Ecoboost low oil pressure

[Cossie2671]

Hi 

thanks for the reply. 

The since I have changed the oil and filter the fault has now cleared the cam shaft sensor, strange.. on start up from cold it sound ok but as the oil gets hotter and thinner it sounds a bit noisy, the engine light keeps going on and off more so on when you rev it up. Do you know which one the cam shaft sensor is as from looking at the top of the engine it has two. From past experience on my zetec that engine only has one sensor on the inlet cam side.

 

regards 

[Toucan]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 8:39 PM, siggy_7 said:

Well the car is now back on the road. I took the sump off the engine, and found the oil pump looking like this:

The inlet has a mesh which is completely clogged up with some form of black debris. This is some of what I removed from the pump inlet:

It's not magnetic. My best guess is that the previous owner used either the wrong oil or didn't change the oil as frequently as they should - odd as I bought the car with a full history. My other theory is that it is some RTV silicone broken off from overspill from the sump gasket.

Having fitted a new pump, the car now drives normally. Oil pressure builds straightaway - noticeably faster than it used to. The turbocharger is still delivering plenty of boost having monitored the inlet manifold pressure during a short drive. I did find about 50ml of oil in the intercooler pipe, so the seals may have degraded - I'll keep an eye on it.

Having had this issue, I'm tempted to get a fibre-scope to check the condition of the oil pump inlet through the sump plug at future service intervals. Given its proximity to the sump plug, I'm toying with the idea of making a thin tube up to facilitate cleaning of the pump inlet without having to drop the sump.

Learning points:

1) Based on the crud I found, it's possible that these engines are not very tolerant to being poorly maintained. Regular oil changes with manufacturers spec oil probably the way to go to prevent this!

2) If your engine oil pressure light doesn't go out immediately, and if the low oil pressure alarm occasionally comes on momentarily when starting the engine, then this is indicative of the oil pump becoming clogged up. Get it sorted before it gets worse

The turbocharger water pipes cleaned up ok with a wire brush on a die grinder:

I've now coated the pipes with some VHT enamel paint, so I'm expecting further corrosion will be prevented.

Hi all,

 I'm new here..( brought here by a search of low oil pressure in a 2013 Fiesta. - its a far from common failure..)

I've inherited the car from my niece,

 owned from new with (FSH) .. at least bills for regular servicing,

it flagged up STOP on m-way. was limped into services.. sounded awfual after a 30 min "rest" .. so was recovered.

recovery garage quoted £4k for a new engine ( value of car..)

 

 so it's over to me..

 

oil is BLACK .. considering it's supposedly well cared for ..and been stood fo a while

so the CRUD blocking the strainer /pick-up sounds plausible.

 

 OK so how much work is dropping the sump?,

 seems worth doing..maybe even a £35 eBay pump whilst it's apart..

refill with warm oil from another car, crank - see what occurrs

 

access to the car is a tad awkward.. so would like something I could achieve in a morning..

 

any comments most welcome ,

 my FORD experience went through  KENT , Pinto to CVH..  ( not a fan of Japanese stuff)

so have done Italian for a couple of decades.. ( thought this fiesta was a Ka with a Fiat FIRE engine..)

 

cheers.

[siggy_7]

See above comment for the amount of work involved. Mainly it's removing all the exhaust components which I found quite awkward. I would say a day is more like it than a morning, but maybe I'm a slow mechanic!

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[Toucan]

32 minutes ago, siggy_7 said:

See above comment for the amount of work involved. Mainly it's removing all the exhaust components which I found quite awkward. I would say a day is more like it than a morning, but maybe I'm a slow mechanic!

 

I'm looking at doing a fairly thorough job..

 but feel I've a slim chance of success.. too long run with low pressure  :(

but I may as well try this before paying somebody to change to a good used engine.

 

is there a parts fische I can access..?   looking at what seals the sump .. a proper gasket.. or essentially BONDED in place  ;)

[Toucan]

as Importantly,

 has your ecoboost behaved in the months since your post?

[siggy_7]

Yes, had no oil pressure problems since. The auto stop/start has a mind of its own and it's totally gutless, but neither related to the oil I suspect!

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[Toucan]

good to hear.

 

the RTV debris comment helped know what sump sealant is required.

 

may be weeks before I get to do this job.. but great to have  a walk-through and good pics.

 

anybody got a link to an online parts list / manual.. checking bits I buy will actually fit,

 

Cheers.

[Toucan]

On ‎6‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 10:03 AM, Toucan said:

Hi all,

 I'm new here..( brought here by a search of low oil pressure in a 2013 Fiesta. - its a far from common failure..)

 

UPDATE -  Spoke to an RAC recovery tech.

 apparently this is a well known issue,  brought on by the extra-fine mesh . not coping with poor oil quality in neglegted engines.

 

so definitely my 1st port of call.

On ‎6‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 10:03 AM, Toucan said:

 

 

[Toucan]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 8:39 PM, siggy_7 said:

 

The inlet has a mesh which is completely clogged up with some form of black debris. This is some of what I removed from the pump inlet:

It's not magnetic. My best guess is that the previous owner used either the wrong oil or didn't change the oil as frequently as they should - odd as I bought the car with a full history. My other theory is that it is some RTV silicone broken off from overspill from the sump gasket.

Having fitted a new pump, the car now drives normally. Oil pressure builds straightaway - noticeably faster than it used to. The turbocharger is still delivering plenty of boost having monitored the inlet manifold pressure during a short drive. I did find about 50ml of oil in the intercooler pipe, so the seals may have degraded - I'll keep an eye on it.

Having had this issue, I'm tempted to get a fibre-scope to check the condition of the oil pump inlet through the sump plug at future service intervals. Given its proximity to the sump plug, I'm toying with the idea of making a thin tube up to facilitate cleaning of the pump inlet without having to drop the sump.

