The 6 Most Common Ford 2.7 Ecoboost Engine Problems

More car owners increasingly boost interest in Ford engines; these high-performance turbocharged engines boast top-quality specs and features, including incredible on-road delivery, reliability, and a high fuel economy.

The six most common Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine problems include the following:

1. Carbon Deposit Build-up
2. Oil Pan Leak
3. Failing Head Gaskets
4. Bad Spark Plugs
5. Engine Issues
6. Defective Valve Guide seal

Whether they’re design-related or generic, these issues hamper proper and optimal performance of the engine. You may also notice a few other problems; you should be prompt in nipping them in the bud.

What Are The Most Common Ford 2.7 Ecoboost Issues?

1. Carbon Deposit Build-Up

Generally, most vehicles running on direct fuel injection systems are prone to carbon accumulation. This is evident in the first-generation model of the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine.

The reason is not only about the oil blow-by that all engines have; the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine comes with a design that allows fuel to bypass the valves and cylinders and get directly into the combustion chamber without being rid of oil deposits.

On the contrary, the port injection system allows the fuel to pass through the valve and cylinders and wash away carbon residue before getting to the combustion chamber.

Carbon accumulation restricts the free flow of air around the engine. The cylinder will receive varying amounts of air and at irregular intervals.

Signs Of Carbon Build-up And What To Do

• No Acceleration: When you press the throttle and the car fails to accelerate, there’s a possibility that carbon deposit has clogged the intake valves.
• Loss Of Power: Carbon deposits on the intake valve can cause restrictions of airflow to the cylinders. The effect is a reduction in fuel economy and engine power.
• Rough Idle: For the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost, carbon deposit often accumulates on the tip of the injector. This typically limits fuel from getting to its destination, thereby causing the engine to run lean. Rough idle also means fluctuating performance and it’s usually traced to a carbon accumulation on the back of the intake valve.
• Engine Misfire: Engine misfire can occur due to a list of issues. However, carbon build-up is one of the suspects when you notice that your engine produces a stuttering noise, hesitant disposition, or starts to shake when you start it.

How To Prevent Carbon Deposit Buildup

To avoid spending extra budget, why not try to prevent carbon buildup? You can reduce costs if you service your Ford 2.0 direction injection engine between 20,000 and 40,000 miles. However, you can prevent carbon accumulation if you’re faithful to the following:

• Ensure regular maintenance in between scheduled servicing.
• Replace spark plugs at normal mileage to relieve the combustion chamber of unburned gas.
• Maintain interval for oil change based on manufacturer’s recommendation.
• Add top-quality fuel to keep the engine in good condition.
• Use specified oil to ensure optimal performance.
• Use the recommended fuel system cleaner.

How To Fix Carbon Buildup

Performing walnut blasting on the engine and its components, including the intake valves and injector, has proven to be the best method to get rid of carbon buildup in your car.

Alternatively, you can do an ultrasonic cleaning by disassembling the engine and its parts before. Apply high-frequency sound waves to deep clean all surfaces, including hidden sections.

2. Oil Pan Leak

Your engine needs oil to function optimally and avoid knocking. If the oil circulates, friction is reduced and the engine will work smoothly. However, if the engine runs out of oil, it will make the metal parts of the engine not work effectively. The oil pan is an integral part of this lubrication system.

Leaks in car engines are largely due to oil pan leaks, a flawed design, oil seal leaks, blown engine gaskets, or bad electrical connections. If you go under your car and inspect the oil pans, any trace of oil on the floor tells you the oil pan is leaking. The configuration is that the oil pan is connected to the head gasket.

Without the gasket, the entire oil in the lubrication system will escape out. When you hear an oil pan leak, it’s not the pan but the gasket that’s leaking.

