I recently bought a 2013 Ford Explorer Sport from a small dealership a few miles away. When I bought it, I was told that he was selling it on consignment for a friend who had just done the following work:New Turbos
New Catalytic Converters
New Cam Phasers
New Timing Chain
New Water Pump

I was also told that the cats were NAPA brand and NOT Ford so once in a while it would throw a check engine light. I was leery, but I took a chance (GRRRR)... I should have ran away...

I got it home and sure enough, the check engine light came on. I brought it to the local O'Reilly's to check the code and sure enough, it was the P0420/P0430 codes. I also got a U-3003-16 code. The guy there said that it's not always the cats so have the O2 sensors after the cats checked too. I brought it to my local shop and he looked at the o2 sensors and they were black, so I had them replace them along with 2 lower ball joints and a rear wheel hub. The dealer I bought it from got his friend to cough up $500 to pay for the o2 sensors.

I left the shop with it (3 days later) and within 40 miles I had the check engine light again so I brought it back. It was throwing another P0420 code along with a P008A code this time. It seemed to be running fine, but we were confused. He reset it to see how long it would take to come back.

I drove up to St. Paul and sure enough the light came back on. I also noticed at this time that the vehicle had no power after 60 miles per hour. Hitting the gas, it would downshift, wind up and out, but not accelerate and didn't seem to want to shift to the next gear unless I got off the pedal. I could barely get it to 75mph (freeway).

I checked the Check engine light again at an O'Reilly's in St Paul and it was the same code. I reset it and I drove back home.

Now today, the vehicle seems sluggish and doesn't accelerate for **** and NOW is throwing a bunch of white smoke out the tailpipes, but no check engine light and the temp gauge seems normal.

I swear I bought a lemon. I don't know where to even start... Does this need to go specifically to a Ford Dealership for a specific diagnostic?


First code read. O2 sensors were replaced

These codes were adter replacement of the 02 sensors



This was today after i got the white smoke trail yesterday

 

There is something I find a little puzzling..

The white smoke,did anybody check the coolant level ? If coolant is getting into the exhaust stream it will render the oxygen sensor for that converter useless.

Something is going on, upstream of the sensor and the sensor is just letting you know. It could be contaminating the converter too.

If you want to,, get/rent a cooling system pressure tester and see if the cooling system will hold the usual 15 lbs pressure.

Either whoever is checking your vehicle doesn't know or doesn't want to know, maybe you might need to consider another shop.

 

The white smoke was just yesterday. It hadnt done it before that. The vehicle runs smooth and the temp gauge stays in the middle.

The fuel pressure thing has be puzzled. The O'Reillys code thing doesn't show it but the shops more expensive one did show the P008A code. Im not a mechanic but what I can see Googling does show some results where fuel can also cause the white smoke. It's not continuous. Just a weird plume 3 different times now. Idling in the driveway there's nothing so I'm wondering if there is Indeed a pressure issue or some blockage with a fuel line or injector? Then it's a chain reaction after that.

Side note: I did buy a ASC Extended warranty with the vehicle.... don't even get me going on their bullshyte.... they already denied covering the ball joints and wheel bearing even though they're covered according to the first page of their coverage. The 2nd page in the fine print is where they dictate everything as pre-existing... if any of these issues were there the 2 times I test drove it a week apart, i wouldnt have bought it.

 

Well... I just went back out and checked and found this inside the oil cap, but there isn't anything on the dipstick

 

Well... it went to a Ford Dealership and found out that the bank 1 turbo blew apart and was sending oil through the catalytic converter. The system must have detected it because apparently it shut down the Turbos which is why I had no power. But I didn't get a check engine light for it.

The mastertech at Ford recommended replacing BOTH Turbos as well as both cats along with the intercooler.... $10k worth of work... on a vehicle I paid $14k on 2 weeks ago. To say i am livid is an understatement. The small dealership i bought it from now doesn't want to talk anymore. The Ford dealership is going to wait 30 days and contact the extended warranty place to see if they can at least get the bank 1 side turbo and cat covered as well as the intercooler since technically the turbo is part of this engine.

Lessons learned...

Next time: run when some dealer says their buddy did the work

Dont install cheap **** when it comes to turbos

Dont buy anything with a turbo

 

Lets face it, a turbo just allows us to squeeze some addl power from a small engine. Most of the time the turbos provide fairly good service. Later technology helps increase longevity , but regular maintenance is crucial and keeping the older turbo cool as possible is very important.
It was always recommended to idle an engine a minute or two after a drive to help cool down the heat generated within the turbo to prevent coking the oil which then destroyed bearings Now that problem is handled automatically with modern cooling systems and electric pumps and valves.
Can understand your frustration, but you are much wiser now. You have a better idea of what to look for and what to avoid when considering a replacement vehicle.
Thanks for your enlightening us .

 

Lol.... sorry. . I'm still pretty sour at this whole experience. The local Ford dealership just quoted the whole job out.. separately.... they did exactly what I expected them to do and they are overlapping labor. I'm not exactly stupid and I know you have to take the oxygen sensor and catalytic converter out just to get to the turbo so why would they quote each job individually as if it were a single fix in and out? They also upcharged the parts drastically as well. The problem is I went to their parts department first to get a price on each part before talking to the technician so I know what they did.


Breakdown to do it all

One turbo $2749
Other Turbo $2137
One Cat $1827
Other Cat $1616
Intercooler $2037
O2 sensor $332

Thats appx $10700....

Breakdown to do only the side that crapped out is appx $6500

My regular shop totally scoffed that price. Completely insane. They knew they overlapped labor

 

Update.... my shop wanted to wait at least 30 days (there is absolutely nothing in my extended service contract that says 30 days for a minimum amount of miles but they seem to reject claims based on this) before touching my Explorer... I'm glad they did. The warranty company ended up covering both of the turbos does one had already failed and the other is already showing signs of failure. The downside is they said they do not cover the extra failures that are the results of the turbos going out which means I still have to cover the candle that it converters, oxygen sensors, and enter cooler. The plus side is the fact that the catalytic converters and oxygen sensors have to be pulled out to do the turbos anyway in my shop doesn't overlap labor like dealerships do. It's not a complete win, but I will take it

 

dang that’s insane I have. 14 sport and had someone do both my turbos for $2800.. cost 3500 total because the rusted bolt required them to break it and drop the sub frame to replace the bolt itself. All while on vacation..

after driving back home 600 miles I still get cam and crank position timing codes. Off to ford to see why it idles high at first and has some rough idle