(December 27, 2010) DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford powertrain engineers will tear down an engine that has gone a distance equal to six times around the earth and three quarters of the way to the moon. Or put another way: the engine has the equivalent of 160,000 miles and 10 years of rugged use.
 
Now, Ford engineers want to see how the engine’s parts and components held up. They will disassemble and examine it for long-term durability in front of the public at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 15 at 11 a.m.
 
“Customers will be able to see for themselves how the components fared during a regime of tests that, when taken together, are far more extreme than even the harshest-use customer could dish out,” said Jim Mazuchowski, V6 engines programs manager. “This EcoBoost truck engine received no special treatment, and now we’re going to see how it did.”
 
The F-150 EcoBoost engine saw its first action on the dyno in July. Engineers punished it in temperature and load extremes simulating nearly 10 years of use – a regimen tougher than any consumer could ever subject a truck to. At this point, most engines would be ready to be rebuilt or retired, but the EcoBoost testing engine was just beginning.
 
The engine was dropped into a regular production 2011 F-150 at Kansas City Assembly Plant Then it hit the road and saw some of the most severe use Ford engineers have ever dreamed up.
 
    • It hauled 55 tons of lumber
    • It ran at full throttle for 24 straight hours towing 11,300 pounds
    • Beat competitors’ larger engines in an uphill towing competition
    • Completed the world’s toughest desert endurance race, the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000 in Mexico

 Go to http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/experiencef150 to see firsthand how the EcoBoost truck engine performs in each of these events.
 
After its run in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engine was removed from the F-150 race truck and shipped to Dearborn. To view, go to http://fordvideo.wieck.com/search?q=F-150Baja1000.
 
Last month, the engine returned to the Dearborn dynamometer lab — where it started its “torture test” — to have power levels and output checked at a speed range from 1,500 rpm to 5,000 rpm. The results: