Ford F150 3.5L ECOBOOST Bad Engine Teardown! What Will I Find That Failed?

Edit: yes, that’s not the water pump.
Todays teardown is a 2011-2014 Ford F150 3.5L Twin Turbo Ecoboost V6!
My name is Eric and I own and run a full service salvage business called Importapart located in the Saint Louis MO area. Part of our model is dismantling and selling parts from rare and niche market engines. I've torn down everything from an LS7 to a Renesis rotary engine. There are several videos to watch! Check out my playlist of engine teardowns here: • Blown Up Engine Tear D...
This particular engine is from a 2012 F150, and came in partially disassembled, which made taking it apart VERY easy! This failure wasn't as easy to find as many of them are. Im sure it still ran, just poorly!
I think the reason it wouldn't turn over could have been that the timing chain was installed wrong as this engine had been partially taken apart. I should have checked timing before I took it apart, my mistake there. I don't think it ran out of time, as there was no obvious damage to valves or pistons. I did have a lot of fun taking this engine part and I'll be interested to see how the parts sell, which could determine how frequently we get them in.
If you'd like to buy parts from this engine or the others I've taken apart, feel free to email us at [e-mail].
Thanks for watching!
-Eric

[@gt1man931]

Any guy who has had any enthusiasm for cars and wrenching eats these videos up. I really like them.

[@adriannewman1322]

Same here

[@courageinthedark]

Indeed 🧐

[@shadetree6705]

Definitely, gearhead porn to me

[@AbsooluteZero]

his vids just came across my suggested, and I can't stop watching. I'm not even that big of a gear head, but I love the tear downs and seeing how everything works and fits together.

[@heavyprogressive76]

You fuckin said it brother haha ditto

[@birdsgarage3305]

The internal water pump design was used in the transverse mounted 3.5/3.7s only. The F150s and Mustangs have a traditional external water pump.

[@ericpiatt2436]

So this could be an SHO or Explorer you think?

[@XxZ1NGxX]

No, it has the tube that sends coolant through the front cover so that isn’t a water pump. The gear is just an idler for the timing chain. In my experience (at least on the 150s) that internal gasket just doesn’t leak. Have seen many water pumps, with very similar designs on the transverse 3.5 and 3.7 leak though.

[@ChrisB-cx6td]

@@ericpiatt2436 yes

[@austin3626]

Thank god I was really worried about this.

[@icyhotmike]

@@ericpiatt2436 this is definitely out of an F150. The waterpump is not internal and the turbos are different. On the transverse the left and right turbos are shaped a little different and are made by Garrett and F150 uses Borg Warner

[@gregoryweber7408]

hey! just wanted to thank you for sharing these tear downs, i am learning a lot and i think it’s safe to say a lot of other people are too, please keep thee videos coming!

[@dnakase]

As an owner of a 2012 F-150 with the 3.5 I was encouraged by the fact that you had a hard time sourcing a 3.5. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but I'm thinking the lack of supply of blown motors is a good thing.

[@I_Do_Cars]

I think part of it is that people fix them more than they replace them. Also, different regions and sources will sample different types of engines.

[@cessealbeach]

My Dad has 2014 F150 V6 3.5, Man has 176K miles, fluid changes right on time, ONLY hardware he had to change on the engine besides plugs, 3 ignition coils that's it, man loves his truck

[@davidandrew1078]

AS an old tinkerer, this is really interesting. Never would be doing this myself so I gain a wealth of knowledge. Thank you. Cheers from Australia.

[@JoshSmith-wo7zw]

The problem is Ford wants you to think you can go 7500 miles between oil changes on these forced induction engines and it literally destroys the internals within about 80 to 100,000 miles. So the 2.7L ecoboost and the 3.5L ecoboost V6's are both dual turbo engines. They have one bolted to each head. So unlike a naturally aspirated engine your actually pressuring your combustion chambers with a fair amount of pressure against the top of the pistons so as a result you get alot of blowby past the piston rings and down into your motor oil and your letting the oil remain inside the engine for 7500 miles. Which is probably close to a year for most people here in the states. People also make the fatal mistake of cheaping out on oil Filters and usually go with the Fram ph series orange filters which are arguably the worst oil filters on the market. In this country you do definitely get what you pay for in a oil filter. At least if you're stuck on Fram for whatever reason go with the TG or XG series filters. But ideally switch to Wix or Purolator. Pretty much anything over those bottom basement Fram filters. Even the original Motorcraft filters are significantly better made than the Fram PH series. Buy one new and cut it open once and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. It really should be illegal for Fram to make so shitty. So anyway between those two things it causes these engines to fail alot sooner than they should. If you change the oil every 3 to 5000 miles and run a good full synthetic like AMSOIL signature series oil and of course spend a few dollars on your oil filters they will actually last a really long time but of course Ford wants you to go back and buy a new truck from them every 8 to 10 years. But again if you step up your oil changes and use better quality filters they will actually hold up really well.

