Ford Ecoboost 1.0 - warped head - blown head gasket - straightforward in-car home repair 

Thanks! 😀

Impressive for a diy job , you know your stuff 👍

@@keegan4039 Thanks, I hope other diy-ers are inspired to give this a go 😀🔧

not buying used (car that have) 1.0L engine because it too small = easy to fail

@@hom2fuabsolute rubbish, think how many of these engines are in cars with 10’s of thousands of miles, more on… stupid statement

Thanks 😀🔧

yeah! I'm one of them too but not professionally, just work on my own cars. Hey, what do you think about the new engine designs where the timing belt is oil lubricated like I believe the engine in this video is? TY

I think wet belts are fine, I can't understand why people are so suspicious of them. So long as the belt material isn't degraded by the oil, the belt should wear less and last longer@@friedchicken1 😀🔧

@@blairwinchproject2855 ok, thank you.

Having done it once I will happily do it again any time I take a head off 😀🔧

The block is cast iron on the 1.0 ecoboost as far as I know. Can the block get warped too? Or is it unlikely? Thanks!

@@someone7507 Good question - I don't think the cast iron block warps but from what I have heard, the cylinder liners move around a little with changes in temperature and that might be part of the problem with head gasket failures 😀🔧

Rewatching your video reminded me of a question I had. Before torquing the head, you ensured the side bolts also fit in the head so you don't run into misalingment issues. This brings me to my question: how much can the head be rectified? There must be a maximul warpage limit. Or is there like a rule of thumb, or an actual number? Thanks a lot!

@@someone7507 I don't think there is a maximum warp limit although a head with severe warping would probably have exhaust port cracks or other cracks which would render it scrap. As far as I know you can take quite a lot off the head, I'm pretty sure the two square recesses that look grey in the video are skimming limits, i.e. you can't skim beyond the point where they disappear. They are at least a couple of mm deep so that's plenty to play with. 😀🔧

Thanks for the kind comment. I'm not a mechanic either but I have had to fix all sorts of car problems over the years! I hope you can see from the video that head skimming is something anybody can do at home. Best of luck with your Ka repair 😀🔧

Thanks! I've not been inside engines much since the '90s either 😀

Nice to know I am not the only one who cries over broken machines! Also with your experience with successful head resurfacing, people should be reassured that it really works and not be shy of trying it.

Thanks! 😀🔧

Thanks - whoops, I didn't mean to reinforce the reputation of Scots for being "careful" with money. I have kept the car and enjoy driving it around with its sporty feel, it is still running perfectly, we'll see how long it lasts...

Just got my belt changed. £950 plus a new water pump. At 56K the belt was already starting to deteriorate. Oil and filter every 6 months or 6K miles from now on.

Thanks!

Thanks! 😀🔧

Welcome Sir.

Thanks, I am guilty here of what I berate my kids for - wondering about something but not then bothering to check the facts! So, the important message is that bolts which are angle tightened are Torque to Yield (TTY) stretch bolts and are only meant to be stretched once. Therefore they may not perform correctly if re-used and as they are not expensive it is a false economy to not replace them, especially considering the hours of work involved

You're not going close to their breaking point, that would be silly. They are stretched though, so torquing them down to spec will stretch them even more and they won't hold the head down with the right force, and it will leak again.

@@em4703 😀

@@em4703 not necessarily, some can be reused you just have to measure them and if they are still within tolerance they can go again . . . i still personally replace them anyway.

Sell it quick ❤❤

Pretty easy, I recommend it! 😀🔧

Brilliant! You have made my whole RU-vid adventure worthwhile by using my method and succeeding, thank you for commenting. The wire I used was actually a straightened out coat hanger (we all have those lying around!) and I recommend a tightly bent little hook on the end. May you be the second of many successes! 😀🔧

Is this in the video? I did our wetbelts and head rebuild and vvt is out.

