Cracked Valve Cover

Discussion in 'Engine Performance and Mods' started by Jason Krakauer, Sep 22, 2020.

  1. Jason Krakauer

    Jason Krakauer Member

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    Add a little flavor to the broken CV Joint on the front driveshaft I've been working on getting resolved.

    Driving on the highway the other day, went to pass and give it some gas ... got some odd hesitation on from the trans (holding 10th ... not really wanting to kick down). Pushed a little harder, and got a "low oil pressure" warning on the dash - along w/ some odd turbo boost pressure readings (fluctuating mid-high range). Pulled off immediately, shut her down, checked the oil level and looked for a telltale blood trail. Nothing seemed off ... restarted and the pressure was in the green, no CEL or continued pressure warnings. Headed right home. Similar event - stopped again - all looked normal. Trying to merge back on, got a stutter and a CEL. Code reader showed misfire on cyl. 6. Also showed oil pressure was mid-40s at part throttle on live data.

    Just got to the mechanic and they found the driver's side valve cover cracked (laterally) across the entire width. Best they can surmise is that's causing a vacuum leak, which would cause the trans/motor to go into a "protect" mode, which is causing the trans to limit hard downshifts. The coil pack on 6 was bad, so that's the misfire. The oil pressure sender/sensor likely bad too... no pressure warnings on live data or since.

    Fahhk - man. Never heard of a valve cover cracking under normal useage - and at 69k miles. Had to drive down there and see it to believe it. Anyone dealt w/ this?

    A little shout-out to the My Ford App, i was messing around w/ that this morning and found all these error codes in plain language. Not only were they there, but they were more complete than what my code reader could pull and my brother-in-law's Apollo code reader had. There was a code for a bad oil pressure solenoid along w/ the misfire and oil pressure warnings. Which is what we'd guessed at. I was able to source the oil pressure switch at a local Ford dealer for $30 ... my mechanic got me a driver's side valve cover kit and a coil pack so (crossed fingers) this gets me whole.
     
  2. Jason Krakauer

    Jason Krakauer Member

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    And that's a wrap ... shop fixed the valve cover, coil, and got the new oil pressure sensor installed and got a low pressure warning while testing. Did some more digging and put a hydraulic gauge on it to discover my oil pressure about half of nominal (less than 10 psi at hot idle). Changed the oil out and it's like a disco ball w/ metal flakes ... likely bearings are shot.

    Wrestling w/ a solution, ideally they can replace the con bearings affected and there's no damage to the mains. If it looks busted up to the crank ... I'm trying to figure out if i can get my hands on a short block and just port over all the top end and accessories, turbos, etc.

    What a nightmare - I've had the truck since Feb and w/ the shut-down and working from home, have only put about 3K miles on it. Feel like I got ripped by the Hyundai dealer I bought it off of, but then again - I've driven it for 6 months and didn't know there was a problem til that first warning hit me.

    I did some digging in a couple of forums, looks like Tasca has short blocks for cheap and long blocks - but I gotta vet the part #'s ... Tasca often won't list Raptor parts correctly despite tagging them as such. Or there's RMB Motorworks that sells built short blocks for about half what my shop said the dealer wanted for a new, factory, long block. Guess I gotta put my faith in this mom and pop mechanic at that point they can build up a short block w/o having issues.

    Anyone wanna put me out of my misery, or offer support ... at this point, I'd flip a coin for the end result.
     
  3. bravo3eco

    bravo3eco Full Access Member

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    You are not the only one with ecoboost buyer remorse. I am surprised that more people don't research things before making huge investments. The ecoboost is a terrible gamble with money. Do what you can to make it run, and dump it asap. There was probably a good reason someone traded this in to a Hyundai dealer.

    The ecoboost is gone for future raptors, so I would wait on that. 21/22 have the v8 again. Ford union announcement today confirmed.
     

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