Learn Me: Ford 1.6L EcoBoost Issues

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Check the cam seals. I've had a new one spit out right after replacement.

If it wasn't leaking before and is now, it's got to be one of the things you changed or disturbed.

Good call on the cam seal- that was what it ended up being. Pulled the plugs, put in the UV dye (cashier at HF had never seen one before- it worked quite well) and had The Dancer crank the engine over so the starter spun it and after a few times oil started coming out from below the front (intake) cam sprocket. Annoying, in order to lock the camshafts in place to ensure it stayed in time you have to take essentially everything off of the head except for the camshafts themselves, but it didn't take too long to strip everything off, lock the camshafts in place with the tool at the opposite end, and pull the sprockets and to get to the seals. The intake one was clearly not where it should have been, so pressed it in to where it was supposed to be and put everything back together.

Unfortunately while checking things I noticed a slow but steady drip of coolant under the car as well... tracking that down took a lot more time but eventually I was able to figure out that it was coming from the hose assembly aft of the engine, specifically from a plastic junction just behind where the hoses connect to the driver's side of the block. So I need to call up the Ford parts dept (again) and see if they have that assembly in stock to pick up today to replace it.

The MOST annoying thing though, once again, was the heat shield on the exhausts manifold- that thing has been a monumental pain in the ass every time I've had to deal with it. If I didn't worry that leaving it off would result in cooking things I very definitely would leave it off- but no, I had to spend over an hour wrestling with getting it into place for the fasteners (that didn't break off when I took it off in the first place) to go into the block.

Hopefully once I get that hose assembly replaced and everything put back together things will behave this time... I'm really ready to be done with working on this thing (and I know its owner will be happy to finally have it back).

*bangs head on workbench*

So I got the hose assembly swapped out and was most of the way through putting everything back on the engine and got to the fuel rail, injectors, and high-pressure pump... and noticed that the Teflon seal on the #1 injector was torn and deformed. -_- 

So now I need to replace that as well. The good news is that I already have the seals as part of the head gasket kit. The bad news is that seating the seals properly takes a very specialized tool that no parts store has in their loaner tools... so I have to buy another specialized tool that I may never use again. 

There's a way to make the tools.  Let me make some calls.

The tool is very expensive.

If the seal isn't too badly damaged, I have reused them. (Because I didn't have the tool).  Frayed edges aren't a big deal as long as it's in one piece.  

The seal is fairly hard plastic.  So to install it, there is a mandrel that will evenly expand the seal for you to push it on over the injector.  Then there is a resizing tool that squooshes the seal back down into the groove so you can install the injector.

You can make the expander with a sacrificed nose piece from a retractable pen, and set the seal in boiling water for a few minutes to make it softer.

The other end, you can make a resizing tool from a round Bic pen and probably another retractable pen to shape it.  

Source: someone who saw my resizing tool set and told me how he made do without.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Amazon had a set that works for both GM and Ford injectors for about $60 that was just delivered:

Hopefully it will work properly- if not I can just return it (it's tempting to return it anyway, but it may come in handy down the line for either myself or someone else around here). 

I actually searched and found that someone had made the models to 3D print some of the tools for another company's injectors, and if I weren't trying to get this done quickly I would have printed those out, seen how close they were to what I needed, and adjusted the models to try and make them work. 

Oh, that looks really nice! Way better than the set that I bought, that only does one size*, and cost a lot more (like to say $170ish).

* Bosch makes like 99% of the direct injectors, almost all of them seem to be one size or close enough that one tool will work.  Diesel and Mazda DISI (which aren't Bosch) use a flat gasket like a spark plug to seal, which makes them waaaay easier to R&R, srsly Bosch why didn't you do it this way

Yeah, I was happy to just find one that I could get next-day delivered since none of the normal auto parts/tools places locally seemed to have it (only one even had a tool set listed on their site, and it was 1. not available locally and 2. like $500!!) even if I've been aiming to cut back as much as possible on ordering things from Amazon. 

We'll see this afternoon how well it works- I'm going to see how difficult it is to do before I decide whether or not to replace the seals on all 4 injectors or just the one that is damaged. I know I should replace all 4 since I have the seals for them (and replace the top seals too), but if the others are still in good shape I'm inclined to not mess with them as if I mess up installing one I'd have to go and get more seals. And the injectors stayed with the fuel rail when I pulled it, so I'm inclined to not replace the top ones as a result. 

Since I've had to pick up two very specialized tools for this job (the timing tool kit which is pretty much only good for the 1.5 & 1.6 Ecoboosts and the injector seal tool set, which is at least useful for a lot more engines) it's renewed my interest in seeing about setting up a library/database of specialized tools that GRMers have so when someone finds that they need one they can see if there's someone near them who has it so they might not have to buy a tool that they'll only end up using once.

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Big kudos to you for going through all this trouble to help someone out!

In reply to DWNSHFT :

Thanks! I like being able to use my skills to help people when I can, and it's also nice (despite the frustration that it has been at times- but that's just par for the course I think...) doing some serious wrenching after not having done much for so long. While it's nice having all of our vehicles (other than the DMC, which is a much more in-depth project) running nicely and not needing any real work it has also meant I've not gotten my hands really greasy for a while.

