P0299 and metal shavings in turbo piping

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jruppert

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Hello everyone, I am posting a question concerning a newly purchased Explorer Sport. A little backgroung - I had a 2015 Expedition that I purchased with around 209,000 miles in May of 2022. I got a decent deal on it and it ran flawless. Well, except for an issue with my ABS pump. Aside from that, it ran great. I pulled a 24' travel trailer, got decent mileage, etc. About a month ago, a girl ran a red light and hit me. That put an end to the Expedition. The insurance gave me more than I needed to pay cash on a vehicle and I decided to purchase a 2014 Explorer Sport. I think I did well on the price, well maybe...

When I was driving it home, the check engine light came on. It was two codes. P0299 and P0430. It ran alright unless I gave it full throttle. Past half throttle, it went flat. So I thought it was the catalytic converter. But I still had this P0299 code. I came across this code once with the Expedition and solved it by tightening up the turbo piping. THought I would do the same with the Explorer. Yesterday, I started tightening up when I could get to. Not as much room in the Explorer compared to the Expedition. Almost every clamp needed at least 1 turn. I go down below and find a clamp hanging on the front side, which would be the driver side on the Expedition. I actually thought the clamp was broken. IT was that bad. It took me some time to tighten it up because I had trouble getting to the stupid clamp. Before tightening, I was able to pull the hose off the turbo. This is how loose it was. Also, when I pulled the hose off, oil came pouring out of the hose. I got the hose tightened up and took it for a drive. Noticed an immediate improvement. However, the improvement was down low. It still fell flat after half throttle. After driving it for some time, my P0430 went away. I thought I was on the right track.

This evening, I decided to look into it further on the tubing. I was only able to get the top half of the engine, which was mostly all of bank 2 (driver side for youguys) and the tubing going to the intake. I am unable to get to the passenger side (back) at this moment. I decided to pull out the blow off valve to see if it the seal was bad and thats when things went south. I found aluminum shavings in the housing where the valve sits. I ran my finger around in the plastic tubing and had aluminum. This wasn't just fine aluminum but somewhat coarse. I pulled the rubber inlet off at the throttle body and found the same situation.

I decided to change the oil and found a metallic substance in the oil. Almost like what you would see in a metallic paint. It was very fine and could barely feel it. So this brings me to this ugh.. moment. No idea where to go from here. When doing the oil change, I was looking up at the turbos. Everything is clean from an exterior glance. No oil seeping anywhere. Also, the turbo's are aftermarket and I knew this by looking at the rod for the wastegate. They do not have the double nut with the metal clip but rather a long threaded piece and a nut at the top for adjustment.

The engine runs quiet. It seems to run well given the fact that I have little to no boost. One other thing to add, I was doing some datalogging with my SCT X4 on boost. It never went above negative. It stayed - and dipped into the -4 or so. My expedition would run well into the positive.

Not sure where I should go from here. Should I purchase 2 new turbo's? I hate throwing parts at things. The metallic in oil is concerning but after reading some posts online, not necessarily here, I find that a lot of Ecoboost owners have seen metallic. I never saw metallic in the oil of my Expedition.

Another thing to add, I am not hearing anything from the turbo's. Meaning, no grinding sounds ect. Just the sound of the engine. Also, no white smoke out the tail.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
josh
 
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bodabdan

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A couple of things to consider-
Send your oil off for analysis. Until then the oil situation is just a guess.
You mention that you got oil out of your turbo plumbing. Oil can accumulate in the turbo plumbing and intercooler and obstruct flow.
 
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jruppert

jruppert

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You think it's possible that the inner cooler is filled with oil? Never thought of that. I installed a catch can on the expedition. I ordered one for the explorer.

I hear no turbo line when I rev up the engine or accelerate down the road.
 

JasonH

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The low boost code will sometimes crop up when other codes are thrown. It's designed to prevent damage to the engine by limiting power. Try draining the intercooler and charge air piping, and run a compression test. Also replace the PCV valve, sounds like the vehicle had excessive blowby. If you cleared the P0430, make sure the vehicle is in the ready state. There's a drive cycle that has to be completed to make sure the emissions system is working properly. A damaged catalytic converter can cause excessive back pressure. Fords software probably has a program to test the waste gates, I would search online into the procedure for testing that as well, because obviously if they can't stay closed you'll get lower boost as compared to what the ECU is demanding.
 

GlennSullivan

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What do the waste gates look like, with the metal you describe floating around inside the piping, could you have damage to the wastegates preventing them from closing or can your datalogging tell you if ECU is in limp mode and holding the wastegates open?
 
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jruppert

jruppert

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My apologies for the delay. Been a busy week with the kids. I am unable to view the wastegates. They are buried. I will be doing a compression test tomorrow. My oil separator showed up yesterday. Got it installed. I pulled the map sensor from intake. It had a lot of oil caked on it. I cleaned it and the vehicle runs much better but still not correct. I will be getting a new PCV tomorrow and put on. I ordered a new cat. My p0430 code has reappeared. Could a cat code be result of bad turbo? The cat code is for the same side where I pulled tube from turbo that had a lot of oil pour from it. I'm thinking about pulling the cat tomorrow and look at turbine. I am suspecting that my bad turbo is the same side.
 
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jruppert

jruppert

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To the compression check. Engine came up to 145 on all cylinders except the middle back one which would be the middle passenger side. That one came up to 55.
 

JasonH

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That would likely account for the metal and blowby. Might need a rebuild or a new engine. I have a hard believing that the previous owner didn't know something was up. Did it come with an extended warranty?
 
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jruppert

jruppert

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I paid cash. It was wholesale. I knew the risk. Engine runs smooth. Too bad check engine light wasn't on when I bought it. Probably be best to find a used motor than to rebuild. I might have more money into it if I rebuild. I don't know. I found an engine in Pennsylvania with 91,000 miles and they want $2,000. It comes with both turbos.
 

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