Engine failure at 45k miles

[zuke]

Not sure how it matters but I changed the oil at 39,734 miles and I was at 44,962 when I stopped for gas.
It had the standard ford oil plug and I did all the priming. I reviewed the carfax before I bought it and it didn't show anything out the ordinary with oil changes at the dealership every 8k miles or so including just before purchase.

Well. we'll never know now, and it doesn't much matter since the motor was replaced under warranty, but did you notice the condition and volume of the oil when you did the change at 39,734? If there was half a quart of sludge in the pan, that could explain why you couldn't get 7 quarts in..

And if the oil looked pretty dirty, and was less than 5 quarts that drained, that might point to the dealership fudging records on those previous oil changes every 8k.

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[broncobase1]

This is a strange one. Where did the 6 quarts of oil go and why was there so much sludge in the engine? If there was some kind of mechanical condition causing this much oil loss and sludge buildup it seems like it would have been symptoms. This sounds characteristic of an engine that went 40K miles without an oil change.

 

[Rydfree]

.This sounds characteristic of an engine that went 40K miles without an oil change.

It does happen.
I posted in another thread several months ago that I had a friend who buys a new truck every 2 or 3 years and he never changes oil. He will top off if needed. He said it was a waste of money, lol. I check the oil every time I'm about to start a long trip and usually 3 or 4 times between oil changes. Old habit I guess from the 70s that I believe is still good practice.

 

[userdude]

It does happen.
I posted in another thread several months ago that I had a friend who buys a new truck every 2 or 3 years and he never changes oil. He will top off if needed. He said it was a waste of money, lol. I check the oil every time I'm about to start a long trip and usually 3 or 4 times between oil changes. Old habit I guess from the 70s that I believe is still good practice.

Well, hopefully karma catches up and he gets eaten by an alligator.

 

[Snacktime]

Pull the intake and look at the throttle body, probably self ingested if no leaks. Blocked oil passage or vent issue can can easily push oil into the engine. Also need to pull plugs and see what cylinder is bad.

 

[Razorbak86]

Pull the intake and look at the throttle body, probably self ingested if no leaks. Blocked oil passage or vent issue can can easily push oil into the engine. Also need to pull plugs and see what cylinder is bad.

Ford already replaced the engine. I assume they kept the failed parts for internal examination and disposal.

 

[bodie_38]

I never got to see the condition of anything that came out of the truck other than the oil fill cap which looked sludgy. I didn't specifically inspect it when I changed the oil so I might not have noticed if it was already grungy but the oil seemed normal coming out and was at least 6 quarts because I used 2 5qt jugs to recycle it. I'm good on the oil change.
My points of interest are:
-Is there anything that didn't get replaced that might cause a repeat? Something caused it to consume about 5 quarts of oil in about 5000 miles, what? Again, I didn't get any warnings until it was probably already toast.
-Why does it feel underpowered and only develop 10 psi of boost after the repair? My appointment is next week so I'll see what they say.

 

[raptorusmaximus]

You may have had a bad rear engine seal and the oil leaked out while driving, although you should of seem some drips when parked. The 3.0 is known for bad a rear engine seal, mine was replaced at 70k under extended warranty ( thank you grainger )

 

[Nc211]

-Why does it feel underpowered and only develop 10 psi of boost after the repair? My appointment is next week so I'll see what they say.

Burning through that much oil, and considering you had sludge, which indicates to me a BS entry on oil changes, makes me think your catalytic converter is probably damaged as well. No way it couldn't be with that much oil residue getting send through the exhaust system. That could be a cause for the lower boosting since it can't breath well enough.

 

[Nc211]

I had our Mercedes GLS engine oil analyzed recently at 92k miles for the very first time (deciding to keep it or replace it). Happy to report the engine is perfect internally, except after 6,500 miles, they noted that viscosity was slightly higher than normal. Car only uses Mobile 1 full synthetic 5w30 Mercedes-spec with MB oil filter. What that told me was 6,500 miles was too long before sludge risk began to appear. Given the high stress and temp of the Raptor engine, I'd very much say keep it in the 5k-6k range as well for oil changes. Our Merc engine (450) is an inline 6 turbo with the 48v electric boost. Gearing rarely sees the engine at 3k rpm. Not a stressed engine by any means.

 

[AZ_Liberty]

I check the oil every time I'm about to start a long trip and usually 3 or 4 times between oil changes. Old habit I guess from the 70s that I believe is still good practice.

Daughter drives a Subaru. I check the oil ever time I drive it.

 

[bodie_38]

Burning through that much oil, and considering you had sludge, which indicates to me a BS entry on oil changes, makes me think your catalytic converter is probably damaged as well. No way it couldn't be with that much oil residue getting send through the exhaust system. That could be a cause for the lower boosting since it can't breath well enough.

Thank you! I'll ask about that when I bring it in.

 

[Nc211]

Thank you! I'll ask about that when I bring it in.

I would think you would see a code, but maybe not until the O2 sensors start acting up. But as part of the overall engine replacement process, and considering the reason why - I would absolutely have the cat's looked at to make sure they're not a clogged up mess of oil residue in general.

Perhaps since it's a brand new engine overall, maybe the computer is limiting how much boost it will allow until the first 1000 miles or so as well. Not sure if it does that, but considering how intrusive the computers are these days for cars, it wouldn't surprise me there either. Let the engine break in before the "Raptor Foot" is unleashed upon all of us innocent souls out there!

 

[cowman]

Some older owners' manuals for the Bronco 2.7-liter V6 misstated the capacity at 7 quarts; later manuals corrected it to 6 quarts. If you have a Raptor 3-liter V6, then it is 7 quarts.

I still believe they did not misstated the capacity of the 2.7... they just didn't want to recall the dipsticks... have a 2021 with 26,000 miles.... have always run 7 quarts. in it.... oil pan is the same on the 3.0 that also holds 7 quarts...

 

[Tim Smith]

I cannot dispute what you are seeing; however, I can assure you the issue has nothing to do with the dipstick.

August 2022: Ford issued Special Service Message (SSM) 50981, changing the oil change capacity to 6.0 quarts. Ford also stated that using the previously published 7-quart amount would not harm the engine, but the correct service fill is 6.0 quarts. The 7.5-quart specification remains the capacity for a completely dry, newly assembled engine.

The 2021 Bronco Outer Banks 2.7L EcoBoost and the Bronco Raptor 3.0L EcoBoost use the same oil pan assembly.

Ford lists the same OEM oil pan for both engines:

• OEM Oil Pan Part Number: N2DZ-6675-B
• Fits:
  • 2021–2025 Bronco 2.7L EcoBoost V6
  • 2022–2025 Bronco Raptor 3.0L EcoBoost V6

This isn't too surprising because the 3.0L EcoBoost is derived from the 2.7L EcoBoost and shares much of its lower-end architecture.

One thing they also share is:

• The same style plastic/composite oil pan.
• The same quarter-turn plastic oil drain plug (Ford part KX6Z-6730-B).

The 3.0L Raptor, despite using the same oil pan, has a different engine calibration and oil specification, so its fill quantity is determined by the engine—not just the pan.

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