Cam Phaser/Engine Failure Reports

[Bhollier]

First, at this time my truck is fine (only 6,000 miles). Second, you can take this with a grain on salt (or a quart), but a Ford mechanic said that the failures he has seen are driven by people that mostly gun the engine as soon as they get in (cold engine) and run close to red line a lot.

Before I get yelled at by people who do not do this, and they had failures, I do believe there is a problem with the design. It may just make it show up faster by doing the above, but even if you don't it MAY still show up. I agree with @smurfslayer that the over all percentage is pretty low, but Ford is obviously trying to fix it by redesigning the part. The sky is not falling Chicken Little, and life will go on.

This is one of the things I have always wondered about. I know myself from owning or owned several vehicles that are turbo, it is a good practice to start and let them reach the operating temp before driving. I know it may seem like a pain in the ass but extends the life of the motor and turbos. Typically I start my current vehicles at least 15 min before I plan on driving to get everything circulated and to temp (southern climate allows for a short time to reach temps). I see people here saying that this shouldn't be the case on a $70k+ vehicle but in reality I do this with my others that are double that. No the manufacturer doesn't require or mention it but it is good practice.

Also as @jzweedyk mentioned, running near redline often isn't a good thing either unless you have built the internals to handle the stress or be prepared to rebuild often.

 

[goblues38]

Typically I start my current vehicles at least 15 min before I plan on driving to get everything circulated and to temp .

Sorry, but this is complete and utter nonsense. modern engines do not need "warm up" time. German manufacturers who have a lot more experience with turbo and supercharged engines dont even offer remote start.

Start your car. Let it idle 10-20 seconds and go. Drive it leisurely until it warms up, but you dont have to wait for full 200 degree water and 190 degree oil.

As far as cool down....just drive normal for your last mile. No need for "turbo timers" of the 70's and 80's. Modern turbos have after run pumps that keep oil flow so there is no oil coking.

 

[TwizzleStix]

Sorry, but this is complete and utter nonsense. modern engines do not need "warm up" time. German manufacturers who have a lot more experience with turbo and supercharged engines dont even offer remote start.

Start your car. Let it idle 10-20 seconds and go. Drive it leisurely until it warms up, but you dont have to wait for full 200 degree water and 190 degree oil.

As far as cool down....just drive normal for your last mile. No need for "turbo timers" of the 70's and 80's. Modern turbos have after run pumps that keep oil flow so there is no oil coking.

For the most part, this above is true info. The rationale is that modern fuel injection and ECU controls have eliminated the need to warm the engine before it will "take" the fuel and run with minimal emissions. This part is completely true and applies to everyone. HOWEVER, the premise that the engine oil doesn't need to warm up to a temperature suitable to lubricate the engine under required loads is just fallacy.

That's said, I live in a neighborhood that takes several minutes to drive through at low speeds before I get to a highway with at least 55mph limit. It is pretty relaxed even then, no reason to poke it to get up to speed right away to blend with traffic. If you live in a similar situation, then the no-warm-up is particularly true.

That also said, I have lived right near major multilane highways, that require a significant amount of thrust to merge and keep up with traffic. If you live in a similar situation where you only go a short distance before poking it pretty good, then the minute or two of warmup is almost essential to prevent future problems.

The key is to "drive it leisurely" until it warms up somewhat. In really cold climates, I typically start the engine and wait until the coolant temp hits 120degF and the oil temp hits 60degF. If the ambient temps are above 70degF or so, then I just wait until the idle settles down to normal. This occurs pretty much when the O2 sensor(s) get enough heat to come on line. Generally 30 sec to 1 minute is plenty.

All said, this is another topic, along with "what oil is the best", "what tune is the best", "how much power do these stickers give me", etc. that will always be debated on forums because there is such a wide variety of actual knowledge levels coupled with actual experience vs those whose knowledge and experience comes from... elsewhere.

