Rod Knocking Ford Edge | 3.5 and 3.7 Common Failure Lead to This. Duratec Owners Beware......

[@lukeWiz44]

That coolant reservoir tells the whole story. Neglected cooling system. For anyone who has these engines that were produced before 2019- get the orange coolant out, replace it with the new ford yellow coolant. Distilled water and a good flush of the heater core and radiator- in my case, i did 5 drain and fills within 3 months. I figure most of it is out. I essentially change my coolant whenever i change my oil. 5-7500 miles. Take care of these and they can run for a good while.

[@JrZCarZ]

The coolant was clean as I maintain my vehicles so I'm not sure what you are getting at looking at the OUTSIDE of a coolant tank making an assumption. Additionally, there was green coolant in this 2007 as I replaced the water pump about 1000 miles before the rod bearing failure. If you are changing your coolant every 5-7k miles, that's complete overkill, but whatever floats your boat 👍

[@lukeWiz44]

@@JrZCarZ I think you and I might have different opinions when it comes to a vehicle being “maintained”.

[@santaclause2875]

Thanks JrZ CarZ, for this video. Hope things are going better for you by this time. Recently purchased a one-owner 2012 Mustang, 3.7 V6, 110K, perfect car, stem to stern. Love it, came from San Diego and is fricken like new. Bought it from a dealer, carfax checked out great, all maintenance done on time as prescribed. Still runs perfect, but after my first oil and filter change, my heart was broken. I refilled with the prescribed 5W20 synthetic oil and a Ford filter, and now it rattles like a bitch and sounds like it's ready to blow up. I noticed the oil that was in it from the dealer was really thick when I drained it out. Big RED FLAG!!!! Anyway, I put the 5W20 in it and it immediately started rattling. Pissed off to no end, I drained out the 5W20 and replaced it with 20W50 Mobil 1, and WAA LAA !!!! Sound is totally gone! What the heck is going on here??? I think I got effed by the dealer, to be honest. Not a rod knock, but more of a rattling chain sound. Do you think it could be cam phasers, or a stretched chain???? This engine has the external water pump, so that's not an issue here with coolant getting into the crankcase. Always wanted to own a Mustang before I croak (I'm 74) and it just burns me up that a car dealer would cover up an engine problem by putting extra heavy weight oil in to 'get it sold'. Thanks for your time!!!

[@JrZCarZ]

If you have to put that tick of an oil in it, the bearings could be shot. The cam phasers would make a noise at startup, but not a continued noise. Maybe the tensioner failed being that it's oil pressure driven. There's a lot of possibilities but the most common is the bearings being that the waterpump is chain driven, and when they fail coolant mixes with the oil and will wipe the bearings in no time.

[@enajenaj6841]

I have 2008 Ford Edge 220k miles original water pump. I would advise to keep up with coolant & oil changes. To replace the water pump it would probably cost more than the car is worth. I am going to just drive it till the pump fails & scrap it.

[@waltermiller249]

Literally exactly what happened to me almost word for word. Crazy

[@JrZCarZ]

It absolutely sucked cause I loved that truck..... I would absolutely love another one but this failure keeps me from buying another.

[@waltermiller249]

@JrZCarZ as soon as it's fixed, I'm selling it. Never again. Nissan Pathfinder I had before this literally did the same thing too

[@Hendogg28]

A lot of people don’t know that when oil and coolant mix together it creates an acid mix and letting them set for very long even a couple months eats the soft material form the rod bearings. And most won’t last very long. I’ve fixed a lot of these engines, but took the time to go ahead and do new rod bearings at the same time because they have a lot less material than the main bearings and take a lot more abuse .. Fixing to do a 2011 ford Taurus limited edition with the 3.5l I recommended doing it at the time of doing the water pump & chains & head gaskets.. They said no. Less than 800 miles later it’s starting to rattle a little bit at ideal. So I’ll be pulling everything out a 2nd time to do rod bearings before they spin and eat the crankshaft.. Yours is to far gone to just do bearings sadly.. It would need a crankshaft and bearings and what ever rod spun the bearing.. As soon as one spins it egg shapes the connecting rod it’s self. And will have to be replaced.. I’m confident that just a set of rods will fix the 11 Taurus, I bet when I pull them I’ll find that they are all into the copper on the top side of the bearings.. The top part of a rod bearing gets the most abuse. When the gas explodes it pushes the piston down creating more pressure on the top side of the bearing which In turns more wear to the top part of the bear. Just about any engine you pull apart that has around a 100k or more is starting to show some copper on the top side of the rod bearings. If a person was to replace them every 100k a engine would last a lifetime with hood oil and filter changes. You can pull one apart that has 300k and the mains will still look new and all of the rods will look like solid copper on the top side of the bearings.

