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Fabled Ford Cleveland Engine Plant No 1 goes back into production with new EcoBoost V-6 engine
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Fans of Ford performance are about to see an icon rise from idleness. With the manufacture of Ford’s new EcoBoost beginning at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1—the source of Ford’s famed 302 and 5.0-liter engines which powered many high-performance Mustangs and other fast Fords from the Sixties to past the millennium—a new generation of high-output Fords begins.
EcoBoost is Ford’s term for direct injection with turbocharging, and with this application it achieves V-8 performance, fuel economy and emissions from a 3.5-liter V-6. Ford says 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent lower CO2 emissions compared with larger engines. The engine will be an option for the 2010 Lincoln MKS, Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and come standard on the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO.
For Ford, EcoBoost is the first wave of the future, at least near term. By 2013, more than 90 percent of Ford’s North American lineup will be available with EcoBoost technology.
This first available EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6 will produce 355 horsepower and one should expect impressive acceleration in the Lincoln MKS and Ford Taurus SHO. The latter is particularly anticipated by Ford enthusiasts who mourned the passing of the original Taurus SHO, creating websites for that car and the forthcoming SHO.
Ford has subjected the engine to extensive testing, claiming that the engine has endured more than a million miles of customer driving. Test put the complete engine system under maximum engine speeds and loads, coolant and oil temperature and customer driving patterns. Says Ford:
“The Road Cycle Durability test, for example, is designed to replicate real-world customer driving and vehicle maintenance patterns. For this test, engines with EcoBoost technology were subjected to 1,000 cold starts, followed by sustained operation at peak torque and peak power. During the course of the test, engine coolant temperatures ranged from 12 degrees Celsius (about 53 degrees Fahrenheit) to 95 degrees Celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit).”
Ford also has tested individual components as well. EcoBoost's twin turbochargers naturally run at a very high temperature - up to 1,740 degrees Fahrenheit. To “prove out” the turbochargers, Ford engineers ran them at that temperature for 10 minutes and then "shocking" the turbos by running them at room temperature for 10 minutes. Ford repeated the tests at maximum boost continuously for hundreds of hours, under far more severe conditions than they would experience in the hands of owners.With the low current public opinion of American products, Ford has to get it right.
No doubt some 250 workers are hoping to get it right as well. Production at the Cleveland plant was stopped in 2007, so it is also good news to Ford employees who will be going back to work. Ford has been giving intensive training in quality production and the operation of their tools in anticipation of production manufacture of the engine which is now ramping up pre-production assembly.
Ford would certainly like to see the Cleveland engine plant return to its source of legendary engines, something that’s shared with all fans of the Blue Oval. And yes, we’re looking forward to it as well.
Illustrations: Ford employee assembles pre-proudution EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6 engine at Ford's Cleveland engine plant; V-6 engines march down the assembly line at Cleveland engine plant.
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