly spelled words they have red underlines. It doesn't catch incorrectly used words, your post also has several.
F150forum.com is a forum. It's not a blog. A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. A forum is an online discussion group where people posts things and engage in a discussion with others. On a blog, individuals can post what they want and delete response as they see fit. On a forum, unless a response violates forum rules, it stays. You ranted, you get responses, like them or not.
You have zero case against Ford, hopefully your lawyer/judge son will tell you that. Ford dealers are independent franchises. Ford doesn't cover travel costs for warranty issues, they sometimes do Goodwill gestures when approached nicely, vs. not nicely. You should have approached them BEFORE you bought a new truck.
Sorry that you didn't get to see your Aunt before she passed. We had a similar situation, a vehicle just repaired by a non-local Ford dealer (25 miles away where it broke down) failed in a pouring rainstorm on the way to pickup my in-laws to take them to visit their dying sister/sister in-law before she passed. The dealership brought a loaner vehicle in under 30 minutes, handed us the keys and said "Go, go!". The car was towed, and repaired (different part failed). They came through. All franchisees, run by individuals / companies, not Ford.
F150forum.com is a forum. It's not a blog. A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. A forum is an online discussion group where people posts things and engage in a discussion with others. On a blog, individuals can post what they want and delete response as they see fit. On a forum, unless a response violates forum rules, it stays. You ranted, you get responses, like them or not.
You have zero case against Ford, hopefully your lawyer/judge son will tell you that. Ford dealers are independent franchises. Ford doesn't cover travel costs for warranty issues, they sometimes do Goodwill gestures when approached nicely, vs. not nicely. You should have approached them BEFORE you bought a new truck.
Sorry that you didn't get to see your Aunt before she passed. We had a similar situation, a vehicle just repaired by a non-local Ford dealer (25 miles away where it broke down) failed in a pouring rainstorm on the way to pickup my in-laws to take them to visit their dying sister/sister in-law before she passed. The dealership brought a loaner vehicle in under 30 minutes, handed us the keys and said "Go, go!". The car was towed, and repaired (different part failed). They came through. All franchisees, run by individuals / companies, not Ford.
Last edited by Ricktwuhk; 12-12-2018 at 09:56 AM.
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Old Grey Mule (12-12-2018)
12-12-2018, 09:56 AM
#10
Member
Thread Starter
So you're going to sue Ford because Don's Ford mechanics screwed up the repair. If your son, the lawyer, advised you to do this you should sue him to get the money you paid for law school back.
As for everything else I can understand. Being stranded 1,200 miles from home would have me just as mad. But considering how awful this dealership was at fixing it you should also question if their diagnosis was accurate also. When you say it blew up what exactly do you mean?
As for everything else I can understand. Being stranded 1,200 miles from home would have me just as mad. But considering how awful this dealership was at fixing it you should also question if their diagnosis was accurate also. When you say it blew up what exactly do you mean?
For you to question their diagnosis is pretty funny since they did not disassemble the original engine. Ford automatically authorized a short block, which as I said in the post, was the reason why the assembly of the final product was a disaster. If you want to see how complex a top end is to assemble, take a look at the YouTube series Fordtechmakuloco.