Signs Of A Leaking Oil Pan Gasket And How To Fix It

• Oil Puddles: If you check under your vehicle, you’ll notice some oil puddles forming there. Because the gasket is made of rubber-type material and regularly exposed to heat coming from the engine, its life expectancy is short. With time, it’ll begin to deteriorate and leak.
• Vehicle Releases Smoke: A leaking or worn oil pan gasket will cause the engine to release more than normal. As the oil leaks out from the oil pan and finds its way into the exhaust manifold, it causes it to give off more smoke than normal. The more smoke that’s generated and exited from the tailpipe, the more damage it causes to the oxygen sensors and other parts.
• Engine Overheating: The engine oil lubricates the metal parts of the engine and the oil pan is responsible for keeping the oil in place to ensure circulation in the lubrication system.
  So, the oil level should not drop below a threshold; if the contrary happens, the temperature of the engine will rise, causing an increase in the heat generated by and inside the engine. An overheated engine can result in knocking.
• Low Oil Levels: The direct consequence of an oil pan gasket leak is a drop in the oil level. Once the oil is below the standard level, the light on your dash will come on. At that point, you should either stop or change the oil.

The engine oil not only keeps the metal parts lubricated but also keeps the engine cool along with the radiator coolant. When there is an oil pan leak, the oil level will drop, and that causes the engine to overheat.

An overheated engine that isn’t attended to will cause extensive damage that could result in needing a new engine.

How To Fix Oil Pan Leaks

There are two ways to stop your oil pan gasket from leaking. It is either you hire the service of a professional mechanic or do it yourself.

Take the following steps:

1. Crawl under your vehicle and place a clean, empty plate under it.
2. Remove the oil plug and allow the oil to drain into the plate.
3. In the drain hole and over the gasket, place a moderately sized drain plug and seal.
4. Make sure the drain plug is cross-threaded; you can use a strand to do a reshape.
5. Install a new drain plug and gently tighten it.
6. Add new oil-based on manufacturer’s recommendations.

3. Failing Head Gaskets

Incorrect assembling often causes head gaskets to fail. Most of the engines by Ford experience this design problem. The head gasket is sandwiched between the cylinder block and the cylinder head. The block houses cylinders and pistons while the camshaft, spark plugs and valves reside in the cylinder head.

The head gasket is responsible for covering the firing pressure coming from the cylinder. It also serves to prevent the thick oil and water-like coolant from dropping inside and outside the cylinders.

Hence, it must be strong enough to withstand the stress coming from these engine parts. The pressure may make it expand, blow, shrink, or warp.

If the intense heat from the engine blocks and the cylinders rises above normal, it will cause the head gasket to blow. Another cause of a blown head gasket is detonation; it allows the pressure from the cylinders to get past the firing rings and so destroys the rings.

Signs Of A Blown Head Gasket And How To Fix It

Once the head gasket is blown, the passage of the coolant becomes unsealed, allowing the coolant to find its way into the cylinders.

When coolant gets into the cylinders, the following will occur:

• White smoke coming from the tailpipe.
• Rise in temperature.
• Milky white oil.
• Coolant and radiator reservoir bubbles.
• Loss of coolant.

How To Prevent A Blown Head Gasket

Before thinking of fixing a blown head gasket, you should first think of preventing the gasket from blowing. A failed head gasket can cause further damage to your vehicle.

Keep the engine coolant at the recommended level. Check under your car, if you notice coolant on the floor, then there’s a leak you’ll need to fix. While driving, keep your eye regularly on the temperature gauge on the dash.

However, if you see any of this happen, the best thing is to take your vehicle to a technician and have the problem looked into and inspected.

4. Bad Spark Plugs

Spark plugs problems with the Ford engine because the engine’s turbocharged. One will expect that the spark plug and ignition to wear over time. While it can take the spark plug to last between 40,000 and 60,000 miles, the ignition can spend 80,000 miles on average.

If the mileages exceed the average, the problem can be due to wear and tear, no thanks to the high cylinder pressures that exert themselves on these components.

Signs Of Failed Bad Spark Plugs

• Illuminating check engine light.
• Stuttering or hesitant start.
• Engine misfire.
• Power loss rough idle.

A simple way to resolve spark plugs and ignition coil issues is to replace them once they are giving off the symptoms above. In fact, you don’t need to wait until they go completely bad. Once they have reached their mileage, you should plan to replace the plugs and coils.

5. Engine Issues

Going by the design of the first generation, the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine is infamous for default engine issues. The defect results in a couple of issues, ranging from oil leakages to excessive smoke, decreased oil economy, cold engine test, engine braking, and smoke after idling.