[@jimr5703]

Coolant and oil do NOT make acid. The moisture simply promotes rust.

[@the-real-qbanz]

What do you mean an acid mix ? They hardly even mix , and they separate when they settle.. 😂 you made a novel telling a lie 🤥

[@ericcardenas3595]

Thats unfortunate, same happend to my 2008 Lincoln mkz. All the time and effort just lost, trying to fix the issues,

[@atreasureiam]

I'm dealing with the exact same thing i have poured over $10,000 in this edge.

[@JrZCarZ]

Geez!

[@DougieFresh1970]

I’m in the same boat. Replaced the water pump, & timing chain components. After about 1000 miles under load I can slightly hear rods. It’s quiet at an idle. But I don’t want to give up just yet, I’m considering just dropping the pan and replacing the rod and main bearings with the engine still in the car. My vehicle is the Ford Flex with same engine 3.5L. It ooks like I just need to drop the exhaust from the front catilitic converters. Then I’ll have access from below dropping the oil pan

[@JrZCarZ]

I was considering doing the same but check out the newest video I have on the rod knock here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJyzpWuKg7mVn6M I found so much abrasive junk in the oil filter/pan and scored cam caps it made me second guess spending the time dropping the exhaust and pan just going in and replacing the rod bearings. You may want to do this first to see how much debris you find.

[@Hendogg28]

@JrZCarZ. The problem is yours has done spun a rod bearing. So just doing rods won’t fix the problem. Now if it had just been rattling a little bit once warmed up, just a set of rod bearings would have worked and fixed the problem for probably another 100k or more. Once a bearing fails to that point it spins on the crankshaft it sends metal shavings though the hole engine and eats everything up..

[@EduardoSlayee]

Same issue here ford flex but instead I here like a metal rattle? Like a paint can rattle

[@jackt6112]

Ford changed the chain drive system in 2011 which relieved a lot of stress on the water pump. People bitch at Honda for using a belt in the J series engines because it is a time change item that is scheduled to be replaced every 100,000 miles along with the water pump, tensioner, idlers, and set the valve lash, and how other engines use a timing chain and they don't have to do that. A lot of people never change it, and then at 219,000 miles the engine blows up and Honda gets the blame. Then, they get an engine with a timing chain that doesn't need to be replaced but then the water pump goes bad and eats the engine. They want the power of a V6, AND they want it mounted kitty-wampus under the hood for front wheel drive because it's cheaper. Then there is no room to add length. They want OHC for gas mileage because it keeps the dynamic compression higher on smaller engines while yielding the same power as a larger engine. The areas around the engine are used by AC, alternator, most of the valley gets sucked up with fuel injector components. The water pump needs to circulate both banks. Here are your options: 1. If you have a Honda J-Series or similar, change the timing belt every 100,000 miles and plan on spending $1250 at the Honda dealer and drive it for 300-500K miles. 2. If you have a Duratec sidewinder, change the timing chain every 150,000 miles and plan on spending $1500 at the Ford dealer and drive it for 300-500K miles.. 3. Buy the Ford 2.7 6 cylinder and buy two new turbochargers. They are "fun" to work on. 4. Buy a car with a turbocharged 4 cylinder and plan on spending $5700 to replace the engine every 150,000 miles. 5. Add towing to your insurance policy and run them until they blow up and just buy a new car.

[@JrZCarZ]

You must have watched my other videos cause with exception of the 2.7, I have them all 😄. My Odyssey is due for a timing belt change cause I can't confirm that it was ever done and it has 158k on it now.

