Ford 2.0l Duratec Valvetrain after 195k Miles

[pbm]

Was your valve cover gasket leaking into the spark plug tubes? That seems to be the only weakness of these great little engines and it usually doesn't happen until after 100K when they harden. It's not difficult to replace the VC gasket so it's really not much of a 'weakness'.

PS: Your engine looks very good for nearly 200K...I've seen some 2.0 Duratecs with 300+K and one with 420K so another 100K is certainly doable.

 

[miden851]

those MZR engines are basically indestructible; keep doing what you're doing

we have 08 a MZR 2.3l engine in family with 255K and today we installed brand new tires on the car knowing it still goes and runs like a charm

 

[BAJA_05]

Looks great under the valve cover -- good oil & filter is the trick -- I do believe!!!

 

[synthman1337]

Was your valve cover gasket leaking into the spark plug tubes? That seems to be the only weakness of these great little engines and it usually doesn't happen until after 100K when they harden. It's not difficult to replace the VC gasket so it's really not much of a 'weakness'.

PS: Your engine looks very good for nearly 200K...I've seen some 2.0 Duratecs with 300+K and one with 420K so another 100K is certainly doable.

Yes, that is exactly what happened. When I took the coils off, the spark plug wells were FILLED with oil, almost to the top! Oddly enough, the engine ran fine, without misfiring or anything. The first indication that anything was amiss was when I noticed a drop of oil on the floor of the garage. After thinking about it, I remembered that the oil level was a little low the last oil change. I then took a look under the hood and noticed oil seeping out from the gasket and then it all made sense. It was definitely a surprise to see how bad it really was though!

All that said, if I only have to fix this problem every 195k or so, I’ll take it! Haha

 

[bbhero]

Hello all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a 2009 Ford Focus with the 2.0 Duratec engine that is my current daily driver. It’s been a great car with no mechanical issues to speak of other than normal maintenance and a few motor mounts needing replaced over the years.

It was my wife’s car originally, and I inherited it when we got married 9 years ago. When my wife owned the car, she drove it back and forth to work an hour each way, and had her oil changed every 3,000 miles like clockwork with Motocraft Synthetic Blend 5W-30. Thanks to this forum, I knew that the change interval was overkill for what was pretty much all highway miles, so when I started driving it I started changing it every 7,500 miles with Supertech 5W-20. Everything I’ve read states that this is pretty much as good as all the other name-brand oils, and the price is hard to beat. Since this engine was known for not being hard on oil at all, it was a no brainer.

Well recently, the engine developed a pretty severe valve cover gasket leak, which is pretty common on these engines from what I understand. I figured I might as well get a good look at the top of the engine while I was in there and I was pleasantly surprised!View attachment 115970View attachment 115971View attachment 115972View attachment 115973

That's about a 10 put of 10... Amazingly perfect.

Extremely well done man.

Those cam lobes look exceptionally good too.

 

[SteveG4]

This average everyday engine has appreciated timely maintenance with average everyday oils. Fantastic results!

The longer commute times allowed the engine to fully warm up and operate at temperature each day. That singular aspect has aided this engine.

 

[wtd]

Yes, that is exactly what happened. When I took the coils off, the spark plug wells were FILLED with oil, almost to the top! Oddly enough, the engine ran fine, without misfiring or anything. The first indication that anything was amiss was when I noticed a drop of oil on the floor of the garage. After thinking about it, I remembered that the oil level was a little low the last oil change. I then took a look under the hood and noticed oil seeping out from the gasket and then it all made sense. It was definitely a surprise to see how bad it really was though!

All that said, if I only have to fix this problem every 195k or so, I’ll take it! Haha

My Fiancé bought her younger son a 2008 Ford Focus a couple of years ago with 89,000 miles on it. It ran a little rough and I could see that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. When I took the coil packs out, a couple of the spark plug wells were full of oil. The valve train looked pretty much like yours does.

Put a new valve cover gasket on it and replaced the plugs and coil boots and it ran great. Car has around 130,000 miles on it now and still runs great.

The previous owners are friends of ours and it used to be her grandfather's car that he bought new and had serviced at the local Ford dealer. They continued to use 5W-20 Motorcraft blend in it and that is what we still use.

 

[scrowley]

The 2.3 Duratec has been flawless in my Ranger.Even the 5R44E trans has worked flawlessly.211,000 mostly highway miles. hoping to get 300,000 miles with luck, then I will look for another one. Leaking heater valve, water pump leak (60 minute repair) . plugs, and cracked coil replacement. The Valve cover leaks, but does not short out the plug wires with NGK boots.

 

[Trav]

Looks great!