cccerbeus

perfectly reasonable theory in my book. excess valve deposits on one valve could make for very poor flow dynamics at idle and a significantly different flow from the rest of the cylinders. i no longer have my fusion , but my 2016 edge (2.7 eco) has an issue of what i would call a thrumming under throttle, a perception of significantly imbalanced power per cylinder. I may have done an induction service and had the problem go away for a short time..

Just thought i should acknowledge that this statement that i made, quoted above was obviously short sighted and ultimately not true. I did use a used engine, but replaced the water pump with an ACDelco pump with a steel impeller instead of using the ford pump with a plastic impeller. The first motocraft pump that showed up had apparently been used in a distance parts toss competition pre-sale, and was broken on arrival which was a large part of why i said screw that and used a steel impeller pump instead, along with a new chain, tensioner and guides.

You're telling me! LOL

I don't actually have a garage at all.. that is my bud's garage. The lower access requires a lift, so that's a major con, but it's the only way recommended to do the job. Really a lot easier than I expected and if I had to do it again I could probably do it in half the time it took the first time. I bought and Eagle Equipment mid rise scissor lift from Amazon for 1775$, sold it again for 1500 after using it, so minimal cost there. Still end up needing a hoist to move the old engine off the cradle and the new one in place.

To be fair, I am a mechanic by profession.. so I'm a bit more familiar with diving into unknown jobs than most

http://car-part.com/ is my go to site for used parts. it searches all connected salvage yards and rates parts by grading, distance, price whatever you want. I did a quick search, there are over a dozen engines in reasonable distance from me for under $600.. Keep an eye on the weep hole behind the alternator for signs of failure. Its a very solid engine, water pump accessibility notwithstanding.. almost want to give it a NOS shot for fun.. but i won't

well bite my tongue.. i did find a junkyard engine from a 2012 MKZ with low miles for $500 and bought a mid rise scissor lift to do the job. Put a new pump and chain in the new-to-me engine, threw it all back together, beed driving it for 4000 miles now and just sold the lift. So all told, it cost me about $1000 (engine, parts, and loss on lift resale) plus my time to put it back in working order. Half tempted to take it to the dealership and show them the difference a reasonable cost and the raping they wanted to give me. I had forgotten how much i like this car after it sat for 6 months+..

But on the edge, where there was a good bit more room, the pump was still internal. And I may be mistaken, but I was told that the f150s with a duratec 3.5 in the same production window as these (2010-2014 about) had the same internal water pump design. Either way, I'm not even saying that is bad or malicious intentions , just business. Timing belts are still fairly common with some manufacturers and they can be a half a nightmare depending on the driveline / body design considerations.

This.

Some pictures from the job

I'd say maybe just bad design, but maybe it was intentional to allow dealerships to make some real money again. Either way, its bad policy to put a wear item in such an unserviceable location, especially when it is an item whose failure destroys the engine.. my question now is, do i keep the old engine, do a forensic tear down looking for cam bearing cap wear or rod / main bearing or crank journal damage that would this an unusable engine to re-pump and shelve for a future usage. And of course then, I also need to figure out what to do with my scissor lift and hoist and engine stand..

And it runs, thankfully. Always a crapshoot on a used engine, even if you do leakdown test it, and replace the timing components & water pump.

I'm on the tail end of doing this job myself. Bought a 6000lb scissor lift to do the job. Bought a 2012 MKZ engine, put a new water pump and chain in it. I'm a couple hours from fire-up.

I forgot I had posted this here. A couple people have claimed that they've done the job through topside access in a FB group. That's how I plan to do it. I'd love to leave the transmission in place and just pull the engine & drop in the new one, but it doesn't look likely that the flywheel will clear the bellhousing without the trans being pushed an inch to the drivers side. It's an engineering nightmare.

Short version, water pump failed, milked oil, swapping in refreshed boneyard motor in the spring. Every resource i've seen says the drivetrain go in and out through the bottom. Has ANYONE done this job through topside access?