[@doctorromex7804]

@@JoshSmith-wo7zw I agree with you on these points

[@geoffbell166]

@@JoshSmith-wo7zw They all do,wanting long service intervals,oil is cheap!

[@grahamek86]

@@JoshSmith-wo7zw The servicing intervals are absolutely fine. Unless you're beating on the motor, you don't need to reduce the intervals. The problem is sub-standard servicing. Either neglecting the intervals or using cheap shit parts. Crappy filters that don't actually filter anything useful, or cheap oils with poor film strength that produce a lot of ash and carbon.

[@randyscrafts8575]

These videos are great! No nonsense. No screwing around. Just tearing down engines finding a cause or probable cause of failure. 👍👍

[@Subcoolschool]

Every time I watch one of your videos, I learn something... and I've been wrenching for over 50 years. We're never too old to learn.

[@freddyhollingsworth5945]

#1 engine failure cause in my 15+ years of experience with vehicle engines is slimily the owners running them out of engine oil, #2 lack of oil changes, #3 timing component failure. Great video!!

[@notabot2732]

Wouldn't #1 and #2 be kinda the same?

[@deven4468]

@@notabot2732 I don’t think so because you can always just top your oil off without ever changing it which ain’t good

[@B0xlife1]

Or what about ppl that are using used motor oil lol I’ve been seeing that quite a bit latelt

[@chantelrhine8965]

Forgot coolant...

[@chantelrhine8965]

@@B0xlife1 wtf??? Y change it

[@davidpeterson6147]

most car guys are interested in seeing how different engines are assembled and common issues which cause their failure.

[@bcatz454]

lol, when you say car guy, most people think guys who read Car and Driver/R&T, and know how much horsepower cars have. Got to correct you here and its "most guys who wrench" and not car guys

[@Jihadbearzwithgunz]

Its awesome knowing I should never own a vehicle with a water pump located behind the timing set like the eco boost ford motors

[@blade9038]

@@bcatz454 I'd love to do this man's work, I'd say I'm a car guy but I'd rather know how every bit of an engine functional components rather than how pretty my engine bay is, would love to wrench as a job too bad getting into a mechanic trade without knowing someone is near impossible it seems

[@ExploitGarage]

@@blade9038 not sure how that's at all relevant. Take your sob story off KZbin and go hustle. No excuses.

[@bcatz454]

@@blade9038 there are departments in engineering that do this as their bread and butter. What do you think happens to all the engines that are sent back that are replaced under warranty? Corporate wants to know whats happening so they don't have to pay out warranty next time they make revisions/updates. They then take the failed part and run it again thru fea. There's engineers who do this guy's job in a more scientific way and get paid a 80k-150k salary.

[@brucemorris1220]

That's not the water pump. It's just a cross over. The water pump is missing. This engine was used in an F150 or Transit. The water pump is in that location only on the transverse mounted engines Explorer, 500, etc.

[@ALEXdaG]

I had a 2014 f150 3.5 eco. Was happy to watch this one and see what issues there may be specifically from carbon build up. Love the way you do your videos champ

[@FPRESLEY1]

Your channel, your company. You tear down what YOU want when you want.

[@phlodel]

And I'll watch.

[@tweinc]

2:30 ish you can see the engine code tag and read the build date. This particular engine was built at Cleveland Engine Plant 1 on September 9, 2011.

[@chicotruco]

REALLY? WOW

[@hydrocarbon8272]

"At least it's not shaped like a Toyota [water pump gasket]" Ladies & gents, look up a "toyota t100 water pump gasket" if you missed the joke.

[@wolfmanrebel874]

Oh yes the ultimate Japanese engineering dick joke 😂

[@briancolvin6554]

Wasn't there an old for one like that?

[@nerdyism2523]

Looks like them japanese engineers love themselves a good prank. 🤣

[@koukitype180]

Look up FORD 4.6/5.4L oil cooler gasket 🙂

[@MH-pc2ky]

I had to look it up too!!!

