F150 ecoboost drilled my intercooler

[jejeosborne]

Finally got around to drilling my intercooler. It is recommended on an f150 forum and I am glad I did. I did it directly after a 6 hour trip in continuous rain so this is showing the worse case scenario. I am happy to see that after more than 42,000 miles, there is very little oil in the water. As some may know, I experienced my one and only shudder incident this fall on a rainy 7 hour drive this fall. After driving all day Saturday in the rain I thought it would be a good day to drill the hole and see what I collected. I am very pleased with this truck and think this is an easy 5 minute improvement that everyone should make. The link is to my YouTube video where I put my truck in gear and created boost. I was amazed the amount of air that exited the 1/16 inch hole. Picture is the puddle it left and I estimate the volume to be about 3-4 ounces. It had a slight oil sheen.

F150 ecoboost 1/16" hole in CAC drilled: http://youtu.be/QXP1KBXSny8

 

[sld]

Could a guy hook up a solenoid to only drain during certain conditions and do it from the cab?

Even something as simple as the old push / pull choke cables would be made to work pretty well.

 

[BethelHntr]

Finally got around to drilling my intercooler. It is recommended on an f150 forum and I am glad I did. I did it directly after a 6 hour trip in continuous rain so this is showing the worse case scenario. I am happy to see that after more than 42,000 miles, there is very little oil in the water. As some may know, I experienced my one and only shudder incident this fall on a rainy 7 hour drive this fall. After driving all day Saturday in the rain I thought it would be a good day to drill the hole and see what I collected. I am very pleased with this truck and think this is an easy 5 minute improvement that everyone should make. The link is to my YouTube video where I put my truck in gear and created boost. I was amazed the amount of air that exited the 1/16 inch hole. Picture is the puddle it left and I estimate the volume to be about 3-4 ounces. It had a slight oil sheen.

F150 ecoboost 1/16" hole in CAC drilled: http://youtu.be/QXP1KBXSny8



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Not having a F 150 but can see one in my not to distant future what is the idea behind this?

 

[aczlan]

Not having a F 150 but can see one in my not to distant future what is the idea behind this?

In the right conditions (high humidity, low boost), the intercooler can cool the air down enough that it will condense water out of the air and leave you with a slug of water in the intercooler. If you suddenly call for more airflow (such as when you stomp on the gas to pass someone) it can suck the water out of the intercooler and into the engine. Being as water is not very compressible, you can hydrolock the motor and bend rods if it ingests enough of it at a time.

Aaron Z

 

[jejeosborne]

Could a guy hook up a solenoid to only drain during certain conditions and do it from the cab?

Even something as simple as the old push / pull choke cables would be made to work pretty well.

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe something on a timer that would open for a couple minutes every two hours of running time. Maybe an ice maker type valve but 12 volt.

 

[BethelHntr]

In the right conditions (high humidity, low boost), the intercooler can cool the air down enough that it will condense water out of the air and leave you with a slug of water in the intercooler. If you suddenly call for more airflow (such as when you stomp on the gas to pass someone) it can suck the water out of the intercooler and into the engine. Being as water is not very compressible, you can hydrolock the motor and bend rods if it ingests enough of it at a time.

Aaron Z

Ok that makes good sense, Thank you!

 

[jejeosborne]

In the right conditions (high humidity, low boost), the intercooler can cool the air down enough that it will condense water out of the air and leave you with a slug of water in the intercooler. If you suddenly call for more airflow (such as when you stomp on the gas to pass someone) it can suck the water out of the intercooler and into the engine. Being as water is not very compressible, you can hydrolock the motor and bend rods if it ingests enough of it at a time.

Aaron Z

Yes this has happened but I have only heard of one story with the thousands produced. More common is a misfire code that gets triggered. The one time mine took a sip, I just had a loss of power for about 5 seconds but no codes. Figured this was an easy insurance policy.

 

[aczlan]

Could a guy hook up a solenoid to only drain during certain conditions and do it from the cab?
Even something as simple as the old push / pull choke cables would be made to work pretty well.

Could, but if it got water in it, then it froze (such as when shutting the truck off) it could crack something.
If you are worried about something getting in it, you might take a check valve like Amazon.com: Dorman 47149 Vacuum Check Valve: Automotive cut the nipple off of the "intake" side and epoxy the valve over the hole.

Aaron Z

 

[wawajake]

That was going to be my question Aczlan...........maybe it is dumb question but is there potential for this changing to ice when long drive in rain then overnight freezeup temperatures...and then hunk of ice in it, can it damage impellers etc ............can this ever happen in the cold environments like Canada ?

