New owner - engine failure

[ice445]

Thanks for another great bit of info. I’ll be happy if it doesn’t need an engine replacement. A list of little problems that dealerships mistake for engine failure would be pretty handy, could save someone the cost of a Golf in an unnecessary repair.

They’re putting the new alternator in today, then running more diagnostics. I’ll update the thread when I get more info. If by “low compression” the nice lady meant “low power” as measured on a scan tool then maybe it’s electrical. By low compression I was thinking of the old school tool that screws in to the spark plug hole and measures compression - which would not be electrical.

What's more important than anything else right now is that the Ford engineers didn't agree with the initial dealership assessment, which is why they don't want to throw an engine at it right away. If it actually has low compression in a cylinder (and we're defining "low" as more than 10% under the average of the other 7), then it's not going to go away any time soon. But as I said, it's easy to get a "low" result. For one thing, most of the tools aren't always that accurate to begin with. You also have to crank for the same amount of time for each cylinder, and it's easy to be off on that and get a lower number. The test is supposed to measure consistency, but at the same time, on any Ford made in the last 20 years you can do what's called a "power balance" test, where you put the car into a monitor mode and it cranks itself and measures the resistance each cylinder provides based on crank trigger pulse width. It provides you with a neat little graph and any low spots indicate a cylinder that's low on compression compared to the others. If they also did that and saw a problem, then I'd be more concerned. Until then, I'd assume it's a fluke.

Also, I've noticed at many dealerships that communication between the tech, the service writer, and the customer is the most obscenely deficient game of telephone you'll ever play in your life.

Sponsored

 

[DougS550]

Have you contacted the previous owner and ask did they track the car or, FI etc? Just curious.

 

[Nick@VaBeach]

Have you contacted the previous owner and ask did they track the car or, FI etc? Just curious.

No, I have no reason to believe the car was modified in any way. The dealership I bought it from confirmed to me that the warranty was intact.

tracking a track car should not cause engine failures.

 

[DougS550]

No, I have no reason to believe the car was modified in any way. The dealership I bought it from confirmed to me that the warranty was intact.

tracking a track car should not cause engine failures.

Just throwing it out their. Tracking or racing a car, Well, Shit does happen, and the longevity/Reliability of any engine, Tracked, Raced, FI, NOS ETC, Can/Will reduce engine, transmission Life. Good Luck

 

[Nick@VaBeach]

Just throwing it out their. Tracking or racing a car, Well, Shit does happen, and the longevity/Reliability of any engine, Tracked, Raced, FI, NOS ETC, Can/Will reduce engine, transmission Life. Good Luck

Oh 100%, I just don’t think that’s my situation. As far as I know the car is 100% stock.

 

[DrZed]

Oh 100%, I just don’t think that’s my situation. As far as I know the car is 100% stock.

It is very quick now to figure out low compression with the "cylinder balance test" mode on the high end scanners. An alternator, confirm voltage then run that test. I think they can determine if you need a new engine pretty quickly. Keep us posted!

 

[DougS550]

Oh 100%, I just don’t think that’s my situation. As far as I know the car is 100% stock.

And I'm not saying it isn't. Its just you are not the original owner, so if I bought a new car especially a high performance car, I would want to reach out and ask a few questions that's all. Piece of mind. Plus, I have learned through out my life that the only person you can trust is, yourself, Your God and most of the time your wife/husband or significant other. I hope everything worked out. Keep us posted.

 

[Mspider]

And I'm not saying it isn't. Its just you are not the original owner, so if I bought a new car especially a high performance car, I would want to reach out and ask a few questions that's all. Piece of mind. Plus, I have learned through out my life that the only person you can trust is, yourself, Your God and most of the time your wife/husband or significant other. I hope everything worked out. Keep us posted.

That`s what I am getting at here. Regardless of what the dealership says we do not know how this car was driven. To have engine failure at 7k miles is a big deal and not normal. Regardless if its a GT350 or not.

To rule out the car was abused is foolish.

 

[K4fxd]

It's a VooDoo, some pop at 3K some pop at 20K and some don't pop at all....

I'm only half joking.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

It's under warranty, get it repaired, and go enjoy the car. Simple process. No need to make it more complicated then it needs to be by going down a rabbit hole.

 

[ArnyFlowers]

Agree. I’m the 4th owner of my R. Bought it with 8k and am at 14k. Tracked twice in the 6 months I’ve owned it. I doubt the car was babied, because, well why would you baby it? If you have a warranty, just fix it and move on. I have a Carmax warranty and feel pretty good. Only thing is that it’s an inconvenience if anything happens.

 

[Gray Area GT350]

Do you guys think this was one of those “Voodoo-doing-voodoo” things where it somehow vibrated the flange nut loose? I only ask because I’m thinking of compiling a checklist of such things for scheduled inspection.

Good question... I think that could be the case. It seems very common considering the TSB for this seems to solve the issue. In my case the flange nut took about 1/2 turn to the torque spec because I was curious what was considered loose. From there I removed it and applied loctite then torqued to spec. It is a fair amount of work to get to the nut. I removed the exhaust and the driveshaft to get clear access to the nut.

