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Blown 2012 Engine.Important read

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CaliMR said:
Were there failures before the new restrictor? I saw an article that there were a few failures since then. But I still think it is not too bad a %


I believe you are right there are only a few motor problems sad to see but you are not going to get 100% perfect it cant be done look at all of the other cars out there blowing engines no real huge issue at all from what I see and we dont know the tru problem that has happened with the few engines that blown all we really know is what people are guessing from what I read.
 
All any of us know is there have been a few failures and they do not appear to be systemic. What really matters to me is that Ford is replacing the few that have failed and that's good enough in my book.
 
5 DOT 0 said:
Tflong24 said:
I find it odd that there would be any severe failures. Didn't ford run this (almost) exact motor in grand am or something for an entire season, with multiple cars with zero failures. That's 100% track duty.
There have been failures including one last weekend at Sonoma.
According to the article on "Inside the Boss" from 5.0 Magazine, August 2011 that was a quote about running a number of engines (5, I think) for the whole season without ONE failure.

http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_1108_2011_ford_mustang_302/viewall.html

However, those Engines, I would imagine would have an advantage over the ones that are being produced in higher quantities.

That's why we have warranties; it's bound to happen.
 
I read that in another BOSS forum:

" I talked with a Ford Engineer at the BASH in March about the oil consumption issue on the Boss's and asked him if it had been fixed. He did tell me that all the 13's would have the problem taken care of and that those with issues with their 12's would get new motors. He explained that with the 7500 RPM redline that these motors are capable of, that the heads were actually lifting and warping cylinders 3 and 5 on certain cars, so they revised the head bolts, pistons, and rings. As with any new design, there are problems here and there, and I think it is great that Ford is doing the right thing to keep people happy and getting the issues taken care of. "

Any comment?
I have a 2012 LS overseas. Still almost new but going to track it.
For me = NO warranty whatsoever if I blow my engine. Be it idling at a light stop...
So I read about this potential problem !

thx
 

VWGTI123

2012 PW #2558
124
0
Once again - This really concerns me. My 2012 is like new, less than 2,000 miles. How will someone like me ever know if my car has a potential issue lurking? I have not tracked it, don't plan to, but I do like to take it out on weekends and such and drive aggressively to sooth the stress away. Just very concerned that once warranty expires and probably only having less than 10,000 miles or so, who knows, that my engine will just go? This is exactly why I did not activate my Track Key :(
 
All i know is that my 2012 sees 7500 rpm daily and dynoed 396 rwhp with 20k miles on the odometer.

Dont believe everything you read on the internet.
 
VWGTI123 said:
Once again - This really concerns me. My 2012 is like new, less than 2,000 miles. How will someone like me ever know if my car has a potential issue lurking? I have not tracked it, don't plan to, but I do like to take it out on weekends and such and drive aggressively to sooth the stress away. Just very concerned that once warranty expires and probably only having less than 10,000 miles or so, who knows, that my engine will just go? This is exactly why I did not activate my Track Key :(

All the more reason to drive it more in case an issue arises you still have warranty.
 
Last 2013 news: Another 2012 LS engine fails.
Actually it did not "blow" but it consumed more oil than gas!
Piston rings?
As being overseas; no chance to have it under Ford's warranty so it goes locally for a costly and uncertain repair...
It's not mine, it's from someone in the same area.
I think I am going to shop for a crate engine while there are still some around...
 
patrickshelby said:
Last 2013 news: Another 2012 LS engine fails.
Actually it did not "blow" but it consumed more oil than gas!
Piston rings?
As being overseas; no chance to have it under Ford's warranty so it goes locally for a costly and uncertain repair...
It's not mine, it's from someone in the same area.
I think I am going to shop for a crate engine while there are still some around...

Considering the fact that there are thousands of these engines being thrash on a daily basis I'm pretty comfortable with Ford's responds to the issue's. These engines are pretty robust considering the thrashing they get. A lot of people that bought a Boss take it to it's limit or beyond and have not had a problem although there are a few that have. Bad will always supersede good when it comes to problems and that gets the most attention. I believe the engine's in these car's are good for a 100k when they are maintained as described in the manual. Keep the oil clean and don't over rev it past 7500.
 
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Has anyone figured out if the Blown engines are on certain Builds? I.E: Mainly 2012 Boss LS? or 2012 Boss built during the start of the program, etc. Kinda of the old days that warned about cars being built on Mondays or fridays.

It just would be interesting to pin point the chances of a blown engine. Since its a known issue, I would imagine the later builds were rectified.
 
raptor said:
Has anyone figured out if the Blown engines are on certain Builds? I.E: Mainly 2012 Boss LS? or 2012 Boss built during the start of the program, etc. Kinda of the old days that warned about cars being built on Mondays or fridays.

