Ford Just Recalled A Van Because The Engine Might ‘Slip’ Out Of Place

Like most drivers, I like my engine where it is. Bolted in securely, aligned with the transmission, skilfully isolated on carefully designed rubber-insert mounts. Doesn’t matter if the engine’s up front, in the middle, or out back, so long as it’s staying put. However, sometimes engines might not stay perfectly in their homes. Ford has recalled 1,403 Transit Trail vans because their engine crossmembers might not be bolted in correctly.

See, on the Ford Transit, the engine is bolted to the front crossmember via a pair of engine mounts. That crossmember then bolts up to the van, an industry-standard design for several reasons. Not only does a bolt-in crossmember make it easier to install engines from underneath on a rolling assembly line, it also reduces warranty or repair time should an oil pan gasket leak or an oil pan somehow get damaged. But why are only certain examples of one trim level of Transit affected by this recall?

Well, the Transit Trail isn’t built quite like your standard contractor’s van. In pursuit of greater off-road capability, this all-wheel-drive machine gets a bunch of treats including a body lift kit that are installed by Ford’s vehicle modifier network. According to the recall report, it was in the fitting of that lift kit that things deviated from the norm.

During a Ford review of Transit Trail vehicles, Ford learned that to accommodate the vehicle’s body lift, the vehicle modifier used substitute bolts that may not have included washers to secure the engine crossmember to the body. The use of the substitute bolt without a washer had not been validated by the vehicle modifier or Ford Engineering.

Naturally, the next step after learning that these washer-less replacement bolts hadn’t been tested was to put them to the test against bolts with washers. The finding? As Ford stated in the defect report, “Physical testing simulating lifetime performance confirmed engine slip and loss of clamp load on assemblies with no washers.”

Now I know what you’re thinking—if the fasteners on the engine crossmember fail, could the engine sort of fall out? Maybe, but probably not in an engine-on-ground slapstick way. Not only will the transmission mount be fighting for its life in the case of engine cradle hardware slipping, but anyone who’s pulled an engine knows a thing or two about the astonishing strength of the one bit of wire or plumbing they forgot to disconnect.

The good news here is that Ford seems to have managed to catch this gaffe before anything bad happened. As the recall report states, “Ford is not aware of any reports of accidents, injuries, or fires related to this concern,” and automakers generally keep close tabs on incidents involving their products. A human error was made, that human error was caught, and now that human error is being corrected.

Unsurprisingly, the fix here is remarkably simple: new engine crossmember hardware including washers will be installed on all affected vans for free. It should be a quick and easy fix that’ll see owners of affected 2023 and 2024 Ford Transit Trails on their way smoothly, with dealers already being notified and letters arriving in owners’ mailboxes by Feb. 20 at the latest.

While this particular recall is a little embarrassing, it serves as a great reminder of two things. First, modern quality control can catch issues before they become real problems. Secondly, washers are important. If you’re replacing a broken captive-washer bolt on your project car, use like hardware. The engineers specced it for a reason.

Top graphic images: Mercedes Streeter; Ford