 

[JUNQDAWG]

Hey guys,

Been looking for a GT350 for a long time, finally pulled the trigger on a 2020 car in black. 7k miles, tech pack, beautiful car. Picked the car up on 9/16 from a Ford dealership. My first Ford, and my first Mustang.

Started driving home on some back roads, initially the car was driving great. Eventually got on the interstate and noticed a weird missing/skipping sensation at constant cruising throttle. Cruise control wouldn't stay set, and after about an hour a little wrench popped up saying "check manual". All temps were normal, I pulled over and checked the oil, new and fresh and at the normal level.

Pulled in to a Ford dealership near where I was, service was closed but the manager took a look. After I turned the car off the wrench disappeared so he couldn't figure anything out. No code was stored.

Continued driving the car home. Always restarted with no code, ran fine for a bit, and then got weirder with the missing/skipping/stutter at cruising speed the longer I drove. Car felt good in 1-4 accelerating, but then started acting up in 5th and 6th. Almost felt like the clutch was slipping, a weird miss then surge.

Got home, woke up the next morning and took the car to my local Ford dealership - not where I bought it - for them to see what was going on. Of course, on restart no code was stored, wrench was gone. Puttering around town, car felt normal.

The dealership took a week to do anything. Then, when they looked they found no stored codes but noticed misfires while driving the car. They spent yesterday on the phone with Ford, then I got the word yesterday that they found very low compression in cyl. 5. Dealership is thinking the car will need an engine replacement. They are trying to figure out how such a serious problem didn't throw any sort of code or cause a limp mode. There are more diagnostics being run before Ford approves the replacement. There are apparently also some issues with the variable charging from the alternator so they're looking at that too. Ford seems to think the alternator can cause funky codes, but I don't see how it would cause low compression... to me low compressions = engine replacement but Ford wants more proof. I asked the dealership for compression/ leakdown documentation.

Just putting this story out there so anyone who starts having similar issues can see. Will keep this updated. I'm supposed to be speaking with both the dealership service manager and a Ford rep later. Definitely concerned about the immediate loss of value from the engine replacement, and how quickly an extremely minor problem turned into tens of thousands of dollars of work. We will see what happens.

Just to be inquisitive... Will they replace engine with a REMAN longblock
or a real NEW IN THE BOX ENGINE " ?? I don't know how that works . Obviously they gonna get by cheap as possible {AT YOUR EXPENSE } of course ! .. But 7K miles , would seem to me you have a NEW engine coming , not a Reman or a "patch job" and they keep your car a couple months .. They call it SUN Treatment " . Meaning they leave it parked ,waiting you out till you get to the point you will take whatever they offer in the way of repair .. That's why they make Lawyers . Hope you don't need that . Being you didn't buy the car from this dealer, they feel they owe "YOU" no loyalty or satisfaction . I wish you luck . please let us know what happens . Maybe others can learn from your misfortune , which is a "Damn Shame " So sorry ...Junqdawg

 

[Nick@VaBeach]

Just to be inquisitive... Will they replace engine with a REMAN longblock
or a real NEW IN THE BOX ENGINE " ?? I don't know how that works . Obviously they gonna get by cheap as possible {AT YOUR EXPENSE } of course ! .. But 7K miles , would seem to me you have a NEW engine coming , not a Reman or a "patch job" and they keep your car a couple months .. They call it SUN Treatment " . Meaning they leave it parked ,waiting you out till you get to the point you will take whatever they offer in the way of repair .. That's why they make Lawyers . Hope you don't need that . Being you didn't buy the car from this dealer, they feel they owe "YOU" no loyalty or satisfaction . I wish you luck . please let us know what happens . Maybe others can learn from your misfortune , which is a "Damn Shame " So sorry ...Junqdawg

We'll see, still waiting on an alternator to continue the diagnosis. If this really gets ugly I won't hesitate to drag both dealers and Ford to court. Car is too expensive to mess around. I have a case with Ford customer service, and the dealer that sold it to me is in the loop. I'm just going to see the process through and take it from there.

The entire purpose of this post is to inform everyone about how the process goes, and for advice from people who already did it. This is my first Ford so I'm not super familiar with the process here. So far its been slow, but it is what it is. A "reman" longblock is unlikely to be an acceptable solution unless it is accompanied by other compensation (an extended warranty, cash, etc.)

They are supposed to get the alternator today (were supposed to get it a week ago, but apparently everything take at least a week). Will provide updates as the diagnosis continues.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll mention the Tone Ring if I speak with the dealership today. Like I said, they're following the diagnostic procedure required by Ford prior to an engine replacement so we will see what happens next. Seems unlikely to me that a tech didn't do a compression test correctly but stranger things have happened.

Just in case others are wondering - here's the info for the TSB for the Tone ring/trans output flange nut:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...0-track-attack-14.168923/page-13#post-3600032

And here:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/tsb-19-2135-surge-or-hesitation.126435/

Sponsored