Running hot and rainy day woes

[04lss]

Let me start by saying i appreciate all the help ive been given so far on this forum. Thank you!

So after i replaced my 3 bar map with the OEM the car started running fine. besides the hard shifts and a bit of missing power, it had been running as i would expect a 2011 with 90k miles to run. Smooth idle, no hesitation etc. I was for once pleased. Then yesterday it started raining. after about 5 minutes the car was back to running like crap. Slow shifting, holding gears with the pedal half way to the floor, idling like garbage, bad hesitation, and a distinct lack of power (like i was back in my Jetta).
I pulled out torque, and found that it was running rather hot. 98-102* C The fans hadnt kicked on either.
I want to blame it on the temp, but this morning the car didnt idle too well when it was cold so im not so sure.
I did check and by the time i was at work this morning it was back to 100 and acting a fool.

Most of my issues happen in stop and go, so it is conceivable that this issue has been ongoing from the start.
I dont know if the rain is involved, all i know is that sunday, it ran great, and yesterday/today its running like garbage.

I would go to a dealer but so far all theyve done is cost me money, and make things worse.

 

[04lss]

Can anyone verify the Part# for the OEM thermostat? RA shows {#1X4Z8575A but lists it as a 190*

 

[SHOdded]

That is the correct part number, not sure about the rating tho. Should be a 180F though, since the manual says this:
Thermostat Opening Temperatures
Starts to open 82°C (180°F)
Fully open 95°C (203°F)

 

[04lss]

any idea when the fans are supposed to kick on?

 

[SHOdded]

IDK for sure. After the TStat starts opening, definitely. Then it's dependent of a combination of coolant and ambient temps, apparently. Should be full on by 220F. Or if you turn climate control to MAX A/C full speed, that should also turn both fans on (full speed IIRC).

 

[04lss]

IDK for sure. After the TStat starts opening, for sure. Then it's dependent of a combination of coolant and ambient temps, apparently. Should be full on by 220F. Or if you turn climate control to MAX A/C full speed, that should also turn both fans on (full speed IIRC).

My thought is to replace the thermostat 10$ and an hour and i know i have the oem one. If the termostat is aftermarket my warranty wont touch it.

 

[04lss]

UPDATE:
I replaced the 3bar sensor by the throttle with the extra one i had. It was covered in oil. I just cleaned it not 3 weeks ago.
No help. The now almost continuously has no power. it has this weird surge at 3k sometimes. I did a 0-60 run again. I know the stopwatch method isnt great but i got a time of 7.2 seconds. last saturday i got a 6 second time. My 2014 jetta, that has 170hp and gets 40mpg gets a 7.5 via the same method. The MAP is still reading ~12psi of boost at wot.
I am out of ideas. Anything you could think of that might be causing this? I need things to test. My father is a mechanic, but hes not an FI expert. I have access to whatever testing equipment, unless its something that needs a ford dealer. I'm leaning towards rulling out mechanical issues such as low compression or leaky valves, as they should be fairly constant. Could the trans be causing this? i could see it causing the hesitation if its slipping....

 

[SHOdded]

If its covered in oil, then you definitely need to look more closely at the intercooler/CAC and make sure there's no accumulation there. If there is, clean it out (suction out the crud). If there is a LOT of accumulation, may even be worth pulling the CAC and cleaning it outside the vehicle or replace it entirely. Here is a HOWTO on cleaning out the CAC:
http://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/topic,3056.0.html

It might end up being that the rear valve cover (the one with the PCV valve) needs to be updated to the newer design, but let's see if we can avoid that.

 

[04lss]

So I agave it to my father for the week. He's an ASE certified master tech, but he works at a used car dealer so... no warranty luck.
Here is what he came up with:
my random pulling to the left is a sticky brake caliper, its also why my pedal doesnt have a consistent feel.
the bad idle, running like garbage, loss of power surging etc, he believes is being caused by stopped up cats. At first i thought he was saying it because of the code, but he explained that the increased backpressure causes these problems in a lot of the used cars they buy from auction. it would also explain a loss in power, if the exhaust is stopped up, then im probably getting huge ammounts of KR. With the oil that seems to be spraying from the turbos, i dont think itd be a stretch that one is loosing some into the cats, and the carbon buildup blocks it up. He dropped one of the DPs and used a diagnostic camera and said it seems stopped up. Im going to have him go with me when i take it to the third dealer.

