Should it be an Ex Expedition?

JasonH said:

You may have misunderstood.

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Yupster Dog said:

MY BAD, just trying to inject a little hope that all everyones issues here have been heard. That change for the better (for once) may be on the horizon.

All right hope is cut off. Back to,

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JasonH said:

You may have misunderstood. One of his statements was that Ford has 25% more engineers to do the same work as competitors. He was saying that the engineering staffing is not efficient, and they either need higher productivity, or fewer people. It sounds as though you're under the impression that they're going to shift resources from accounting to engineering. I doubt this is the case, especially since EVs are less technologically complex and require fewer engineering resources. Plus, there's more overlap in product design for EVs, because the same modules and motors can be used across vehicles in different arrangements, rather than employing an entirely new powertrain. Ford has 5 powertrains (3.3 NA, 2.7T, 5.0, 3.5T, and 3.5T Hybrid) just for the F150, and variations on that same powertrain for the Bronco and Explorer (3.0T). I think the biggest push is to get more out of its existing engineering resources, which will facilate reduced headcount by improving productivity.

As for the quality. I don't know what Ford engineers have been smoking for the past several years. Many of its design decisions seem to be complete unforced errors. Camshaft timing, turbo plumbing, leaky manifolds, blowers that cause fires, shoddy camera connectors. It just seems like they really dropped the ball on durability in a variety of areas. And it's really sad, because the vehicles are great when they work properly. But lately, it's like a Land Rover, without the luxury and branding.

As an aside, my Expedition is at the stealership for low coolant, leaking turbo manifold, and a P0019 that only comes up while towing. Tech just called and said the chain is probably worn, and he can't diagnose it properly without removing the front engine cover. So now I have to decide whether to dump nearly 10K into this for timing and both manifolds, or get a new one. At 144K, I'm heavily leaning towards getting a 4th gen with an extended warranty, since the cam phaser issue appears to have been resolved and there's no guarantee that the fixes on this one will prevent something else from going wrong. There's just nothing else that can tow my camper as well.

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JasonH said:

The last one was replaced at 118,000 21 months ago. The dealership said it's a rare failure. My coolant is low, so it's leaking into the cylinders or it's a very slow drip elsewhere in the system. I'm kind of hoping it's the head gasket because the dealership warrantied the repair for 24 months.

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Soliyou said:

The head gasket on gen 1 ecoboost May fail when you are under boost most of the time. Basically if you tow a lot AND drive fast on the highway.

My friend had this happen to him. He tows a pretty big boat and is always on boost on the highway. His head gaskets failed and the dealer replaced them but the truck still overheated. He eventually traded it in with the dealer.

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