DSK

Yes the mileage is substantial, the current owner bought it with 28k mi and has accumulated the rest of his miles as an Uber/Lyft driver. Other than several faulty front wheel bearings and a CV axle replacement, this car seems to be a real winner

I'm glad to try to contribute. I've gained so much information from the experiences of others on these forums. It would be great to return the assistance somehow. About to replace the driver steering knuckle assembly...may post on that if it's worthwhile. Wish the bearing alone could be replaced in an easier way than requiring a hydraulic press... DSK

Hello, New here. Wanted to share my recent experience regarding a troublesome problem in hopes that it might benefit someone else. Apology in advance for the dumb long post... For several months on and off I have been trying to help my older neighbor with a recurring engine stall problem on his FFH. I don't own a FFH myself (forgive me) but have great interest in hybrid and EV autos and just wanted to share this with the community for the edification of anyone with a similar problem...long story short: a new MECS pump saved the day. 2011 FFH 2.5L w/ 232k miles Problem: engine shuts down upon increased load/oncoming freeway ramp/sudden hi speed demand/going uphill fast. Wrench light, warning triangle shows. Sometimes above warnings show during above conditions but engine does not stall (rare). Only occurs at operating temp. Codes: P2418 (evap). I erroneously focused on the P2418 after hearing from a Ford tech that evap purge/vent valve failures can cause a lean fuel condition, leading to stalling. While this may be true, it was the wrong track in my case. I was unaware of the MECS (motor electronics cooling system) pump being a cause of many problems with the FFH as well as the Ford Escape hybrids of the same era (or close to). Allegedly it caused the same stall condition in the Escapes. After changing evap purge and vent valves to no avail, and my neighbor suggesting a coolant flush just for maintenance sake, I flushed and replaced the ICE coolant first. I told him to get the Motorcraft Specialty Green VC-5 FIR No. 164315 (concentrate) which we used instead of an Oreilly equivalent which he suggested, but I did not want to use... The old coolant was a darker green and looked worn out, and when compared to the new luminous bright green coolant, it gave me the idea that the old was greatly out of date. Maybe original? The difference was so evident, I was convinced this would improve something. I had been researching the subject of coolant in this car and the MECS in particular, so I bought a German Bosch 0392023019 MECS pump online and installed it, flushing and replacing the old coolant in the converter and the old aftermarket MECS pump (Cooper Standard). It was only at this point in time did I realize I had never before heard the hum of the MECS pump upon turning the key. And of course, the old pump tested bad. Breathtaking ignorance, I know. What confused me is that there were never any MECS related codes present, which my research made me think should have appeared. I remembered reading posts from others that said they had some sort of coolant codes come up...my cue should have been that his complaint was "only when the engine is warm". No coolant related codes ever appeared. I don't have FORscan so maybe something would have appeared using it. The more I read about this the more I realize how common of a problem this has been...so perhaps this post is nothing more than old news. Worst time of the job was getting the 12mm coolant bleed bolt back in, which was in a different location than my repair guidance gave. Basically it's under the brake fluid reservoir, on the top center of the converter, just under the electrical plugs going into the converter. It's a pain to access. The level of coolant in the reservoir did not drop until this bolt was removed, even with the hoses and pump disconnected below. Pictures for that included for anyone who's interested. I don't remember how much coolant it took but didn't seem to be as much as it called for...I mixed it in a 1/2 gallon jug and added it in smaller amounts that way, a bit on the strong side, to account for any distilled water still in the system after I flushed it. I hope this helps. If I gave any incorrect info, someone please advise. Now, if someone could advise on this P2418 code... Thank you all DSK