Why is everyone afraid of the engine bay?

[JT58Bronc]

It's very busy with hoses, etc. everywhere. You can barely actually see the engine, engine block and valve covers. What's scary for me is basic maintenance. Maybe not initially but what about after 30 or 40K miles when it may possibly need gasket changes, tune up- can the spark plugs be accessed or do you have to remove a ton of hoses?

I have had turbo engines before- a 2011 MazdaSpeed 3, 2016 Subaru WRX, 2013 Nissan Juke. They were much cleaner under the hood than the Bronco 2.7. My 2011 MS3 was amazingly clean. I was easily able to change the spark plugs by removing the intercooler on top of the engine and there were the four plugs and coils right in plan view and so simple to access. Was a very simple job- 30 minutes.

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[ATLBronco75]

I think it's because it's well....pretty untidy.

for reference, here's another TT 2.7 setup:

That’s all fake. Nice Y pipe routing but the rest is plastic covers.

 

[NCOBX]

Now here’s a legit concern.

Your car is not a twin turbo v6 with FMIC.

oh you got me. That’s the 2.3l. Most of the complaints I’ve seen have been about the 2.7

No it’s not, but frankly that engine would probably be more off-road friendly with less failure points. Big plus when your away from civilization. I believe this is the main concern (and valid IMO) with those worried over the engine bay, more tubes/hoses means more failure points as well making the engine harder to work on.

 

[amccue90]

It's fine. I think there's a subset that is used to naked carbed V8s.

I wouldn't say used to, but it was in the first car I bought and worked on. Everything since has scared me, until I start digging in.

 

[okbob]

Most folks aren't mechanical anyway...... turn key/push start button, select D and step on the gas pedal, press on brake pedal to stop, that's about the extent. The majority of the population can identify any or few engine parts and as the decades go by, that number becomes smaller and smaller.

 

[Erock]

I ain’t skeered

 

[hellahella]

As a long time turbo car owner. In the 2.7 I see remarkably clean plumbing for a production vehicle with two turbos and a FMIC (front mounted inter cooler)

Are folks just not used to turbo engine bays?

I think people are just used to having covers on their engine bay lol

 

[BadlandsBronc21]

Terrified shaking thinking about opening the hood

 

[mootruck98]

Me and My Buddies standing around looking at someones new car with the hood popped up.

My Buddies: In depth discussions about the internal workings of the engine, rattling off various stats, etc.. off the top of their heads.

Me: Yup, looks like an engine!

 

[mC.242]

The engine bays look a lot cleaner in person than in the pics. Especially the 2.3L, but even the 2.7L was a lot better than I expected. The pics make them look crazy.

 

[Funkdoobiest]

Looks like Predator.

 

[NCOBX]

Most folks aren't mechanical anyway...... turn key/push start button, select D and step on the gas pedal, press on brake pedal to stop, that's about the extent. The majority of the population can identify any or few engine parts and as the decades go by, that number becomes smaller and smaller.

Regardless if the consumer is a booger eating moron, someone still has to dig into the engine when sensor x or gasket y fails. Instead of charging 0.5hours labor to pop out the old and put a new one in, the owner will notice the change to 3.5hours labor and added charge of coolant that had to be dumped to remove the hosing out of the way.

 

[MrJoe]

The messy engine bay makes it nearly impossible to find the cup holders...

 

[BecauseMotor]

I know not apples to apples by any means but there are ways to make twin turbo engine bays presentable. Aftermarket will help with this for sure. Not worried about ease of mechanics for this as it's really simple on the 2.7 from the pics I've seen. Just pure aesthetics from my POV.

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Just for S&Gs

 

[395N]

I’m more concerned about the alternator being down low where it will get submerged while off-roading. That design belongs on a sports car not an off-road vehicle.

Meh...4 Runner and LC have the alternator low as well.
Never been an issue for me with many years of off roading.
I understand the outward concern, but it's never presented itself as a real life problem, for me at least.

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