@@stephenpeel7249 Yes it is in the video, all you need is a piece of coat hanger wire and a torch. However that will only allow you to shift the timing in increments of one tooth, and you will need to know which direction you want to shift it! It is worth mentioning that if the engine is running fine but you are getting an engine warning light with P0017 warning (Crankshaft/Camshaft position), that can be due to low oil pressure (caused by a blocked oil pump intake strainer) which causes the VVT to not operate correctly. Worth trying a reset on the fault, it may go away but if it is only occasional you could possibly live with it until you have time to drop the sump and clean out the strainer. 😀🔧

@blairwinchproject2855 yes I'm getting p0017 but oil pump was stripped and rebuilt about 9 months ago

@blairwinchproject2855 I was going to remove the belt and try and move the cam sprockets while cam timing tools are fitted to keep the cams fixed and set vvt. Engine is 2012 m1da but I couldn't find a clear answer as to which direction to move the sprockets for vvt. One source said anti clockwise intake and clockwise exhaust while another said clockwise for both.

Good tip thanks. It's a free workout too 😀💪🔧

We've still got it... Many years ago I could have had a very rusty Frogeye for free, I wish I had taken it!!

Thanks, you are too kind 😀🔧

Thanks, now that we have put plenty of miles on it and it is still running perfectly, I am planning to do like you say and at the very least inspect the belt. I probably will replace the belts and inspect the oil pump strainer... might not be until the winter though... 😀🔧

Thanks, it was an adventure born of desperation. A real mechanic would have to spend a few hours doing the dismantling before they would know if the engine could be saved, which is quite a financial risk for the owner

Thanks! Not so difficult, just time-consuming 😀🔧

Thanks, I'm not sure even Ford intended the life to be this short! 😀🔧

Fords... can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

Good tip thanks

I'm very pleased you enjoyed it 😀🔧

Thanks! 😀

@@blairwinchproject2855 welcome Sir

Haha, that's my next video 😀🔧

I don’t even do that all you need is a big hammer and just knock down the high spots. Lol 🤣🤣😂

@@Pwills 😁🔧

Thanks, you are very kind. No regrets!

Haha, old school, you are too kind! My family would probably sigh and agree

Thanks, I would resurface a head this way every time now. Greetings from Scotland, I look back fondly on our family trip to Melbourne area ten years ago!

Thanks! I was lucky the damage wasn't worse - if the head was junk I would have had a much bigger problem 😀🔧

Thanks! That's dedication... if I had known how popular it was going to be I might have taken more care over the filming and editing. Next time I want a film crew and some heating 😀 🔧

@@blairwinchproject2855 great,....beers are on me 😉😁👍

@@salmothymus Now you are talking! 🍺🍺

Yep, some manufacturers seem to design for a much longer life! 😀

Thanks for the comments - my goal was to see if I could get the car running again without wasting too much time and money finding out, I know the two belts are prone to failure but because the condition of the main belt was OK I wasn't too worried about either of them in the meantime. It seems to be critical that you always use the correct spec of oil and never use anything else to flush the oil because the wet belts can be degraded rapidly by the wrong stuff. People don't seem to like the concept of wet belts but lubrication is bound to give you a longer belt life so long as the belt material doesn't degrade. We like the car and it performs very well so I think I might invest the time in changing both belts this winter. Maybe that's the next video adventure... 😀🔧

Yes it is impressive, just a pity it is a bit fragile

Thanks, you are very kind. Having spent 40 years keeping a 1961 Land Rover alive, the next classic will have to be something special 🔧😀

