Blown head gasket

[GTSDart340]

So I've had my Explorer (3.5 Ecoboost, 162k miles) for less than a week. Yesterday the check engine light came on, code p0016 (cam/crank correlation). It was still running pretty good, so I wasn't too worried about it. This morning my wife dropped my kids off at school, and got around the corner and it died. She was unable to get it to restart, it cranked but no fire. I went over to help and was able to get it started, but it ran rough at idle and had smoke out the exhaust. It also was running toward the hot side of the gauge, but not in the red. I shut it off and checked the oil to find... A milkshake . Luckily we got the 6 month warranty from the dealer, so it should all be covered. Anyone else have a similar issue? Thanks!

 

[jade97]

Or the water pump failed.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Most likely the water pump, as jade97 mentioned.

Hopefully the warranty will cover a new engine.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Probably why it was traded in.

 

[GTSDart340]

Most likely the water pump, as jade97 mentioned.

Hopefully the warranty will cover a new engine.

The warranty covers the entire drivetrain, so I'm hoping. I didn't realize the water pump could fail like this.

 

[peterk9]

The warranty covers the entire drivetrain, so I'm hoping. I didn't realize the water pump could fail like this.

Water pump failure leads to dead engine

I hate being the guy that joins only to have his first post be about needing help, but I’ve been lurking here for the better part of a year and now have a depressing reason to reach out for assistance. This is long, so the summary is 1k miles over warranty, water pump failed without any check...

www.explorerforum.com

Peter

 

[mguy13sport]

The transverse 3.5 Ecoboost uses an internal water pump driven off the timing chain. The coolant dumped into your oil pan to make that milkshake. Since it was ran while milky, there is a good chance the entire engine needs replacement. Some people get away with a cleaning and new pump/timing gear if caught in time. Let us know what they decide to do with it.

There is a weep hole in the block that exits above the AC compressor for the water pump to drain out if it starts leaking. Its a good idea to inspect this area as a precaution whenever you are under the car / oil changing. I caught my water pump failure in time and fixed everything before any damage occured.

 

[GTSDart340]

Ok, as a resolution for this, it was indeed the water pump. However, the warranty company only authorized the water pump replacement. They didn't look at bearings, analyze the oil, nothing. I'm not overly happy about that, however the truck is running great. I'm going to change the oil in about 500 miles and hope for the best. Thanks for all the help on this.

 

[Mbrooks420]

No warranty company is going to send out an oil sample, unless it’s to deny a claim for not changing it enough. They’re certainly not going to go out of their way to spend more.

 

[peterk9]

Ok, as a resolution for this, it was indeed the water pump. However, the warranty company only authorized the water pump replacement. They didn't look at bearings, analyze the oil, nothing. I'm not overly happy about that, however the truck is running great. I'm going to change the oil in about 500 miles and hope for the best. Thanks for all the help on this.

If you suspect possible oil contamination why wait for another 500 miles? I'd have it done ASAP.

Peter

 

[mguy13sport]

I wouldn't even bother testing the oil. I would change it after a few warm up cycles though. You want to be sure no coolant still on any internals so change it asap

 

[Sereno011]

Like mguy said, just change the oil once or twice around every fuel fill-up. Flush with conventional oil and can then go back to your fav synthetic on the final change. Any trace amounts left should evaporate off with engine heat, ideally with a fair amout of highway use. Short commutes may not hot soak the engine long enough for residual moisture to boil away.