Red oil light
- Thread starter Robert
- Start date
5w20 is the correct grade for the 1.0 Ecoboost
5w20 is what they use. But to be honest even if it was 20w50 on a freezing cold morning it should be more than capable of sucking that oil up and making pressure.
We had -9 here, so much colder than usual
Modern Synthetic oils are good in terms of protection to at least -20C
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And still pour all the way down to -50C (pour point)
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My point still stands.
Often on these forums people exaggerate and jump to conclusions on the slightest thing, saying you should get rid while you can bla bla bla...
You should get rid while you can.
No really. You only have to google to find out more on these ecoboosts. I nearly bought one, then read up on them and decided not to. There is a dedicated facebook group dedicated to issues with the Ford Ecoboosts, nick named eco booms. As already pointed out in this thread, they are notorious for issues with the wetbelt/oil pickup and then the belt breaks down and breaks the entire engine when the belt fails. This has also caused some engines to catch fire. I made this thread on here recently about how a lot of the earlier models are now coming up to that time where the belt needs replacing. Even if your car is all dandy and it just needs it replacing, the costs are still huge due to reasons discussed in that thread.
In conclusion, at the slightest sign of any issues to do with oil on these engines, I would literally sell it the next day, assuming I could physically drive it into a we buy any car. I would just take their price and move on.
You should get rid while you can.
No really. You only have to google to find out more on these ecoboosts. I nearly bought one, then read up on them and decided not to. There is a dedicated facebook group dedicated to issues with the Ford Ecoboosts, nick named eco booms. As already pointed out in this thread, they are notorious for issues with the wetbelt/oil pickup and then the belt breaks down and breaks the entire engine when the belt fails. This has also caused some engines to catch fire. I made this thread on here recently about how a lot of the earlier models are now coming up to that time where the belt needs replacing. Even if your car is all dandy and it just needs it replacing, the costs are still huge due to reasons discussed in that thread.
In conclusion, at the slightest sign of any issues to do with oil on these engines, I would literally sell it the next day, assuming I could physically drive it into a we buy any car. I would just take their price and move on.
You've sadly paid £250 for an oil change is all. The newer oil being less thick, and a flush has probably helped things in the short term (oil pickup may still be clogged but thinner oil can flow more easily for now) and may mask the issue for a while. Also the cold won't have helped. As above, I would take the opportunity to sell it while it drives with no apparent issues. In time, the oil pressure warning light may come back on as the belt breaks down more and more. This is all just guess work, but these engines are reknown for it.
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It's easy to say lol get rid as several people already have, but those same people are also those who said that 1.0 Ecoboosts would go pop well before 100k miles, and the Op's has already done 110k+.
I've got an alternative viewpoint:
With the way the user car market is, if the car is otherwise sound, and doesn't need any other big ticket items (e.g. clutch), then it may just be worth spending out and having the belt changed.
Yes it's a grand, but it's on a car that you know the history of, versus gambling on a second hand car that could easily need that spending within the first few months of ownership.
With the belt changed, you could likely get another 5 years+ of motoring out of it, or could ask more money selling it privately (and in good conscience sell it on to the people who typically want family cars like the Focus)
I've got an alternative viewpoint:
With the way the user car market is, if the car is otherwise sound, and doesn't need any other big ticket items (e.g. clutch), then it may just be worth spending out and having the belt changed.
Yes it's a grand, but it's on a car that you know the history of, versus gambling on a second hand car that could easily need that spending within the first few months of ownership.
With the belt changed, you could likely get another 5 years+ of motoring out of it, or could ask more money selling it privately (and in good conscience sell it on to the people who typically want family cars like the Focus)
My local Ford dealer quote £1440 incl VAT for the belt change on these. Finding places that will do the work outside of Ford can be hard due to the required tooling. I'd be interested to hear if the quotes are starting to come down since I made that thread I linked to above in Feb. The theory is that as these changes start to become more commonly required, the tooling and skills becomes more widespread at local indy garages as well, and hence the price comes down to more reasonable levels. Sadly the design simply requires a lot of book time to get the job done regardless of tools and experience.
Ford originally spec'd the belt as a lifetime part, then backtracked and said 150k or 10 years whichever comes first. In reality though, it fails much sooner for people.
Ford originally spec'd the belt as a lifetime part, then backtracked and said 150k or 10 years whichever comes first. In reality though, it fails much sooner for people.
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The "W" in oil viscosity stands for "Winter", not "Weight".
You’ve been tucked up mate I wouldn’t trust their opinion at all. You’ll always have these doubts in the back of your mind, waiting for engine to inevitably go boom.
The number is the weight/viscosity though.
Not the weight. But the viscosity, yes.
How does he know the wrong oil has been put in though? Without sending it away for analysis it’ll be almost impossible for him to know this. It’s a guess at best.
They clearly haven’t got a clue what they are doing in regards to these engines. No one worth their salt would’ve told someone with that engine and those symptoms to drive the car there. That’s the first red flag. Then they try to tell him it’s had the wrong oil put in it, with absolutely no way of being able to prove it.
They should really be recommending the belt to be changed at that mileage but I suspect they either don’t have the ability or don’t want the hassle.
That car is a problem waiting to happen. I wouldn’t be driving it without the say so from someone who knows these engines and knows what to look for.