‘They want it to fail’: Mechanic reveals why Ford is really changing how its engines are designed
Ford doesn’t have the best reputation on the internet. While the U.S. top-selling truck may be the Ford F-series, that doesn’t mean everyone is happy with their purchase from the American automaker.
For example, one Ford owner reported a “death wobble” in their car, meaning that the steering wheel began to violently shake at high speeds. A mechanic also noted a range of issues with a 4-year-old Ford engine, claiming after looking at the problems that Ford vehicles are not “built to last.”
Despite these concerns, the brand still has its fans. However, those fans have noticed something peculiar about how the company has changed its engine design over the years—and now, the mechanics at Flying Wrenches Automotive (@flyingwrenchesauto) have posted a video showing why that’s the case.
Why Ford engines are changing
In the clip, which currently has over 265,000 views as of Friday, a mechanic says that the Ford Motor Company is “moving away from oil pumps that are driven directly off the crankshaft.” Instead, the company is opting for a belt-driven oil pump.
“They're doing this to prevent cavitation at higher RPMs,” the mechanic explains. “As the crankshaft moves up and down inside of that gear, it can cause it to break. That's the main reason that they've started moving these oil pumps off of the crankshaft and onto a belt or chain-driven system, because the chain can take up any amount of vibration the crankshaft's going to throw at it, it doesn't really matter.”
This has required the company to change the layout of the front of the car, as the pump is generally moved further back along the engine. Some cars, the mechanic notes, do not have the space to accommodate this change—and so, they remain with the old system. An example of these cars is the new 2024 Ford Mustang.
“It still uses the old-style pump on the front,” the mechanic states. “We can't put this here in the Mustang because there's just not enough room to physically fit an oil pan on that car that's going to work with this style pump.”
@flyingwrenchesauto Ford’s Shift to Indirectly Driven Oil Pumps #ford #fordtech #fordtechnician #mechanic #flyingwrenches #oilpump #fordv8 #v8 ♬ original sound - Flying Wrenches Automotive
Commenters think the company is cheaping out
In the comments section, some users speculated that this change was not actually about improving the car. Instead, these users alleged that the company was trying to make customers pay more money for repairs.
“If it last 25 plus years and over 200,000 miles….. ford does not want to do that,” a commenter stated. “They want you to replace your vehicle every 5 years or 50,000 miles, so they make more money.”
“They have a guy who's whole job is to figure out the right ammount of engineering to keep you in the shop for dealer parts,” added another.
However, some countered that it could offer performance improvements.
“Probably some miniscule difference in fuel economy. Using a pulley system provides a slight mechanical advantage,” said a user.
The Daily Dot reached out to Ford and Flying Wrenches via email.
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