Hey Gang,

This is sort of a PSA regarding this cold start grinding noise issue that a growing number of Ford F-150 Ecoboost owners are beginning to experience with their 2011 and some 2012 3.5L Ecoboost trucks.

The problem can be heard right here:


This is NOT the Vacuum Pump making noise. We've already gone through this and it's been ruled out by the Ford dealer, myself and anyone else who's had the issue. The Vacuum pump sounds very different.

There is a large thread at F150Forums discussing this issue as well.

Ecoboost Cold Start Grinding Noise Timing Chain, Tensioner Failure

To make sure the dealer heard my issue I left my truck on a Friday afternoon and met the tech Monday morning in Ford's lot and started the vehicle for him with his head under the hood. He confirmed it was an internal engine problem and didn't sound good. He agreed the timing chain, tensioners could be the likely culprit. They took the truck in that Monday.... Called me on Friday and stated that Ford Engineering Hotline advised them to perform no repairs on my truck.

They actually had documentation to tell the service rep to tell me that this noise was not harmful to the engine in any way and that Ford was working on a fix to address the issue. They wouldn't give me a copy of that.

If you follow the above linked thread on F-150Forums (which is now over 400 posts long) you'll see there are many other affected truck owners. This noise seems to eventually progress to failure where the truck will then go into "limp mode" and throw an error code P0016. They replace the timing chain and tensioner at this point.

Several truck owners have had the dealerships repair their trucks by replacing the timing chain, tensioners and gears. However, this has proven to be a short term fix for some of these trucks as there seem to be many people posting that the repair did nothing and the noise came back. Some of these guys were then outside their powertrain warranty....

One gentleman who posted very early in the thread was experiencing the exact same noise. His dealership replaced the tensioner only to have the noise come back.

His dealership inspected the motor and discovered:

-Timing chain and gears worn
-Main bearings worn
-Cam caps and cam worn

You can view the summary of his posts Right Here or the originals here, here, and here where he acknowledges the sound and how Ford handled the repair. Considering it was a new motor that fixed his problem. They are not going to be so quick to implement a fix for this issue.

For the record my truck (in the first video) had 64,000km when I bought it (1 month ago). The truck did this cold start grind the very next day and does it almost everyday, so it was definitely present for the selling dealer

I do not believe Ford or anybody who says that grinding noise isn't causing internal damage to the motor. A lack of lubrication to moving metal parts most certainly causes damage. In between the noises I am hearing (and other truck owners) and total failure and limp mode with error code P0016 there is certainly damage occurring in between.

If you are having this issue with your 2011+ F-150 Ecoboost truck and have had it repaired then please post in the linked thread or here.

 

welcome to the forum!

 

Ha, thanks lol... All I gotta say to my fellow 2011 F-150 Ecoboost owners is get your Ford ESP extended warranty in place now or sell the truck before this becomes an issue for you.

 

Is this a random issue or is it related to a batch of engines?

 

That is a really good question and one that Ford won't answer at this time. It seems to be affecting a lot of 2011 Ecoboost trucks and the issue seems to be cropping up now that they've all got some miles on them. My particular truck only has 64,000km which is lower mileage than most with the issue.

Many of the first people with the issue received new timing chains, tensioners and gears only to have the noise come back. It's an expensive repair, and many of the affected trucks are just outside warranty or close to it.

Others with a diligent dealer who decided to dig into the motor found wear on the mains and cam caps etc... You can see the original posts, I've linked to them from my above post.

My dealer told me to "hold tight" till there is a fix and Ford Engineering Hotline says it's not damaging my motor... I am flattered they think I am this stupid.

 

There are a few guys over at F150 claiming this issue.


One guy says every truck in his fleet has it....


Another guy has the problem but forgets to mention he was running tuned.


Its not widespread, although there are a few UTube videos on it.


At this point it is worth noting but not worth worrying.


YMMV.


Of course, if your the one with the problem its a much bigger deal.

 

That thread is over 400 posts long with more than a few confirmed cases.

Actually 17 out of 57 trucks you can read that thread here

You forgot to mention that gentleman with the livernois tuner and this issue had his engine replaced, maybe you didn't follow it. There are actually a few different guys with tuners who've had this issue. For the record, my truck is stock.

Not wide spread yet... There are a few dozen YouTube videos now.

If your truck is making this noise it's worth worrying. The repair is expensive if you are outside warranty and at this time the repair is not fixing the issue for many truck owners, hence why Ford has denied any repair on my truck at this time.

 

I understand you have this issue and are passionate about it.


When you consider the number of trucks sold it is a small issue.


I did not read the 400 post thread but have read some of the others.


BTW, I take everything posted with a grain of salt.


Sorry you are having issues.

 

Yes, thank you. When you buy a $30k+ truck you expect it to run... well. This is my 4th F-150 in a row, my 2nd Ecoboost truck and the first truck I've ever driven off the lot and into the shop. I am not new to Ford.

