Howdy. Long time reader, first time poster. I need some advice and couldnt find any similar topics.

Last night driving home I heard a loud ticking from the engine. Truck was running fine just prior it and no warning lights. I pulled over immediately and the truck was dumping oil from the front of the engine (crank area?) No noticeable smoke. Oil had been changed 2,000 prior and checked last weekend and was fine. I had it towed to a dealer and they now say its possibly a broken crank. They said in order to diagnose the problem the cab and engine must come off to even look. Already quoted a new engine at 16,500. They did say the crank cover was tight and not loose which led them to believe something was wrong inside.

This seems fishy to me. Its a 2011 Ford F350 6.7 170k miles. Dealer serviced its whole life. Medium duty used mostly for hauling a 5th wheel and equipment and not a work truck. Running great prior to this and no indication of problems (no warning lights even when the sound started.) Is it true this needs to be diagnosed from the start with the engine out? Can they drop the oil pan, or take off the crank cover and take a look? It just seems extreme to jump immediately to quoting a new engine. I am at a total loss, this repair would be worth more then my truck and certainly more then my savings account. Long out of warranty. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

You hate to hear these kind of stories. I probably would look for an engine swap. See if you can find a used 6.7L out of wrecked truck. Ford has sold over a million of these so far, There should be a few used starting to show up. Or maybe even swap out for a cummin diesel.

My nephew builds trucks and buy/sells a lot of them. He occasionally gets a bad one and has to swap out engines. It doesn't cost him $15,000 to do, But he shops the wrecking yards pretty hard to find a replacement engine. And I've seen him put all kinds of diesels in various vehicles. You might even explore swapping in an older 7.3L , Your truck wouldn't meet emission, but it might be cheaper.

I remember having to run to Wyoming and pick up a Dodge that my nephew had just sold that threw a rod thru the oil pan. Had to call the customer they were on the way to deliver to and tell them to go home and he would call them when he got a new engine in the truck. Some people get cancer and die at 30, Other outlive their savings and die at 100. It's the same with trucks, We just don't know how long they will last.



Good luck in exploring your options. It really sucks to think that replacing an engine on 6 year old truck cost more than the truck is worth

 

Absolutely pull the pan first thing. Might not be able to see the problem but sure a cheap and easy thing to try.

 

Pulling the pan to see the crank is not an in cab thing. So yeah, you are cab up engine out to properly diagnosis it.

You could save some money with a used engine, but don't waste time on swapping in anything. It'll cost you more, make the truck worth less, and no one will want to work on it...

 

Some early 2011's have been know to drop (break) valves, which takes out the piston and then usually down hill (to the crank) from there.


Can your nephew do that? I would think the programming would be a nightmare! The PCM talks to all the other computers etc. If they can fummins a Ford 6.7 and retain all the functionality that is something I may be interested in actually doing!

Thanks .... sorry for the derail

 

Blasphemous!!!!

 

Welcome to FTE, great group here...

Your dealer seems to be on the mark for what a new engine costs at the dealer. Some are a little cheaper, some a little more.

Would they take it in on trade? This is going to be expensive.

bruce...

 

Sorry to hear. You can always mix up some 90 Wt gear oil and hardwood sawdust if you can get it runnin, LOL. You have a lot of options most likely none of them are easy or cheap. Maybe the dealer will do you a deal on trade. Or the engine swap route if you can wrench and have the time.

There are some websites that are outlets for insurance companies. They sell off totaled cars. I bought one years ago and a buddy bought one while back. Most are cars and trucks that the cost to fix exceeded its worth. You can get a good deal as they want to move the cars fast.

 

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of a move and selling my house and can't work on it myself. I'm having a private repair company take a look for a second opinion. I'm praying it's something simple.

 

Please keep us updated if you can!

 

I have no clue why the oil pan has not yet been removed. It is a 10 minute job. Yes, I know that you can't see a whole lot but if you find metal fragments, then you can be sure that engine removal is necessary.

 

They've stuck cummin's in various other cars. But I think they are going backwards, in that they use older engines that don't need all the computers. So you loose all the emission etc.

Look at his first two episodes of Diesel Brothers where they put a cummin in a old 1948 Willey jeep and Duramax into a 1970 El Camino. He has also swapped some diesel engines in Range Rovers that were gas engines.

That got diesel engines into vehicles that have no computers

 

Man, I'm sorry for your misfortune if it is a blown engine.
We obviously don't know your financial position, but if the repair is more than the truck is worth, it is IMHO, a total loss. Maybe not for you, but it would be for me. I would cut my losses, trade or sell, and buy a brand new '16.
If, on the other hand, you really want to keep the truck and pay for the new engine, the bright side is the engine and labor would be guaranteed for a while. Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!

 

I've been through this and I'm sorry to see that it's happened to you.

Did you check the oil level after the engine shut down?
Coolant level good?

In my case my engine completely disintegrated inside the block, all the coolant and oil was mixed together so I think you could look for evidence of this.

If you can, find out where a former dealer diesel tech has opened his own shop. I think there's at least one in every town, lol. Anyway, independent would be my choice out of warranty.

Obviously, you need to find out if it's blown apart inside the block. My engine that went was so torn up there were only 7 Pistons. Thing is, the best way to service an engine swap is to remove the cab, so it's more efficient if they go ahead and do it. Problem you face is removing the cab if the only problem is a failed oil cooler or something.

I hope you check with your auto and homeowners insurance companies to see if there is any possibility of coverage for such a big issue. Some people find ways to get this covered.

I think that if I were you I would contact a few custom auto shops and see if they would be interested in buying your truck as is. There are a few places where they take the modern chassis and make new excursions out of them. Your truck would be a candidate for a "new" 6.0, V10, or 7.3 excursion/truck.

Try to sell it and buy a new one. Or, try to find a used engine. There should be several options for you to make the best of the situation.

I always buy extended warranties on diesel pickup trucks. Coverage out to 200,000 is nice to have.

 

The cost of the power-train insurance or MBI insurance is not that high. Outside of being mad and posting "Ford sucks" posts on every online forum, everyone should have a plan of some kind if this happens to them. Lots of expensive parts on a 6.7L. Writing a big check is a plan too, I guess.

bruce....