‘16 Taurus SHO Ecoboost barenaked pix

[ZiTS]

2016 Ford Taurus SHO
90,000 miles

My car is tuned, and I’m in the process of replacing valve covers while finalizing the project with a new HP fuel pump and metal hot pipes for the turbos & intake.

Since I pretty much have to disassemble most of the top side of the engine for all the pipes to be replaced, I figured now was an opportunity to replace the valve covers before any leaks develop.

I’ve used pretty much every brand of synthetic oil since day 1 (I’m the original owner), and never go past 4,000 mile OCI’s, For the last several changes, I’d used Amsoil. Recently had upgraded turbos and an intercooler installed, and now switched over to using HPL 5w-30 No VI.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Looks good

 

[JavierH19]

Looks great.

 

[Cujet]

Maybe you could use a pneumatic needle scaler to scrape off the varnish and sludge? On a more serious note, that looks fantastic, and will look that good at 200K miles!

 

[B1974]

I hear the spark plug tube seals can make valve cover removal a pain on these engines. How did the removal go for you?
Asking because I'm about to replace the passenger side valve cover on my 2013 f150 3.5.

 

[ZiTS]

I hear the spark plug tube seals can make valve cover removal a pain on these engines. How did the removal go for you?
Asking because I'm about to replace the passenger side valve cover on my 2013 f150 3.5.

No problems from the tubes here. The engine in my car (and our Explorer, which I’ve also replaced the valve covers on) is transverse, compared to the “normal” fit for your truck. I don’t know if that could affect the spark plug tubes or not, but the back side valve cover on the Explorer was certainly harder to get off than the front. That one from the Explorer was in fact leaking oil, and I really belief the side of the engine that is up against the firewall just retains SOOO much more heat that it dries the gaskets out that much faster. All of the plastic retainers back there were also much more brittle than the front side.

I haven’t gotten to the back valve cover yet on the SHO, but do expect it to be more stubborn to break free because of that fact.

Since you are replacing it anyway, maybe consider using a little lubricant (engine oil) around the spark plug tube / gasket and letting it soak if you’re concerned.

Good luck!

 

[dnewton3]

Looks pretty darn clean for 90k miles.
Then again, 4k mile OCIs with various syns should leave any trace.

 

[Nick814]

Does the lobe on the intake cam just look funny in this pic, or is it starting to delaminate?