 

[aalonso]

Who in this group has read the owner’s manual thoroughly? I believe that during the break-in period of 1,000 miles, it states to drive moderately at varying speeds and to only drive in “Normal Mode”... now let us be truthful and ask, who has tried every terrain mode including “Baja and sport” mode before the break-in period? I surely did not even though I was tempted!! If the manual states “break in” period, I think it is there for a reason!! I may warm up the engine here and there especially during the winter time, but I don’t tend to put the “pedal to metal” until the tranny is warm!! I do not have the cam phasers noise and I am now bordering 50k miles... and I do not think that I have been blessed or that I have a one of a kind 3.5 Ecoboost HO!! So what gives??


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[Bhollier]

Sorry, but this is complete and utter nonsense. modern engines do not need "warm up" time. German manufacturers who have a lot more experience with turbo and supercharged engines dont even offer remote start.

Start your car. Let it idle 10-20 seconds and go. Drive it leisurely until it warms up, but you dont have to wait for full 200 degree water and 190 degree oil.

As far as cool down....just drive normal for your last mile. No need for "turbo timers" of the 70's and 80's. Modern turbos have after run pumps that keep oil flow so there is no oil coking.

While technically you are correct, having owned and currently own several European models I can tell you our mechanics always recommend letting the engine reach operating temp before the first drive of the day. The manual does not say this but all my mechanics agree on it. Once the fluids have circulated you are fine.

Out of all my cars I see this most important in my wife's Maserati. If we do not let it reach operating temp before driving from a cold start, not only does the engine not perform the same but the transmission does not shift correctly. You can also watch the oil pressure and temp while letting the vehicle warm up to see why this is important.

My Raptor has been reworked from the top down and my mechanics and tuners have recommended that I follow the same start up for it as I do for all my other vehicles. To date 27K miles, no engine related issues. Just takes a few extra min to start my truck remotely before I start driving, to me worth the risk. To be honest I can't remember when I actually used the start button to actually start the truck. I always remote start, not only to warm up the engine but to cool the inside in the Texas heat.

Will have to video a cold start on either of my vehicles to show you the difference in a few min makes. You can hear a huge difference in the engine exhaust pitch and the idle smoothness as everything reaches temp.

 

[Bhollier]

[QUOTE="

"how much power do these stickers give me".[/QUOTE]

Which rear wing will give me the extra HP? lol. I love messing with people that have those ridiculous wings on their street cars.

 

[MnFlyer]

My 2007 Infiniti G35x is really sensitive to the MN cold temps. If I just fire up and go, she shifts pretty hard for the first couple of gears. In reality, it doesn't even have to be that cold out for it to shift hard (clunk). A few minutes at idle and no clunky dunky.

I'm loving the scheduled start thing with the app. When I have to leave the house at O'dark **** me, I set it start about 10 minutes before I will walk out the door.

 

[Tonga3]

I have lurked on here since I got my Raptor last June. I am currently at 54,000km's (Canadian eh) and I believe mine has developed the infamous cam phaser issue. It is scheduled to go into the dealer next Tuesday. I have done nothing but baby the motor since purchase, use Ford filters and synthetic oil. No CEL's but the start up noise does mimic what has been posted here. I will update once it has been in. I have taken multiple cold start videos so the dealer can't say they didn't hear it. I took it in this winter for a few minor issues as well as the start up tick and they said they could not replicate.

 

[goblues38]

Who in this group has read the owner’s manual thoroughly?

raises hand.....yeah....i read car manuals front to back when i get a new car....drives my wife nuts

but it allows me to say RTFM...because i did.

 

[goblues38]

That's said, I live in a neighborhood that takes several minutes to drive through at low speeds before I get to a highway with at least 55mph limit. It is pretty relaxed even then, no reason to poke it to get up to speed right away to blend with traffic. If you live in a similar situation, then the no-warm-up is particularly true.

Yeah...that's my situation just to get out of my neighborhood.... 1 mile of 20mph speed limit....and 1 mile of 35 mph speed limit. Takes 6 minutes to get to the 1st light, and even in -5f degree weather.....coolant temp hits 165-170 in those 6 minutes. just putting along.

Then a mile before i hit the highway merge at 45mph.....I am at 85 mph and full operating temp with never going above 2k rpm in first 10 minutes.