2010 SHO TURBOS AND CAT DOWN. ADVICE NEEDED!

[NavyVetSHO10]

 Hello,

I bought a 2010 SHO back in 2015, I started getting a rattling noise at startup, check engine light, and loss of power in 2016 for a few days and then I got blue smoke out of the exhaust. I had the car sit (would start it up periodically) for a year due to low funds. I was able to get the car looked at by a Ford dealer a few months ago and they told me that I needed 2 new turbos and a catalytic converter. I got the car fixed and not even two months after driving the car, I started hearing the rattling noise upon startup again and when I drive, I'd hear a kind of whistling sound during acceleration. I scheduled a visit to the dealer shop that did the repairs and 3 days before the appointment, I get blue smoke at idle again. This time, smoke was also coming inside the car. The repair shop tells me that oil and coolant are mixing and I need a new engine but they can't say for sure until they look at the engine. I paid $4k for the original repairs. They said the engine could've been bad but they never looked at it. The check engine light has not returned since the first repair. The SHO has 109K miles on it. Am I out of luck, or is there some way to get this fixed without coming out of pocket? Am I able to get a refund since the very parts that were replaced have already failed? How would you have approached this repair from the start? Thank you for all that you do!

[SHOdded]

My guess is the rattling sound was from the timing chains, not the turbos.  The water pump is driven by timing chain, so that likely caused the pump's demise as well.

As far as the converter, the most likely cause for that is leaky fuel injectors.  Turbos have been known to fail repeatedly on occasion, though this is relatively rare.  This is a difficult one to diagnose for actual cause.

Do you have the invoice for the repairs, and does it show what codes they found, because they should have checked before issuing a recommendation for repairs.  Seems to me they did not properly diagnose/repair the first time around.  So they should comp you towards future repairs.  2 months is a pretty short time for a fix to "last".

[TopherSho]

If the oil and coolant are mixing you should be able to see it.   Pop the radiator and look at the dipstick.  If its caramel or milky your toast.  it would explain the rattle,  watered down oil will not insulate the engines normal sounds as well. 

As for the smoke in the cabin that sounds like it is either leaking out the valve covers due to over pressurization or overheating.

I think for the engine to have ''stopped'' the noise.. then start again is very odd.  it sounds like the oil was changed.  then it leaked into it again.

[ZSHO]

X2 Not an easy Task to Diagnose!!! Did you check for any DTC Codes set ?
Check the coolant level? Coolant leaks which could explain the smell inside the cabin with A/C ON .
It could be the timing chain and tensioner's and perhaps the water pump.
Is there coolant inside the Crankcase ? Z

[pmezo33]

Sounds like the shop likely screwed up the diagnosis.  Your issue with that is going to be getting them to admit it and getting them to take responsibility for it.  Not an easy task.

Did you check the codes before bringing the car in?  There definitely must have been some or they wouldn't have replaced the cats. 

Did they change the oil during this job?  I'd assume they did.  It should be pretty obvious if the water pump is leaking.  Oil would look like a milky mess.  What does your coolant level look like?

If you really need a new engine, I'd just part the car out or sell as is to someone looking for a project.  A 2010 at 100k plus miles in need of a new engine is probably close to a complete loss after parts and labor.  Only option would be to find a cheap junk yard engine, but it's still going to be expensive unless you can do the work yourself. 

[sholxgt]

It's also possible the the first time it did need turbos and the cat and those two items damaged the motor and it took a while for it to get worse.

When turbo's or the cat fails the motor can ingest pieces of the turbine or catalytic converter material.

I seem to recall another on here that had the identical thing happen, but he was doing the work himself.  First failed turbos and that led to a failed motor.

Good luck and sorry for your troubles!

[NavyVetSHO10]

Sorry for the late response. No code was entered for this diagnosis. The invoice says CK blows smoke burning oil.
Checked and confirmed VEH blowing black smoke
Found both turbos blown apart found turbo pieces blown into cat converter.
Removed and replaced both turbos and one cat converter. Retest ok.
VEH may blow smoke due to the oil that went into exhaust after turbos blew.
Road test to get most of oil out of exhaust. (End of invoice)

There was no oil change done during this entire process. Only antifreeze was put in.

[SHOdded]

Wow, no oil change.  That's pretty sad-a**ed.  I would as an owner do at least 2 oil changes in quick succession after such an event.

Black smoke is usually fuel/injectors.  I don't see that they addressed that, but let's hope the black smoke was burnt oil or something.  Should have a distinct smell either way.

[sholxgt]

Next visit will be a short block replacement based on what we've seen.

[NavyVetSHO10]

 Honestly, at this point I'm just trying to fight for a refund on the two turbos and the cat. I'm just gathering as much info as I can before heading to the part and services manager at the dealership.

[SHOdded]

Good luck, try and remain polite but firm but don't hesitate to escalate to upper mgmt if you see the need.