[@jackt6112]

@@JrZCarZ learned about the redesign on chain on an Edmunds review. I don't know if you mentioned that in one of your reviews. We have 3 2006 Saturn Vue's in the family and one is a red Redline that looks like new inside and out. They use the MDX powertrain of that era, so more HP that the Honda's during those years, and the MDX transmission is enough different for some reason that gaskets and quite a few parts don't interchange, but the gear ratios are the same, with the exception of the MDX final drive, which results in lower RPM on the highway (70=1800), but it's still basically the same. I change oil and tranny fluid between belt changes and that's about it. I need another vehicle for the family now, and we are tired of trying to find a nice 2006-2007 Vues, so I've been looking at Ford Edge's, but open to other brands too. The 2011+ Duratecs look equivalent to the J-35s to me. The Duratecs are only available up to 2018 in the Edge. Since they hold up to the F-150 abusers, I can cross off concerns about reliability from the list. Some people justify lower engine life by tying it to their arbitrary definition of how long and how far you should be allowed to drive before you must buy new, determined by their superior intellect of them knowing what is best for me and sling around the word "science" when they don't even understand the technologies or numbers. Fewer repairs and longer life beats a couple miles per gallon in my book. The 2020 I4 Ecoboost and newer might be better from the head gasket perspective, but it has no longevity track record yet, and there is still the cracked exhaust manifold with integrated twin-scroll super charger possible surprise that can hand you a several thousand dollar repair bill. The 2.7 with it's twin turbos are doing pretty well with the F-150 abusers, but here again their expectation of acceptable supercharger life does not coincide with mine. Using their logic, at some point you will tow a $7000 vehicle to the junk yard because it needs $7500 worth of repairs, whereas for the Duratec, it's just another day closer to the next oil change. However, it only ends there. Along way there were waste gate sensors, solenoids, and thinking about oil screens, all in very difficult areas to access without a hoist. Unlike the J-3x engines, the Duratecs hasn't quite worked in Direct Injection yet with the requirement of a high pressure pump and walnut shell blasting the intakes, which is not completely fixed with the addition of port injection if you don't run the engines a high power settings regularly. "Oh nuts!" (tic)

[@alb12345672]

@@jackt6112 Ford used to fit V8 DOHC engines in FWD cars in the 90s. External WPs, that can be changed easily.

[@Hendogg28]

These engines fail because not every one does the proper maintenance to them. Change the coolant every 50k miles and oil every 4k miles per the book. Run full synthetic oil in them. They buy these oils and filter that say it’s ok to run it 10k miles. The antifreeze. Is what lubricate the bearings inside of the water pump. When it gets dirty it does the opposite and wipes out the bearings and then you have this problem. There’s 3.5 & 3.7’s out there with 300k on them with the original engine in them because they fallowed the proper maintenance..

[@henryhernandez1520]

I can 2nd what you say. My Flex has 241k with original water pump and original transmission. I change the tranny oil every 30k and run about 4,500 to 5 on full synthetic. It runs like a charm. People are just floored and can't believe the miles it has on it with original tranny and water pump. It's a 2010 Ford Flex Limited FWD. Motor mounts and transmission mounts have been replaced by me. I also do my spark plugs at least once every a year and a half. It's over kill but it has paid off well. Taking the manifold off on the naturally aspirated engine is easy.

[@ronnieka3309]

I can tell from my own experience that proper maintenance didn’t make a difference . It blew the waterpump at 140 k non the less. And after replacing all pump side parts it blew the main bearings as a farewell gift.

[@El_ReyJ]

Water pumps can still fail though. Water pump seals can only last so long.

[@Tauro_Rising]

I have a 2010 Ford taurus, 199k miles. The water pump went out, had it replaced then the rod bearings went out 2 days afterwards, had that fixed too. So far the car is working fine. At this point just gotta mother it till its last day. All the part that went out are the original that came out of the factory.

[@the-real-qbanz]

Anything else break yet ? Lol the 90s Taurus lasts longer than the newer ones

[@Tauro_Rising]

​@the-real-qbanz If I'm correct crankshaft is making noises at the start-up up and it still drives somewhat, I don't drive that much at all 2 miles/ 5 days a week then I shut it off for 3 days straight. Probably the phasers, and timing chain issues( by issue I mean a new tensioner and a new chain(s) will be fixed because new cars are $$$$ will need to be patient. However I might just replace the engine and trans altogether. And hey the car hit 200k this morning! All stock powertrain parts! Even the trans too.