Other things, he did check the wiring harness, it is smashed but the wires are not broken, its not an issue (im going to demand my diag fee back from that dealer)


Ive been noticing A gear oil smell after driving the car, i thought i read somewhere that leaking fluid means the PTU needs to be flushed. Should i do that or have them diagnose it while its in for the other stuff

 

[SilverSH0]

Oil smell after driving the car can be a clogged PTU air/oil separator causing oil to burp out the vent. Put your hand up around the PTU vent and feel if there's oil up there (or use a mirror to look up there).

 

[04lss]

Oil smell after driving the car can be a clogged PTU air/oil separator causing oil to burp out the vent. Put your hand up around the PTU vent and feel if there's oil up there (or use a mirror to look up there).

I guess I need to get it off the ground?

 

[SilverSH0]

I guess I need to get it off the ground?

Unless you can somehow manage to slide under the car with it on the ground. You basically just need to slide under the car and look (roughly middle around the front wheels).

 

[04lss]

Ill try to figure it out this weekend. I know it needs fluid from when I had it on a lift and checked, it looked solid, and low.
Might just pay them to flush it. Whats a reasonable price?

 

[SilverSH0]

Ill try to figure it out this weekend. I know it needs fluid from when I had it on a lift and checked, it looked solid, and low.
Might just pay them to flush it. Whats a reasonable price?

I do all my work by myself so I don't have any idea on prices. If the PTU air/oil separator is clogged the only real way to unclog it is to remove the PTU, separate the halves, and clean out the gunk.

If you're just looking to pump out the fluid and refill, you can do it with a buddy and a pump in about 10 minutes (including getting the car on jack stands). There are several how to's on doing this. It's easier with a buddy so one can turn the socket wrench and the other can direct the long chain of extensions to the PTU plug.

 

[04lss]

I do all my work by myself so I don't have any idea on prices. If the PTU air/oil separator is clogged the only real way to unclog it is to remove the PTU, separate the halves, and clean out the gunk.

If you're just looking to pump out the fluid and refill, you can do it with a buddy and a pump in about 10 minutes (including getting the car on jack stands). There are several how to's on doing this. It's easier with a buddy so one can turn the socket wrench and the other can direct the long chain of extensions to the PTU plug.

If the oil separator is clogged, would that be something covered by a warranty?

 

[SilverSH0]

If the oil separator is clogged, would that be something covered by a warranty?

I don't know, but would doubt it. I believe there's a TSB out for the vent if you search for it

 

[04lss]

UPDATE:

Took it to the ford dealer that has the best reputation within 100 miles. This is what I was told

Car was wrecked (knew that) intercooler was cracked, and fixed with gorilla glue (huh)
One of the turbos has gone bad, filling the intercooler with oil and ruining the CATS
Cats are bad obviously
PTU outer seal is bad.



Dealer says intercooler is not covered under warranty due to crash, The turbo issue is likely due to the intercooler (IDK how) and not covered.
Cats are aftermarked and.... you guessed it not covered
PTU is covered, but at this point im going to just cancel the warranty its done me no good this far.

 

[SHOdded]

Wow thats a lot to deal with.

 

[04lss]

Wow thats a lot to deal with.

I honestly expected it at this point. I figured they wouldn't cover the cats, but the I was hoping the turbos would be covered.
Im going to call the selling dealer back, at this point I think there are substantial grounds that the car was sold under false pretenses.
When that fails, im going to call ford corporate, when that fails, ill probably buy a turbo and IC from Levittown, have my father install them, gut the cats, and at my first opportunity get rid of the car.
Oh I forgot to mention, there is frame damage, yep, the sub frame is bent. That's now on the service record which means the value of the car just tanked.

On another note, im going back to the dealer that told me I needed a new wiring harness to ask for a refund. Both of the other dealers said its fine as well as my father (ASE Master Tech). That payment should cover this one

 

[SilverSH0]

That's a crappy situation there. But if you're going to fix the issues and the value has tanked, why not keep it and enjoy it?