[@davidrubin1895]

The teardowns you do are most informative. Nice to see the inner workings

[@ddddsd20]

Man, I’m addicted to your videos.

[@Jihadbearzwithgunz]

I second this notion. Awesome to see motors tore down to bare bones block.

[@HotRod8625]

You can also learn how to take engines apart. I like that as im a 20 year engine builder. Advise: always source the proper assembly disassembly procedures and you'll be fine.

[@azntactical4884]

I can take it apart no problem...I just don't remember how it goes back together.

[@Phyconuatica]

Labels.

[@BucketList22]

Your probably joking…. But if I don’t video taking stuff apart these days I’m screwed.

[@benlyons7752]

That would be me

[@benlyons7752]

Glad you Brought to my attention the water pump being internal to the engine. I did not know that

[@matthewholzmueller6292]

You sound just like my drain sturgeon. 🙃

[@NickLoecke]

This video convinced me that replacing a turbo on my 2012 F150 is not a project to do in the driveway. Thank you for taking the time to share these!

[@brandonholtz7575]

I look forward to watching these teardowns more than any other video on youtube, can't wait to see the engines you've previewed at the end of this one!

[@coyoteaustin17]

as a 23 year old young tech 4 years in, this is some great learning material

[@The.Norwegian]

What's is like working with cars? I am an outboard mechanic (boat engines) and i would love to work with steel bolts, rather than A4 stainless stuck in aluminum...

[@coyoteaustin17]

@@The.Norwegian I enjoy it a lot, for a career at least. You learn and do something new everyday. I’d say the biggest factor on what will dictate your success and happiness is your shop you’re at and what manufacturer you are working on. I love diving in stuff taking it apart and fixing something. I work on Chrysler’s and dodges, jeeps. Pretty easy cars. Couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I love having access to a shop and hoist for personal use also. But depends on your relationship with people. But yea it’s great.

[@ottieotter8488]

I can take something apart no problem but cant remember how to put it back together

[@coyoteaustin17]

@@ottieotter8488 the more you do it the better you become just like everything else 👍

[@yardhostler3728]

@@coyoteaustin17 you're supposed to work on coyotes only

[@DavidVining1]

Thank You. I have gained a greater appreciation for timely oil changes from your videos.

[@makingtechsense126]

These tear downs have opened my eyes to changing the oil on time, every time, and not waiting for the car to tell me it is needed.

[@mmarciniak]

New subscriber here. I really appreciate channels like yours. It’s so interesting to get to see “behind the scenes” types of things that are so informative! Most of us would never have the opportunity to see such a wide range of engines that fail for so many different reasons.

[@luscombe334]

Really appreciate your approach and narrative. It’s oddly soothing to watch you disassemble an engine.

[@agenericaccount3935]

Regarding the end, we come back because you keep us coming back. It's been a captivating series for me.

[@Richard-wk9le]

Turbo motors are hard on oil, Oil temps are higher so when cheap oil and/or the wrong Oil is used this what you get.

[@alextran8188]

Exactly a poor maintenance schedule/plan is what kills these motors. A good quality oil (which really isn't that expensive anymore) will go a long way

[@anthonymacneil2279]

Amsoil Signature series is the best in these applications. From my experience 0 issues oil related

[@MattyLight30]

And that’s why Ford factory/dealership fills these with their semi synthetic junk.

[@samiam9059]

yeah, and direct injection is a hard push on them also.

[@ddddsd20]

I agree, but I’m still scratching my head as to why Ford would put a water pump so deep into the engine, I like fords and have driven them many miles, but I will not spend over 40k for engineering like this, they can do better.

[@TomPauls007]

I enjoy so much watching the forensics! You do a great job. Good info and well-paced (no dwelling on small stuff). Coffee, doughnut, and a tear-down. Great start to a day!

[@jyo8914]

Loved the burnout at the end! Keep up the good work. Totally dig the channel and all of the teardowns. Very fascinating!

[@BobSmith-mc7uq]

One of the best car/engine channels on KZbin!!

[@jeramiahgainey3177]

Man I really enjoy your tear downs. Keep em coming.

[@weekendwarriorweldingdiypr4604]

My favorite weekly video that I look forward to the most every week.

