p38fln

Ford issued a TSB today for F-150 and Mustang vehicles with the 5.0 L V-8 telling dealers to watch for engine modifications.

The TSB includes pictures of pistons damaged by aftermarket tuners, very similar format to the Ecoboost TSB, along with a flow chart indicating when the dealer should cancel the warranty.

The flow chart does show that the failure must have been caused by the modification in order to cancel the warranty, so same as always - just be aware that Ford has provided the dealers with a very specific list (including detailed pictures) of what to look for to find tuned engines.


Here's the text of the TSB (#11-7-7) - note that there are pictures and diagrams in the actual TSB that aren't shown here.

ISSUE:

Some 2011 F-150 and 2011-2012 Mustang vehicles equipped with 5.0L engine may have unauthorized modifications to the powertrain hardware and/or calibration which may result in exceeding component design limits. Such modifications could cause damage to the powertrain and/or void the factory powertrain warranty.
ACTION:

Follow the Service Guidelines.
SERVICE GUIDELINES



Inform owners that the current 5.0L calibrations adjust fuel and spark settings for maximum performance with production hardware, while protecting the engine over a wide range of operating conditions. This includes a knock sensor calibration enabling optimized performance based on fuel grade usage see Owner's Guide for details. Aftermarket hardware and calibrations risk damage to the engine.
Unauthorized calibration modifications may or may not be detectable using standard tools Integrated Diagnostic System (IDS), Portable Diagnostic Software (PDS), NGS+ VCM. Changes can be made to the calibration and flashed to the powertrain control module (PCM) through the on-board diagnostics (OBD) port. Physical modifications to the hardware may or may not be present. If aftermarket power/torque-increasing modifications are suspected, care should be taken to record and store the following items: Permanent diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), pending DTCs, freeze frame data, mode 6 and mode 9 data. The data should be printed and attached to the repair order for later reference.
The DTCs, freeze frame data, mode 6 and 9 data can be obtained by using the IDS, PDS or NGS+VCM under tool box selection. The powertrain tab will provide the OBD test modes tab and mode 6 and 9 data selection after the vehicle has been identified.
Attempting to increase the engine output via recalibrating the PCM may result in poor drivability, DTCs, or component failures. A partial list of calibration induced component failures is given below: Excessive Cylinder Pressure And Temperature

• Piston damage
• Spark over-advanced (knock-induced damage)
• Insufficient enrichment
• Catalyst damage

Increased RPM Limit/Overspeed

• Piston damage
• Connecting rod damage
• Oil pump damage
• Catalyst damage
• Clutch damage

Knock Sensor Calibration Changes

• Piston and/or ring damage due to improper knock control

Hardware Modifications:




The following list contains items that are frequently modified in an effort to increase the engines torque/power output. Modifying these items may, or may not improve the performance, but can lead to drivability issues, DTCs and possibly component failures:

• Air induction system (air box, air filter, zip tube)
• Super chargers
• Nitrous oxide systems
• Throttle bodies
• Exhaust air path/system

Review Engine Damage:




Common failures associated with unauthorized modifications have included:

• DTCs present indicating cylinder misfires (P0300 - P0308)
• Cylinder/piston damage resulting in a misfire, low compression, noise
• Unusual Clutch wear/damage
• Piston damage - light knock (Figure 1)
• Piston damage - heavy knock (Figure 2)
• Evaluation Guidelines Chart (Figure 3)

gw1800

Common failures associated with unauthorized modifications have included:

• DTCs present indicating cylinder misfires (P0300 - P0308)
• Cylinder/piston damage resulting in a misfire, low compression, noise
• Unusual Clutch wear/damage
• Piston damage - light knock (Figure 1)
• Piston damage - heavy knock (Figure 2)
• Evaluation Guidelines Chart (Figure 3)

Really ford..? There are many owners of the new Mustang(2011+) that have had Clutch and transmission problems without mods. Me for one, 10,000 miles needed a new clutch and still didn't feel right, that is why I got rid of it. I think when it comes to that issue, (clutch and trans) for the mustang anyway, they are trying to pawn it of on the consumers. I figured that they would go down this road eventually.

dukefanatic00

i had been doing a little research on the mustang 5.0s and found that a handful had blown #8 cylinder and they were trying to blame it on the tunes even though the tunes were conservative and some how they all had the same issues but hundreds of other mustang owners are saying they are running tunes and much more just fine .... some believe it was an oversight through ford's production line


but it is still an ongoing discussion with them because nothing has been proven to be the true fault. the tuners even responded to all the questions on some of the forums letting there customers know they made sure the problem was not in the tune itself

11_FX4

The mustangs with tunes kept damaging the #8 piston because the tuners were turning the knock sensor sensitivity down very low and its the farthest piston from the sensor. Most tuners now are not messing with the knock sensor sensitivity

gw1800

Doesn't explain the built in china transmission that is having problems..........

obusnizzle

good tuners...as in those who actually know what they are doing dont mess with the knock sensors in that manner. Unfortunately, there are only a small number of guys who actually know what they are doing. I know a few guys who are level 4 SCT dealers....meaning that they write code from scratch. Including a guy worked at SCT in Longwood, Fl. Even if someone uses SCT's LiveLink software or SF tuners, the end user parameters are well within "safety" ranges.

Georgiaboy5.0L

What the hell........a trans built in china.......really.....in a Ford.......please tell me your kidding

11_FX4

Even if it was built in china it has held up to low 10- high 9 second passes stock. Id take that all day long

11_FX4

Most tuners that know what they are dealing with no they wont, when the 5.0 came out no one knew what they were messing with and yes a bunch of them turned the knock sensors off. And I know a few guys that are level 4 dealers as well and they have told me personally they turned them off, But on the now they have sent out revised tunes to take care of this issue

Georgiaboy5.0L

So your okay with another product of america going to china.........Ford should be ashamed.!!!!!!!!!!!!!