Don't post often but I do read the forum.

Having some issues with the wife's 2010 Transit Connect. The idle has become irregular, erratic. It has not thrown any codes which leads me to believe the intake tract (from the throttle body to the intake valves) has become loaded with blowby and most likely the intake valve (intake side) is fouled with carbon deposits.

I know there is a specific cleaning procedure (injecting sea foam or another proprietary cleaner such as CRC intake carbon remover) pre throttle body, in fact Sea Foam offers a specific treatment can that comes with a special curved straw you put in the intake boot and clamp in to inject cleaner.

The problem is, all GDI engines of any make cannot benefit from gasoline with added cleaning agents because the gasoline never sees the intake valves or the intake tract at all. The only thing in the intake tract is filtered air and crankcase emission blowby, which is the villan, the blowby creates hard carbon deposits, eventually impacting engine performance.

The answer is, to eliminate the crankcase vapors through the use of a 'catch can' or in my case I plan on adding a coalescing filter with a drain provision, between the PCV valve outlet and the intake manifold port, to filter off the condensation, oil mist and blowby gasses that are causing the issue (after a through cleaning with a proprietary cleaner (Sea Foam or CRC).

Therein lies the issue.

I also own a 2014 Ford Focus SE, 2.0 and the design engineers 'thoughtfully' located the PCV valve under the intake manifold, not accessable without removing the manifold, a 2 hour (Ford Flat Rate Manual) job.

I'm wondering where the PCV valve is located on the Transit 2.0 engine??? I cannot ascertain the location via the Internet, does anyone know?

I hope it's not like my 2014 Focus but it is under the intake manifold, so be it. I guess I'll be pulling that manifold as well.

All GDI engines will suffer the same fate until designers redesign the injection system with some valve overlap to allow a bit of mixture to exit the intakes (and cleaning them) or incorporate a second injector in the intake tract to allow a gasoline and cleaning mixture to enter the intake valve cavity, but until then, a 'catch can' or blowby stream filter is the only viable answer (other than regular cleaning, using premium synthetic oil and changing it much more frequently than the OEM recommended interval. Extended drain intervals only compound the carbon issue because the oil becomes laden with gunk like combustion residue and condensed water vapor, all winds up in the intake via the PCV valve and hose....

As long as the intake contains only filtered air and crankcase blowby, the carbon issue will remain.

What I need to know is, where the PCV valve is located (hopefully not under the intake) and..

I would tell everyone to change their oil frequently, especially if their driving is short trips or they live in a cold climate.

 

Sidecar;


I have a 2015 and I don't know if I have the same problem. But, thank you for bringing this here. I don't know the answer, but I'll bet Frantz does.
Good luck in resolving your problem--I hope you don't have to remove the manifold to get to the problem.

 

Flip, you do NOT have a GDI engine in your Connect. Clean the throttle body directly using throttle body cleaner. Detergent gasolines will work fine to clean injectors and intake valves. I am not a fan of Seafoam and if you pour it into your PCV system you can cause engine damage.

The only Ford engines in the US using direct injection are the EcoBoost turbocharged engines. Period. If you do not have a turbo on a US Ford, you do not have a GDI engine. Look at the Wiki entries re Ford engines. The only TC with a GDI engine is the 1.6 EcoBoost which is a rare option from what I have seen.

Please understand that I have had serious concerns about DI engines and prefer to stay away from them for the short term. So I'm keeping score as to who is using them.

George

 

Every GDI engine will have the issue until engineers resolve it. Some engines will show issue sooner than others due to driving habits and / or oil change intervals and quality of oil used.

I know with the advent of synthetic oils, change intervals have been extended, example my 2014 Focus recommended change interval is 10K. Thats way too long. Without a wet intake, the oil, while still maintaining it's film thickness qualities (and protecting internal moving parts) is loaded with impurities and condensed moisture and that all finds it's way into your intake valves and to a lesser degree, the throttle body and IAC.