*sigh*

I have come to the conclusion that this car (or engine) simply just hates me. 

Got the engine put back together and fired it up on Wednesday- and it clearly was not running right, and I unfortunately had a pretty good idea why: I had forgotten to remove the harmonic balancer alignment tool when I ran it with just the starter to find the oil leak, and it had both bent the alignment tool (which I bent back into shape) and elongated the slot where the tool sits- which is also what the timing sensor detects. Yeah, this one was purely on me.

Order new harmonic balancer from Amazon and have it overnighted, drive to the next town over since I had bought the last crankshaft bolt from the Ford dealership nearby, actually figure out how to get the TDC locating pin into the engine without (as the Haynes manual says you have to) having to remove the whole passenger side driveshaft and follow the full timing procedure, and put everything back together. Take it out on a test drive- comes up with a P0016: Camshaft Position A – Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1) code. 

What. The. Hell. The one time I actually use the TDC pin and set the timing with it in place the engine decides to complain about the timing!

Doing some research though, it seems that it may not actually be a timing issue but a problem with the VCT (Variable Cam Timing) solenoid. SO I'm covering all my bases... I've got a replacement solenoid coming in Sunday, and tomorrow morning will see about double-checking the timing is set right while taking apart as little on the engine as possible. I've sadly almost got that down to a science with as many $(%785#ing times as I've had to pull the timing belt cover at this point!

Well, after like a month the Escape is finally done and ready to go back to its owner. I now know way too much about working on this particular model of vehicle and engine- which I will likely never have to turn a wrench on again. As I told The Dancer- after this, I'm not doing any more work on anyone else's vehicles that a) can't be done in about a day and b) involves the engine beyond VERY basic maintenance work. I'm glad I was able to help our friend out and save them a LOT of money compared with having a shop do the work- but it was far more stressful than I would have liked and I've gotten precious little beyond working on it done in the last month. 

Certainly a lot more work than you wanted, but good on you for choosing to help someone in need.

I swear, I really think this car just hates me. 

The owner was gone over the weekend and then when they got back texted us to let us know they were really not feeling well, so we've not gotten the escape back to them yet and I've been driving it around since they've got my Infiniti. I've taken it out and around town like a half dozen times now...but this evening when I went to get dinner, I took it on the highway for the first time and when I got it up to highway speeds it started stumbling and the CEL (which hasn't been on at all since I put it back together this time) started flashing. It had done pretty much the exact same thing when I'd put it back together after fixing the camshaft seal, but then it was also complaining about the timing so I'd assumed it had to do with that. 

Got back home and pulled the codes- and yup, it looks like the same three as before: P0300 (multiple misfires), P0302 (Misfire cylinder 2), and P0303 (Misfire cylinder 3). No complaints about the timing like before. Searching for info on it, it sounds like it could just be the coil packs- I didn't replace them when I did the work on the engine (though I did replace all 4 spark plugs- and for the first time in ages had to actually gap them because they didn't come with the gap called for in the manual). 

It strikes me as odd though that it only happens at highway speeds- I've punched it a few times to get the RPMs up to check that things were working and didn't have any issues. 

I guess that my first test should be to swap the coil packs around (put the 2 & 3 packs on the 1 & 4 cylinders) and see if that makes a difference or not. If it does- I need to order replacement coil packs. If it doesn't... than I probably need to pull the fuel rail and check the injectors out (I don't really like the idea of swapping them between cylinders- but it is an option). The only thing I did on the fuel injectors was to replace the teflon seal on the #1 injector since it was deformed when I pulled them out the last time. All the others looked good (and I didn't pull them out from the rail itself) so I didn't replace the seals even though I have all of them. 

Dammit, I just want to have this thing be finished! 

If you have a scan tool that has bidirectional controls, do a crank relearn first.  2 and 3 use the same part of the crank trigger wheel. and a sign of needing to do a relearn is reported misfires under light/no load and higher speeds, and on two cylinders 180 degrees apart in the firing order (well, 360 I guess).

This can happen any time the trigger wheel is messed with.  Or sometimes it just needs to be done, the world is a weird place.  Sometimes all you get is a flashing MIL and nothing feels wrong, other times you do get a "misfire" but it's not a misfire, it's killing the injectors because the computer THINKS that it's misfiring.

I'm gritting my teeth to not whine about calling individual coils "coil packs" too   Need my morning coffee.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Unfortunately I don't have a bidirectional scan tool- I'll have to check around and see if anyone I know nearby has one since it looks like the least-expensive one that I can get is this one from Amazon for $150 that I could get overnight or this one from HF I could go get right now for a bit under $300. I'm half tempted to call the shop down the road that did the refrigerant recovery & refill inexpensively when I replaced the compressor on the QX-4 and see what they'd charge to just do the crank relearn with their equipment since they've proven themselves to be willing to work with people working on their own vehicles.

