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Cracked Piston

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Driving in 4th gear the other day doing about 45 when I felt a sudden lurch and the back wheels chirp. Came to the next light and when I popped the clutch to go all hell broke loose. It sounded like I was dragging a 12 pack of empty cans!. I pushed the clutch in and it stopped. Every time I popped the clutch it would let me know she was hurt. I limped home which was about 2 blocks and shut her down. I started it back up with the hood up and could tell it was terminal.Had my Ford dealer tow it and they just called me telling me #3 piston is cracked in half. The only thing I heard out of ordinary before this was a small ticking I noticed a few days before this and apparently mistook it for an exhaust rattle. My car is a daily driver with 22,000 miles. The first thing they asked me was for my service records which I am digging up.

Q1= Aybody else seen this?
Q2= Anybody have suggestions with dealing with the dealer/ Ford for Warrenty?
 
Just did some other searches on a few other sites and found 2 other cars that had #3 go and apparently Ford is saying the heads are warping on some cars and causing the #3 piston to hit the valves. They both received new engines. Why mine waited so long to fail I don't know other than I don't track it and it mainly sees street driving.
 
Good luck on the repair, I'm sure Ford will take care of you. What kind of service records does he need to see, my question is that I and a lot of us do our own, I have my receipts from Ford Parts, oil, filter. Started a log book with all of my gas receipts, and I have a small bottle of the oil from the first change.

Let us know what happens.
 
There is another member here that had the same thing happen with the #3 cylinder but I don't recall if he piston cracked or not. Anyway Ford will take care of it and good luck with the repair.
 
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Hambone said:
Just did some other searches on a few other sites and found 2 other cars that had #3 go and apparently Ford is saying the heads are warping on some cars and causing the #3 piston to hit the valves. They both received new engines. Why mine waited so long to fail I don't know other than I don't track it and it mainly sees street driving.
It may be that very fact that you drive it on the street and don't push it for extended periods of time at the track that resulted in it taking 22K to break. I drive mine the same way. Now I'm nervous! :-\
 
jeepinocala said:
Sorry to hear this. They will make it right.

Supposedly, I spun the #3 rod bearing at an Open Track event back in the Summer... However, the Ford Dealer only had to check the metal shavings in the oil filter and scoped the #3 cylinder to verify that the piston was/had been hitting the valves in the head... Complete LONG BLOCK and new BOSS Intake were installed and was back on the road in just under 3 weeks, all taken care of under Warranty... Car was even towed from track to dealership under Roadside Assistance... Good Luck!!!
 
Just got off the phone with the dealer. The service advisor asked me what info I had for him ( WTH). I told him I called to see if he has heard anything from Ford on my warranty. He said no. They have had the car since Monday the 12th. I asked him who he has talked to at Ford and he said they do everything on line. Now I am getting upset. I ask him if he knows about the issue with the #3 piston failing on these cars and he says yes it looks like they are leaning toward replacing my engine. I ask him if that means Ford has approved the Warranty work. He says it looks like it. Now I am feeling my blood pressure rise. He then says that the engines are on backorder. I decide to end the conversation with him and move up the ladder. I ask him for a loaner and he says they don't do loaners but that I can call Ford customer service and see what they can do. So I do and they call the dealership and ask them what they are doing with my car and another advisor says they have an engine on order. I am really pissed now. Thats all for now I am going to get a beer and calm down.
 
O.k. I guess I pushed the right button. Just got a call saying the engine is on order and under warranty but still on backorder.
Does anyone know if Ford is building a new engine if it will be a 2013 or will they pull excess 2012 parts from the shelf?

Is there any significant difference between the two?
 
Hambone said:
O.k. I guess I pushed the right button. Just got a call saying the engine is on order and under warrenty but still on backorder.
Does anyone know if Ford is building a new engine if it will be a 2013 or will they pull excess 2012 parts from the shelf?

Is there any significant difference between the two?

The replacement Long Block for my 2012 BOSS was assembled in Dec 2011... My car was originally assembled/shipped in Nov 2011... Part # was CR3Z-6006-C and looks like the 3rd Revision (-C) for the block... From what I could tell, the -A & -B engines were for the 2012 and Pre-Production BOSS and the -C was what went into the 2013... Now what has actually changed, I haven't a clue... Nor could I find anything on-line either...

However, there is nothing on the outside (cosmetically) that I could see being different... One word of caution if they have to or decide to change the BOSS intake... Make sure they are very careful to remove & replace the Engine # tag from the original... It is stuck on with 3M tape and will bend if not removed correctly... Otherwise, you have to go thru Ford Racing to get a replacement...

From my experience, it took about a week for my Dealer to go thru his Zone Rep to get to Ford Racing for the Warranty Approval... Another week for the Long Block & Intake to ship from Detroit/Windsor... And another week for the re-installation... If you already have the TracKey installed, the Dealer will probably need to re-do the Crank Position Relearn Procedure that is part of the TK Software in order to eliminate any recurring Misfires from popping up...

Keep in mind, if you were paying for this yourself, the cost would be around $15,000 for the parts & labor... Good Luck and keep us posted!!!
 
1,255
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GA
Hambone said:
KYBOSS, The first thing they did was pull the dipstick and ask for all oil change records. Didn't care about anything else.

I get all my service done at my dealer so there is no question when it comes to warranty. I suppose if you do the work yourself or elsewhere and document-document-document that works too, but I don't want to take the chance. For me so far in the long run it has paid dividends.
 
Thanks for the info 07! Believe me I know the price of that engine that is why I have not been sleeping much for the last week. Knowing now about the oil consumption I think I will start doing oil changes every 5K and checking it weekly. I already warned them about the serial # tag.
PJ I have learned my lesson on this car about keeping records. On this engine I am going to document everything including every time I add a quart of oil. It looks like in this case it wouldn't of mattered how many times I changed the oil it was still bound to happen.
I also found out from the Regional Service manager that when placing an order for an engine it will automatically show up as on backorder until they enter it into the system. He also approved a loaner for me. I feel soooo much better now. I am going to the UCLA vs USC game tomorrow and I will definately let loose. Thanks Ford!
 
159
5
Georgia
Always concerning to hear these stories, but it sounds like, once again, Ford is standing behind their product.

Please keep us posted as you work through this. :)
 
Sorry to hear the bad news concerning your engine. When you say a ticking noise just how loud was it? Did you hear it from the inside? I am just curious because I hear something like that but I believe it is the fuel injection.

Just think of the money in gas you are saving driving with the Yaris. You better take her easy when you get it back because it will be one hell of a transition.

Good Luck and keep us posted! :)
 
I could here the ticking from inside the car but I normally drive with the windows down. Not sure if I heard it with windows up. Apparently the ticking was the piston hitting the valves. At this point any ticking sound I would get to the dealer and have them check it out. #3 & #5 seem to be the only ones going south that I have heard of.
 
I have ticking too, but I assumed it was injectors as it is pretty common with modern cars. My friend traded his Boss for a GT500 so I don't have one to compare it to.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Mine has a tick when hot but the symptoms seem to point to the "AC Idler" issue that some have reported on 2011s/2012s. Solution is a new front cover that brings the AC drive onto the main serpentine belt, apparently. Considering my car won't have AC in a few months, this is a moot point to fix and probably more trouble than it's worth.

Good luck with the new engine and glad to hear that Ford is standing behind the warranty!
 

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