Thats an issue in itself. The IAC (Idle air control) pintle gets sticky and won't allow proper modulation and that also causes a rough base idle.

All this emissions stuff is great for the enviroment but it needs to be engineered for longevity.

In the past, before GDI a carbureted engine had a wet intake and gasoline additives cleaned the intake tract. Not now.

Some engine are really bad about carbon deposits. I know of a fellow with a Mini-Cooper that got so bad it finally threw a hard code and quit running. 500 bucks later (after pulling the head and media blasting out the intakes to remove the hard carbon, it runs fine. He's got a catch can on his PCV line similiar to what I'm going to add and he fogs his intake every oil change now plus he went to a top tier synthetic oil and changes it every 5K miles.

The worst case scenario is someone (like me) who don't run their engines hard. I drive for mileage (I get 39+ out of my Focus) where my wife runs her Transit hard, shes a WOT to freeway speed person. Why, I think her Transit had no issues until around 80K miles.

I know if I have to pull the intake on the Transit to access the PCV valve, it's gonna be loaded with carbon. I suspect the IAC is loaded as well and probably the MAF will have to be cleaned or replaced.

One good thing, your injectors can be cleaned (pintles) with a in tank additive like B12 Chemtool. Wish it was that easy with the intake side.

I hope the PCV valve is accessable but I have my doubts as both engines ('14 Focus and '10 Transit) look awfully similar physically.

What is happening here will occur in any GDI engine, no matter how many cylinders, power or aspiration method.

 

Sure about that? I want to know how gasoline passes through the intakes when it's injected directly into the combustion chamber? There is no wet mixture in the intake tract at all, just filtered air and blowby gas.

Far as the differences between the eco-boost and the naturally aspirated engines, I'll have to ask my BIL. He's a design engineer at Ford Dearborn but looking at each, the only difference I see is a hairdryer. I'm not here to argue a point with you or what you believe is correct, I'm here to find something out and post what I believe is the cause....

If someone will just tell me the location of the PCV valve on the 2.0 Transit engine, I'll be a happy camper. The I can plumb in my coalescing filter and seperate out the blowby vapor and condensed water from the gasses themselves, that pose no carbon issue..

I will, when I pull the intake on my 2.0 Focus, I'll take pictures so everyone can see the carbon buildup. probably won't be alot but it will be there. I'm sure.

The Transit will be another story. if I pull it, I bet it's loaded.

You see I happen to be a diesel engine techinician at a local dealership so I get to see what dry EGR does to intake runners. Picture a dark gritty cave with what appears to be 'stalagtites' inside. Thats what blowby hard carbon does to an intake.

I realize a diesel is dirtier but hot oil vapor still carbonizes on intakes.

Ford actually has a recommended cleaning regimen. I have a copy of it in the shop.

 

Not on this subject, but I do own a '97 F350 Ford 4x4 Crew cab diesel 7.3 IDI, fully tricked, goes like a raped ape, trans by SVO Dearborn and I pulled the EGR off it years ago. In fact, it has no emissions crap on it at all. No rust either, Don't go out in the winter on Michigan roads.

I'm not a 'green person'.

 

That truck never had egr...

 

You are right, I should have said crankcase emissions breather...aka: road draft tube.

Sometimes I get my acronyms mixed up.

No issue with MAF or IAC or PCV however.

 

I am in the Detroit area and know engineers at all of the Big 3.

And, I learned something today:

Ford did move to GDI in the normally aspirated 2.0 Focus Duratec four in 2012. That was their first (and very quiet) introduction of GDI other than the EcoBoost:

2012 Ford Focus Gets Ford?s First Non-turbo Direct Injection Engine

So your Focus does have GDI, but not your Transit Connect. The GDI 2 liter is rated at 160 horsepower compared to 140 for the port injected engine. The current TC has the 2.5 Duratec four and that is still port injected.

As for the vapor separator, that would be a good idea for any car; that was one of the fixes for the 2.7 Chrysler "sludge monster" engine.