[@joegilly1523]

Thanks for breaking the motor down and bringing us along. I have a 2012 F150 twin turbo .I love my truck but think I will be a pain to work on it . Only has 41,000 miles on it for 9 years old is got. Never beaten on it but it shifts into 5 th gear at 90 and it has another gear .It chips out at 100 mph.😫 it’s a blast to get it to 100 mph

[@upsidedowndog1256]

It's cool to see the design features of the different engines you tear down. I have had good results from using Avblend oil additive in my customer's engines to free up stuck rings. I like to spray exhaust hardware with penetrant days before I attempt to remove them when possible.

[@infinity3jif]

it's almost like you're performing an autopsy to find out the cause of death 'lol' I really enjoy watching your content

[@drtidrow]

I did suggest on a previous video that he rename this to "The Engine Autopsy Channel" :-)

[@Cougracer67]

Uh Oh! Looks like he did an autopsy on a living patient! (or one that would have lived with proper care and treatment!)

[@jamescole6846]

Thats exactly what I was thinking. I love watching these video to see COD.

[@sen_pen0143]

I was thinking 48 hours, "what killed the engine".

[@frankbiz]

Very interesting, educational and enjoyable watching you. That's sad how people abuse engines, oil is cheep compared to the the cost of an engine. Keep up the great work.

[@johno7564]

Dude, the work you do here is awesome. I owned a Ford F-250 with 6.8l V10 in the past and lookin forward to when you get the opportunity to take one apart.

[@kylemiller2920]

Love the content, and you're a great presenter, super knowledgeable and easy to understand for a simple laymen like myself who simply finds all of this interesting. Keep up the great work!!

[@texhill686]

I'm so glad I found this channel! Great work! I'm looking forward to more teardowns

[@TheCrosscrescent99]

I absolutely love these tear down videos, they’ve actually helped me a couple times at work so far and I just love to see how the insides of different engines I don’t work on much at work operate it’s fascinating to me. Keep up the amazing work

[@DCDLaserCNC]

Great videos man! Keep up the awesome work! I have a 2017 F-150 with a 3.5 Ecoboost and it was nice to see a teardown of one. Thanks for sharing.

[@boowiebear]

"Shaft Play" is a pretty good name for a band.

[@YeOldeGeezer]

Especially when you’re fingering it 😂😂😂

[@joec8750]

That's what she said.... Sorry

[@pe4958]

Major Shaft Play was my stage name back when I was working as a male stripper

[@worldhello1234]

No, it is a name for a cheap porn movie.

[@WeekendWrenchTurner]

Just found this channel recently and can't stop watching👍👍🍺🍺

[@richard1835]

Your doing consumers a great service by videotaping the teardown of this engine. Thank you

[@DoyleHargraves]

When the turbo bolts snapped, i had flash backs of driving from parts house to parts house one saturday, looking for an ez-out kit... lol

[@skildude]

If that were a horse you'd say its been rode hard and put up wet. That varnish just screams cheap/non-turbo quality oil and Gasoline. I bet it got very hot to make those ring stick like that.

[@shanemccaffrey5570]

Unless you can get ethanol-free fuel its not really an issue but the cheap oil in a turbo engine is absolutely a big deal. That coupled with not letting oil cool down before shutdown is a dead end road for the engine

[@hellkitty1014]

When I saw that "Mighty" oil filter and not Motorcraft or WIX...I knew this engine did not live a quality life...

[@knightrider1545]

@@shanemccaffrey5570 qwhell you got turbo water cooled

[@hebson21]

I was actually looking for blown engine breakdowns to see failure points and that sort of thing about a year ago, no dice, glad you came along. Definately filling a void in the car video/ youtube realm, keep it going and it'll become a staple. Then there'll be copycats so we can see thrashed lambo motors n stuff

[@radoliz2]

You blow me away! Your humble attitude goes a long ways with me! The Golden color on all the engine parts is from the synthetic part of the oil. No problem there. The black carbon varnish is the result of the use of semi-synthetics. Parts of the Dino oil is always left inside, in a oil change. And as such, between oil changes it gets baked on the cam during heat soaks, any place it gets hot. Using a Full synthetic and waiting for all the oil to drain out at oil changes would stop that. But people are impatient and want 10 min oil changes as cheap as possible. Hope this helps.

[@laneflinders7144]

Thanks for doing these. I find these videos very helpful when It comes time for a project car to have an idea of the common problems, what to look out for, and how these engines come apart. Keep 'em coming, please!

[@zacharycrocker7001]

Hey, here’s a quick thought! I’m not 100% sure, but you should consider the possibility that this engine is from an Explorer Sport or Taurus SHO since it has the chain driven water pump. I had a 3.5 Eco in two F-150s that both had belt driven water pumps. I think the difference lies within the fact that the engine is transverse mounted engine in the Explorer and Taurus.

