Ecoboost Engine Blown?

[04SloSnake]

I'm having a really hard time believing that my mods caused this. With cases of completely stock engines having the same problem to the same engines being modded out with larger turbos making over 400WHP. Everyone I talk to that knows more about this stuff than I do does not believe I could blow the motor with these mods. The computer would protect from overboost situations and if for some reason it didn't it would blow the turbo up well before the engine would give out.

1. I don't really believe there is some rash of stock EB cars blowing up out there, we probably would have heard something.

2. Your mods 110% could have caused your motor to fail. You raised boost without a proper tune and can't see how there could be a problem? There is a reason tuners are moving the power curve to the right in their tunes. Too much torque coming on too early = new unintended holes in blocks. I'm not saying they did cause it, but it is absolutely possible.

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[RobBaker]

Car guys have been modding Ford engines since the beginning of time and this activity is encouraged by Ford as they have a whole product line "Ford Racing" encouraging this activity.

Your failure may not be as a result of the changes you made but Ford could easily use modding as an "out" to support their denial of claim. I see both sides. Where would you have Ford draw the line relative to mods and denying a claim?

 

[15RRGT]

I frequent several mustang sites, help moderate one... I don't see a rash of EB engines blowing. That said though good luck with your battle, it will be uphill no doubt.

 

[Rough Hollow Man]

On my last 2013 Mustang GT I asked the dealer if my getting a "tune" and cat-backs would void my warranty. His answer was, "not if you use Ford Racing and we install the mods". Since I didn't want any future warranty issues, I went ahead an got the Ford Racing mods and had the dealership install. The point of me saying this is that I believe Ford wants it "both ways"... They love to promote the Modability of their engines as long as they can make money on the mods...But, deny warranty coverage for mods that they didn't sell you. It's so easy to deny warranty when Ford makes/saves money with a simple "denial due to mods". The OP's case is further complicated by Ford having performed warranty work on the oil problem of the car. I hope the OP doesn't have to "Lawyer Up"...

 

[jpilone]

Either way, you're out of:

time
money
a car

What avenue you choose is up to you. Lawyers or experts cost money. What about reaching out to the mod companies for guidance?

 

[Rough Hollow Man]

^^^Jpilone is on to something here. I would counsel the OP to go to the SEMA web site and click on "About SEMA". Please read the last sentence of the fourth paragraph there. Basically, SEMA states that they have intervened in some of these warranty-denial cases. If I were faced with the OP's problems, I would reach out to SEMA for help and guidance, particularly if the companies that provided the OP's mods in question are members of SEMA. It might help. Good Luck.

 

[GT Pony]

I'm having a really hard time believing that my mods caused this. With cases of completely stock engines having the same problem to the same engines being modded out with larger turbos making over 400WHP. Everyone I talk to that knows more about this stuff than I do does not believe I could blow the motor with these mods. The computer would protect from overboost situations and if for some reason it didn't it would blow the turbo up well before the engine would give out.

Turbos really don't "blow up" if they are commanded to over boost. Motors do however don't like over boost, especially if not tuned properly.

If it was my car I would have an independent professional shop teardown the engine for an un-biased report of what the cause of the failure was. Or at least have someone from an un-biased shop look at the torn down engine for their take on the root cause if the Ford dealer decided to tear it down for a look. If it wasn't due to your mods then you would have something to fight for a warranty claim.

 

[starlord]

Just remember your car is warrantied by FORD motor company Inc.
Not the dealer you bought it though.. Call FORD customer service

My GTO getting a new motor

 

[ultimate warrior]

This will be extra motivation to keep mine stock once I get it for the first 5k miles to make sure their aren't any basic workmanship issues. Prolly drive the piss out of it to.

Lots of people on here with opinions. My gut tells me you had that oil leak, engine oil level got too low, and that damaged the bottom end.

If it was a sketchy overboost scenario I'd assume there would be damage to the valves/valvetrain/cylinder internals.

If you had an oiling issue the problem would be across the crankshaft on the bottom end, AND possibly even show on the camshaft bearings as well. Id consider wear on the camshafts / camshaft bearings to be the smoking gun of oil starvation.

