Originally Posted by metroplex
I have a 2017 Fusion Sport with the 2015-2016 F-150's 2.7 essentially same engine. The oil pan does leak a little. It's due to the RTV not sealing properly. Rumor is that the newer 2.7/3.0 oil pans used an actual gasket and no longer have that issue.
The factory drain plug will have a tab, while the replacements have a square 3/8" drive for a ratchet. I never had a problem using and re-using the factory plug. I used a channel lok plier to gently start the plug counter clock wise just so the locking tabs unlock, then I got my drain pan ready. It's not a big deal as many make of it, so far as to push overpriced aftermarket aluminum plugs that is a solution looking for a problem. The replacement plugs are $3-$4 each, just keep 1 or 2 on hand in case. My dad changed the oil on his 2017 Fusion Sport and managed to break part of the tab off from his factory drain plug. I re-used mine like 2 or 3 times without any problems.
I believe starting 2017, Ford went to split injection (Port and Direct injection) on the 2.7 and other truck engines, but the turbocharger compressor maps remained relatively the same. I did a thorough cross-reference type search between the transverse 2.7L EcoBoost and the truck's 2.7L EcoBoost (2015-2016 at least, pre-split injection, direct injection only). The heads, valves, cams, etc are all identical. Even the factory tunes are 99.999% identical. What is different is the turbocharger packaging, and the trucks have an engine oil cooler mounted right next to the oil filter. On the Edge/Fusion/MKZ/Continental/Nautilus/MKX the 2.7/3.0 don't have the cooler. The truck turbochargers have a slightly different compressor map, looks like they can possibly squeeze out a tad more air before hitting the choke line, plus the trucks have much larger intercoolers so you can tune them for more power.
The 2020 Explorer ST's 3.0L should have an oil cooler as well, and the 3.0's stock turbos flow a lot of air. From what I recall, they can be tuned for quite a bit more power possibly matching a tuned Raptor/Limited's High Output 3.5L EcoBoost V6. The reason I bring up the 3.0 is because it is basically a 2.7L but with more displacement, bigger turbochargers, etc... A lot of the parts interchange with the 2.7, so I find it a bit funny when people are exclaiming what a great new engine design Ford had in the 2020 Explorer ST ... except that engine came out as far back as 2017 in the MKZ/Continental, and is based on an engine that debuted in 2014 for MY15 trucks. But Ford had a hard time figuring out how to seal those plastic oil pans all those years. The 2.7/3.0s were still leaking as of model year 2019, at least on the transverse applications.
The biggest #1 thing to remember with the 2.7/3.0 is to always wait at least 15-30 minutes before checking the oil level on the dipstick. It has something to do with how the oil pan was designed for auto stop-start to keep the oil at a proper level for faster re-starts. So if you check your oil immediately or within 5 minutes of shut-down, the oil might look low but it just hasn't drained back down. Check your owner's manual for the exact verbiage. I never had a problem because I always waited for the oil to drain down, whether it was a SB Ford V8 or a modern EcoBoost. There were reports of a lot of 2.7/3.0 owners overfilling their oil, even dealers were doing it accidentally.
Best to always check the dipstick level, when the vehicle has sat overnight and is cold..... meaning prior to first use of that particular day - prior to starting the engine