[@cjsawinski]

@@wariccohenI was confused by this as well because I can see the external water pump right up front of my engine lol.

[@bigolemike33]

Loving these tear down videos!

[@johnyakovich1017]

ERIC: I really enjoy to follow you in your adventures with any type of engine no matter which one it is!! I have learned so much from you. When I talk to anyone regarding engine survivals, the biggest warning I tell to folks is " PLEASE, Check your oil" I'm anal about getting my oil changed every 6-7 thousand miles on my 3.6 L Traverse. It's cheap insure! I cannot believe many of these folks, totally destroy these engines, even the expensive ones because they don't check their OIL!!! Thank you, AGAIN! I'll join you again each time!!!! Best part of my evening!

[@Captain-Awesome]

It’s oddly therapeutic watching the engines come apart. Thank you for the videos!! I drive 2020 Raptor so you had me at Eco Boost

[@benztech2262]

Great channel. I would like to see a tear down and inspection of a F150 2.7 EcoBoost with its compacted graphite block.

[@daviddurham4659]

Me too. But I’m not sure anyone has broken one yet.

[@Jakek200]

It's weird to look at trust me. I had to put head gaskets on my brother's 2.7 which means basically stripping the entire engine down and It looks comically small in the engine bay of an F150. It would look even smaller/weirder if I had to take the aluminum 'lower block' off but I didn't have to do that.

[@seekerrild4629]

I just want to say, I'm a huge fan. You were amazing in water boy and billy Madison. At first I wished you would go back to your old material, but I like the new turn you've taken with the teardowns. Keep up the great work!

[@tylermann650]

i'm dying

[@PlayafromtheHimalayas]

If you think this guy looks like Adam Sandler, then you've never seen Jason Cammisa

[@MrBigBoy4Life]

When I first saw him, I also immediately made the Adam Sandler comparison. A doppelganger.

[@SMhMrMurhpysLaw]

this made my day🤣

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

love the vid - thx. I have a buddy with one of those in a Taurus SHO. He's got almost 150k on it and it hasn't had any issues, though admittedly he is a stickler with his oil changes. It really does make that boat of a car surprisingly quick.

[@Baneslayer]

I can't tell you how helpful this video and content is for myself and I'm sure many others like us. THANK YOU!

[@rotaxtwin]

Was glad to see this teardown, I am amazed by these Ecoboost engines. Wish this guy had changed the oil - but then I guess we wouldn't be watching you tear it down then, would we? Looking forward to all the new stuff down the road. The tech on the modern engines is trippy, I love seeing inside 'em.

[@concernedcitizen780]

And when the water pump goes the engine is trash.

[@benjaminwayneb]

@@concernedcitizen780 Only transverse mounted 3.5 Ecoboost engines have an internal water pump, inline engines have an external belt driven pump. 3.5 and 3.7 transverse engine water pumps have a port for coolant to leak externally when the water pump seal fails.

[@benjaminfournier1815]

​@@concernedcitizen780 when the pump fail on that engine, it leaks externally. As many pointed out, on transverse engine have that problem. Those 3.5 / 3.7 engine are incredible engines. I personally run a 3.7 with the 3.5 exhaust manifolds and turbos at 14 PSI. Been driving for years like that with methanol injection and the engine make incredible torque.

[@charlesfollette9692]

I see how Ford was able to squeeze 640 hp from this engine for the Ford gt. Still no replacement for a v8 imho

[@matts.8342]

@@charlesfollette9692 Sound? Yes, the V8 sounds much better. But the ecoboost rocks it in output.

[@Rtryanp]

holy crap you actually did it! i commented a request and you got one! nice man I appreciate it whether it was because of that or not

[@caseyjoe4827]

He did it just for your hearts desire

[@Dggb2345]

Water pump info was golden

[@benupde1979]

First couples videos In watched of yours were kinda rough to watch. Looks like you’ve lightened up on the bias and just enjoy tearing these things down to see what we can see. I dig it! Keep on keeping on.

[@unums]

Anything different, I’m with it. Heck yeah!!! Edit: The end put a HUGE smile on my face

[@richieeerichh]

fareal that way one day he’ll do an engine like mine

[@mattmalenda6585]

Nice profile picture, comrade ✊🏻

[@andydsm]

Absolutely loving these engine teardown vids, as a life long car nut I just love the things I can learn from these vids! Please definitely keep them coming my man :) As a former 3000GT VR4 owner, I'd love to someday watch you do teardown of a TT DOHC 6G72 engine, if one ever pops up

[@patrickthomas8736]

Hey thanks for the Ecoboost teardown!!!! I have an F-150 with an Ecoboost. Yes, I change my oil a lot.

