2014 model year. Bought in October with 56k miles. It came with a pedal spacing kit, eibach springs, 15” Racing dynamics wheels, Cobb RMM, symposer delete and a Cobb exhaust.
Planned to keep as is for 10k miles then tune it. Heatsoaked it while flying up big bear mountain a month later. Took it to Mossy ford in San Diego to make sure nothing was damaged. They did the coolant recall and fixed a small oil leak under warranty. With a clean bill of health, the mods began.
Put an intercooler in myself about 5 weeks ago. Threw a Kompact BOV in because Psshhh. Got a used accessport to monitor temps. TB torsion bar
Two weeks ago as I’m pulling (hard) onto the hwy, I hear a flapping noise that I believe is a flat front passenger tire. I pull over, leave the motor running to check the tire and see shreds of the serpentine belt on the pavement. Engine is idling fine no lights on dash. All gauges look good on accessport. I pop the hood to see the belt is beginning to fray but still holding tension and spinning all accessories. Right as I decide it’s good to drive off the hwy, the engine shuts off. I get towed home as it’s late and my local mechanic doesn’t have any legal street space for me to drop it.
Next morning, Tow #2 to my local shop in north park. Ironically, I had left the car with them 3 days before this for an oil change, new brake pads and fluid.
This mechanic says something’s seriously wrong because a frayed belt shouldn’t disable the engine. It should be able to start. They suggest I take it to the dealer.
Tow #3 to Mossy Ford
Techs initially think it’s a serpentine belt and a tensioner, they replace it the next day. Car won’t start. They then put in a new battery the day after that. Car still won’t start. Few days later, They plug in the Ford IDS system which gives the code,
VCT intake - off timing.
Techs say car needs a new timing belt and there are a couple other items that it just makes sense to replace while you’re down there. That job is about $1600 so My repair quote has now surpassed $2000. After calling around and weighing my options for a couple days, I tell the dealer to go ahead.
A few days later they call and tell me the belt jumped a tooth. I have some trashed valves and least one bent rod. Maybe one bad piston as well. The block will need to be machined. I’m given two options.
Send block out for machining and a top end Rebuild. $4500 - $5500 depending on what else does or doesn’t need replacing.
New motor from ford installed for $7000.
The best part of this is Im at 60,449 miles, barely out of warranty. Those dealer prices are insane, so last night I had the car towed back home. Still had to pay them nearly $1000 for all the parts and labor they did before they got the real issue. I'm now contemplating my options for doing the engine swap myself or paying for the job. As it seems I can get a used longblock for 600-800. I have one quote from a local performance shop, $2000 to pull my engine, remove all accessories and install new longblock.
I'm on this forum to gather as much info as I can to determine if an engine swap is something I want to do myself. Any and all advice, comments, criticism, even insults will be helpful. Also if anyone in the San Diego area wants to do some wrenching, let me know.
Sorry for the long read
Planned to keep as is for 10k miles then tune it. Heatsoaked it while flying up big bear mountain a month later. Took it to Mossy ford in San Diego to make sure nothing was damaged. They did the coolant recall and fixed a small oil leak under warranty. With a clean bill of health, the mods began.
Put an intercooler in myself about 5 weeks ago. Threw a Kompact BOV in because Psshhh. Got a used accessport to monitor temps. TB torsion bar
Two weeks ago as I’m pulling (hard) onto the hwy, I hear a flapping noise that I believe is a flat front passenger tire. I pull over, leave the motor running to check the tire and see shreds of the serpentine belt on the pavement. Engine is idling fine no lights on dash. All gauges look good on accessport. I pop the hood to see the belt is beginning to fray but still holding tension and spinning all accessories. Right as I decide it’s good to drive off the hwy, the engine shuts off. I get towed home as it’s late and my local mechanic doesn’t have any legal street space for me to drop it.
Next morning, Tow #2 to my local shop in north park. Ironically, I had left the car with them 3 days before this for an oil change, new brake pads and fluid.
This mechanic says something’s seriously wrong because a frayed belt shouldn’t disable the engine. It should be able to start. They suggest I take it to the dealer.
Tow #3 to Mossy Ford
Techs initially think it’s a serpentine belt and a tensioner, they replace it the next day. Car won’t start. They then put in a new battery the day after that. Car still won’t start. Few days later, They plug in the Ford IDS system which gives the code,
VCT intake - off timing.
Techs say car needs a new timing belt and there are a couple other items that it just makes sense to replace while you’re down there. That job is about $1600 so My repair quote has now surpassed $2000. After calling around and weighing my options for a couple days, I tell the dealer to go ahead.
A few days later they call and tell me the belt jumped a tooth. I have some trashed valves and least one bent rod. Maybe one bad piston as well. The block will need to be machined. I’m given two options.
Send block out for machining and a top end Rebuild. $4500 - $5500 depending on what else does or doesn’t need replacing.
New motor from ford installed for $7000.
The best part of this is Im at 60,449 miles, barely out of warranty. Those dealer prices are insane, so last night I had the car towed back home. Still had to pay them nearly $1000 for all the parts and labor they did before they got the real issue. I'm now contemplating my options for doing the engine swap myself or paying for the job. As it seems I can get a used longblock for 600-800. I have one quote from a local performance shop, $2000 to pull my engine, remove all accessories and install new longblock.
I'm on this forum to gather as much info as I can to determine if an engine swap is something I want to do myself. Any and all advice, comments, criticism, even insults will be helpful. Also if anyone in the San Diego area wants to do some wrenching, let me know.
Sorry for the long read