First ecoboost problem for us

[slag]

Wife's company car, 108k miles on it, and last week I started smelling coolant, but nothing was leaking. Oil looked fine also, no milkshake or any telltale signs of coolant in the oil. I drove it to work and back and still smelled it. parked it on an incline and finally saw some coolant dripping down from the belly pan. Rechecked oil and it still looks fine, so she invoked the warranty and we dropped it off at Ford. They came back and said its definitely the water pump and we hope to have it back by the end of this week. From reading on the forums, we might have dodged a bullet if in fact nothing leaked into the oil, but at 107k and this is our first issue with the car, I'd say its been pretty reliable so far. Still, I can't wait to see what the cost estimate is, since the water pump is integrated behind the timing cover and they will and should probably replace the timing chain, tensioners, guides, and anything else back there while at it. I'm going to estimate $2200-$2800 based on what I've read online.

2013 Ford Explorer Sport with the 3.5 liter ecoboost

 

[Bartman39]

Quote... "$2200-$2800"...?

Good god man that is a bit high I would think...? Even at the dealer I would think about $1000-$1200 tops...? Possibly up to $1500 but damn $2200-$2800 seems a bit high to me... Also this is for a 2013 and here we are almost at 2018...? I mean like damn...!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Weird that they'd run it with the timing chain and not the serpentine belt. Family had an Aerostar when I was a kid; water pump died and my parents decided to junk the van rather than fix it. It was not cheap.

Maybe find a good indie place, hope it comes in below that. A timing chain can last basically forever - have it inspected, of course, but it's likely you don't need to take advantage of this "opportunity" to get all those other parts replaced.

100k+ with no issues is a good thing. Here's to another 100k.

 

[slag]

Weird that they'd run it with the timing chain and not the serpentine belt. Family had an Aerostar when I was a kid; water pump died and my parents decided to junk the van rather than fix it. It was not cheap.

Maybe find a good indie place, hope it comes in below that. A timing chain can last basically forever - have it inspected, of course, but it's likely you don't need to take advantage of this "opportunity" to get all those other parts replaced.

100k+ with no issues is a good thing. Here's to another 100k.

Company car, and they go through the dealer for everything, so they will cover the cost and want it done at Ford.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Company car, and they go through the dealer for everything, so they will cover the cost and want it done at Ford.

Oh, well then, it's not even your problem!

 

[mindless1]

Yeah it's a bad design, requiring pulling the engine. The 2.3L Ecoboost (or whatever displacement the smaller one was in '13) could be done in-vehicle. I wouldn't assume the chain, guides, and tensioners need replaced but once they have it open they may find enough wear to make that a good idea.

Was the coolant ever replaced? Doing that more frequently than you otherwise would on other vehicles is a good idea too.

 

[slag]

Yeah it's a bad design, requiring pulling the engine. The 2.3L Ecoboost (or whatever displacement the smaller one was in '13) could be done in-vehicle. I wouldn't assume the chain, guides, and tensioners need replaced but once they have it open they may find enough wear to make that a good idea.

Was the coolant ever replaced? Doing that more frequently than you otherwise would on other vehicles is a good idea too.

I don't think so, but again, everything on the car, oil changes, tire changes, etc, has been done by ford according to the schedule in the maintenance guide, with the exception of oil changes which are done every 10k instead of the 5k? I think that ford recommends since she uses synthetic in the engine.

So, if a coolant change was recommended before 100k, it was done, but I don't think it was since its a waterless coolant. I do know they recommended that the transmission get flushed next time she was in because as we noted, it has a somewhat rough 1-2 downshift , especially in cold weather, and likes to hold 1st gear longer than it used to.

 

[slag]

Dealership called and we *should* have it back by Friday.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

That's a ridiculous amount of labor for a water pump replacement. I was a fan of the 3.5EB until I learned this. Ford needs to either make the water pump extremely durable (think lifetime) or re-design so that it can be replaced more easily.

What a scam. Shame on you Ford.

 

[mindless1]

I don't think so, but again, everything on the car, oil changes, tire changes, etc, has been done by ford according to the schedule in the maintenance guide, with the exception of oil changes which are done every 10k instead of the 5k? I think that ford recommends since she uses synthetic in the engine.

So, if a coolant change was recommended before 100k, it was done, but I don't think it was since its a waterless coolant. I do know they recommended that the transmission get flushed next time she was in because as we noted, it has a somewhat rough 1-2 downshift , especially in cold weather, and likes to hold 1st gear longer than it used to.

AFAIK the factory fill coolant is not waterless nor is that spec'd in the owners manual. It's just Motorcraft Orange pre-mixed (with water already in it) part # VC-3DIL-B, or concentrate VC-3-B mixed 50/50 with distilled water.

Spec'd as initial change at 100,000 miles/6 years, followed by subsequent replacement every 50,000 miles/3 years, but personally I would not wait till 100K mi, is one of few occasions I would change fluid more often than spec'd due to the labor to replace the pump. Eventually there may be more information about what coolant additives help to prolong pump life, or at least anecdotal evidence.

Transmission fluid and filter is 150K mi. for others, don't know if it changed since 2013.

 

[slag]

AFAIK the factory fill coolant is not waterless nor is that spec'd in the owners manual. It's just Motorcraft Orange pre-mixed (with water already in it) part # VC-3DIL-B, or concentrate VC-3-B mixed 50/50 with distilled water.

Spec'd as initial change at 100,000 miles/6 years, followed by subsequent replacement every 50,000 miles/3 years, but personally I would not wait till 100K mi, is one of few occasions I would change fluid more often than spec'd due to the labor to replace the pump. Eventually there may be more information about what coolant additives help to prolong pump life, or at least anecdotal evidence.

Transmission fluid and filter is 150K mi. for others, don't know if it changed since 2013.

Ah, i was going by what I read online about the waterless ocolant in the 3.5, but it may have been one for the f150 or flex. I just assumed it was the same in 2013. Thanks for correcting me on that. I'm sure the next oil change that was due soon (in 3k miles) they would have done the coolant as they follow the book on the maintenance. The only reason they recommended a flush and fluid change of the transmission is because we told them about the delayed 1-2 shift and the length of time it stays in 1st. The nice thing is that even if this doesn't solve the problem, the warranty will take care of everything without any out of pocket on our end.

 

[slag]

That's a ridiculous amount of labor for a water pump replacement. I was a fan of the 3.5EB until I learned this. Ford needs to either make the water pump extremely durable (think lifetime) or re-design so that it can be replaced more easily.

What a scam. Shame on you Ford.

There has been at least one redesign I saw when I was browsing the 3.5 forums yesterday. Looks like the bearing/seal housing got enlarged and the gear changed which results in needing a different type of chain. It's a bad design though that can allow coolant to leak into the pan and tear up your bearings in short time.

 

[Zorba]

What did the cost end up being?

 

[slag]

What did the cost end up being?

Don't have it back yet. Originally they said Friday, yesterday they said it was taking longer and we would have it back on Tuesday... SO......We are still driving this dodge journey which isn't nearly as nice as our explorer sport is. oh well.