Ford snafu ruins our retirement vacation

[Gary Harrison]

Hi all,

Well, here's an interesting conundrum. I have a 2018 Ford F-150 XLR with the 3.5 EcoBoost engine. They have an issue with the cam phasers (there's a bulletin out on it) and I'm on my third failing phaser. OK, covered under the extended warranty, so no sweat...I thought. Apparently, there is a SEVEN TO TWELVE MONTH wait on parts. When I pressed on the parts, he said it was just the head gasket. Twelve months for a gasket??? They would even put in a third part gasket, but nobody has any. I retire in two weeks (31 August) and we were planning a trip through the south with our 17MKE, but having gotten the "wrench" before (it's called limp mode, and the speed is retarded to 45 mph) I don't want to have the phaser fail while on the Gulf Coast.

Probably not much to do except wait it out, but I thought I'd post here and see if the crew's collective wisdom had any insight.

Thanks!
Gary & Marie Harrison

 

[FT4NOW]

Could you rent a truck so you can go on your trip?

 

[Gary Harrison]

Could you rent a truck so you can go on your trip?

I'm going to look into it, but it would have to have a brake controller on it. That's one option, thanks!

Gary

 

[Jerryr]

Buy a new truck.

 

[mkevinmarshsr]

Yep, buy a different truck. New or used but life's too short to wait around on parts for that long.

 

[jproctor9]

Enterprise Truck Rental will rent you a F250 equipped for towing. Might be a little pricey but would allow you to make your scheduled trip.

Unless you're having a problem, a rattling phaser is not supposed to be a terminal issue. I've read forums where guys are ignoring the rattle with no ill effect. (One reports over 400K miles on an early 3.5.)

If the rattle bothers you, you can "flood start" the engine. Hold accelerator to the floor AND the brake while cranking the engine for 10-20 seconds and then release the accelerator. This builds oil pressure before starting and will eliminate the rattle.

Good luck.

 

[mwdilday]

Ford is a train wreck.

 

[Redapple63]

Hi all,

Well, here's an interesting conundrum. I have a 2018 Ford F-150 XLR with the 3.5 EcoBoost engine. They have an issue with the cam phasers (there's a bulletin out on it) and I'm on my third failing phaser. OK, covered under the extended warranty, so no sweat...I thought. Apparently, there is a SEVEN TO TWELVE MONTH wait on parts. When I pressed on the parts, he said it was just the head gasket. Twelve months for a gasket??? They would even put in a third part gasket, but nobody has any. I retire in two weeks (31 August) and we were planning a trip through the south with our 17MKE, but having gotten the "wrench" before (it's called limp mode, and the speed is retarded to 45 mph) I don't want to have the phaser fail while on the Gulf Coast.

Probably not much to do except wait it out, but I thought I'd post here and see if the crew's collective wisdom had any insight.

Thanks!
Gary & Marie Harrison

Very sorry to hear about your truck issues. My advice won’t help with your current dilemma for your trip, but more from a long term perspective.

If this is really the 3rd repair for the same thing and documented, you could invoke the Lemon law and push for a buy back and get a different truck. Food for thought.

Wish you the best on this and I really hope you can rent a truck to make your planned trip happen!

Bill

 

[NB Canada]

Very sorry to hear about your truck issues. My advice won’t help with your current dilemma for your trip, but more from a long term perspective.

If this is really the 3rd repair for the same thing and documented, you could invoke the Lemon law and push for a buy back and get a different truck. Food for thought.

Wish you the best on this and I really hope you can rent a truck to make your planned trip happen!

Bill

Lemon law on a 2018?

That would be difficult

 

[jleonard]

You should research and see if the head gasket was replaced with an updated one hence a different part number. I ran into that once on a GM product.

 

[Redapple63]

Lemon law on a 2018?

That would be difficult

Just saw the 2018 part

 

[Gary Harrison]

Just saw the 2018 part

Thanks all - good advice! I'm tempted to just ignore it, but I did go into limp mode on a previous go around.

Buy a new truck? I can give you 40,000 good reasons why that ain't going to happen on this retired preachers income

Thanks for the Enterprise tip - I'll follow that up.

I really appreciate this forum - always a big help!

Gary

 

[Conner58]

Get the 5.0 if you can .

 

[Red.Radar]

I emphasize. I think consumer protection laws should be written to prioritize replacement parts over new production. Especially if there is a documented service bulliten. Or the dealer should required to tear down a new truck and harvest the part if it sits more than reasonable time. And let the dealer invoice the cost of the parts truck back to the manufacturer.

It’s disappointing to see trucks Que up on the lots because of high interest rates and then read about part shortages. .

I have had my own issues with ford and will not be considering them as an automatic buy in the future. Will definitely take a closer look at the competition

 

[Rideblue51]

Saw on tascaparts.com they have part number ML3Z-6051-C and D which are head gaskets for both sides. $50 each https://www.tascaparts.com/v-2018-ford-f-150--limited--3-5l-v6-gas/engine--engine

 

[retired not tired]

Out of curiosity I looked it up. Even though you can put it in your cart it doesn't mean that they have it in stock. I would certainly give it a try.

"PLEASE NOTE: ALL PARTS ARE SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY and may require special ordering from the manufacturer."

 

[jlk111]

Get the 5.0 if you can .

I replaced both cam phasers on my wife's truck (5.0 L) before 30k. When the "check engine light" indicated another failure, I put in an aftermarket one and it has worked for over 20 k so far. Now I need to find a good pcv valve to reduce oil consumption.