It just would be interesting to pin point the chances of a blown engine. Since its a known issue, I would imagine the later builds were rectified.
The Boss 302 and Boss 302 LS engines are identical in every way as are almost every piece of the rest of the car. If an LS engine blew it was random.

Early on there were some heads that had a stud hole drilled incorrectly and this caused some heads to warp and the engines were replaced. I would imagine if an engine has 5,000 miles on it and hasn't had an issue by now then it won't. There were also some early cars that burned excessive oil that were replaced under warranty. Those two items cover most of the blown or replaced engines. There have been a couple that have broken valve springs that destroyed the engines but the couple that I know of were over revved either due to raising the rev limit or from downshifting on track. No engine is bullet proof and our engines don't have any systemic issues that would cause me to go out and buy a crate motor.
 

TMSBOSS

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There have been a couple that have broken valve springs that destroyed the engines but the couple that I know of were over revved either due to raising the rev limit or from downshifting on track. No engine is bullet proof and our engines don't have any systemic issues that would cause me to go out and buy a crate motor.
[/quote]

Agreed!!

Still If was concerned about a blown engine and I was in the market to buy a crate engine. I would pic the aluminator and pull the Boss engine now. I would then have the new hot motor and save the original for what ever.

Just my $.02.
 
raptor said:
Has anyone figured out if the Blown engines are on certain Builds? I.E: Mainly 2012 Boss LS? or 2012 Boss built during the start of the program, etc. Kinda of the old days that warned about cars being built on Mondays or fridays.

It just would be interesting to pin point the chances of a blown engine. Since its a known issue, I would imagine the later builds were rectified.
From what I can tell there's no issue with early builds. Mine was built in the third week of production and has probably seen as much or more track time as any street 302, and I certainly don't baby it ;D It has been VERY well maintained though. e.g. oil gets changed every 4-6 track hours, plugs every year, diff fluid every 12 and trans every 12-24 hours. Knock on wood, but my engine has been flawless with the exception of the engine wiring harness issue they had on the early builds. My harness and sensors are at PRS now getting upgraded so that will eliminate that issue going forward.
 

steveespo

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cloud9 said:
From what I can tell there's no issue with early builds. Mine was built in the third week of production and has probably seen as much or more track time as any street 302, and I certainly don't baby it ;D It has been VERY well maintained though. e.g. oil gets changed every 4-6 track hours, plugs every year, diff fluid every 12 and trans every 12-24 hours. Knock on wood, but my engine has been flawless with the exception of the engine wiring harness issue they had on the early builds. My harness and sensors are at PRS now getting upgraded so that will eliminate that issue going forward.

For all the bitching and complaining we all do sometimes it is amazing how durable these engines and the cars themselves are. I am still a proud Ford Mustang owner. Although I do hope they did something to up date the clutch pressure plate for the new car. Only part of the car that has let me down in 3 years of heavy track driving.
Steve
 
I fully agree with the statistics and do not blame Ford or anyone.

Just imagine if you would live in a country where Ford dealers have NEVER seen a S197, have no access to spare parts, have no knowledge nor adequate diagnostic equipment.
A country where you pay BOSS's and parts roughly twice as much as if you would be in the US.
A country where you have no warranty whatsoever on your newly imported car, no warranty on your over expensive imported parts...

Those blown engines would make you a bit nervous...
And NO, the guy I was referring to did not abuse his almost brand new LS that never saw a track...
So yes I am trying to find out if there is a bad batch and if that is known.
 
patrickshelby said:
I fully agree with the statistics and do not blame Ford or anyone.

Just imagine if you would live in a country where Ford dealers have NEVER seen a S197, have no access to spare parts, have no knowledge nor adequate diagnostic equipment.
A country where you pay BOSS's and parts roughly twice as much as if you would be in the US.
A country where you have no warranty whatsoever on your newly imported car, no warranty on your over expensive imported parts...

Those blown engines would make you a bit nervous...
And NO, the guy I was referring to did not abuse his almost brand new LS that never saw a track...
So yes I am trying to find out if there is a bad batch and if that is known.
There just haven't been enough engine failures to worry about it regardless where you live. I'd be MUCH more worried about your clutch and transmission. ;)
 

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zzyzx said:
I seriously doubt there's any "design flaw" at play here. It's far more likely that there are assembly irregularities, or batches of parts that are marginal (though unlikely).

Also there seems to be a lot of debate on design details of the engine. That can all be settled by reading this article:

http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_1108_2011_ford_mustang_302/viewall.html

It's a long but fantastic read. Might clear up a lot of misconceptions as well as Fords design intent on various components.


Wow, what a great read. I agree the engine is possibly the last thing we should worry about with the Boss. I have tracked a car for the last 10 years and each year a couple engines give it up. All makes all models, it happens. The Boss is stout, run it and have fun.
 

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