 

[aczlan]

That was going to be my question Aczlan...........maybe it is dumb question but is there potential for this changing to ice when long drive in rain then overnight freezeup temperatures...and then hunk of ice in it, can it damage impellers etc ............can this ever happen in the cold environments like Canada ?

The intercooler is after the turbo, so it wont affect the turbo, when running, the intercooler should be warm to hot as the air heats up when it gets compressed by the turbos.
The point of the intercooler is to drop the air temp before it hits the intake as cooler air is more dense and produces more power.
This can happen with ANY turbocharged vehicle that has an intercooler, it is more likely on the Ecoboost (my guesses here) because the intercooler is somewhat oversized for "normal" unloaded use (so that its the right size for when towing and working it hard) and as such, it is able to cool the air to the condensation point.
As I understand it, the "worst case scenario" would be a chilly and very humid (or rainy day) when running unloaded (such as a long run unloaded down the interstate under minimal boost) as then the intercooler is most efficient (lower ambient temps and low airflow mean that the intercooler can cool the air more) followed by a period of heavy boost which pushes the condensation our of the intercooler and into the intake.
So, drive it like you stole it and you should be fine

Aaron Z

 

[deerefan]

Yes this has happened but I have only heard of one story with the thousands produced. More common is a misfire code that gets triggered. The one time mine took a sip, I just had a loss of power for about 5 seconds but no codes. Figured this was an easy insurance policy.

I am happy you found a solution to this issue. That being said, why should you have to drill a hole in the intercooler of a $40k truck? If Ford put this motor through all these supposed torture tests (btw I do not believe much of what the big 3 say) shouldn't this have been addressed before getting in the hands of consumers? Maybe it is my old school way of thinking, but anytime I encounter water and oil mixed, I become concerned. Granted, I do not know much about the EB engine. Most people seem to like them. But for reasons like this, issues with the 6.0 diesel(the 2 I owned were o.k.), spark plug blowouts, etc. is why I have not owned a Ford since 2006. And it's not just Ford. GM and the oil consumption issues, Dodge and the weak front ends and transmissions, I could go on. Maybe we become so brand loyal we wear blinders and think issues like this are acceptable. For the amount of money these trucks cost, it simply is not. Had it been my truck, it would be at the dealer being addressed with plenty of backup documentation. When looking at trucks, I usually do a lot of research, speak to neutral parties, such as local mechanics, and make a decision based on dependability, cost of ownership and practicality. The EB has too many moving parts and may become a maintenance issue down the road. I am happy you like yours and truly hope your issue is resolved.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks for sharing that. I have had one shudder in 45k miles. Might drill the hole just to be on the safe side. The next question is, how long to keep the EB? I usually trade at 100-120k miles but am a bit concerned about turbo related issues cropping up before that. The F150 forums have lots of discussion of the stumble but I haven't been able to get a clear idea how the engine holds up at 100k and above.

 

[aczlan]

I am happy you found a solution to this issue. That being said, why should you have to drill a hole in the intercooler of a $40k truck? If Ford put this motor through all these supposed torture tests (btw I do not believe much of what the big 3 say) shouldn't this have been addressed before getting in the hands of consumers?

This problem is not likely to show up when fully loaded and running it hard. It will only really show up with cool ambient temperatures and light load on the engine.
This problem is NOT unique to Ford, it has been found on many vehicles with intercoolers. Volvo had some issues on the 850 or S/V70 (IIRC) with ice building up in the throttlebody with humid air and subfreezing temps (water would build up in the IC, be evaporated by the hot air, then condense and freeze on the throttle plate causing ice to build up and make the throttle stick. Their solution? Drill a small (1/16" or 1/32") hole in the bottom of the end tank on the "out" side of the IC.

Search for "intercooler weep hole" for more such stories from Volvos, VWs and Caddys (and that's just the first half dozen results).

Aaron Z

 

[deerefan]

This problem is not likely to show up when fully loaded and running it hard. It will only really show up with cool ambient temperatures and light load on the engine.
This problem is NOT unique to Ford, it has been found on many vehicles with intercoolers. Volvo had some issues on the 850 or S/V70 (IIRC) with ice building up in the throttlebody with humid air and subfreezing temps (water would build up in the IC, be evaporated by the hot air, then condense and freeze on the throttle plate causing ice to build up and make the throttle stick. Their solution? Drill a small (1/16" or 1/32") hole in the bottom of the end tank on the "out" side of the IC.