@@blairwinchproject2855 Hi ya, no problem. The last major stuff I did was about 10 years ago. Gasket and a decoke, bit of gas flowing on son1s fiesta which was basically a cross flow so really easy. Son2 threw a rod in his Corsa (I told him to wait ... so I could drop the sump, I could hear a slappy big end that just needed a re torque). We still had his old one waiting for the scrappy, so I swapped the engines. I tried my hardest in life but they both looked on like I was a wizard with knowledge of the mysterious. Son1 now has a nice 110 that he is constantly adding cookers, fridges ans awnings? too, and a bar... in the back door. Well, something has rubbed off eh ha ha. I had a Disco for like 20 years, we went all over the place, we went to Spain in it, Switzerland , France, Italy, what a motor. Now I have a 17 year old Civic, 28k miles, all leather, Japanese so it will never go wrong ;-) The wife has some sort of hybrid thing, it's 4wd, three engines two electric, one petrol, the best thing it's a lease, it's not mine, I'm only allowed to check the yellow bits ha ha ha. Actually, very easy to drive and very firm , fells like it is actually attached. My baby now .... I was allowed to buy after I had to sell (forced) my 2.6 V6 4 cam Omega :-((( ... is a1996 Z28.. Now I need some grand children because I need little hands ha ha. My hands don't fit in the gaps. But they are cheap? Had mine for 7 years now. 27 years old,. Christ it's quick. But it likes to drink, range anxiety is the domain of electric car owners ... and me ha ha ha. With all my experience of having getting things running for Monday morning ( I spent many years poor doing this), you attempted something the designers of this Frankenstein engine never even considered, never envisaged. Well done!

@@black5f You could be right, I bet nobody imagined this was possible!! I hope I have started a trend 💪🔧 I have had six Land Rovers including two Discoverys that did tons of miles, the 110 I had last was the worst for bits falling off but it did have a hard life. The Series 2 I still have was my first and I am fond of the basic all-metal design, I try not to take it out in the rain though...

@@blairwinchproject2855 You know ... there are good and bad ones? I know a guy who has a Rover 75 that's never ever gone wrong, really? I know its not old old. But? One that got actually built right. Old tech ... I can make parts for a 80's carburettor in my garage? I can't fix the engine light that comes on when the OBDII is not venting the excess petrol vapour from the tank (via a charcoal filter) in case it poisons the kids. That only is engine light below 2000 rpm. The Camaro cruises at 1800 at 80? Old block with crap bolted on, the ECU thinks I'm sitting in traffic ha ha . Push back, keeping old stuff going is sustainability :-) I need another LR. I miss mine sooo much, go any where, where ever, what ever it will get you home.

@@black5f Land Rover products seemed to get flimsier as time went on, that Defender had stupid things break on it including a door coming off in my hand. I wouldn't have one of the newest Land Rover products unless it was a gift (and came with a warranty/service package)! Modern electronics are only so good as the sensors and the designer/programmer, all great until there is a fault. You and me are hunting for the same Series 1 I think 😀

You are absolutely right, if you see emulsified oil or a low coolant level it should be a red flag - especially with this Ecoboost engine because of the amount of work involved in taking the head off 😀🔧

Let's hope the Playstation generation can figure out how to use spanners when their turn comes around....

@@blairwinchproject2855 LoL yes let's hope they can do this.

That's a good point, a head skim may remove more material than really necessary. Also you are right about cleaning out holes, I didn't mention it in the video but I had been careful to clean them all out, cotton buds did the trick

A good machinist will know how to skim a head (or block) to take off the absolute minimum, and will ALSO know if it requires millimetres taking off, then the yhe head is TOO warped to be recoverable.. the issue is finding a good machinist

@@paulluce2557 😀

Like you say, there's so much to dismantle to do the timing belt - not difficult (if you have a torque multiplier for the pulley bolt) but if you were paying to have it done you might be spending a load of money just to have the engine fail with a warped head soon after. I am still inclined to never change the timing belt on mine and just scrap it when it fails, which could be years away (or not) 😀🔧

@@blairwinchproject2855 Definitely. The car I worked on the customer was quoted £1600 + vat not sure if that included cleaning the sump out etc. Certainly the timing belt, water pump and auxiliary belt. We fitted genuine parts and I think we got to £500 ish, maybe more. I can see why a keyed pulley isn't used and has been done before but would have been better with vernier pulleys to eliminate slack.

@@BurnedOutGarage Yes, it's as if it is designed to be too tricky to put back together right 😀🔧

I agree, this one is 2014 and goes like a rocket. Nice suspension and driving position, it's the sportiest car I have had since a brown Astra SR in the '90s

@@blairwinchproject2855 mines 125HP version in a fiesta, very quick car.