 

Excellent write-up , thanks

 

have you attempted the borescope check at oil change ?,

 

 that is my initial plan.. and if it's as choked as yours , will attempt to flush the debris with a litre of diesel / paraffin and a "turkey baster"

 

engine will get clean HOT oil from a different vehicle for it's initial 2 minute run.. just to see what occurrs.

 

hoping for decent pressure and a quiet motor.. but I wont know until I've tried..

 

thanks again.

[cjay1]

So to stop the mesh from clogging all you need to do is change the oil 12.5k or 12 months?

[Toucan]

14 hours ago, cjay1 said:

So to stop the mesh from clogging all you need to do is change the oil 12.5k or 12 months?

sounds a bit too far a stretch to me..

 

 the one I'm looking at fixing was booked in more frequently than that..

 

 wether the changes actually took place, and with what oils.. remain a mystery

[siggy_7]

I haven't done the inspection as yet, it's coming up for an oil change. Good luck with sorting yours; I understand from my local dealer this is a problem they have seen on a few cars now.

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[Toucan]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 10:48 AM, siggy_7 said:

I haven't done the inspection as yet, it's coming up for an oil change. Good luck with sorting yours; I understand from my local dealer this is a problem they have seen on a few cars now.

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from your excellent pics it looks like the filter screen mesh  has a "tin" cover , that could be prised out for a proper clean,

 BUT - I'm hoping to just gain access through the drain plug port to assess the amount of debris blocking the screens.

[karinaburnett1]

Hi siggy_7

My daughter's catches just developed a fault with identical symptoms to yours. oil light came on 2 weeks ago, she filled it up. While driving the other night it came on again, car limped then stopped. She was able to re-start and get to a safe place. Collected the car today but had to drive it home at around 15 mph, said it was vibrating like crazy! Garage have quoted 4k for a new engine. I know nothing of mechanics but from reading your post it seems a new oil pump sorted your issue.  Do you mind me asking how much it was for the pump? Tia 

[siggy_7]

Hi,

 

The oil pump was about £150 from a dealer. However it sound like your daughter's car either has a different issue or if it is oil starvation then from the engine stopping/bad vibration the engine has suffered internal damage. I am sorry to say it sounds like you will need a new engine.

 

I subsequently had a different issue which meant I needed to replace the engine on my car. I would recommend getting a second hand complete engine from a breaker (typical prices for a low mileage unit were about £1250 when I bought mine, I think the company I used was Engine Components Ltd who were good to deal with); a good independent garage will charge about £1,000 for fitting. It's expensive but not quite as bad as you have been quoted. An engine change can be done by a competent and well equipped home mechanic (I changed my own over a long weekend) but it is a lot of work!

 

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[Leo cornelius]

Hi, recently had the same problem as you siggy, I see you changed the oil pump, I'm in the process of doing that now, but have been told it is to do with the timing belt flaking, has the car been ok since you changed the pump ? Many thanks 

[siggy_7]

I've since had a problem caused by petrol in the oil (either injectors or high pressure fuel pump leakage) but nothing related to this issue, no.

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[Bobr]

On 2/6/2018 at 8:11 PM, siggy_7 said:

Regarding the service history, I have a few receipts for the car from the previous owners but aside from that very little. I didn't receive a service book with any stamps - I don't think they supply those any more for some reason?

My service book has all the stamps 

[Matthewstokesx3]

Hi i am having a similar problem, when i start engine its making an awful noise and oil pressure low keeps showing in dashboard!!! Booked in for service and health check with ford tomorrow im praying its not the engine 

[Ian318]

How long have you been having issues matthew , what miles has your car done?

[Matthewstokesx3]

61,000 and noticed it sunday night havent driven since happened out of nowhere, managed to cruise it home terrible noise from engine

[Ian318]

Reading comments on this post about oil pressure its does not fill me with confidence regarding these ecoboost issues , problems , i hope you and any one else gets answers to the problems .

[thanuttiscotsman]

Hey folks, I have some trade info that can fill in the blanks here. 

Im a mechanic working in the trade for over a decade now. We are currently sorting this exact issue on a fiesta at work. Not the first one we've done.

the issue with these cars is they have a slightly unusual design in that they have a timing belt which is not situated outside of the engine under a plastic cover but instead this timing belt is located inside the engine (where the oil is). It's a special belt designed to work in/with the engine oil. Now the oil is a specific type designed to work with the belt. People putting the wrong type of engine oil in the car or cheap oil or not changing the oil regularly enough causes the timing belt to degrade and break down. This is what you are all finding inside the filter mesh on the intake of your oil pumps. 

Unfortunately just changing the oil pump after it's become blocked is not sufficient enough a repair to resolve the issue. The fully resolve the issue you need to do the following;

1) flush out the engine oil system.

2) remove sump, replace oil pump and oil pump drive belt.

3) remove timing side of engine and replace timing belt

4) re assemble engine with new oil and filter. Be sure you get the correct real stuff. 

I wouldn't keep the old pump as you can't be sure there isn't debris inside. 

Do not open the old pump as the variable vanes will fall out and their location, direction and orientation must be correct to function properly. Re assembling it is like doing a 30 square a side rubix cube, just buy the new pump and keep your hair colour longer 👍🏼

Cheers, Rossco 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

@thanuttiscotsman - great explanation and some good advice there, thanks.😀

 

[Pacodcfc]

On 1/16/2018 at 1:15 PM, iantt said:

Have they checked the oil pressure control solenoid valve? Ecoboost uses variable pressure controlled by this solenoid.

My oil light is on and engine limping after vacuum pump change? May be a coincidence but where is this solenoid for oil?