[@markandkiminnewzealand2702]

Thanks for sharing Really look forward to your tear downs Very informative and entertaining

[@bwohlgemuth]

I am not a car guy. Your videos are so damn interesting and I learn so much about engines. Also, I want to go change my oil every 50 miles now. :-)

[@JoseChavez-rr6og]

LOL

[@jeffcholewinski7711]

Love you videos, would like to add my 2 cents. Engine being torn down is a 3.5 out of 11-12 F150. Turbo bypass is integrated into the turbo, and no vacuum pump on the back of the bank 1 cylinder head. The coolant line on the back of the turbo has a flex joint in it, so likely a 2011. I would agree with misfire codes being present, seeing your discovery of the stuck ring on cylinder 4. Likely had timing codes as well, with the primary timing chain guide fully against the crankshaft sprocket. After that happens the chain get sloppy, P0016 gets thrown. Lack of oil changes is murderous for the 1st generation ecoboost engine. I recommend 3500 mile oil changes for people who drive hard. Water pump failure on the transverse 3.5/3.7 engines is common. However out of the hundreds I've seen or done, only a handful have leaked into the crankcase. Typically you'll see coolant leaking out of the weep hole behind the AC compressor, not a death sentence but the bill to get it replaced may be. Indeed, if the pump does fail to the crankcase it is terminal. Not trying to throw shade, just bringing some more info!

[@romeoalphafoxtrot9517]

I learn a lot from your channel! I appreciate all you do.

[@zackfishle1009]

Keep up the good work. You have us at the edge of our seats.

[@brunowilimek2046]

The timing chain tensioner can be used to determine if the chain has stretched by counting the visible teeth. If there are 5 or more teeth visible of the ratchet mechanism, the chain has stretched. This may set timing DTC’s. Also the phasers are a known weak point in this engine. The later version of this engine uses 2 timing chains instead of one long one. The bolts holding the turbos to the manifolds are quite common to break, even if you use heat to remove them.

[@Importman2009]

Do you think this is the problem with this particular engine? Because that was my thought when he couldn't manually turn that engine over with the chains on but was able to do so whey they were off.

[@peiguy1982]

I had a 2013 Ecoboost throw the connecting rod under warranty. I was expecting you to find more with this one. Looks like a solid bottom end design too.

[@jaws2858]

Dude! First time watching. Caught my attention, I have a 3.5 Raptor so 2 injectors per cylinder. Had to see what’s up. Loved every minute and now can’t wait to see the other tear downs. That V12!

[@tptrsn]

Super excited about those upcoming engine teardowns!!

[@treydrake2299]

I love these ecoboost engines my dad has had one and ive owned one for the last 7 years and the only problem we have ever had is a ignition coil went bad, its such a nice engine

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

Love the teardowns...it's interesting to see how the various companies do things differently. I know there wouldn't be much of any money in it, but how about a tear down of a Chrysler 2.0L/2.4L "World Engine"? Tons of them out there and I'd be curious to see how the engine in my own car works :)

[@Henry-fx4yk]

We ARE enjoying these tear downs!

[@ScottysDetailing]

So glad I found your engine channel thanks for sharing to KZbin so keep the coming.

[@jamesrichardson559]

I have a couple of friends that have the 3.5L and they really seem to like them.

[@David-yy7lb]

Until they need to replace the water pump

[@spacebound1969]

I think the newer ones all have external pumps now. With the addition of port injection to clean the valves the 3.5L is shaping to be a dinosaur.

[@benjaminwayneb]

@@David-yy7lb Only transverse mounted 3.5 Ecoboost engines have an internal water pump, inline engines have an external belt driven pump.

[@jamesrichardson559]

@@David-yy7lb I am close to 70 and remember cars of the 60's, 70's and early 80's needing water pump changes every 30,000 or 50,000 miles. From the 90's on water pump failures are rare especially on pumps that don't have a fan on the pump shaft. Could be the coolant today is much better than years ago. I would not even worry about it.

[@donraptor6156]

@@spacebound1969 Actually your acessment is Wrong! A simple $20.00 oil catch can removes that issue.

[@davidmcnew4214]

I am looking forward to the VR 3.0 teardown and the V12.