 

[04SloSnake]

What exactly shot through the block? My assumption (pointing it out to be fair) is a rod snapped and windowed the block. This has happened before and makes complete sense from an outside perspective having not actually seen the car. If that is the case it probably had nothing to do with "overboost" as much as it had to do with hitting the boost target too low in the RPM range.

There is a reason Adam [MENTION=19118]Tune+[/MENTION] adjusts the power to the right and this is the exact reason. A real tune is money well spent.

 

[347CobraII]

You had tune in it doesn't matter how long it was in there. Then JMS boostmax and pedalmax along with the CAI was other ammo you gave Ford. You keep saying engine will protect itself from over boost but you JMS boostmax changing reading to trick engine computer so how can it. You should have had custom tune most likely have been better off. Oil leak the cause that's here or there or completely different issue. Ford looking to deny warranty not really they want you as customer but there not going to take in the shorts either.

 

[347CobraII]

I work for truck dealership I don't like seeing warranty denied but some people bring it on to themselves.

I've been there watch warranty be denied at work. Cat engine check engine light on for 400hrs broke 1/3 of valvetrain, cyl head, 2 piston/liners. Another one ABS light on for excessive air gap drove truck in tell front wheel came off caused accident plus 200pd wheel going across interstate hit on coming traffic. That guy tried to sue that got shutdown by the judge. There's a lot of people think warranty will cover everything then drive it in tell it don't moves. People think vehicle will protect itself like it should shutdown. Then people wonder why manufacture keep adding more and more stuff to keep people from being stupid

 

[ultimate warrior]

I work for truck dealership I don't like seeing warranty denied but some people bring it on to themselves.

I've been there watch warranty be denied at work. Cat engine check engine light on for 400hrs broke 1/3 of valvetrain, cyl head, 2 piston/liners. Another one ABS light on for excessive air gap drove truck in tell front wheel came off caused accident plus 200pd wheel going across interstate hit on coming traffic. That guy tried to sue that got shutdown by the judge. There's a lot of people think warranty will cover everything then drive it in tell it don't moves. People think vehicle will protect itself like it should shutdown. Then people wonder why manufacture keep adding more and more stuff to keep people from being stupid

The issue is this - even if the system was JMS boostmax tricked - could it have created a scenario bad enough to throw a rod out the side of the block? Rods getting thrown out (as far as I know) are a result of poor workmanship or lack of oil - as opposed to overboosting and somehow that having enough force to overcome the strength of the rod/bearing on the stock turbo. Id assume if that were the case it would have been throwing codes and harshly pull back the timing when you got on it hard.


Wouldn't assume it would take more than 30-45 minutes to pop a cap off of one of the cam journals and check for abnormal wear. If it was bad enough to throw a rod, it probably marred the cam surface as well. Filter should have stopped all of the bottom end-nom-nom so none of it should be able to reach the cam journals.

 

[aerodyn]

You had an engine modification installed that increased the maximum boost pressure. That is all the proof that Ford needs to provide and it will be enough to satisfy any judge that Ford is within their rights to void your warranty on the engine.

This is not like they're voiding your warranty for having a CAI or an exhaust. From Ford's perspective, it is quite possible that your JMS Boostmax was defective, poorly engineered, or malfunctioning, and increased the boost well beyond the 5 psi they advertise, or did something else harmful. There is no way for them to sort that out and they should not be expected to. It's not their product. From a legal perspective, any reasonable person would see the connection between an aftermarket engine modification that increases the power output of the engine beyond the manufacturer's rating, and engine failure, and that will be the end of it.

It's not as if this is the crash of Boeing 777 with 300 people aboard or something, where the NTSB is going to spend three years going over every part with an electron microscope looking for the root cause.

Even if this was the result of a manufacturing defect, unless it was something blatantly obvious like a casting with a void in it, Ford can still argue that the defect would not have led to engine failure within the warranty period if not for your modifications that increased the stress on the engine.

Your best bet is:

1) Pursue the fact that the dealership told you the car was okay to drive. Do you have anything in writing from them? Perhaps you can argue that they are partially liable for the failure by giving you bad advice. I doubt they'll cover the whole repair but perhaps you can split the cost.
2) Ask whoever has your loan whether you can refinance the loan with the $5k cost of the repair added on. They will probably like that option better than you defaulting and them having to repossess, repair and resell the car themselves.

 

[Ultrakla$$ic]

Dibs on the front Roush bumper cover when you part it out!

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