The symptom is vibration at idle, felt through the steering wheel and the instruments, and with it a squeal from the auxiliary belt. The pulley can also be checked by hand: bulging rubber and an outer ring that wobbles when pressed give it away.

At replacement what matters is what goes in its place. A pulley of factory quality with a proper damper is needed; the solid variant without damping is not suitable for this engine.

Another question belongs here, because it concerns the same bolt. At a timing belt change the crankshaft bolt has to be replaced with a new one according to the factory procedure, and tightened in two stages, to 40 newton metres and then a further 90 degrees, with the crankshaft locked. With the belt off the crankshaft must not be turned, because the pistons damage the valves. If the belt change was not done this way, the damage is inside the engine.

The leak appears under the intake manifold and runs down from there. What the owner notices is that the coolant level keeps falling, and a smell of coolant is noticeable in the cabin. If the crack opens further, the engine overheats, and from then on the cylinder head and the gasket are at risk as well.

Replacing the housing is not expensive, and it is worth replacing it with an aluminium part instead of the factory plastic: the metal version does not go brittle.

The symptom shows up when pulling away and at low speed: bucking, kicking, harsh engagement, delayed acceleration. Ford named two causes: the throwout bearing, and leaking input shaft and rear main seals that put oil on the clutch, which then slips even when it should be fully engaged.

On top of that there are transmission control module (TCM) faults: faulty connector pins, failing shifter motors, and a badly connected main ground wire. Ford released seal and clutch kit fixes.

The gearbox led to class actions and fraud investigations in the United States, Australia and Canada. A US settlement was tentatively approved in April 2017.