The Consequences of a Failed Ford EcoBoost Engine Crankshaft

2019 Ford F-150’s 3.5L Twin-Turbo V6 Conceals Major Disaster – See the Video!

At times, the most severe harm inflicted upon a vehicle is not visible to the unaided vision. It may require extensive deconstruction to uncover any underlying catastrophe. This is precisely what happened with the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine pulled from a 2019 Ford F-150.

The I Do Cars YouTube channel received an EcoBoost engine as a core return after selling it. The exact mileage of the engine is unknown, but the red dots on each spark plug suggest that they have not been replaced since the factory assembly. Therefore, it can be assumed that this unit was a lightly used before being removed from its previous location.

Eric, the host of the I Do Cars show, came across some peculiar items while inspecting an engine. It appears that a previous mechanic had utilized channel locks to rotate the camshafts, as evident from the significant damage sustained by them – which is perplexing, considering there was plenty of room nearby to perform this task without causing harm to the metal. Adding to the mystery, the timing chain rail bears a date code of 2021, indicating it was a replacement component. It’s highly unusual to find a brand new timing chain in a low-mileage engine.

Upon removing the oil pan, the true problem becomes apparent. Eric discovers that the crankshaft has snapped into two separate pieces and is nonchalantly lying within the engine block. This severe damage has consequently destroyed the block and one of the pistons as well.

2019 Ford F-150 3.5L Ecoboost MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE! Full Teardown W/

Eric has a feeling that the root cause of this disastrous breakdown cannot be attributed to just one factor. Instead, it seems to stem from several minor issues that accumulated over time. The presence of a considerable amount of carbon build-up on the ring lands of the pistons could be adequate to diminish engine compression and potentially result in a misfire. Furthermore, the damaged camshafts and the use of replaced timing components indicate past problems with the functioning of this particular power unit. When considering all these factors in conjunction with a defective crankshaft, it is plausible that the failure of this engine can be attributed to their combined effects.

Although infrequent, there have been occurrences of crankshaft malfunctions on this particular engine. The footage depicted below displays a comparable incident involving a fractured crank in a 2017 F-150 truck.

EcoBoost Broken crank removal (It's Out!) pt3

Source: I Do Cars via YouTube