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List of common mistakes and issues when increasing performance on Explorer ST platform

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#1
Time for a new pinned post so we can get rid of some others! Here is a list of common mistakes and issues found on this platform!

  • Oil pressure drop.
    • If your engine is low on oil, you will experience an oil pressure drop on a hard launch. The lower the oil the worse the drop is the longer it lasts. It can even get low enough that hard acceleration from roll will cause the oil pressure drop. Like most performance applications when you start doing mods you need to enhance your regular maintenance plans, just being in the recommend range is not good enough. Your oil needs to filled to very top mark and even up to ½ qt above full if you plan to race and do a lot of lunches. All turbo engines burn some amount of oil, so the level needs to be monitored and topped off. Failure to do this will cause bearing failure. There have been several engines on here lost to oil levels, not even on the dipstick.
  • Spark plugs.
    • There is a load of misinformation floating around about spark plugs. 6510s (LTR7IX-11) are not the spark plug to use in your EcoBoost. I get it, other tuners recommend them, but they are not right for the application. Do they work? Yes, they do, but this is what happens. Plugs will go in gapped at .031. After a few thousand miles you will start getting some spark blow out. Then you will pull the plugs and find out the gap opened up to .038 or some other large number! This will happen every time, the cylinder pressure and firing temperature of the Ecoboost is just way to hot and will cause the strap to open up towards its original position! Some people are doing plugs after 5-10k miles because they are "bad". That's not the issue. The plug isn't bad at all the gap is just wrong. 6510s come out of the box gapped at .044 even and even NGK tells you not to re-gap them more than .010 whereas most Ecoboost applications need to be gapped at .028 max.
    • The following options are what we at ZFG Racing recommend in order the order that we prefer.
      • NGK 95605
      • NGK 95822
      • Bosch 96315
  • Low Transmission fluid level and excess wheel spin/hop causing a bad 1-2 shift.
    • As the weather has gotten cooler, you will make more power and have less traction. There are 2 main things that cause the ST to nose over on the 1-2 shift.
      • Most of the time, especially lately this has been to blame. Low transmission fluid will cause the pick to suck air on a hard launch. This will cause a failed 1-2 shift. It will hit the rev limiter and sit there until enough pressure builds to make the gear exchange. Like most performance applications when you start doing mods you need to enhance your regular maintenance plans, just being in the recommend range is not good enough. You need to be at the top of the range, or slightly over full. There are also options for aftermarket transmission oil plans.
      • Excessive wheel spin and or hop can cause you to hit the soft rev limiter on the 1-2 shift. If that happens the shift will still be complete, but all the boosts will be pull and it will ramp back in over the next few seconds. Lowering the shift point or raising the rev limiter are options, but if the wheel spin/hop is bad enough that it causes this issues, completing the 1-2 has a high likelihood of breaking something like a drive shaft or axle.
  • Mods that require tune changes
    • When you are adding bolt on's to your ST there is a few things that you should have a specific tune for BEFORE you can start the truck back up. Those items include but are not limited to, HPFP, and injectors, upgraded turbos. Everything else if you ask, you will probably get a response of "use the tune you currently have to log a 3rd or 4th gear pull from 2500-6000 rpm and note the changes when submitting, tunes will be adjusted if needed".
 

Suprawill1

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#2
Thanks for the heads up!
 

FORZDA3

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#3
Great info on the oil pressure drop. I’ve confirmed it with data logs after Adam posted it on the Raptor forums. The Raptor has the same issue, pay attention. At least one member there smoked a bearing with a really hot setup and tune.
 

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Thread Starter #4
Great info on the oil pressure drop. I’ve confirmed it with data logs after Adam posted it on the Raptor forums. The Raptor has the same issue, pay attention. At least one member there smoked a bearing with a really hot setup and tune.
yep, we realized this issue early on in the gen 2 3.5l. raptors are even worse because of the squat on hard acceleration.
 

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#5
GREAT INFO. Too bad you have to repeat it 100 times on fakebook because most people are too stupid or lazy to research :oops:
 

BrooseDaMoose

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Very nice information! I have a question about spark plugs. I have a set of the NGK Ruthenium 95605's waiting to go in and they came pre-gapped by the seller (another well known tuner) at .028. They ask for a list of mods and any tune you're running before purchasing and gap the plugs accordingly. If .028 is the max, what would the ideal gap be? For mods I have, SPD 3" downpipes, 3" MBRP exhaust, CVF Intercooler, a S&B CAI and I'm running the 91 DMS tune. Thank you!
 

Cruising68

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#7
I run .028 with similar mods.


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Thread Starter #8
Very nice information! I have a question about spark plugs. I have a set of the NGK Ruthenium 95605's waiting to go in and they came pre-gapped by the seller (another well known tuner) at .028. They ask for a list of mods and any tune you're running before purchasing and gap the plugs accordingly. If .028 is the max, what would the ideal gap be? For mods I have, SPD 3" downpipes, 3" MBRP exhaust, CVF Intercooler, a S&B CAI and I'm running the 91 DMS tune. Thank you!
.028 is what you want.

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BrooseDaMoose

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#9
Ok great! Thank you!


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Suprawill1

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#10
I've a couple questions regarding transmission oil and checking. I had been steering clear of Ford dealerships because of past experiences so I've approached a few mechanic shops used in the past. It seems that a few that I've talked to about checking the fluid seemed to balk at the prospect and even turned down checking it for me. One said the exhaust was too close to the 19mm bolt and was a pita and another said he didn't service that type of check because there was no dipstick. Is it just me or is this ridiculous? As far as I could see, you just have to drive the vehicle at least 15 miles, then put it on a lift with the engine running, remove the 19mm bolt and expose the little dipstick. Am I missing something or am I just asking the wrong mechanics?

