2.3 Ecoboost carbon build up

[toad350]

Hello all.Just turned 50,000 miles on my 16 ecoboost with no apparent problems with carbon build up.

Wondering if anyone out there with more mileage has had any problems or if not what your current odometer reading is.

Have used synthetic oil and top tier fuel as recommended by the Ford guy but really haven’t seen or heard of any problems. Wonder if Ford fixed it and kept it a secret!

Thanks, happy new year.

 

[whimsey]

What oil have you been using and what oil change interval do you you follow? Do you follow the iOLM down to 10,000 miles of oil use or do you change it sooner? We have a 2017 2.3 EB Explorer with 36,000 miles and have settled on using Mobil 1 5W-30 after doing multiple used oil analysis. I did one UOA using Motorcraft 5W-30 and in less than 4,300 miles it sheared well into a 20 weight oil much worse than Mobil 1 5W-30 did at 7,000 miles, which was still a 30 weight oil. I'm going to do 6,500-7,500 mile oil changes and continue to use top tier gasoline, though I do use 87 octane. People talk about extreme soot in the tail pipe, I had the chance to check mine recently and the soot was minor considering it's a turbo DI engine, not really worse than my port fuel injected non turbo Ford engines. Hopefully Ford has found a way to mitigate the intake valve deposits on these DI engines.

Whimsey

 

[thefranchise713]

57k and no issues perceived. I run 10k OCIs.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Isnt the 2.3 dual port direct injection? I know the 2.7 is, did they not do it to the 2.3 yet?

 

[toad350]

What oil have you been using and what oil change interval do you you follow? Do you follow the iOLM down to 10,000 miles of oil use or do you change it sooner? We have a 2017 2.3 EB Explorer with 36,000 miles and have settled on using Mobil 1 5W-30 after doing multiple used oil analysis. I did one UOA using Motorcraft 5W-30 and in less than 4,300 miles it sheared well into a 20 weight oil much worse than Mobil 1 5W-30 did at 7,000 miles, which was still a 30 weight oil. I'm going to do 6,500-7,500 mile oil changes and continue to use top tier gasoline, though I do use 87 octane. People talk about extreme soot in the tail pipe, I had the chance to check mine recently and the soot was minor considering it's a turbo DI engine, not really worse than my port fuel injected non turbo Ford engines. Hopefully Ford has found a way to mitigate the intake valve deposits on these DI engines.

Whimsey

I have been a big fan of Amsoil since the 80’s. I use Signature 5/30 and send samples to Blackstone. I’ve been changing my oil at about 8000 miles and the TBN levels show I could easily go 10,000 but with this engine I’m happy at 8,000. Have run Amsoil a lot longer in other vehicle with no issues but not this one!

We’ll see.Ford just doesn’t give us any info or recommendations so I’m hoping they’ve engineered the issue out.

Thanks

 

[peterk9]

.........We’ll see.Ford just doesn’t give us any info or recommendations so I’m hoping they’ve engineered the issue out.

Thanks

Are you referring to what oil to use? If so, it's all listed in the Owner's Manual.
BTW, I run regular dyno oil in my 3.5L Ecoboost. No synthetic. That is what the Manual recommends for mine.

Peter

 

[toad350]

Are you referring to what oil to use? If so, it's all listed in the Owner's Manual.
BTW, I run regular dyno oil in my 3.5L Ecoboost. No synthetic. That is what the Manual recommends for mine.

Peter

No actually I’m asking if anyone is having issues and what they do to prevent build up. The ford guy that made several videos that have been on this site recommended using synthetics and top tier fuel. That’s where that comes from. Just trying to see if anyone has enough miles on the 2.3 to see if they are having problems. I don’t think the 3.5 engine had the issues as much as the 2.0 and the 2.3.

I’m sure the oil recommendations ford had in the manual is not a factor with the carbon build up but I don’t know cause they aren’t talking!

 

[thefranchise713]

Isnt the 2.3 dual port direct injection? I know the 2.7 is, did they not do it to the 2.3 yet?

Almost positive it's not. I wish it were...

 

[613GT500]

The issue that would be more prevalent with DI engines, is carbon build up on the backside of the intake valves.
Everything after that is being burnt and unlike port injected engines, there is no spray of fuel on the backside of the intake valves and that is where the carbon build up would be more of an issue.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

I don’t think Ford has an induction service for ecoboost engines yet. My 2.3 has 65,000ish miles and no signs of issues thankfully, but it would be great to have a periodic preventative maintenance we could do to keep the engine humming along…

 

[94Eddie]

Hello all.Just turned 50,000 miles on my 16 ecoboost with no apparent problems with carbon build up.

Wondering if anyone out there with more mileage has had any problems or if not what your current odometer reading is.

Have used synthetic oil and top tier fuel as recommended by the Ford guy but really haven’t seen or heard of any problems. Wonder if Ford fixed it and kept it a secret!

Thanks, happy new year.

IMO, your best preventative measures for a small turbocharged engine is change the oil/filter every 5k miles, or less, and use a good synthetic oil and Motorcraft filter. Going 7k-10k for oil change intervals is going to lead to major problems after 100k miles is reached or even sooner. Many think that running a good oil filter allows one to go for extended distances between oil changes. A filter does nothing regarding the build up of acids and other caustic chemicals that eat away at bearing surfaces as the mileage on the oil increases. Adding a turbo into the mix makes things even worse. Keep in mind that the only thing an automaker cares about regarding recommended maintenance is preventing breakdowns before a 100k extended warranty has expired. After that, a major breakdown is more repair money in their pockets or them selling you a new vehicle.

The second thing is to install a good catch can system to keep blow-by oil from getting into the intake tract and combustion chambers. This will go a long way in preventing carbon buildup in the combustion chambers and gumming up the intake tract with black, think oil deposits. This is even more of a problem on forced induction (i.e. turbocharged) engines. Especially small four cylinder engines that see a lot of stress in order to make the power they do.