[@Tauro_Rising]

If seriously maintained from the get-go the car will last. Better money spent for longevity than a short-term trip. We're in it for the long haul am I right ✅️

[@mechanicbrian]

The only time coolant gets into the oil is when the bearing goes bad on the pump. So many people ignore the warning signs. Spots of coolant in driveway. Having to add coolant every so often. Wait too long, pay the price. 9:09

[@JrZCarZ]

@@mechanicbrian And this one showed no signs, no leaks, no noses, never had to add any coolant, no signs of coolant mixing in the oil ( I routinely check my vehicles) nothing. The bearing failed on this one, but in addition the seals didn't look good when I took it apart either. The bearing is not the only potential failure point.

[@engrishsheep]

I solved my problem with replace my Lincoln to a Honda...

[@JrZCarZ]

Every car manufacturer out there has it's fair share of problems.

[@ignacioromero5014]

Thanks this is affirmation of my nephews Explorers engine failure same engine duratec.

[@JrZCarZ]

Unfortunately it's a common problem for these engines. As much as I love the sound, the power and the looks of the Edge with this Duratec this killed me when the motor died.

[@genehunsinger3981]

the 3.5L nemesis,,,,ye old water pump.A lot of guys over do the RTV on the timing cover.Where as the squeeze out of RTV is so excessive that it goes inside the cover and over time falls off and gets sucked up into the oil pump pick-up

[@JrZCarZ]

Exactly. I've seen the same.

[@jsflagstad]

Bought an 07 MKX that needed a water pump, did the pump along with all the chains and tensioners, and drilled and tapped the PTU for drain and fill maintenance, at 3000 trouble-free miles beyond the water pump replacement I have a rod knocking. Certainly NOT a better idea by ford.

[@JrZCarZ]

Exactly. As soon as you get water in the oil you can kiss those bearings done for. I was at just a touch over 1k trouble free miles then the bearings let go after a 5k rpm pull out onto a highway. Terrible design by any manufacturer that has their water pumps behind the timing cover to where a failure would mix coolant and oil.

[@outterlimits1]

Note: This is not a problem on front facing 3.5 and 3.7 engines because the waterpump is on the outside and ran by the serpentine belt installed in F-150, Transit and Mustangs

[@JrZCarZ]

Yep, you just have failed cam phasers to deal with.

[@jeffjn69]

I have a similar sound and pulled the engine and checked rods and all were good, Think the noise is VVT gear failure. I could hear it at start up rattle.

[@JrZCarZ]

It's possible it can be that or a bad timing chain tensioner/guide causing it to slap

[@skylerydntk]

so i have a ford fusion and we had a hanging ac compressor and i went over a bump and it made a hole in the oil pan, we dove and it was smoking, we got it towed home and replaced the oil pan. but now my bf and his dad are saying the connecting rod berring is knocking and idk it sucks. ugh

[@JrZCarZ]

Yep you ran it with no oil so mossy likely you wiped the rod bearings

[@santaclause2875]

By the way, the selling dealer is a national chain car retailer with the initials "C" and "M".

[@JrZCarZ]

Ahhh the revolving door of cars dealer chain

[@Charlotte-bz8ho]

Took out the engine rebuilt it and all timing still seems off now it’s saying “low oil pressure “ bout to take it out one more time smh

[@JrZCarZ]

That sucks, hopefully you can get it going again

[@El_ReyJ]

I just purchased a 2015 explorer with the 3.7 v6 67,000 miles, now I’m scared to drive this damn thing smh.

[@JrZCarZ]

You don't need to be scared, just make sure you watch the oil and the water pump. At 67k miles you shouldn't have to worry. The crappy part is to do the water pump, it's a huge undertaking.

[@lukeWiz44]

get that crappy orange coolant out and get the new ford yellow in there. do a few flushes if you have the money.

[@jasonboller2913]

The lesson should be to regularly check fluid levels

[@JrZCarZ]

And I check fluids weekly in all my cars.

[@getthatphd]

How long did you let the car sit for? Before repairing it?

[@JrZCarZ]

Couple months

[@mindiburhans4742]

Mine just a day and now has a knock after replacing the water pump and the oil pump. Ugh!!!