[@robertmcgraw9208]

Nice work. Love watching and learning. You make me want to take and engine apart.

[@steveshotrodsvideo2950]

Great video! This indeed looks like a mixture of long oil exchange intervals and lots of heat through towing with the truck. I heard this from a friend who works all day on Ford trucks. The EcoBoost engine with lots of towing grills the piston rings. They start to deform and get stuck. Excessive carbon build up is helping, too. This holds at least true for the early Eco Boosts.

[@Joe-co4sq]

That ecoboost looks like a re-ring job would do the trick. I wish we knew the mileage on these engines you tear down to help us get some idea on their durability.

[@hdrenginedevelopment7507]

I would be curious as to why the rings went so bad to begin with. The carbon and varnish deposits on the piston between the top and middle ring tells me the ring seal was very far gone and there was probably a lot of blowby. It could just be worn, but rings that are of sufficient quality and bores that are of sufficient tolerance, proper finish hone surface, and were properly broken in should easily do 200k miles even with aggressive use before starting to show signs of significant wear/blowby/oil consumption with proper maintenance. The initial break in process is so critical to long term top ring seal quality makes me think this engine was not properly broken in (either at the factory or by first owner), or else it is just very high mileage/was very neglected with maintenance intervals and low oil quality. I can't stress enough how critical it is to get a good solid high load at moderate rpm ranges in the first hour of engine break in in order to seat the compression rings properly. That ring land area between the top two rings will stay pretty clean if that was done successfully. Many people baby the engines too much at first, when a good mix of high load moderate rpm range use in the first few hundred miles is essential to establishing that ring seal. Some rebuilds I have broken in can take as long as 5000 miles before the rings really settle in, but oil consumption/5k miles will eventually taper down to basically unmeasureable and oil color deterioration rates will hold a good light to moderate amber color well into 2-3k miles of oil life if the rings bed in successfully.

[@BigBeastfull]

@@hdrenginedevelopment7507 I gave her the onion, when I test drove my F150 with 7 miles on it. Hopefully that did it!

[@DUI5MSN]

Water pump has a weep hole and does drain from the left of the engine

[@davelowets]

@Daniel Fenton If the shaft seal is vented to the outside via a weep hole, how would it fill the crankcase then? Think McFly, think. If it leaks into the crankcase, that would mean the perimeter gasket is shot, and that would have ZERO to do with the weep hole. Don't make shit up.

[@alexmawdsley]

@@davelowets there's two seals on one shaft with a weep hole in the middle. Seal up the weep hole and coolant will push right past the second seal into the timing chain area. Think McFly, think.

[@davelowets]

@@alexmawdsley I doubt it. It WON'T "push it's way right past the other seal". That's why there are TWO seals. What's the chances of BOTH seals failing at the exact same time? Next to nil.

[@duramaxdad]

@@davelowets Why do they need to fail at the exact same time? If both seals fail then u know what happens.

[@waynebeasley8700]

Thanks……this is the first teardown I have seen since Ford did their accelerated use series with a teardown at the end. I've always wondered how these eco-boosts would hold up long term (I've heard stories…). The fact that this is the first one that you had your hands on, and is in not bad shape in spite of previous neglect, speaks loudly to the durability issue.

[@Huggy1959]

I absolutely love these videos. Engines today are more complex than the the “Detroit Big Iron” that I grew quite adept with.

[@orlandoduran7740]

the internal water pump is only is for the transverse mounted eco booste, the f150 got a external mounted

[@ernestohermosillo9145]

Funny how he just removed it and moved on….

[@cwaysvt6138]

Yeah this is not an f150 engine.

[@dooder126]

I think this also squares with the deferment of maintenance as I would imagine the typical truck owner has an interest in keeping up with maintenance schedules as compared to the owner of a Flex or MKT or Explorer.

[@mmarciniak]

So, is this engine out of a high performance Taurus?

[@ernestohermosillo9145]

@@mmarciniak I would say it is off a F150. If you look closely it has cavity for the external water pump. It is funny that he mentioned that the other the “idle gear” inside the timing case as a water pump when it isn’t. That ideal gear is a water pump on a transverse 3.5L eco boost and non eco boost motor you see on a explorer or edge respectively.

[@1134EMP]

The transverse 3.5 ecoboost has the water pump inside the timing cover. The longitudinal mounted ones like in the f150 have the water pump mounted external and just an idler for the timing chain inside the case.