I was never a Ford tech. I did work for a Jaguar independent dealership / restoration for several years and ford did own Jaguar, but i'm still 2 degrees of separation from being able to have any pull (haha) I don't want a rebuild, but i was considering a Ford OEM Reman. as it stands, I think i'm just going to do the pump and see how it is after. It doesn't seem to have a knock after changing the oil twice.. Either way, I'm stuck doing the job myself, whether i went for an engine or just a pump, and doing the pump looks like the best return on investment. And fwiw, I am still a tech doing fleet service for one of the largest civilian employers in America,

I need to do this job. Every reference i've seen says drop the engine out to do it. I'm just wondering if anyone has done the job any other way?

FWIW, the dealer that did my "diag" quoted me $8800 for an engine installed. I've seen Ford reman engines for $3600 - 5600 (purchase price only, plus $1000 core) but that is an ass raping for installation. Which is why I'll be doing it myself. (whichever route I go) There is no way I'd put a used engine in this car considering the water pump issue and impossibility to do it in car.

I'm not 100% sure but if i had to guess, it stalled due to the battery being low (battery has been on the weak side for a little while, was slated for replacement before winter set in) because the alternator belt was slipping from the coolant being sprayed on it out the leak port. (ford did make a port to dump coolant leakage outside the motor but thats not the only direction it leaks, and there was a pressure vent going on when i opened the hood). it stalled due to the oil being over thickened by the mixing of oil and coolant which becomes almost gelatinous at a certain mixture ratio, and the extra load on the oil pump was more than the engine could handle at idle it stalled because the super thick oil coolant mixture couldn't make it up to the cam phaser so the cam timing went to whatever position it goes to without oil pressure (probably full retard)

But, they go in as a complete assembly.. If just replacing the engine (like I may have to do) maybe topside access would work.. I'm trying to figure this out myself

I had my pump let go on the ride home from work, stalled coming into the driveway, oil all milked up. I had a third party extended service contract so I had it towed to a dealership for confirmation of diagnosis but the company it's telling me they won't cover it because I change my own oil which is strictly excluded in their contract language. For the record I was an ase-certified Master Tech who allowed my certifications to expire because they weren't making me $1 more and we're only costing me on renewal tests. Now I'm trying to figure out whether I should just change the pump or replace the engine considering the contamination. I did change the oil when I got it back from the dealership twice and it does not knock at this time. But you never know what damage the coolant could have done to the actual bearing surfaces. The dealership invoice said that the engine was knocking and skipping which it never did when I dropped it off and I didn't run it after picking it up until I changed the oil, and it never did after I change the oil so I'm hoping that was just some creative license on their part to try to sell the job to the warranty company. So the question is what's the likelihood at the bottom end is still viable if I just do the pump? Considering the amount of work required to get to the engine front cover to do the pump I'm half inclined to just buy a Ford reman and throw it in but the warranty on the reman is pretty pitiful.

So, just a big ass PSA here.. The water pumps on our engines (Sport = 3.5L) are behind the front engine / timing cover and the pump is driven by the timing chain. My pump seal failed, dumped coolant into the engine pan, circulated and mixed with oil, engine is toast. Dealer estimate $8800 for reman'ed engine and installation. And oh yeah, I still owe almost that much on it.. 3rd party Warranty company (Ownershield) is not honoring the warranty because the language of the contract prohibits me from doing my own oil changes, even though I was an ASE certified Master Tech. FWIW, I let the certs expire years ago because my employer at the time would not pay me a penny more for them or even reimburse the cost of the test. So, have someone else do your services if necessary to maintain your warranty coverages.

its not a dumb question, but yes, i opened everything i could open. Alldata diy says:

anyone done this? I tried pulling the bottom hose but very little comes out and don't want to waste a week draining and filling 2 quarts at a time... Alldata DIY is pretty worthless for info on the cooling system flow path etc.. Also any reference to cheaper specialty green motorcraft fluid (or recommendations) is appreciated

For what it is worth, It comes on at "50 miles to empty" but that is bullshit and very early. My spec information says the tank holds 18 gallons (2011 Fusion Sport AWD) but even with the display saying zero miles to empty i've never gotten it to take more than 16.3 gallons, so there was still a gallon and a half of reserve. BTW, this is not a bad thing. Just setting you clocks ahead to stay on time if you have a chronic late person in the house, the safety margin is a good thing. No down side really.