Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
I am currently running Castrol Edge 5w-30 but will be switching to Edge 0w-40 (ie German Castrol) from this point on. I also use a 300ml can of Lubrimoly MOS2 in my Eco-Bost. There is some fuel dilution that is common with TGDI engines. Yet another reason to run the 0w-40.
Ford has sold over 500k F150's with the 3.5l Eco-Boost alone. Take 500k of anything and there are going to be a few lemons in the group. Until there are widespread documented issues, then I'd hesitate to make any judgement. Ford has been hedging their bets on the Eco-Boost engines, they aren't going to just sit back and let their bread winner (the F150) flame out.
Unfortunately these online forums attract a lot of the tin-foil hat crowd who will take one or two failures and apply it to ALL product. One failure is just that...one failure. Show me a hundred failures under similar conditions, and now you'll have an argument to make.
A quick perusal of the F-150 message boards will show clearly that a reasonable number of folks are experiencing issues with the timing chain rattle at startup. This was, I believe, the beginning of the end for my engine. The "rattle" is actually caused by the loose chain vibrating at startup and caused by wear of the guides and/or chain itself. This resulting in a lot of play in the timing system.
Ford has a TSB to replace the chain in the F-150 (but not the other bits and pieces ironically) which does not appear to be solving the noise issue. For the TSB to be put into action, the error on the cam timing has to be more than 6 degrees from ECM target (implying that the chain is out of place to sufficiently rotate the cam into the wrong spot by 6 degrees or more). This is a significant shift in the timing of the engine, it is a real documented issue with a TSB, and it is affecting F-150 owners.
The chain replacement appears to NOT solve the problem on its own in many instances. Over time, the startup rattle will cause additional wear on the components the chain touches. However, on the F-150, it appears the pump is isolated from the lubrication system, so the failure mode I experienced should not occur on the F-150s. On the other version of the 3.5L Ecoboost, the water pump shaft and bearing are at risk. I agree with you that time will tell if how big an issue this will be for Ford.
Just remember, I experienced the rattle starting at around 75k miles and the engine failure at around 100k miles, I would guess that relatively few folks have that kind of mileage on non F-150 Ecoboosts so far . . .
For anyone with the "rattle" get your chain, tensioners, guides and water pump (on non F-150 implementations) replaced ASAP.