Secondly, this ST has 60k miles on it. Should I be considering getting the trans oil changed and what do I have to be aware of? I would consider using Mercon ULV or VersaTrans ULV.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 

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#11
Why do you recommend 95605 when NGK website and Autozone says no it’s not compatible?
 

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Thread Starter #12
Why do you recommend 95605 when NGK website and Autozone says no it’s not compatible?
Why would you trust AutoZone's website? They are not listed as compatible because they are not stock replacements they are one heat range colder than stock.

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Thread Starter #13
I've a couple questions regarding transmission oil and checking. I had been steering clear of Ford dealerships because of past experiences so I've approached a few mechanic shops used in the past. It seems that a few that I've talked to about checking the fluid seemed to balk at the prospect and even turned down checking it for me. One said the exhaust was too close to the 19mm bolt and was a pita and another said he didn't service that type of check because there was no dipstick. Is it just me or is this ridiculous? As far as I could see, you just have to drive the vehicle at least 15 miles, then put it on a lift with the engine running, remove the 19mm bolt and expose the little dipstick. Am I missing something or am I just asking the wrong mechanics?

Secondly, this ST has 60k miles on it. Should I be considering getting the trans oil changed and what do I have to be aware of? I would consider using Mercon ULV or VersaTrans ULV.

Thanks for your thoughts!
You definitely want to stick with OEM fluid and yeah 60,000 miles is getting to that point. The procedure to check the fluid sucks! That's because it's not supposed to have to be checked but clearly it is an issue, and to be honest I hear of a lot of brand new ones that come off a quart low.

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Suprawill1

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#14
You definitely want to stick with OEM fluid and yeah 60,000 miles is getting to that point. The procedure to check the fluid sucks! That's because it's not supposed to have to be checked but clearly it is an issue, and to be honest I hear of a lot of brand new ones that come off a quart low.

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Thanks for the reply!
So from what I understand, Mercon ULV is the OEM trans oil. The VersaTrans ULV is supposed to be a compatible option but I don't have to use that.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is the suck part of the checking procedure just the fact that you have to drive for 15 miles and then putting it on a lift?
The rest seems like it's just pulling a 19mm bolt out and exposing the little dip stick.

So when I get the trans oil changed, is it a transfusion process or do they totally empty the contents and refill? Just want to make sure it's done properly.
Some of these mechanics are just clueless!
 

Cruising68

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I put mine on a Quickjack and put it in drive with the brakes on firm and rev a little. Nothing excessive, more like 1500 rpm. Heats the trans fluid up to temp in about 5 minutes. Makes it slightly less of a pita to do. Also I heard in here valvoline has an approved ULV full synthetic.

Oh yeah, I drain and fill. Once I got the fluid level right I just measure what comes out.


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Suprawill1

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I put mine on a Quickjack and put it in drive with the brakes on firm and rev a little. Nothing excessive, more like 1500 rpm. Heats the trans fluid up to temp in about 5 minutes. Makes it slightly less of a pita to do. Also I heard in here valvoline has an approved ULV full synthetic.

Oh yeah, I drain and fill. Once I got the fluid level right I just measure what comes out.


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Thanks for sharing your technique.
Don't have a Quickjack but don't mind checking after a 15 mi run. I saw the Valvoline ULV. There's also an approved full synthetic ULV by Kendall.
For argument's sake, I think I'll use the Mercon.
 

Cerberus

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#17
Thanks for sharing your technique.
Don't have a Quickjack but don't mind checking after a 15 mi run. I saw the Valvoline ULV. There's also an approved full synthetic ULV by Kendall.
For argument's sake, I think I'll use the Mercon.
For what its worth, I've used Kendal Versatrans LV in my edge and plan to use the (now Phillips66) Versatrans ULV in the explorer. It is licensed by Ford to be fully compliant with the Mercon ULV spec:
(Ford MERCON ULV (License No. MULV220501) and its fully synthetic, not a blend, so it will work better and perform longer.

https://www.phillips66lubricants.com/product/versatrans-ulv/
 

Suprawill1

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#18
For what its worth, I've used Kendal Versatrans LV in my edge and plan to use the (now Phillips66) Versatrans ULV in the explorer. It is licensed by Ford to be fully compliant with the Mercon ULV spec:
(Ford MERCON ULV (License No. MULV220501) and its fully synthetic, not a blend, so it will work better and perform longer.

https://www.phillips66lubricants.com/product/versatrans-ulv/
Thanks for the heads up. A while back I drained and filled with Mercon ULV. Got a good deal on Ebay.
 

FORZDA3

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For what its worth, I've used Kendal Versatrans LV in my edge and plan to use the (now Phillips66) Versatrans ULV in the explorer. It is licensed by Ford to be fully compliant with the Mercon ULV spec:
(Ford MERCON ULV (License No. MULV220501) and its fully synthetic, not a blend, so it will work better and perform longer.

https://www.phillips66lubricants.com/product/versatrans-ulv/
You know the Mercon ULV is a “full” synthetic, right? Most of the Ford spec motor oil is semi-syn blend.
 

Cerberus

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#20
You know the Mercon ULV is a “full” synthetic, right? Most of the Ford spec motor oil is semi-syn blend.
I'm not saying that you're wrong, but i did a quick search and found nothing to corroborate that.
so no, I did not know.
 

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