[@allisonelkins1662]

I was just about to say. I own an f150 with the 3.5 and the water pump most definitely is not internal. When I watched this video a year ago I didn't catch it but based on the timing cover alone, this particular 3.5 was not in an f150. Very proud to say my little 2011 is still goin strong at 213k miles.

[@nateg08]

​@@allisonelkins1662these motors got a bad rap. Every motor has its issues but I absolutely love mine. I do have the infamous turbo coolant fitting drip that I need to get fixed but this truck has been a champ. I haul and pull regularly and it handles it fantastic. I see a lot of people with well over 200k on these motors. I'm at 110k currently.

[@The45679]

Hell yea!!! Been waiting for this one for a long time! Thanks man really appreciate it 🙏 🙌 💯 👌

[@user-rb4xw5hu3k]

Thank you for sharing. I wish this was what I was studying for while in college.

[@samwallis7544]

LOVE this engine, so reliable and powerful.

[@mikewest5529]

Call my truck The bumble bee jet pack!! She’s a ripper!!

[@johnfranklin5277]

Reliable? Its dead 10 years after being built. The LT1 350 in my Trans Am I bought new, has 337.000 miles, and 27 years on it. Engine never been touched, even the timing chain is original. Still runs like new.

[@CallMeRyle408]

This is so satisfying to watch

[@brianhoefer7148]

Thank you. I have a 14 F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. Good to see the details because I work on my own stuff.

[@billgates1682]

Just disregard what he said about the water pump; they're not internal.

[@jerryward93]

Very interesting - could never build an engine but tearing it down was something different than the cars I worked on many, many years ago.

[@philjerome9795]

We will be seeing a lot of later model engine failures with the increasing popularity of turbos. The average car owner doesn't understand the importance of frequent oil changes. My brother in law blew up the 3.5 turbo V 6 on his Explorer sport with 61K on it. He swears he followed the manufacturers oil change intervals. I was able to determine he had five oil changes during the life of the engine.

[@JadXtreme]

The GM High Feature 3.6 DI V6 would be a good one I think. They are super common from Cadillac to Lambda SUVs to Camaro and in lots others

[@Touskov]

Yes. As a gen6 V6 camaro owner, Id absolutely love to see a teardown on one of those and hear what I should lookout for.

[@JadXtreme]

@@Touskov PCV issues and timing chains. Regular oil changes are a must, 5-6k miles. I've owned many cars with these engines and have been good but I change the oil at 4-5k miles religiously

[@nagolsabud3278]

@@JadXtreme what are the pcv issues? Design or just caused by poor maintenance? Always loved the old 3.8 v6 from gm as well as the 4.3 v6.

[@JadXtreme]

@@nagolsabud3278 I think it has something to do with the PCV valve potentially getting clogged and letting oil into the intake causing excess carbon build up. The old 3.8 Buick and Chevy 4.3 have nothing in common with the high feature 3.6. The 3.8 and 4.3 were almost bulletproof. But regular maintenance and oil changes seems to be the key to a happy long life 3.6

[@nagolsabud3278]

@@JadXtreme gotcha thank you for the information and enjoy the rest of your week.

[@patferebee647]

Just found your channel, I enjoy seeing them torn apart so I can see how it's built, great videos! No idea they had an internal water pump, or Siamese cylinder.... Really interesting

[@jonbruce536]

Great job, Eric. I love these videos and your knowlege.

[@matthewduffy3598]

The 3.5/3.7 seems like a very simple motor, even with the ecoboost stuff. That 3.5 you tore apart looks like it could be back on the road with a good clean out and fresh rings and bearings.

[@alexmawdsley]

3.7 isn't Ecoboost. 2.7 and 3.5

[@matthewduffy3598]

@@alexmawdsley The 3.7 is simply a 3.5 with a slightly larger bore.

[@FishFind3000]

I’ve done some research and apparently the pickup 3.5l eco has an external water pump but the transverse 3.5l eco has an internal

[@tomcam77]

F-150 3.5L I thought was internal??!

[@benjaminwayneb]

@@tomcam77 Truck engines don't have an internal water pump, never did.

[@somersetbassett4580]

I continue to enjoy the content. Thanks!

[@yahoofx]

Late to the party on this video but I searched it because I had a 2012 3.5L and wanted to see if you did a teardown. The main things that this engine suffered was from timing, water pump (as you talked about), and issues related to being a GDI. I installed a catch can kit on this engine which helped tremendously. This truck went over 200k with routine maintenance and still held value at sale. Was a good truck.