[@K00H]

Did the coolant reservoir was low on coolant when the water pump starting to fail? I'm thinking to install something like coolant level sensor on the reservoir

[@stephaniegiannotti1430]

You may be better off sending a oil sample to Blackstone lab. The'll tell you if there is anything contaminating your oil before it does damage.

[@stephaniegiannotti1430]

I still can't wrap my head around this. You successfully changed the water pump, and it ran well and then months later it throws a rod... I know prior to 2011 they had a single chain that had a tendency to stretch. Did you change the timing chain and guides when you had it open? Is it possible that the chain jumped a tooth? Thats a hard car to give up, especially that model. IMO, I would consider a new or rebuilt engine or something pulled from a wreak. I mean, what can you get for a few grand?

[@JrZCarZ]

The only thing that would make sense is the bearing were worn from the coolant mixing and it was just a matter of time. It's very common for these engines to start rod knocking so it was always a concern of mine, especially being that I am not easy on my cars 😁. I do have a video in process of seeing how hurt the engine is so keep an eye out for that to drop. I REALLY do love this Edge and that panoramic sunroof is my #1 favorite feature. If the engine is too hurt, I will be replacing it. I'm working on collaborating with Copart to do walkarounds at a local yard and purchasing cars so it's possible I can pick up a wreck to pull the engine and put in this. There's a LOT coming to the channel in the very near future👍

[@tryduck5571]

Oil coolant and bearings do not play well and add in overheating it , matter of time before knock knock.Catch it early by checking ur oil every other fill up and doesn't end up like his did.Reving a engine known to get milkshake and over heated is never a good idea not even past 3k . That was always going to happen trying to drive it same even after all that internal damage from overheating and running bearings on coolant oil milkshake.If you know you just know.

[@jasonboller2913]

Water pump failure didn't put water in your oil pan. The cracked head or blown head gasket did that. Ironically still probably caused by failed waterpump

[@JrZCarZ]

Wrong. Watch the video. The water pump failed, dumping the coolant out and down inside the timing cover which is a straight shot right down into the oil pan.

[@Jynxxxxxxx]

I paid way too much for my truck and has this similar sound going on 50k miles I push it to the limit doing a 0 to 60 every 5 months little curious on the owner before me it's a 2016 xl v6 got it on 13300k miles pretty young don't got anyone what can I trying getting them to fix it for free

[@tonyalston4838]

The ford 3.5 trucks don't have an internal water pump

[@mindiburhans4742]

Crap this just happened to my Ford Flex.

[@JrZCarZ]

Ugh! It really sucks cause I loved this suv.

[@cookingwithcuyandotherfuns6238]

Just had this happen to our 2011 Explorer. What a pathetic engineering design! Let's put the water pump inside the engine! Idiots!! Ford's better idea. Never again. Toyotas, Hondas, or Nissans for us from here on out. Screw Ford!!

[@michelledrazsky9494]

Front and back axlw broke costing me 1500 tomorrow. Crappy

[@JrZCarZ]

How many miles on it? Axles are maintenance items so eventually they will need to be replaced on any car on the road. That being said, it sounds like you are getting boned...... Axles are $75 each so even if you replaced all 4(assuming it's AWD) you're looking at $300 in parts. $1200 in labor is ridiculous.

[@michelledrazsky9494]

@JrZCarZ the car had 50k miles and i ended up replacing both Axles 1400 later

[@michelledrazsky9494]

@JrZCarZ yea u nailed it! Axles thank u. I seen this much later om

[@Mikyluis]

I think this just happens to me

[@JrZCarZ]

Sorry to hear. It really does suck cause I loved that Edge and would have never gotten rid of it.

[@TazMango-ec4lb]

simply insane how can a defective waterpump leaks into the engine oil on this ford "clown cars" it's ridiculous u can't trust this car brands for jack..

[@JrZCarZ]

Can't trust any car brand out there now

[@PureJuiceLab]

Vvt unplugged

[@JrZCarZ]

Nope, hosed rod bearing was the problem

[@PureJuiceLab]

Knock sensor unplugged

[@JrZCarZ]

Bad rod bearing, the knock sensor had nothing to do with it