Hi,

I'm new to posting here. I have found valuable information in the past on how to fix minor problems with my truck.

I have a 2012 F250 Superduty 6.7 Powerstroke that I ordered new from Ford in 2012. In the past I have had minor emissions problems with it including clogged EGR coolers and DEF heater/sender issues. I have changed the oil and filters in accordance with the maintenance light and have used only Rotella T6 and Motorcraft FL2051S filters. I've never towed anything larger than a 1500# boat until 2017 when I bought a 13000# 5th wheel. It currently has 138,000 miles.

Weekend before last I was pulling my camper to our local campground to make sure everything worked for camping season. The truck was warm from my commute home and I left it running while I hooked up my camper. About 3 miles from the house tow/haul mode downshifted the transmission down a hill and the engine tached up to about 3000 rpm. About the same time something on the engine started squealing. I thought it was a water pump or alternator since no check engine light came on. I drove the last mile or so to the campground and it started running rough as I was backing the camper in to the lot. It started clanking and shut off but could be restarted. I had it towed to the ford dealership who took a week and a half to walk outside and start it. The mechanic without even hooking it up to a code reader said that he thought the turbo had disintegrated and worked it's way in to the motor. The dealership quoted me $17,400 for a new engine and turbo. I had the truck towed to another powerstroke mechanic for a second opinion and actually diagnosed the problem instead of throwing out random guesses. Cylinder 5 was totally out and cylinders 1 & 2 were throwing a code. He pulled the oil pan off and said that the main bearings had spun. He quoted me $16,200 for a complete engine swap out that is currently in process. The mechanic stated that he did not see any reason that the motor should have done what it did and that it should have lasted a lot longer than 138,000 miles

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there anything that I should change up to ensure that this doesn't happen again?

Thanks in advance!

-Dan

 

 

A lot of things could have played into this. It sucks for sure. While this isn’t a very common problem, there are instances of it happening to 11-12 trucks. Especially C&C trucks.

Since you do have issues, the only thing I have an opinion on is how much they are charging to swap out your engine. You can get a long block from a reputable builder like Choate Engineering or Asheville for around $6-8k. Long block from Ford is $6,500 from Tasca Ford assuming all your injectors/pump are good. If heads are good, short blocks are under $4k.

 

Didn't they put a special coating on the main bearings on the 15+ engines?

It's possible your driving style adds additional fuel dilution to the engine oil, the 6.7l is prone to fuel dilution with the emission system still intact. Since you still have the emissions system and change oil when the truck says to I would have your oil sampled for fuel dilution just to be sure your not over diluting the oil.

Spinning a bearing isn't very common but it has happened on several of the earlier trucks.

 

Since you might let it idle a lot, perhaps you could post the idle and engine hours. May be that excessive idling is a factor in the bearing issue.

 

That sucks brother. I hope it works out cheaper for you.

 

I can't imagine $16k for an engine swap. $10k sure, but holy cow! You said that it's currently in process? I've asked this before in other threads, but what does the insurance company say about this?

 

yes, spun bearings on early 6.7’s have been reported. The bearings are not keyed like most bearings are.

 

The mechanic didn't know just how far the damage had gotten through the motor but he assumed that at least the heads were shot due to the clanking sound it was making. He suggested that I get an entire engine assembly. I agreed since I now get a 2 year warranty on everything including turbo (with steel bearings), alternator, a/c compressor, water pump, etc. This is much better than the ford dealership who were just going to replace the motor and turbo for almost $1500 more and I still had all my old parts and pieces to go bad with no warranty. Hopefully everything works out. Thanks for the advice!

 

It was produced on April 30th, 2012. I waited a year until hopefully they worked all the kinks out but I guess I didn't wait long enough. I think I may start sending samples to Blackstone after this. If it happens again maybe I can catch it earlier. I can't afford $16,000 every 7 years but at least it's paid for. Thanks!

 

I don't really idle that much. It is my daily driver and I drive 45 minutes on the highway each way to work and back. I'll look at the hours when I get the truck back.

 

My insurance doesn't cover mechanical problems. The mechanic did not know how far the damage had gotten in to the engine so he recommended that I get a complete engine assembly. He assumed that at least the heads were shot because of the clanking it was making and maybe more. I will have a 2 year Ford warranty on everything attached to the engine. The dealership wanted to replace just the motor and the turbo for almost $1500 more and I still may have had destroyed parts out of warranty. I feel more comfortable getting a warranty on the whole shebang.

 

I'm wondering if I should have or should now delete it. It seems that I may have been completely problem free up to this point if I had. My only other issues were emissions related fixed under warranty.

 

Well at least the truck is paid for, and to be honest, I'd drop the coin on a paid off truck too. But golly, I didn't expect it to be that much. Hope it all works out for you sir. Sounds like you have a plan at least.

 

Definitely wouldn’t hurt.