Sorry- 'coil packs' isn't quite right for individual coil-on-plugs like... hell, every vehicle we currently own (except the DMC) uses, but it's still the terminology my brain comes up with for them. :P

So, theoretically it looks like I should be able to use FORSCAN to do the crank relearn- but I've got to track down an adapter to connect the computer up to the car to be able to do it since unfortunately the K-DCAN INPA cable that I have for the BMW won't work. I know I have several WiFi/Bluetooth USB2 dongles sitting around, but I've not used them in ages so I don't know just exactly where they are (and my garage is a complete disaster at the moment). -_-

Bah. None of my old bluetooth/wifi OBD dongles seem to work. Called up the shop nearby that I know works well with people who do their own work and it would be as much for them to do the reset (which they said they'd not ever done on an ecoboost before) as for me to get the cable made to work with FORSCAN shipped overnight from Amazon. So, the cable will be here tomorrow morning and I'll see if that resolves the problem. Hopefully it does- would be nice to not have to get any more parts for the car! (I'm not charging them for the cable since it's something I should be able to use down the line- and could even technically just return to Amazon though I generally try and avoid that if something works as it's supposed to and I use it)

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

If you have a scan tool that has bidirectional controls, do a crank relearn first.  2 and 3 use the same part of the crank trigger wheel. and a sign of needing to do a relearn is reported misfires under light/no load and higher speeds, and on two cylinders 180 degrees apart in the firing order (well, 360 I guess).

This can happen any time the trigger wheel is messed with.  Or sometimes it just needs to be done, the world is a weird place.  Sometimes all you get is a flashing MIL and nothing feels wrong, other times you do get a "misfire" but it's not a misfire, it's killing the injectors because the computer THINKS that it's misfiring.

 

I'm gritting my teeth to not whine about calling individual coils "coil packs" too   Need my morning coffee.

I owe you a beer, coffee, whatever your drink of preference is- I would probably not have figured out that this was what needed to be done for a while if at all and it definitely would have caused a lot more frustration and wasted time (and likely money). 

The OBD/USB cable came in earlier this morning and I immediately went out and figured out what the procedure that needed to be run was (FORSCAN called it something along the lines of Misfire Detection Calibration or the likes) and went through it (basically revving the engine up over 3k RPMs and letting off the gas several times) and then took the Escape back out to hop onto the highway. To my great relief, it ran perfectly- not a hint of any problems for the duration of the drive. 

So NOW it's finally ready to go back to its owner and I can work on other things that I've not been able to get to for the last month.

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

You are a gentleman and a scholar. 

I never helped people work on their vehicles (other than track car friends) when I still did my own work. I was always worried if it didn't turn out 100% I'd end up with a pissed off friend/family member or in an endless cycle like you finally broke out of. 

I'm happy to have stayed with Honda and Toyota all these yrs after reading those struggles.

 Kudos to you 100%

Robert FTW for helping his friend and Pete FTW for helping Robert!

z31maniac said:

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

You are a gentleman and a scholar. 

I never helped people work on their vehicles (other than track car friends) when I still did my own work. I was always worried if it didn't turn out 100% I'd end up with a pissed off friend/family member or in an endless cycle like you finally broke out of. 

100%. I'd never go so deep into a car for anyone but a direct family member.  There are so many ways things can go sideways.

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

I'm definitely not doing something this involved again- I did worry quite a bit that I just wasn't going to get things working properly and would end up with the car running worse than when I got it. But The Dancer's nonprofit crew are a very close bunch, and I really felt for the Escape's owner since they clearly had been sold a vehicle with a LOT of issues by someone they thought they could trust to do right by them and (as a college student) just couldn't swing the $4k+ that the shop quoted them for the work (I haven't ever looked- I'd imagine that approaches the value of the Escape itself).

Somewhat ironically, I've not ever actually owned a Ford vehicle myself but have now done some of the most extensive work I've done on cars on two different Escapes (in effect- The Dancer had a previous-gen Mercury Mariner before her current truck that I eventually ended up doing a full engine swap on). I can't say I'm that impressed with how they're designed with respect to being able to work on them- I've found that the E46 and Infiniti are generally better thought-out with respect to being able to do common work on them. For example, the Escapes both have had oil filters located such that when you pull them you're going to get oil all over the place because of what all is around/under them while the BMW's is located topside on the engine and easy to access & change and the QX-4's, while located under the engine, is both positioned to be easily accessible and they designed a small sheet metal channel into the frame below it so the oil comes out onto the channel and it's easy to put a catch can under it and minimize the mess.

I am very happy to hear that the relearn sorted the issue!

The 1.6 Ecoboost is an evolution of an older Ford engine (Gamma? Something) that was not designed for an oil cooler, and yes the placement of the hoses to the cooler really does suck.  It's not the worst consequence of a legacy design decision turning into a liability but it's certainly one of the most annoying, like the oil filter location on the Chevy pushrod 2.2.  It was fine until they put the engine in a chassis where the rack and pinion was on the subframe instead of high on the firewall, then you needed to pry the exhaust out of the way to sneak the filter between the transmission and the subframe.