Sorry for my error. I have kept better track of GDI/not GDI in vehicles that I have been interested in and the Focus has not been on that list. Another issue with GDI is fuel dilution of the oil.

One mfr that has dealt with intake valve cleanliness is Toyota, which uses a port injector in addition to the direct injection to spray fuel on the backs of the intake valves during some engine operation. An engineer friend of my son's worked at Toyota engine development in Ann Arbor and worked on their GDI program. One of his jobs was to start a GDI VW car every day, drive it across the Toyota lot, and park it. In a month or two, the oil was 20% gasoline... His strong recommendation was to avoid GDI for a number of years.

George

 

Don't fret about it. Everyone makes mistakes, even me...lol

I can't wait to replace the timing belt, looks like a dreadful job but I have the Ford Premium extended warranty on the little bugger.

I almost got the dual clutch (twin 3 speed boxes couple with a parent mainshaft and an electronically actuated clutch) but my BIL worked on the transmission and flat told me to get a standard instead do I did. I have a 5 speed. The ST (turbo) comes with an extra cog, but I'm 66 so I don't need a hot rod. Far as I'm concerned, 39 and change ain't bad. I believe a K&N will get me to 40+. I'm a K&N dealer in my other life so they aren't that expensive compared to retail.

It's a nice 'little' car (probably fit in the bed of my 350)....

I still want to know the physical location of the PCV valve on the 2,0, 2010 Transit, GDI ot MPI don't matter. It's getting a catch can either way. I bought 2. It's getting douched too, the MAF is getting replaced and the IAC pintle is getting a bath.

Some non code event has degraded the base idle. Might as well cover all the bases,

Anyone know where the PCV valve is located?

 

George...Don't fret, I'm not 'pouring' anything in the intake or the PCV. I'm 'atomizing' the cleaner in via an spray can and a curved straw specially designed and patented just for a GDI engine, or any engine with a flexible intake boot.

Now, I may take the old PCV valve and clean it with Chemtool but then I'll probably just replace it

..Soon as I find out where it is on the Transit....lol

 

I found it (PCV) valve on the 2010 2.0 Transit motor. It's where a PCV valve is normally put, atop the valve cover, feeding into the intake boot post MAF sensor but pre throttle plate. That will be an easy 'catch can' install and I'll still dose the intake and replace the MAF as well. I'm sure the intake is gunked up and that should cure the base idle issue after a forced relearn by pulling the positive battery cable for 30 minutes to reset the ECM and clear any soft codes.

Can't wait to see how much the catch can pulls off in entrained condensation and blowby. It has a working capacity of 4 liquid ounces with a clear bowl so I can watch the volume.

Thanks for all the help and comments. I'm back to lurking and not posting.

 

I'm glad you found the PCV...and thank you for opening my eyes to Ford using GDI on a normally aspirated engine. I used to memorize car specs (going back to 1962 when I was 10) but am having a hard time these days

One question is whether you have cleaned the throttle body at the butterfly. I would definitely start there. From what I've seen of GDI engines, they can run OK with a TON of thick deposits on the intake valve and valve stem.

Second, you mention K&N. If you have one of these on the TC, could it have fouled the MAF sensor? Basically, any K&N filter will allow tiny oiled dirt particles to coat the intake. With modern closed-loop EFI, an air filter that restricts a bit would not make a difference since you are restricting with the throttle body in the first place. In the old carb days, a clogged air filter would cause increased suction and enrich the mixture. A K&N is good for desert racing where you need a lot of capacity for loose dirt, but they do not filter as well as stock paper filters.

In terms of blowby, how much oil is the engine using between changes? If it is sucking down oil, I agree that the catch can will help a bunch.

Have a good week,
George

 

I should say Location: Detroit as well, in as much as I'm just south of there. SE Michigan sounds better. Most people equate Detroit with bad things today. We do Greektown and Dumochell's Auction regularly, my wife knows Bob personally.

