2015 Lincoln MKS 3.5 Ecoboost

[ls1mike]

My good friend just picked up a 35,000-mile Lincoln MKS with the 3.5 Ecoboost for $23,000. I have to tell I am not a Ford guy, but for the money that thing is super nice. Rides very smooth and plenty of power. Very quiet. Sunroof front and rear. Massage seats. A full option car.

I drove it about 45 miles. I really didn't have any complaints except the infotainment stuff is busy, just so much information.
I imagine it is a solid mid to high 13 second car.

At that price with everything else I see on the market I think he did well. Thing is immaculate. I am not sure how anyone else feels about it, but I think it might be a bit overlooked as solid car/deal.

 

[Imp4]

Do these have the internal water pumps that leak with no warning and destroy the engine?

If so, hard pass...

 

[ls1mike]

Do these have the internal water pumps that leak with no warning and destroy the engine?

If so, hard pass...

To be honest I don't know. Not a Ford guy, I just thought the car itself was a nice a car.

 

[tcp71]

If the engine is transverse, the pump is inside. If it's longitudinal, it's outside.

 

[KGMtech]

To say the engine will not give warning of impending waterpump failure is not true. There is a leak point cast into the block that will drip coolant behind the AC compressor, pretty easy to see when you remove the oil filter. There is another leak hole that will go into the intake valley behind the cam gears, but this one is pretty small diameter. FWIW, I did my 2009 Ford Flex WP and Timing Chains at 206,000km and there was no leaking, but I was trying to be pre-emptive. It's now 3 years and 50k km since and no problems.

 

[FTTSHO]

Do these have the internal water pumps that leak with no warning and destroy the engine?

If so, hard pass...

I'm a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO owner, which the Taurus is basically the exact same as MKS.

I have the 3.5 Ecoboost, and my water pump failed at around 85k miles/ 12 years.

One day, about 1 year ago, I was checking my engine oil when I arrived home after a 30-40 minute drive just like I always do. I shut the engine off, and let the car sit for at least 20 minutes before I check the oil to get a accurate reading. So I checked the oil, and I noticed the oil level went up about 1/16 of the way on the dip stick in only 1 day. I've never had the oil level fluctuate at all. It was always right where I left it from the previous oil change. There was coolant leaking from the coolant weep hole too. I knew something was really wrong, big time. The oil was also slightly milky, I personally could not tell. I'm guessing there wasn't enough coolant in the oil to cause the oil to turn completely milky. I got really lucky and caught the leak quickly.

I think your friend got a great car ls1mike. Just make sure your friend at least checks the color of the oil, and make sure the coolant level in the coolant reservoir isn't going down. One day, your friend will need a waterpump replacement on the car, if your friend keeps the car long enough. Just an FYI for people who own a 3.5 duratec engine....

Our cars a great cars. Waterpump is definitely a downside, but if you catch it quick enough, about $1300-$1500 can get you back on the road for at least another 12 years/ or 150k miles.

The waterpump itself can pretty much last 300,000 miles, but the seal that seals the waterpump housing sadly doesn't last that long. It seems like the seal lasts upto 12 years, or 200k miles which ever comes first. Some go out sooner, and some don't go out for much longer.

 

[Imp4]

I'm a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO owner, which the Taurus is basically the exact same as MKS.

I have the 3.5 Ecoboost, and my water pump failed at around 85k miles/ 12 years.

One day, about 1 year ago, I was checking my engine oil when I arrived home after a 30-40 minute drive just like I always do. I shut the engine off, and let the car sit for at least 20 minutes before I check the oil to get a accurate reading. So I checked the oil, and I noticed the oil level went up about 1/16 of the way on the dip stick in only 1 day. I've never had the oil level fluctuate at all. It was always right where I left it from the previous oil change. There was coolant leaking from the coolant weep hole too. I knew something was really wrong, big time. The oil was also slightly milky, I personally could not tell. I'm guessing there wasn't enough coolant in the oil to cause the oil to turn completely milky. I got really lucky and caught the leak quickly.

I think your friend got a great car ls1mike. Just make sure your friend at least checks the color of the oil, and make sure the coolant level in the coolant reservoir isn't going down. One day, your friend will need a waterpump replacement on the car, if your friend keeps the car long enough. Just an FYI for people who own a 3.5 duratec engine....

Our cars a great cars. Waterpump is definitely a downside, but if you catch it quick enough, about $1300-$1500 can get you back on the road for at least another 12 years/ or 150k miles.

The waterpump itself can pretty much last 300,000 miles, but the seal that seals the waterpump housing sadly doesn't last that long. It seems like the seal lasts upto 12 years, or 200k miles which ever comes first. Some go out sooner, and some don't go out for much longer.

So are you saying that you got lucky that you noticed the oil level went up 1/16th of the way on the dipstick?!?

Because I don't want to own a car where I need to get lucky about a 1/16th change in my dipstick level.

Hard pass.

 

[FTTSHO]

Yeah I got lucky. If I didn't check the oil that day in that moment, I could have had major issues the next day on my way to work.

If I was stuck in traffic for any minute longer, who knows how much coolant could have gotten into the oil.

It's a terrible design and I hate car companys that have internal waterpumps, but ford 3.5 duratecs with internal waterpumps have been around since 2007, and it's still being sold like hot cakes. The transverse 3.5 duratecs have the internal waterpumps. There are millions and millions of them out there with high miles.

I didn't design it, Ford did.

 

[ls1mike]

I'm a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO owner, which the Taurus is basically the exact same as MKS.

I have the 3.5 Ecoboost, and my water pump failed at around 85k miles/ 12 years.

One day, about 1 year ago, I was checking my engine oil when I arrived home after a 30-40 minute drive just like I always do. I shut the engine off, and let the car sit for at least 20 minutes before I check the oil to get a accurate reading. So I checked the oil, and I noticed the oil level went up about 1/16 of the way on the dip stick in only 1 day. I've never had the oil level fluctuate at all. It was always right where I left it from the previous oil change. There was coolant leaking from the coolant weep hole too. I knew something was really wrong, big time. The oil was also slightly milky, I personally could not tell. I'm guessing there wasn't enough coolant in the oil to cause the oil to turn completely milky. I got really lucky and caught the leak quickly.

I think your friend got a great car ls1mike. Just make sure your friend at least checks the color of the oil, and make sure the coolant level in the coolant reservoir isn't going down. One day, your friend will need a waterpump replacement on the car, if your friend keeps the car long enough. Just an FYI for people who own a 3.5 duratec engine....

Our cars a great cars. Waterpump is definitely a downside, but if you catch it quick enough, about $1300-$1500 can get you back on the road for at least another 12 years/ or 150k miles.

The waterpump itself can pretty much last 300,000 miles, but the seal that seals the waterpump housing sadly doesn't last that long. It seems like the seal lasts upto 12 years, or 200k miles which ever comes first. Some go out sooner, and some don't go out for much longer.

Thanks for the info. I will tell him. Either way he did purchase warranty and for the price of the car it sure offers a lot.

 

[Nick1994]

Luxury powerful cars are a great bargain with a good extended warranty. If I would have known the Tesla wasn't going to be all that I'd be happily driving the Genesis and seeing how much the warranty was going to keep paying out 😁