Chains don’t break or stretch?
2.7 Ecoboost - An overbuilt beast with a flaw
- Thread starter ctechbob
- Start date
Chains don’t break or stretch?
dnewton3
Staff member
In the second 2.7L IDC video he does admit that (typical of his teardowns) there's very little known about the engine. With the proliferation of tuners these days, we don't know if the engine in this second video was abused or not. Given it's reasonably clean nature, the OCIs were probably consistent and on time. Plus all the rings were free; not coked up, so not likely overheated from coolant issues. But the heavy tarnish around the pistons would lead some to believe that tuners were present; high localized heat for short duration. The reality is that we don't know the history so it's just subjective guessing at this point.
He also noted that this engine has 130k miles (ish ...) and yet there's no oil pump belt failure. There's no belt change interval. At some point it's likely that belt will fail, but we don't know WHEN that is; I know of not one 2.7L belt induced engine failure. Probably just not enough time on this yet.
I was impressed with the intake valves; very little build up. The dual-fuel-injection seems to be doing a good job there; that's a big plus.
It will be interesting to see if he can find a Gen1 2.7 and see if the oil pump chain drive can interchange with Gen2; the holy grail if so!
He also noted that this engine has 130k miles (ish ...) and yet there's no oil pump belt failure. There's no belt change interval. At some point it's likely that belt will fail, but we don't know WHEN that is; I know of not one 2.7L belt induced engine failure. Probably just not enough time on this yet.
I was impressed with the intake valves; very little build up. The dual-fuel-injection seems to be doing a good job there; that's a big plus.
It will be interesting to see if he can find a Gen1 2.7 and see if the oil pump chain drive can interchange with Gen2; the holy grail if so!
The belt is a concern. Clearly it was showing signs of distress. Maybe that should be a 6 year or 130K mile interval. Probably costs $2k in labor to replace it.
Since I travel long distances with my trucks, I'd hate to have the belt fail 500 or 1300 miles from home, have to pay for a rental truck, hotels, and associated one way drop off fees, along with finding a local mechanic to fix it. That could easily be a $10,000 failure, even if the engine is intact and is shut down immediately after losing oil pressure.
Maybe a backup electric oil pump is in order here......
Since I travel long distances with my trucks, I'd hate to have the belt fail 500 or 1300 miles from home, have to pay for a rental truck, hotels, and associated one way drop off fees, along with finding a local mechanic to fix it. That could easily be a $10,000 failure, even if the engine is intact and is shut down immediately after losing oil pressure.
Maybe a backup electric oil pump is in order here......
Your comment about the electrical connections and their safety locks got me to laughing. It is so true! Now let me tell you why there are locks on these connections that really don't need them because they lock securely alone without needed the safety lock. When I was on the electrical team for GM we would deep dive data on test failures and defects coming off the assembly line and what warranty data was telling us. The biggest reason for electrical defects was connections not fully seated/secured. The immediate answer was the safety locks added to the connections and cost never mattered as it was to make a better product. These 2nd latches will not lock until the main lock is fully seated. Even the old style just a loop of plastic thru the connector like on 02 sensors won't engage until the original connection is fully made. So basically the whole idea was to mask the human error in not fully making connections by added these secondary latching mechanisms. It was easier for a production manager to close his "defects" out on the report by requesting a safety lock. Discipline of the operators also occurred but with the turnover rates etc it was deemed better to add these "features" to be sure the connections were made properly. Now as a shop owner/mechanic I hate these things but knowing the back story tickles me more than you know. The average cost to make an electrical connection change ranged from almost nothing if there were already styles to use available on up to $1-2/vehicle if designs had to be changed.
Great, Stellantis couldn't manage to seat fuses and relays on the JL so now we're going to see fuses and relays with plastic safety locks. Thanks for ruining my day!!
This is a really good point. I would rather have a variable speed external electric oil pump in this case than a belt-driven internal with no easy maintenance access.
This engine loafs along at low rpms in daily use. Realistically it doesn’t go over 2k rpms unless you’re accelerating with at least a little purpose. That may help belt lifespan? I’d imagine this thing is stitched with Kevlar?
I wouldn't have a problem with the belt if it were designed to be replaced. Tearing apart the whole front of the motor to replace it isn't my idea of fun. If they at least made it the first pulley in the stack, that would be miles better than putting it behind the 1st chain.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
If we're going to admit that we don't know enough about the history of this vehicle, then the assumption the belt is the original one is also a guess.
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If we're going to guess: overheating vs poor aftermarket tune, I'm going to guess with overheating just simply due to stats. There are far more reports of half tons getting really hot while towing than there are reports of people putting a tune on their truck. Not just Ford's ecoboost either, though the turbos do seem to get hotter quicker, the Rams and GMs also have reports of excessively (IMHO) high oil temps while pulling up grades, guys pulling over at the top etc. TFL has demonstrated this with both a 3.5 powerboost and a GM 6.2 towing near but under their GCWR.
They like to run gassers hotter and hotter from the factory for emissions and mpg but installing after market oil coolers and lower thermostats are probably the best thing to do if you care about your truck.
They like to run gassers hotter and hotter from the factory for emissions and mpg but installing after market oil coolers and lower thermostats are probably the best thing to do if you care about your truck.
It's a guess, true, but, I feel like if someone had been in there to replace the belt, then Eric would have found the better part of a tube of RTV on the cover in the process.
Arg! I meant McNamara, not Nader!
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McNamara, famous for putting 2bbl carbs on even a 428ci V8
Plenty of cab off turbo repairs on the "new" Tundra.
I hate it when Toyota copies Ford.
I liked their prior NA motor, but I still think GM had it best with a simple pushrod V8. Can’t say as much for their transmission though.
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I hate it when Toyota copies Ford.
I liked their prior NA motor, but I still think GM had it best with a simple pushrod V8. Can’t say as much for their transmission though.
GM hasn't had a simple pushrod v8 in years. AFM has been an issue for far too long.
The most simple v8 in a truck these days is the Ford 6.8 and 7.3. No cylinder deactivation, just a large, old school port injected pushrod in a large block.
Like I said, they had it best... I want to say, they had some variable valve timing too, and that wasn't problematic, but it was downhill after AFM.
Sometimes I think I wouldn't mind a 4.8 pushing a 4L60 (4L65?) in a RCSB. No AFM and while the trans might be problematic, its woes are well known and easily rectified on a rebuild. The 5.3 is 10% better, until you get into AFM years, and then it gets 12.5% worse on each cylinder that eats a lifter.
What was the rationale? Was he thinking the people were attracted by the big displacement more than the actual performance numbers?
All to save a few bucks by not equipping the engine with a 4-bbl?
Oy ...
