Blown 2012 Engine.Important read

[LostPony]

Are there any reports of engine failures on cars without the TracKey? Or are the problems only rearing their head under use with the key? I have 10,000 miles on my Boss and have yet to do the key, and am wondering now if I even want to...

 

[302BOB]

I have over 8200 miles on my Boss myself & haven't got TK yet either. I'm not tracking my car so it feels fine the way it is.

 

[LostPony]

I have over 8200 miles on my Boss myself & haven't got TK yet either. I'm not tracking my car so it feels fine the way it is.

I do track mine, but still wonder now if I want to bother with the key.

 

[302BOB]

The more acute acceleration & engine braking with TK is a plus for the track. Just remember, there is no increase in HP.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Are there any reports of engine failures on cars without the TracKey? Or are the problems only rearing their head under use with the key? I have 10,000 miles on my Boss and have yet to do the key, and am wondering now if I even want to...

The failures have been with both keys. If you read what the problem is as stated earlier in this thread it should be clear it has nothing to do with TK.

 

[CaliMR]

If the head lifting around #3 is correct, and is the cause of some of the oil consumption, maybe you could find it early by pulling the #3 plug and comparing it to the other ones. How hard is it to get to the plugs on this motor?

 

[jeepinocala]

The TK is one great key and I would say get it. This can just be a fluke and I still have to wonder if it had anything to do with the oil change? A bearing failure should not be a factory defect if that was true then it would have gone in many cars they use great bearings in these cars I have only spun one bearing in my time and it was from a bad build of the engine and it went out pretty quick and i have raced for many many years. They change their motors often and could have changed them for price or to speed up production on them who knows unles ford makes an anouncement we may never know and you may never hear of another bearing failure. I am willing to bet someting was done wrong durring assembly on that motor or like I said from what I read the oil was changed the day before by a dealer : I have read in another thread of a dealer putting the wrong iol in one of these recently and look at the nice warning sign under your hood of what type of oil to use. There are bosses early models from the pre production and till now making over 700 hp at the flywheel if this was a major worrie those motors would have gone a long time ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwmKTAtYNr0

 

[VoodooBoss]

If the head lifting around #3 is correct, and is the cause of some of the oil consumption, maybe you could find it early by pulling the #3 plug and comparing it to the other ones. How hard is it to get to the plugs on this motor?

Great idea!

 

[KK1826]

I am sure glad i waited for the 2013.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Greg and BadPony, what are your serial numbers and build dates?

 

[07SGT0547]

Not the wrong oil... As I have the remaining 1/2 qt of 5W-50 Full Syn Motorcraft oil in my garage...

And while I didn't examine them up close, I did see both plugs #3 & #1 sitting beside each other and they looked pretty much the same...

Car is a a Nov 2011 build and is BOSS #2788...

 

[VoodooBoss]

Car is a a Nov 2011 build and is BOSS #2788...

Thanks and I like your license plate. 8)

 

[jeepinocala]

Not the wrong oil... As I have the remaining 1/2 qt of 5W-50 Full Syn Motorcraft oil in my garage...

And while I didn't examine them up close, I did see both plugs #3 & #1 sitting beside each other and they looked pretty much the same...

Car is a a Nov 2011 build and is BOSS #2788...

What do they said happened? Has the engine been tord down yet or are they sending it back to ford? Your situation is very interesting. My personal guess is that it was assembled wrong I have seen this happen, when a bearing failure happens there is always a quick simple reason. It is not from a head warping and a valve would break/bend before the bearing failure if it was hitting the head.

 

[PeteInCT]

I am still suspect that there is truly an endemic design flaw in the '12 engines, unfortunately there's always a number of builds that don't go exactly as planned - especially with an engine/tranny/clutch combo that are being pushed as hard as ours is. The reality is that for about $50K we get a great car that performs well above what other cars in that price point can, and those that even cost twice as much. That said, these rides are not built or designed like a $250,000 Porsche cup car. Stuff happens. I think the good news is that we are aware that some people had some real world issues and Ford backed them up. If I blew my engine I would not be a happy camper but at the same time I would not think less of what Ford has delivered for us. At most it seems I would lose a track day or two while Ford delivered on their commitment to back these cars under their warranty.

IMHO

 

[jeepinocala]

I am still suspect that there is truly an endemic design flaw in the '12 engines,

They only changed a few things in the engine since the first one was built. One is the oil squirters went from steel to aluminum this was probably an issue as to shelf life aluminum will not rust. We do this where I work all the time redesign for shelf life, manufacturability, and cost reduction. heck sometimes it is just for the simple reason of availibilty.

 

[PeteInCT]

When did they shift to aluminium? This seems like a 'preventative fix' vs. a design change to address an inherent flaw, no ?

 

[BadPony]

5 DOT 0.......To answer your question, my build date was 02/24/2011, Serial # 129

 

[07SGT0547]

Based on how fast they got the response from FORD, I don't think the Dealer will be tearing down the motor... Engineering Dept probably wants it back for analysis in as close to "when it failed" condition as possible... So no real reason for their Eng Tech to spend any shop time on it, other than to yank it out and replace it...

But from what I read before buying my car in April, the squirters were removed all together from the BOSS version of the 302. Too much windage caused by the higher RPMs than in the GT motor...

And just did a search and found that the 2013 engines in the GT don't have them either now... Some magazine articles are connecting this with the slight increase in HP from 412 to 420 in the GT...

Hopefully, the Long Block will arrive tomorrow (Friday) and the R&R process can take place next week...

 

[BadPony]

The response my service department received from Ford was very quick as well, after they had tried a couple of other "Fixes" I.E. the lifters and timing chain and tensioner. Long Block immediately sent. They were instructed as well to not tear down the old engine and to ship it back to Ford for analysis.

Sure would like to know the results of that teardown, but as we all know, that will more than likely never happen.

 

[Rich_S]

I am still suspect that there is truly an endemic design flaw in the '12 engines,

They only changed a few things in the engine since the first one was built. One is the oil squirters went from steel to aluminum this was probably an issue as to shelf life aluminum will not rust. We do this where I work all the time redesign for shelf life, manufacturability, and cost reduction. heck sometimes it is just for the simple reason of availibilty.

Wait. What? Bosses do not have oil squirters.