In Australia it’s known as the S model, 16” alloys sports suspension. I also have the suspect transmission, no issues at all, the dam thing is quicker than my older 2.0 focus zetec.

Thanks, that means a lot, I'm glad it was useful to you 😀🔧

The idea of a wet belt goes against what we are used to but the concept has grown on me - it runs in very thin oil (5W-20) and so long as the belt materials are not degraded by the oil, I imagine the lubrication reduces the belt wear and enables the design life to be longer than a dry belt. It was 150k miles originally. 😀🔧

I have a 2013 Fiesta ecoboost with 140.000km on it with the exact same engine and I'm actually still impressed by it. it hasn't failed up to now and i even got the Powershift duel clutch automatic witch people call garbage because they tend to fail

That's what I say to everyone, it's a powerful and economical engine when it works, it just has an unfortunate tendency to fail spectacularly 😀 @@SASMacDroid 🔧

Yep, I've only myself to blame!!

Good to know - I'd expect the ECU to have open circuit protection built in but that's in a perfect world 😀🔧

Thanks! 😀🔧

Thanks, I had heard about the revised block, I hope it lasts longer than the old design. I will be happy if I can get a bit more life from the car, if it can get to 100k miles (from 66k) I will be thrilled. Don't get me started on Land Rovers, I have owned and abused six of them and ran out of patience with the brand eventually. I still love and drive my first one though (1961)

Haha, that's me alright. In my case it wasn't an Escort it was a Series 2 Land Rover and a Mini held together with filler 😀🔧

Plenty of unhappy customers, so it seems 😬

Thanks! Perhaps my memory of the mini is rose tinted, it was a great car if temperamental and rusty 😀

Thanks, I'll have to think of a project for next winter!

Thank you 😀🔧

Thanks 😬

Thanks, yes the important point that has been made clear to me is that the TTY bolts can only be stretched once 😀🔧

Thanks, I should have talked about this on the video - I did find TDC using a screwdriver down the no.1 spark plug port and then locked the engine by putting the car in gear and handbrake on. (Also disconnected the battery). However, if the crankshaft had moved somehow I would still have been OK because I had marks on the belt and the cam pulleys.

@@blairwinchproject2855 A sort of belt and braces approach ? 😁 At least if you turn the engine a couple of revolutions by hand when it's all back together you will know anyway whether you have got it badly wrong. I have seen videos using abrasive paper before but they all tended to come from obviously poor countries where people probably don't have a choice to send it to the local machine shop. Having said that it does save time,hassle and money though I expect it is probably no longer cheap to use a UK machine shop. I can see one a two people having a go after watching your video.

@@we-are-electric1445 Yes there seem to be two camps on the sandpaper method - I thought it was great and would do it again, but as a machine shop skim is inexpensive it might suit most people better. My main aim with this project was to find a way to remove the head without having to do all the extra work of replacing the cambelt - I hope this helps somebody somewhere!

Thanks, I also wouldn't put a used belt back on but I was as gentle as possible with this one and in terms of wear it should be a long way away from its 150k miles service life

Thanks 😀

Proud to be old school, thanks! 😀🔧

Thanks! I hope somebody tries my repair method. Car still running beautifully.

I have heard that - and the diesel version is good too. 😀🔧

@blairwinchproject2855 yeah, too bad we can't get that engine here in the states

@@LA_Commander Diesel cars will soon be a thing of the past here too. It is sad for those of us who prefer diesel engines but better for the planet obviously 😀🔧

Thanks! 😀🔧

Vag engines doesn't care about that😁

Thanks!

Thanks, I am intending to inspect the belt in the next few weeks - I had been going to take the rocker cover off again but I like your idea, I might take the sump off instead because then I can inspect both belts and the oil pump strainer 😀🔧

You might be right although I can't see why a bit of water in the oil for a few miles would compromise the structure of the belt. It would be interesting to know what the belt manufacturer thinks @DaycoOfficial . The aim of my repair was to see if the car could be brought back from the dead without throwing further money down the drain. Now that it is working nicely, I don't feel it owes me anything and I will be thrilled if it can last another couple of years. However I will probably take the rocker cover off and do a careful inspection of the belt in 5k miles when the next service is due.

