F150 3rd-4th gear hesitation

OK, so $800 or so later, here's my update:

I think it is the intercooler/charge air cooler/WTF they wanna call it. Ford did a poor design and the rest of us pay for it in reliability. I love my truck, but this pisses me off.

So, the intercooler is susceptible to condensation, as I stated in one of my early posts. I took it to the dealer - they removed it, emptied the water/oil/garbage that's collected in the 94K miles since I bought it and installed a guard - basically a panel blocking off part of it.

It drove fine for the distance from the dealer to home, then it started doing it again, more intermittently (as in, less frequently, but still doing it). I had a previous theory it was plugs and coils, so I've replaced all of those. Still doing it, but not nearly as bad.

I've since found ANOTHER TSB where they're taking the previous guard off and replacing it with a guard in a different place due to the fact that the intercooler is STILL cooling the air too much.

I've learned that the intercooler dumps water into cylinders 4,5 and 6, which causes misfires, and subsequently dumps both water and unburned fuel into the cat, eventually degrading it.

I'm on the fence about taking this back to Ford, or just putting an aftermarket intercooler on it and being done with it.

The shit of it is that the system has never thrown a code - this has all been determined by feel, sound and research.

 

Never realized that cooling the air too much on a turbo car was a bad thing, obs except in cases where the pressure drops

 

From my limited understanding of the problem, it is only a problem when it creates condensation in a humid climate. It didn't make sense the first time I read an explanation either. What I imagine at this point is similar to how an air conditioner rapidly removes humidity and cools the air - all that left over water has to go somewhere.

 

My F-I-L had a 2011 Ecoboost (3.5l) that did this exact same thing. Except that it was back when it was new and had less than 10k miles. I had avoided posting because I could not remember exactly what happened to the condensation to make it "hiccup", but your post brings back the memory.

Since it was under warranty, he had it back to the dealer multiple times and said he didn't want it back until it was fixed. They finally gave him this same explanation was that the intercooler was too effective and dripped water onto the cat. At the time, they said there was no fix for it at all, so he'd have to deal with it. It didn't last much longer before he traded it.

 

Is this on the 3.5L or the 2.7, or both? I'm pretty sure we're getting a new 2.7 as a work truck here soon

 

I changed the plugs 30k too late on my 2010 f150. Seems to be running great now even though before it wasn't bad. 02 sensor behind cat replaced also so the idiot light is gone.

I've had to change some struts, brakes, but looking at about 2k-2.5k lifetime in maintenance ( besides oil/filter changes) for a truck with 135k. not too bad I guess

 

Mine's the 3.5L from 2012 - I know very little about the 2.7. Both of those TSBs I posted apply up to 2014. I believe the engine compartment has been redesigned, and I think newer models have a different intercooler altogether, but I could be wrong.

Its gonna cost a bit, but I'm seriously considering going aftermarket at this point. I haven't found a single post indicating anyone has had this issue with one of the aftermarket intercoolers. I hate to spend the money, but I want the truck to last.

 

This is me. The last truck I bought was a 5.3L chevrolet. We keep these things for about 300,000 miles so I figure the V8 will be more durable. When the fleet guy told me that he was "sold" on these ecoboost Fords I cringed.

 

I have loved this truck more than any other vehicle I've ever owned, even though this problem is harshing my mellow. It drives great, good (not great) power, comfortable on road trips. I've decided, I'm going to keep it as long as I can. I may buy a car eventually, but I'm keeping this truck and will try to set the high score on miles if I can.

 

I had a Fusion that had the same symptoms, cracked coil housing but only noticed it when swapping it out and couldn't see a very faint line of dirt, then slightly bent it and saw it was cracked.

 

Had the pcm reflashed? Doesn't exactly line up with your symptoms, but slight buck/jerk at steady cruise sounds like your problem.

TSB 13-8-10

ISSUE:
Some 2011-2013 F-150 equipped with 3.5L Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDI) engine and built on or before 7/29/2013 may exhibit a slight buck/jerk at steady cruise with the transmission in 6th gear and engine lugging up grades at 1500-2000 RPM.

ACTION:
Reprogram the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) to the latest calibration using IDS release 86.02 and higher. Calibration files may also be obtained at www.motorcraft.com.​

 

Drill the intercooler

 

Update: back in the shop. I did a ride along with the tech and finally convinced someone I'm not an idiot and that it's not all in my head. It's sad that you have to do that, but I understand there are a lot of stupid people in the world that don't understand basic engine operation.

Theres some likelihood that it has a stuck intake valve, but don't know which since there's no codes or anything. (From my reading, sounds like it might be one of the back cylinders). So, I'm having a fuel induction cleaning and an oil flush. If that doesn't fix it, I'm looking at $$$$.

Regardless, this process has made me aware of the catch can, which I never knew about until about 2-3 months ago. It's a possibility that, if it is stuck, it due to the buildup of shit that gets dumped back into the intake. Mega catch can has been ordered and received. Going on the truck as soon as I get it back.

I hope this fixes it.

 

That's the dirty secret of direct injection engines that nobody likes to talk about. By the time you get to 100k you've probably got a significant build up of petrified gunk on your intake valves because there's never any fuel getting sprayed on them to wash that crap off. IIRC, Toyota has experimented with/started putting an extra injector in the plenum to get some fuel spray on to the valves and keep them clean.

 

I had the same problem on my '06 F-150 5.4L. only happened with light acceleration around 45mph. New plugs solved the problem.