What I am "new" to is being told by Ford that there is nothing they can do to fix our very obvious engine problem. When in reality there is lots they can do, like open the motor and take a damn good look at what's going on inside. They want us to blow the motor first, and hopefully we're out of warranty by that time.

 

I completely agree.


Sometimes they need a little time to come up with the "right" repair.


Nobody wants their new engine torn into... having to tear into it twice would be completely unacceptable.


I read somewhere that even a simple programming change takes months...to a year, they have to run that through the EPA.


Hopefully they will come up with an answer fairly quickly.

 

to be fair, you don't know that it is damaging your engine with any more certainty than them saying it is not. I understand that there was some that were torn down and found damage, but that type of damage could come from any myriad of problems. Myself, i'm having a hard time making the connection between a timing chain and tensioner problem and main bearing and cam bearing problems.

if you think there is a possibility that engine damage is going on, a used oil analysis history would be well worth your time to prove your case.

i don't think Ford is trying to be condescending (and neither am i, btw) but if they know about the problem and what is causing it, they should have a fair amount of authority on the likelihood of the problem causing severe damage.

i know if i believed strongly that they are wrong, i'd have a slew of UOA's to prove my case.

not much different than the history of problems with the 3v 5.4. so far i've paid $600 for a stupid spark plug change and $100 for updated VCT Solenoids. If i'm REALLY lucky, i'll get away with only replacing the phasers before it's time is up. but i wouldn't be surprised if tensioners and chains will be in order before it's all said and done (i keep them forever and am hoping to get 200,000+ miles before i move on to the next one).

just one of those things..... sucks sometimes, but out of warranty repairs is part of owning an older or higher mileage vehicle -- and unfortunately, sometimes it is expensive. if you don't ever want to pay for stuff out of warranty, you'll have to keep yourself in newer vehicles.

again, to be fair ... if it were that easy, this thread and all the others on the topic wouldn't even exist.

what good is taking a "damn good look" going to do? they already know what the problem is. i suspect that they would only find what they already know. the real problem is that they don't know how to solve the issue. obviously, throwing parts at it doesn't work. they need to redesign new parts so that the problem doesn't persist. along the same vein, the solution to the VCT phasers on the 3v's wasn't just installing new phasers. it was installing phasers of a new design and manufacture, and new solenoids to go with them. your issue will be much the same. putting new parts on might kick the can down the road, but it isn't the fix.

even if you are right, and there is severe engine damage going on ... what do you suggest them to do about it? reinstall new tensioners, chains, bearings ect? what good is that going to do? the problem still exists, and until a fix has been issued, throwing parts at it is just a waste of money.

don't get me wrong, i'm not making excuses. but the reality is that if this problem is what you say it is (and i think you are right on most of it) then until a new design comes out of the engineering department, and/or new parts come from new manufacturers ... there is not likely much they can do ... i'm afraid their "wait and see" advice is probably the most sensible approach.

if you have a better approach, forge ahead with it and take it up with them on the back side of the repair and show them you were right.... that's about your only other option.

thanks for bringing this issue to light on this forum, this is not one i had heard about. i've been waiting with bated breath to see what happens as these ecoboost's get some serious miles and use on them. the 2011's are finally getting enough age and miles where issues like this will start popping up.... so i'll be watching to see where this goes in the long run.

 

Thank you for your concern Meborder.

I would welcome responses from other 2011 Ecoboost truck owners who are experiencing this issue and have some insight.

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on what happens with my truck.

 

Is it mainly the 2011 & 2012? Or all of the 3.5l ecoboost 2011-current?

 

From my own research it's been mostly 2011 trucks with a couple 2012's and one 2013 that I know of participating in the thread.

 

I haven't read the 400 post thread and to be honest and fair, i don't have the time. So I'll ask some dumb questions and hopefully get some answers without getting flamed for my ignorance.

What are these posters reporting as far as maintenance, who is performing said maintenance and the frequency? I ask this as bearings and other oiled items have been mentioned.

We discussed tuned engines and some are not tuned.

Ford has put about 600,000 3.5L EB's on the road since 2011 and this is the first I'm hearing of it. My truck has 42,600 on it now and there are plenty of guys on here with newer trucks and higher miles without issue.

While getting my oil changed at the dealer, I've spoken with guys who have early build 2011's like mine with over 100K miles on them and no issues. The techs at my dealers truck shop tell me that they haven't done any major work on the EB's yet. Some condensation issues and some deep maintenance such as belts, plugs, etc.

I don't know guys, i'm not doubting anything that has been posted but I will say that even the 5.4L 3V debacle with spark plugs was more internet hype than a real issue. Otherwise, I feel that Ford would have offered some assistance or at least a recall, which they did neither.

I'm very near and dear to my truck and I'll continue to do so with vigilance.