I worked at Schaeffer and 96 for years and never got mugged. It's not that bad like the media says it is...

I run K&N's on everything from my lawnmowers to my drag bike to my air compressor, I sell 'em and I suspect I did foul the MAF sensor when I cleaned and reoiled the filter. I got a bit overzealous with the filter oil. I figure my only choice is attempt to clean the elements with alcohol and a swab or replace. they aren't expensive. I do know that when I did a base line test with the K&N versus the OEM pleated paper filter, I picked up 2.5 mpg and it 'felt' as though the motor accelerated better, but then it's a wind up toy in a box (the Transit). I can get over 30 on the road if I drive, with 3 occupants and a load of rifles, coolers and hunting clothes, the Transit is out 'Out West' hunt vehicle, every fall it heads out west and hauls home the meat too.

The base idle issue didn't appear until after I cleaned and reoiled the K&N so it's quite likely I fouled the MAF elements. I also suspect the intake tract is loaded with blowby from my wife;s driving habits. I'm going to install a 5 micron coalescing filter (not a catch can) in liner with the PCV from the valve to the filter to the inlet in the intake boot. That will not only remove any misted oil and heavy vapor but will pull off any condensation before the engine reaches operating temperature.

A 'catch can' will only separate liquid. The filter I will employ pulls off everything to 5 microns, water, vapor and oil mist. It's manual drain with a clear polycarbonate bowl.

The Transit uses very little oil, maybe a pint between changes and it gets changed with filter (K&N of course) every 5 K miles, Oil is cheap, I get it in 55 gallon drums, I have a few farm tractors too. Everything I own gets the same 5-40 Shell Rotella Synthetic and I do an oil analysis every year to baseline issues. There have been none so far.

I didn't buy the Focus new. It's an off lease 2014. I got it at Varsity in Novi. I don't care for the new corporate 'gold fish mouth' look that Ford is going to. I think it's fugly Had I know about the GDI issues beforehand, I probably would have passed on it. I didn't and I looked hard for a manual (5 speed) after my BIL told me about the 6 speed auto-manual issues.

The Focus will be a much harder install in as much as I have to pull the intake to access the PCV valve which is underneath the intake. Nice place to put it, thanks Ford.

Gonna do the Transit when the weather improves, we got about 6" of snow last night.

The Focus will come about in the near future. I have farming to think about right now.

One issue I see with hard carbon as it pertains to Tier 4 final on road diesel engines is it accelerates stem wear on the intake valve stems and it alters and causes turbulence in the air flow path and reduces engine efficiency, I suspect the same is going on in a GDI motor as well.

Yes, I'm going to 'douche' both engines. I'm not pouring in the cleaner, I'm misting it in via a spray can and straw clamped in the intake boot post MAF but pre throttle body. Both the CTC and Sea Foam instructions say to locate the end of the straw abolut 1/2" from the throttle plate, warm the engine to operating temperature and then start spraying in the cleaner while holding the motor about 1500 rpm for the duration of the entire can or about 5 minutes. Then it states you should shut the motor off and let is sit for 15 minutes and restart it and take it for an agressive drive. That 15 will be 30 on the Transit, I want to pull the positive battery cable and let the ECM do a hard reset and clear any soft codes first.

Thats where I'm at.

I believe it will be interesting to see how much the filter pulls off. I'm going to use nylon braid reinforced clear tubing from the filter to the inlet port in the boot so see what is passing the filter, sort of a visual reference.

At least it's not a Nissan with rusting floor boards and flying hood... I have a very good friend who is an engineer up i n Farmington Hills, for Nissan... forgot, they have the bogus airbags too,

 

I don't understand half of this, but I think it is really neat that this conversation is taking place. And I know when I am listening to people smarter than I am.


So tell me, what should I be doing with my 2015 Connect? I've steered away from the eco-tech because it's too new for me to trust so I should have clear sailing with the motor?? I have the 6 speed trans and have liked it--should I be looking for problems?