Thanks! 😀🔧

😀

Thanks 😀

Persistence/determination/desperation can win in the end 😀

Thanks!😀🔧

I have been to your fine country! Good point about the block, I cleaned it and checked it carefully with the straight edge but could not detect any distortion. Still running well and not losing any fluids 😀🔧

@@blairwinchproject2855 Greetings. I think Ford made mistakes in this project. I believe they have not tested these engines sufficiently. Maybe the cylinder head bolts had to have a larger diameter or be manufactured with another stronger alloy... maybe the metal alloy of the cylinder head had to be modified... maybe the cylinder head had to be more reinforced... regrettable. You're a good mechanic and you fixed it at home, I hope it doesn't happen again. What about the people who bought this beauty of a car and have to pay to fix a defect that wasn't supposed to happen in normal use? Ford, run more engine tests before selling these time bombs. The right thing was for Ford to fix these engines free of charge, as they made mistakes in the design.

@@saylormalan There is a long story to this engine: Early models were very prone to losing their coolant and overheating, which would damage the head. There are reports of other issues with belt failures and oil pump blockages too. For a time, Ford would replace engines under warranty but there are still a lot of cars out there (like my one) that have the original fragile engine. Ford did modify the block in later models to try to improve the cooling and head gasket failure problems.

Thanks, there have been some useful comments on this - angle tightened bolts are Torque-to-yield (TTY) and, like you say, have a stretching section that acts like a spring to hold the head down. They are only designed to be stretched once and are cheap to replace.

@Blair Winch Project I know it's crazy BMW and Mercedes tell you to replace rocker/ cam cover bolts I think they should only be torqued to around 7ft lbs they are a 1 time use only item and there are about 25 of them. 🤪

@@ChrisJones555. Sounds excessive, they can't be stretched much at that torque. I hope the bolts are cheap anyway

Interesting - I don't think the edges were chamfered on the head when I took it off, what improvement does chamfering the chamber edges make?

@@blairwinchproject2855 helps stop detonation from the sharp igniting fuel,more so on cast iron heads.the sharp edge can get hot enough to ignite fuel.

@@gazza116 Ah, that makes sense

Thanks! 😀🔧

You can do it! And it will be easier if you send the head to a machine shop to be skimmed rather than doing it yourself with sandpaper (although I would happily do that again myself). Please let us know how you get on. I drained the oil at the start and left the plug out so that it could drip, the sooner you get the watery oil out of the engine, the less corrosion damage it can do 😀🔧

😀

I don't think they do any more - they gave warranty replacements if there was a coolant loss related engine failure on the early models but now all engines should have had the fragile degas hose replaced and shouldn't suffer from that hose fracture issue 😀🔧

What year is it?

The belt contamination does seem to be a failure risk - I think this engine probably didn't run for long with water in the oil, I am still avoiding changing the belt but I'm intending to inspect it soon... 😀🔧

Thanks! 😀🔧

Yes that's the important message - auctions have always been risky but these days it is a more expensive risk

Yes I get that, and the cost of new bolts is small so it's best to be cautious and replace them. I am just accustomed to bigger bolts that have a fatigue life and can be undone and re-torqued many times so long as they aren't over-torqued. I know we are told that you can't re-use head bolts after they have been stretched once but I'd like to be convinced about the science in terms of fatigue failure!

@blairwinchproject2855 sure I seen somewhere you can measure bolts and if they measure OK you can reuse them. Bet if you bought socked head bolts they would of been fine. They recon the pull bolt a nightmare to undo

@@thehutx The pulley bolt needs a torque multiplier, and although I have one I wanted to avoid having to do all of the stuff with the special tools if the timing belt didn't really need to be renewed. The key was finding a way to release the belt tension, which I did with the wire hook through the hole in the tensioner arm. If I did it again, I would come up with a way to get some more purchase on the wire and give just a little more slack on the belt to make it easier to get the camshafts off and back on again

@@blairwinchproject2855Young's modulus explains the stretch part, a stress / strain curve shows this well. The bolt is tensioned to just after the proportional section therefore doesn't return to original length, if re torqued the bolt will not have the necessary strength and either break or 'neck' Fatigue is the cyclic application of stress and failure occurs at much lower stress levels than a part is designed to. In the case of a cylinder head bolt the bolt is subjected to fatigue stress every power stoke.

