As promised here is the follow up with my findings and the fix for the 2.0l Ecoboost I mentioned in the previous video. What it came down to was excessive coking on the backside of the intake valves and by doing a simple 5 minute cleaning the problem was eliminated. Now whether there is also a valve stem seal leak on #2 is yet to be determined.

In conclusion there is a definite issue with carbon and oil coking on the intake valves that needs to be addressed sooner than later by Ford with some kind of a cleaning method. As mentioned in the video if there is anything substantial that comes down the pipe from Ford on how to resolve this issue in the long term I will be sure to let all you Ecoboost owner know.

 

Heheheeee, Mak, I saw ye video on another F150 forum. I'll ask me question here too: ALL of this problem is really caused by Ford's direct injection, right? An Ecoboost without DI wouldn't have this issue?

 

The direct injection is a big part of it and then the oil from the boost and blow by is another problem compounded onto that.

 

Yeah, the direct injection is the issue. With port injection you have the fuel being sprayed on the valve and the cleaning agents in the gas keep everything tidy. With DI the valve never sees the fuel but gets loads of crap from the egr, PCV, and combustion gases on the cam overlap. This has been called a design defect for direct injection for decades. DI engines are not new and the technology a known for a long time but nobody could solve the issue with the deposits. It's safe to say I'm not a fan of DI engines or EB technology. Far too many parts to make the thing work. These are the same parts you as the owner are going to have to deal with when it gets age under the chassis. I see these as a maintenance nightmare later on. Hope I'm wrong.

 

I remember you saying this a year or two ago Labnerd.

I really like cars like the Focus St... that makes me leery of them. I like to hold onto my things for a long time.

 

That's awesome, nothing like requiring a valve job at 80,000 miles!

Like back in the day with leaded gas, except you could do it yourself back then

 

Luckily this hasn't been an issue with the 3.5 Ecoboost.

 

We will see, there are reports rolling in with dealers not able to fix misfires cold and hesitation issues. I believe they are just missing the real issue that we haven't seen or had to deal with for many moons. Heck Ford just release a new baffle for pcv oil concerns.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Here's a 3.5 EcoBoost with 55,000 miles on the clock.

 

As an owner of a 2013 EcoBoost, realistically speaking, is there any way to combat this potential issue of valve coating on the front end? Is there anything that can be done by me, the owner, to ensure this won't happen?

I can see it now, my truck runs great through the 60k powertrain warranty, and then bam, misfires such as these start to occur. Hello high repair bill.

 

Oh wow yours is allot worse!

 

Just to clarify, almost every manufacturer's direct injection engines have this issue - and it's not new. But the Ford Ecoboost family of engines is turbocharged and the turbo is what cannot seem to handle the intake cleaning methods currently available.

I'm sure quite a few folks at Ford are burning the midnight oil looking for a solution to this one. They have a lot riding on this family of engines.

 

Oh I am positive they are we are seeing new information already

 

My EB is getting dropped off tonight for an appointment tomorrow.

56,500 miles, and cold start mis-fires/ rough running have started in the past 5,000 miles. I will keep everyone updated as I learn the root cause.

I'm also getting the 50-55 mph vibration inspected. I really noticed it while towing last week, so I figured I'd get both addressed while still under my extended warranty, and powertrain warranty.

- Andy

 

If you're still running the original spark plugs that's probably part of the problem. I know a few guys whose plugs were done @ 35k-40k miles. They replaced them with Motorcraft SP534's gapped to .030 and the trucks ran like new again.