Parked my '17 F150 3.5 EB in the driveway yesterday and came out about 30 minutes later to a large puddle of coolant under the truck. Crawled under today and looked but couldn't find any obvious leaks so started it up. Still nothing. Let it come up to operating temperature. No leaks. Turned on the AC and Niagara Falls! Coolant came pouring out of the heater core box drain. I'm guessing a blown heater core.

Ah! But wait; there's more!

While crawling around under the truck I found the engine oil pan dripping wet with oil. This is the THIRD oil pan. All replaced under the Ford ESP warranty. Went on line and made an appointment with my dealer's service department. Five minutes after making the appointment I get a call from the dealership service department to tell me how much they're going to charge me just to "diagnose" the problem. I told them that FIRST, this was the third oil pan they will have replaced so they can't charge me anything and SECOND, I have a Ford ESP Premium warranty so they aren't going to charge me anything other than the deductible ($100) for the coolant leak. After a rather long period of silence, they told me that the first service appointment available was in 12 days. So my truck is a driveway queen for the next two weeks.

Given what's involved in replacing a heater core on this truck, I wonder how many weeks they'll have to keep it.

Since my warranty runs out next January it looks like its time to move on from F150's. Don't really know what I will end up switching to but it won't be another one of these.

Sad!

 

That's a bummer.

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Sorry to hear that. But what would you trade it for ? A RAM? Even the new Toyotas are having issues. Doesn't seem like there is anything better out there at this point in time. IMHO, just bite the bullet and do the repairs. Good luck!

 

I'd talk to the dealer and ask if they would replace the pan with an aluminum one if you ordered it through them and paid for it. They are likely limited by warranty restictions to replace it with the exact same one.

As for the heater core, stuff like that happens sometimes.

 

Probably not but the main reason for dumping this truck is the ESP expiration. Whatever I buy next will have a brand new Extended Warranty. I made the mistake of waiting a year after I purchased the truck to purchase the ESP. Because of that, I don't get a loaner car. When my wife bought her Escape, she purchased the ESP at the same time. She not only gets a loaner vehicle but also up to 3 days hotel stay if it dies away from home.
I will say that in the almost 8 years I've had this truck it has cost Ford at least 4X the cost of the warranty to make repairs.

 

I have. According to the dealer's service manager, paying for the pan swap out-of-pocket would run between $1,200 and $1,400. Not going to happen.

Also according to the service manager, if I had to have the heater core replaced as a non-warranty repair that one job would cost more than I paid for the ESP warranty.

After a bit of investigation, I figured out why the heater core is only leaking with the AC running. The HVAC system in this truck is a reheat system. All air passes over the AC evaporator first and then thru the heater core to be raised in temperature. Because of the auto start-stop system, the EB engines use an electric hot water coolant pump to circulate water thru the heater core rather than pulling flow off the engine water pump. If the AC is off the pump doesn't run. No flow thru the core. Disconnect power to the pump and no leak! You can also get around it by running the AC in MAX AC where the pump also doesn't run.

 

If that was my situation, I would just run it without AC, and so be it. Also, I think JKBrad meant that you could try paying for the aluminum pan and they cover the labor under warranty. Then run the truck like you stole it. The trade-in value won't even get you 25% of a new unit, and the new one will likely have as many or more issues anyway.

 

I went through 3 oil pans in the first 60k.
I just let it leak.
Actually, more of a seep. Does not drip on the driveway.

I am around 146k miles.

 

Yep, that’s what I was driving at. The labor would be charged under warranty.

As for that coolant pump, I’d just bypass that and the ESS system.

 

The Ranger though smaller is a thousand times better.

 

Do the 19,000 mile yearly / 48-month lease and just walk away from them.
OPT for the 5L XLT 373 locker axle if you need it, forget the 3.5l. There just not your sack lunch.
Thats a hunch there. You can tow your boat or cargo trailer. Who's changing your motor oil?

 

That might work in Texas but in the Northeast, its nice to have a truck with heat in the winter. Without the pump, there is no heat.

 

If you have a plug you may be able to run a small electric heater?

 

Along with a very, VERY long extension cord?

 

I don't understand why you're without a vehicle...the Ford ESP gives you a loaner/rental when your truck is out of commission. Check with your dealer.