"Ford says the 2.7 EcoBoost is the first gasoline-fueled serial production engine with a CGI block. We can’t swear by that, but until now we’ve encountered CGI only in diesel or race engines. Compared to conventional cast iron, CGI provides substantially better tensile strength, 45 percent greater stiffness and twice the fatigue strength. It has more dimensional stability and better NVH damping qualities than aluminum, and while it’s heavier than aluminum, it’s much denser. CGI allows thinner castings and more compact dimensions, and it requires no bore liners. The 2.7’s main bearing caps are cast with the CGI block, then scored with a laser at specific angles and snapped off.

Then there’s the unusual design of the 2.7’s two-piece block. The CGI casting basically follows the angle of the cylinders down to the crank journals and caps. The skirt and lower crankcase is aluminum--trimming weight where strength is less an issue--and bolts to flanges on the CGI upper. Ford calls the aluminum section a ladder frame, because it connects the main-bearing caps in one continuous structure. Two bolts in the four-bolt mains attach the caps to the CGI portion. The other two go through the aluminum ladder and caps to the CGI block.

The 2.7 EcoBoost is turbocharged, of course, with twin turbos attached to exhaust manifolds cast into its aluminum cylinder heads. Its architecture is different from Ford’s current line of 3.5-3.7 V6s, with square bore-stroke dimensions of 83 mm. The engine block--or at least its upper portion around the cylinder bores--is cast from compacted graphite iron (CGI).
The 2.7’s CGI casting comes from a specialty foundry in Brazil. It’s assembled in Lima, Ohio. Other notable features include a plastic intake manifold and oil pan (for weight savings), a structural aluminum front cover (for NVH), a variable displacement oil pump (yielding reduced friction and better fuel economy), and a cartridge-only oil filter, right on top of the engine and accessible from above. The 2.7 weighs about 440 pounds dry, according to Waszczenko--10 pounds less than the F-150’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost, with more compact dimensions."

The above specifications are on the 2.7L and are pulled from an article in Autoweek. Everything looks good and impressive until the plastic intake manifold and oil pan. Really? Tough?....not so much! I think I would go with the 3.5 or the V8.

 

Pretty much everything has a plastic intake these days. The way new plastics are being engineered, i wouldn't hesitate to run a plastic oil pan.

 

Plastic intakes can be cast much smoother than aluminum internally and give more horsepower, and everybody likes more horsepower. I might be concerned about the oil pan if you were doing heavy off-roading, but I assume that does not hang low under the truck. And skid plates for anything serious, or maybe Ford already does a plate of some sort. It sure is an interesting engine, and amazing when an old guy like me considers that the engine is smaller in displacement than the old 177 cubic inch Chrysler slant six...

George

 

Ford already tried plastic oil pans with the SuperDuty. Not sure why, but they've since switched back to sheet metal. It will be interesting to see how how things pan out for the F150.

 

plastic is a worthless material. It fails under normal conditions.

 

The fuel pump in my Expedition has failed twice under normal conditions. I can't imagine how much weight per vehicle could possibly be saved by moving to plastic, it seems a bit miniscule to me.

I'd prefer the heavier duty equipment. I have a customer who had to replace a cracked plastic intake on a 2004 Crown Vic with 178K on the clock. He said the part was expensive but didn't offer details.

 

[citation needed]

I think you meant "poorly engineered plastics fail under normal conditions."

 

The earlier 4.6 engines in cars had a problem with a weak area in the intake manifold, and I believe Ford re-engineered the manifold to use aluminum in the radiator hose outlet.

I don't always like the idea of plastic, but they are now making airliner wings out of (carbon fiber reinforced) PLASTIC, and race bicycles and Formula 1 cars are largely carbon fiber reinforced plastic as well.

If you engineer and make it correctly, a plastic part can be pretty darn good...

George

 

Yep, the manifolds are a common complaint on the Crown Vic boards. There was a revised part with an aluminum coolant crossover that resolved the issue though. It's a few hundred dollars to have a shop replace the manifold.

Now on the other hand we have a long history of Super Duties with steel oil pans. And lots of people have had to replace steel pans that have rusted through, which requires the engine to be removed and reinstalled. The cost to repair this is most certainly NOT just a few hundred dollars. I think there are lots of folks who have paid for this who wished Ford used composite oil pans in the past.

 

^^^This right here is the unfortunate gospel. My BIL in Maine has a 2000 F-350 and the oil pan and engine block are rusting.

 

And Ford stopped using the composite oil pans in the Super Duty for a reason. I think they will follow suit once the new F150s start to get some mileage on them. Only time will tell though!

 

Can you find me a tale of a failed one? I always thought it was cost that made that happen.

 

I get that from the engineering perspective this material (high temp. resin of some sort I would imagine) is fine but I just don't trust the durability - especially with an oil pan. Lots of potential for the pan to get hit with debris especially over the course of 200,000 miles or more.

All the aluminum used in this truck and they couldn't use an aluminum oil pan???

 

I was disappointed to just learn the intake manifold on my '02 is plastic! I've read they are a problem with leaks. Oh me, just when I replaced plugs and hoping to keep me truck another 50-75,000 miles. It's at 104,000 now and my confidence in plastic intakes is not good.