Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
am i wrong on this i would assume the vulcan wore reliable than the GM offerings. is that wrong?
That's a coin toss.
The GM engines are highly prone to LIM failures and it is a major issue if ignored. Otherwise though, not many issues with them.
The Vulcan is good, but not without its issues either though...
- Cam synchro. Affects all models with distributorless ignition (coil pack). This part replaces the distributor in EDIS Fords and likes to destroy itself. It gives PLENTY of warning, usually for months before failure. It will scream bloody murder long before it gets to the point of locking up the oil pump. People do sometimes ignore the months of "SCREEEECCHH...chirp chirp chirp" though until the oil pump does fail. If you replace it when the noise starts it's not a big deal. It's about $80-$90 for the OEM part, at least back in 2009 or so when I last bought one. Not hard to replace, though you need to mark the orientation of the original when you take it out. Do NOT use Dorman...Motorcraft or A1 Cardone only. Most Vulcans will need this part replaced at some point in their life, and some, particularly on Taurus boards, do it as preventive maintenance at around 100K miles. Failure can happen much sooner than that though. My truck trashed the original at 60K miles. Dorman replacements only make it 10-15K miles before failing.
- Taurus cooling system. Aerostars and Rangers are unaffected by this, but the Taurus used a completely different cooling system from these RWD vehicles, and the Taurus cooling system has some issues. Corrosion, early water pump failures, and coolant reservoir failures are common. If you are anal about cooling system maintenance, it's fine. If not, problems. Not too different from GM in that respect, but probably just not as widespread.
- Oil leaks. All Vulcans leak. Ford supposedly revised the gasket for the oil pan at some point, but you'll likely still get a nice film. I just consider it automatic undercoating. My truck has leaked the same amount since about 40K miles, not going to bother fixing it.
Other than that though, the Vulcan is a super reliable engine. Hard to say if it's more or less reliable than similar GM engines, but if reliability is what you want, it's hard to beat an all iron pushrod V6. If you're aware of the potential issues, it won't let you down. I still beat the tar out of my truck fairly regularly and am really not worried about the engine.