Constant Coolant Leak After Turbo Replacement 2021 2.7L

[six17]

Recently purchased a 2021 F-150 XLT (302A) 2.7L from a BMW Dealer (probably my first mistake) with 62,000 miles. That was back in December, and now I just hit 78,000. Truck was always [Ford] dealer maintained according to Carfax, with regular oil changes and tire rotations showing up

ISSUES

At 75,000 miles I started it up on a Sunday morning in June and it overheated after less than a quarter mile, started running rough, and went into limp mode. I turned it around and parked it back in my driveway.

I had it towed to my mechanic, and we discovered it had no coolant in the reservoir, with no obvious leaks. He suggested I bring it to Ford for further diagnosis.

DIAGNOSIS

I brought the truck to Ford where it sat for the next 2 weeks. They discovered a bad driver’s side turbo (see photo) and replaced it. Total was about $2500

Spoiler

MORE ISSUES

About 500 miles later (75,500) I checked it and it was visually low on coolant again. I added about 12oz of OEM Motorcraft pre-diluted coolant. I took photos and sent it into the dealer via email. They called me back and said it was likely just an air bubble.

EVEN MORE ISSUES

1,500 miles after that (77,000) I check it once again and noticed it was visually low. I added another 8-10oz of coolant. I brought it back in and they could not find a leak, drove it about 20 miles, and said simply to keep an eye on it. They think it was more air bubbles.

Spoiler

CONCERN

I have an understanding of how the cooling system works. I always check the level when the truck is cold, and parked on a level surface. Usually I pop the hood before starting it up in the morning. I understand there can be air pockets, but that seems unlikely to me as I’ve put so many miles on the truck, and driven it on a combination of long and short drives.

My concern is that I am still burning coolant somehow, and that will cause further potential damage to my engine or other parts such as my brand new turbo. Is it normal to have that much air in the system? Anyone else have coolant issues or bad turbos on the 2.7L?

I am seriously considering getting rid of the truck due to this ongoing coolant issue, and a whole separate issue with my 400W inverter outlets not working, likely due to a wiring issue. That is a whole separate thread and I have had it at the dealer for that too.

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[Tall Tail]

No pics

 

[six17]

No pics

Added pics, my bad

 

[six17]

Update.
Now at 78,000 miles. Popped the hood and was extremely low on coolant (again)

Took it to the dealer for the third time. Service advisor didn't have much to say

They gave me a tiny Bronco sport with less than 50 miles. Pretty disappointed they couldn't comp me with a truck (there's tons on the lot) since they couldn't fix the issue originally.

I think it is only fair to get a loaner truck equivalent to mine.

Not sure I will be buying Ford again.

 

[Rinn69]

I had a similar issue with my 2019 Ranger with the 2.3 EB. It all started with a cracked coolant reservoir, so I replaced that as well as the reservoir cap....the cap was cheap and figured I might as well. I filled the new reservoir, checked it a few times and after topping the reservoir off for the 3rd time, I did some research and found there are 2 ways to "burp" the cooling system. One is with the use of a vacuum pump. The other involves filling the reservoir to the MAX line, start it, let it get up to temp, then hold the throttle at a certain RPM for 30 seconds or a minute, let it idle normally for 30-60 seconds, and repeat the high/low RPM cycle 10 times. Just tried to find it, but no luck

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