2024 XL (STX) 2.3L coolant intrusion

[superj]

You would think driving it would pressurize the coolant system and pop a hose or blow the lid open on the overflow tank

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[Cosmicjumperalex03]

Hey I am a Ford dealer shop foreman and I was a gasoline engine repair technician for the majority of my career, I may be able to give some insights potentially.

Coolant intrusion on 2.3l for focus RS mustang and ford explorers were very common for a stretch of about 5-6 years up until about 2-3 years ago. But I have never seen a ranger 5G or 6G with coolant intrusion. That being said it also means I’ve never had to pull the cylinder head off of a ranger either so I can’t attest to the block design on rangers either but I have a strong suspicion that particularly on 5G rangers the block design was an open deck.

So why then have I not seen any rangers with coolant intrusion if it is so common on the other models for the 2.3l?

I always put it up to a combination of 2 factors, one being that those other models are likely driven with much more throttle application more frequently so they have higher average coolant temperature and more frequent and repeated spikes in coolant and cylinder head temperature. I also suspect that the fuel delivery, timing profile and boost pressure (effectively the tune) on rangers is less aggressive as they are often used as fleet vehicles and ford wants to protect their fleet sales and ensure businesses who purchase large quantities of rangers are happy with the longevity and come back for more.

So your service manager saying that they haven’t seen it before makes sense to me, I can’t say it never happens due to the engine family it is a part of but it is exceedingly rare, though the service manager may also just be unaware of how common 2.3l coolant intrusion is on other vehicles as service managers are not very often technically inclined to be honest.

 

[embedded rock]

Sounds like Ford could use more aggressive drivers for vehicle and engine testing. You know, drive the mules like buying customers would drive them.

 

[bigb]

No. Not at all

Visually not at all or did you send an oil sample to a lab?

 

[Morningpride]

Visually not at all or did you send an oil sample to a lab?

Visibly. It always looked clean.

 

[Morningpride]

Welp.

 

[Jason B]

Not unusual. I remember they had to do that on Super Duty with diesel engines but did know about Ranger.

 

[Ron Quixote]

Welp.

If that were my truck, I would 100% make that my profile picture. That’s wild.

 

[superj]

i thought they were going to do my old nissan like that for the motor replacement. they ended up going through the engine bay to pull the engine and trans.

my truck looked like an exploded view diagram laid out in person when i went one time to check on it. it looked awesome and scary at the same time, ha ha ha

 

[pezdyspensr]

Honestly this looks superior from a mechanic perspective. I'd rather see a setup that favors ease for those guys. Besides, it's probably just a reverse of how it's put together in the first place.

 

[Ron Quixote]

Honestly this looks superior from a mechanic perspective. I'd rather see a setup that favors ease for those guys. Besides, it's probably just a reverse of how it's put together in the first place.

For sure. It looks extreme, but for the mechanic it’s a great setup. Everything is likely to get put back together correctly, too. It’s a lot easier to torque everything just right, make sure hoses are attached properly, etc.

 

[Morningpride]

For sure. It looks extreme, but for the mechanic it’s a great setup. Everything is likely to get put back together correctly, too. It’s a lot easier to torque everything just right, make sure hoses are attached properly, etc.

100%

 

[waffleso_0]

If that were my truck, I would 100% make that my profile picture. That’s wild.

I love how the white pad between cab and bed is there

 

[superj]

look at how clean that truck is. so nice

 

[embedded rock]

Check out the three boxes of nuts and bolts on the red cart!

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