@@neilstockton7602 Thanks, I am guilty here of what I berate my kids for - wondering about something but not then bothering to check the facts! So, the important message is that bolts which are angle tightened are Torque to Yield (TTY) stretch bolts and are only meant to be stretched once. Therefore they may not perform correctly if re-used and as they are not expensive it is a false economy to not replace them, especially considering the hours of work involved

Europe and Australia, I'm not sure where else. I hear those bigger Ecoboost engines have their issues too... 😀🔧

Thanks! 😀🔧

Yes, having the manifold incorporated into the head seems to be controversial, certainly the worst of the warping was at the hottest point in the middle of the manifold side.

@@blairwinchproject2855 the cylinder head is cooled by water and stays relatively cool but that I think makes the temperature difference between the area where there is coolant and the exhaust region high. Maybe a manifold interior ceramic coating could help ?!

@@rotorblade9508 😀

Thanks! 😀🔧

Good tip thanks

Thanks, we'll see how long it lasts! Better than scrapping the car - nothing to lose. Service life of the belt is supposed to be 150k miles so it should not be anywhere near worn out yet. I have to disagree about the belt slipping - if a belt is under constant light tension there is no way you can jump teeth around a sprocket. In any case, the crankshaft was locked (car in gear and handbrake on) and even if it hadn't been, I would have detected any belt slip because the marks on the cam pulleys and belt would not have aligned, so I am 100% certain that the timing is correct 😀

@blairwinchproject2855 Fair enough. However, the wet belts don't last anywhere near 150k miles. They don't snap but gradually disintegrate. The belt fibres clog the oil strainer causing loss of oil pressure. If your engine does indeed do a few miles without issue it's worth replacing the belt. The belt kit Is cheap but does take a few hours labour..

@@Draxindustries1 I had heard that about the belt fibres and that there is a general rule of replacing them around 100k miles. Maybe that's next winter's project...

@blairwinchproject2855 If you do replace the belt make absolutely sure to replace the crank pulley bolt. These have to be torqued up then turned 90 degrees 3 times. They're extremely tight and the threads stretch which causes a reused bolt to fail..👍

@@Draxindustries1 Good tip thanks. I have a collection of torque multipliers and a speciality in undoing tight bolts! 😀🔧💪

Thanks! 😀🔧

Just a rinse with water - this method produces no metal swarf, just very fine aluminium residue and some loose grit from the sandpaper which all washes off easily.😀🔧

I think probably sudden coolant loss caused it to warp - these engines were/are notorious for that - but it is possible that it gradually warped over time due to the flawed cooling design in the early version of the engine, until it reached the point where the head gasket blew

Thanks! 😀🔧

Any idea if anybody has got over 200k?

@@blairwinchproject2855 lol no , we have one that comes to our place 63 plate and it has 150,000 plus on it still runs fine its had a turbo and a belt thats all i know of other than the usual brakes suspension bits etc,

@@user-kk2bo4de8m That's impressive, with all that we have learned about the cooling problems with the early 1.0 engine. At least now you won't have to change the belt when the head gasket goes...

Yes, my impression is that it is intended to be a lifetime belt and not really meant to be changed, so long as owners are willing to accept a car with a 100k - 150k miles maximum life expectancy. 😀🔧

You are right, a replacement engine is probably cheaper than doing major repairs and that's why I thought I would try to do the bare minimum of work needed to get it running again. If it had not worked I don't think I would have replaced the engine - it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a new engine in an 8-year-old car in this country because the wet conditions and salt on the roads shorten the life expectancy of the rest of the car. I expect cars survive much longer in your sunnier climate! 😀🔧