Signs Of Failing Engine And What To do

• Surplus Exhaust Smoke: When you start your car, you’ll notice some tiny white vapor exiting the tailpipe; it’ll stop after a few seconds; however, if you observe that the vapor continues after some time, the first culprit is the valve guide seal.
  It may have been damaged. When the cylinder head valve guide seal gets damaged badly, the oil leaks in the internal combustion burn off and then gives off excessive blue or white smoke.
• Loss Of Power: Sluggish response from the engine, loss of power, or low power also accompanies valve guide seal defect. Once the oil burns off, a heap of slag may be left in the internal combustion chamber and on the spark plugs. Consequently, the engine will misfire due to an unusually high compression ratio.
• Engine Misfire And Braking: Engine misfire is a direct effect of many problems of car engines. But in the case of engine braking, the valve seals receive the oil gathered at the front of the head.
  From the valve seals, the oil freely transfers into the combustion chamber when your car is nose-down. This happens when the valve guide seals are in bad condition. In this case, you’ll notice the oil burning to produce the usual blue smoke.

Fix And Cost Of Engine Issues Defect

Two things, you can either take the vehicle to a Ford dealership or head straight to a mechanic workshop. The former option may come at a free cost, depending on the years left on the car warranty. The second option will require you to cough up some money.

To replace a defective engine seal, it may take your mechanic between days. The cost of buying the parts may be something in the region of $1000-$1500. The cost of labor can range between $2000 and $25000. On average, you can spend up to $4000.

6. Defective Valve Guide Seal

Like its counterpart, the 2.0 Ecoboost engine, the Ford 2.7 engine is also vulnerable to cylinder head valve guide defects. This problem has become less common and more severe among the second-generation 2.7 engines made in 2018.

Defective valve guide seals often cause oil leakages. When oil leaks, it drops inside the combustion chamber where it later burns off. With this defect, you’ll observe reduced fuel economy and the exhaust will start to give off blue smoke.

Signs Of A Valve Guide Seal Defect And How To fix

When your Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine starts to run on a defective cylinder head valve guide seal, you may notice the following signs:

• Blue Smoke: The exhaust will start to give off blue smoke. Normally, exhaust smoke comes when you start the engine; but if it persists a few minutes after, then it’s time to start to suspect some deterioration in your valve seal.
• Compromised Acceleration: Compromised acceleration results from a poor valve seal. This happens when engine oil flooding and causes slow or no response to pedal gas. Performing a compression test will ascertain the cause of the low acceleration because bad piston rings can also indicate compromised acceleration.
• Excessive Smoke During Idling: Another bad indicator of a failing cylinder head valve guide comes when your car idles. The oil that’s supposed to build up around the intake valve will get into the valve guide and be sucked past the seal. The result is the excessive smoke that exits the exhaust tailpipe.

Specs And Features Of The Ford 2.7 Ecoboost Engine

FAQs

1. Is The Ford 2.7 Ecoboost Engine Worth It?

Yes, there are Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine problems; but these cannot be what define its overall features. The engine has been around for less than a decade. Precisely, the first generation was launched in 2015 with the second generation coming three years after (2018).

So, these issues are not unexpected for new models but as times go on and upgrade is done on the engine, some of these problems will give way.

Here are a few takeaways from the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine:

• Highly durable engine with oil interval change or 10,000 miles.
• Incredible fuel efficiency.
• Blends port injection and direct fuel injection systems.
• Saves maintenance and operational cost.
• Uses compacted graphite iron for cylinder blocks.
• Lightweight engine.
• Low detonation chance due to high compression ratio.

2. Is The 2nd Generation Of The Ford 2.7 Ecoboost Engine Better Than The 1st?

Yes, and it should be expected. Vehicle manufacturers, including Ford company, make an upgrade on existing models. The second-generation always comes with features and spec upgrades.

Here are a few things that make the second generation better than the first:

Final Thoughts

Without prompt diagnosis and recommended inspection on your car, your mind may start to reel as you see the dollar begins to pile up.

The truth is that the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost engine problems are not all that defines the engine. All engines come with flaws in the design, but that doesn’t render them feeble or incapable of handling road pressure.

The incredible performance, reliability, and high pressure-resistance power make this engine worth your hard-earned dollar. What you should do is maintain scheduled servicing while performing regular inspections whenever you suspect an error in your engine delivery.