I have a 2011 Explorer XLT AWD with about 135k miles on it. We made a trip, tried I should clarify, and got about 900 miles from home and the water pump went out causing "catastrophic engine failure." Apparently when the water pump went out it flooded the engine with water/coolant? The car never over heated. We pulled over the second we felt the issue. It was towed to a Meineke (big mistake) and they started it and drove it into their shop where they let it run until the car "locked up." It was then towed to a different mechanic shop where the guy opened the oil cap and said the motor was blown and then got irritated that we didn't want to drop a could thousand on a motor right then. We brought it home and my brother messed with it and got it turning again, obviously it's not fixed and running, he was getting conflicting info from the shops that looked at it when he called and he didn't feel like the motor was legitimately "locked up." We don't know if the battery was dead and that is why it wouldn't start again after it was driven into the first shop. When we were unloading it we had to hook it up to some jumper cables to turn the ignition on and get the car into neutral. At this point we think that the water pump needs to be replaced and the timing chain. He suggested going ahead and putting a new motor in it so we don't have more problems down the road.
So, why I'm here...
My car has the 3.5L Cyclone V6 with no oil cooler (8th digit is an 8). That motor is in the 2011-2018 models. According to our local Ford Dealer (who wants $7400 to replace the motor) the only years that will fit mine are the 2011-2012. He said that they made some change that he doesn't know what is, he can only see that the part number is different and that means they changed something in 2013. Does anyone know what changes were made? Are they minor adjustments to the 2013 and up engines that I could still buy one of those and make some minor adjustments and use the new year model engine?
My other question... it was suggested to see if I could put one of the EcoBoost engines in my car to replace the bad motor that is in it currently. Does anyone know if that is possible? Can I switch it out with an EcoBoost motor with some reasonable modifications?
Sorry for the lengthy post. I just wanted to get all the info in here to get the best information in return. Thank-Shellie.