Ford Tech Sheds Light on Gen 1 Coyote ‘Soft Valve’ Issues
The Coyote is a great engine, but nobody’s perfect. Here’s the straight skinny on a common issue for early Coyotes.
While we may love the Ford Coyote V8, each generation of this engine has had some sort of issue. These issues typically pop up at higher mileage and are usually repairable. Today, we’re focusing on the 2011 to early 2014 Gen 1 Coyote with some help from one of our favorite YouTubers.
In a world of style-over-substance content, YouTuber FordTechMakuloco is the antidote for clickbait. He’s always got the best advice for late-model Ford owners like us.
In this video, he’s tearing down a Coyote from a 2013 Ford F-150 that had a slight misfire at idle. On the surface, this may seem like a fairly benign issue. You might think you can fix it with fresh plugs or ignition coils. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
On these early Coyotes, the intake valves are too soft, and will actually sink down into the head, with the valve seats flaring the valves out like the petals of a tulip. The resulting loss of compression will cause a slight misfire.
A Fresh Start
Ford did fix the issue on subsequent models, and there is an updated valve available for these early engines. However, to install them, you’ll need to tear the whole top end apart. Even if you pull the engine and do all of the work yourself, you’ll still have to send both heads off to the machine shop.
This is why FordTechMakuloco suggests buying a Ford remanufactured engine and swapping it in instead. These engines have all of the latest revisions for new parts, and you’re effectively getting a brand new engine with zero miles on it. That beats dumping money into a shortblock that’s still got over 100,000 miles on it.
Even though the engine won’t be saved, FordTechMakuloco still disassembles a head to show us in detail how the issue manifests. Looking at each combustion chamber, you can see the valves sitting slightly proud of the “bridge” between them.
On cylinder number four, though, the intake valve is recessed. That’s the cylinder that failed the leakdown test. When he removes the valve, there’s a prominent ridge formed by the valve seat. The valve seats themselves are mostly okay, but they are worn as well.
The valve itself is completely ruined. The edge formed by the valve seat is actually sharp enough to cut a shop towel. It should be smooth, consistent, and slightly beveled instead.
Armed with this knowledge, you can shop a bit smarter if you’re looking to buy a 2011-2014 Ford F-150. If you own one of these trucks, you’ll be better prepared to deal with the issue if – and when – this problem pops up.
Photos: FordTechMakulco via Facebook
Join the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums now!