Search for "intercooler weep hole" for more such stories from Volvos, VWs and Caddys (and that's just the first half dozen results).

Aaron Z

Did not know it was widespread-thanks for sharing this info.

 

[Garandman]

In the right conditions (high humidity, low boost), the intercooler can cool the air down enough that it will condense water out of the air and leave you with a slug of water in the intercooler. If you suddenly call for more airflow (such as when you stomp on the gas to pass someone) it can suck the water out of the intercooler and into the engine. Being as water is not very compressible, you can hydrolock the motor and bend rods if it ingests enough of it at a time.

Aaron Z

Has this actually happened, or is it someone's theory?

We just ordered a Ford Transit 250 with the Ecoboost. The joke on the Transit forum is "Eco, or boost: pick one....."

 

[check]

I am happy you found a solution to this issue. That being said, why should you have to drill a hole in the intercooler of a $40k truck? If Ford put this motor through all these supposed torture tests (btw I do not believe much of what the big 3 say) shouldn't this have been addressed before getting in the hands of consumers? Maybe it is my old school way of thinking, but anytime I encounter water and oil mixed, I become concerned. Granted, I do not know much about the EB engine. Most people seem to like them. But for reasons like this, issues with the 6.0 diesel(the 2 I owned were o.k.), spark plug blowouts, etc. is why I have not owned a Ford since 2006. And it's not just Ford. GM and the oil consumption issues, Dodge and the weak front ends and transmissions, I could go on. Maybe we become so brand loyal we wear blinders and think issues like this are acceptable. For the amount of money these trucks cost, it simply is not. Had it been my truck, it would be at the dealer being addressed with plenty of backup documentation. When looking at trucks, I usually do a lot of research, speak to neutral parties, such as local mechanics, and make a decision based on dependability, cost of ownership and practicality. The EB has too many moving parts and may become a maintenance issue down the road. I am happy you like yours and truly hope your issue is resolved.

Holy smokes, it makes me glad that I did not get the eco-boost option with my new 2014 F1 50! I got the five leader, and it is a lovely engine so far (3 months new). Maybe when my lease is up two years from now, they have will have fixed these problems with the eco-boost engine!

 

[aczlan]

Has this actually happened, or is it someone's theory?
We just ordered a Ford Transit 250 with the Ecoboost. The joke on the Transit forum is "Eco, or boost: pick one....."

It is theoretically possible, generally speaking, its just enough to cause a misfire.
The EcoBoost in the Transit is detuned (compared to the one in the F150) and it probably has a different intercooler setup, so it will have different manners and probably different problems.

Aaron Z

 

[jejeosborne]

I am happy you found a solution to this issue. That being said, why should you have to drill a hole in the intercooler of a $40k truck? If Ford put this motor through all these supposed torture tests (btw I do not believe much of what the big 3 say) shouldn't this have been addressed before getting in the hands of consumers? Maybe it is my old school way of thinking, but anytime I encounter water and oil mixed, I become concerned. Granted, I do not know much about the EB engine. Most people seem to like them.

For the amount of money these trucks cost, it simply is not. Had it been my truck, it would be at the dealer being addressed with plenty of backup documentation.

If I were to take it to the dealer, their approved fix is to make the intercooler less efficient with a plate that restricts airflow. The real fix is to drill the hole which the dealer won't do probably because it would violate some EPA rule. I would rather have a hole and enjoy the benefits of an efficient intercooler.

I don't understand your concern with water and oil being mixed.

There are mods and improvements to just about anything you buy. Just glad this one was a free five minute fix.

 

[handirifle]

So is this hole left permanently open? Sounds like a worse fix than the one Ford does, IMHO. All that extra efficiency from the larger cooler is swishing out the little hole, in the form of lost boost. Not a huge amount but still a loss. You yourself mentioned a large amount of escaping air. It seems to me this is more of a plumbing design that intercooler efficiency issue.

As for Ford not forseeing this, there isn't a car company in the world that tests their cars for EVERY possible malfunction. It's just not possible or financially practical. Their R&D would make the truck even more expensive, and no doubt there will still be issues crop up that could not be seen.

As for the Ford 6.0 Diesels, that's why Ford makes their own diesel engines now, at least for the light duty trucks. The 6.7 seems to be pretty issue free, so far.

 

[roadhunter]

Interesting. I can't seem to understand why this truck has an issue with moisture in the intercooler as I have never run into this on the other trucks and equipment I have run with an intercooler. Can't see how being gasoline would make a difference as this is just air that has been run through a turbo when it's inside the intercooler.