2021 Ranger XLT Screw Block Defect/Head Gasket

[TubbyZ28]

Good morning all, 3 year lurker, figure I would finally post up after the rabbit hole of head gasket issues I read came and bit me. I may be one of the higher mileage guys on here, but finally have an issue that there is no turning back from.

2021 Ranger, bone stock, 122k miles. Only issues up until this were egr pressure sensor failing around 70k miles and the carrier bearing around 80k, both easy quick fixes. I daily commute this truck 150 miles round trip, and do tow on occasion a 6500lb open car trailer. Truck generally never missed a beat until now.

Started it up to go to work, sounded like a sudden slight miss that went away with temp. Ok its the first colder day in NJ (around 46f that morning) and I had not driven since the Thursday before (labor day weekend), maybe time for plugs (did them at 70k miles). Made it about 7 miles and sudden Engine Overheat warning and temp gauge pegged then went down after about 15 seconds. Pulled over and checked underhood, no leaks, overflow at max, no smell from exhaust. Odd. Continue my commute and get about 10 miles from work, this time overheat and limp mode suddenly on the highway, fun moving 3 lanes on route 80 in rush hour to the shoulder in Limp mode. Shut it down, popped hood, overflow bone dry. Well thats a problem. Waited 25 minutes and cleared the codes with forscan, then restarted and all was ok, made it to work. Added a half gallon of coolant to overflow, then returned home at the end of the day without issue BUT by the time i got home overflow was below minimum. Topped off next morning to just over max, no overheat but arrived at work and it was down again, so somethings up.

Did a combustion gasses test and it immediately changed, thats a problem. Was hopeful it was the EGR cooler but the pressure test and borescope showed it was sadly not that. Cylinder 1 spark plug and cylinder were clean, ruh roh. Saw coolant drops in cylinder on my borescope on cylinder 1, near the head gasket to deck surface.

made an appt with ford as my local shops didnt want to take on a head gasket job on such a new vehicle. Ford hit me with a near 5k quote for head gasket..alright well is what it is, trucks not that old, has been fine up until this for the most part. waited 2.5 weeks for them to finally get it in and start teardown, when i get a call and email yesterday with not good news, the deck surface of the block appears to have a factory defect (fords words not mine) and the recommendation is a longblock replacement. This is out of pocket for my company as no warranty, so its like crap. but wait, if its a factory defect (per ford tech/service writer) shouldnt ford be pony'ing up regardless of mileage? This is at 9 oclock when looking at the front of engine on cylinder 1.

This is now the third ecoboost (albeit different engine) that i have had issues with, granted 1 was in a focus RS (ford did head gasket under warranty per the tsb for that one, but didnt reseal the timing cover correctly, so 35k dollar car leaked oil like a mustang 2, and 2017 f150 2.7 ecoboost 2 driver side turbo failures (bone stock) over the course of 65k miles)

Not happy with the quality anymore. Otherwise love the truck, but this is depressing

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[LawnMM]

That sucks man, I'm sorry. I agree, if it's found to be defective they should eat it but I doubt that's how they'll see it ?

 

[airline tech]

Hmm, being that both the Head & Block have depression, I think it was debris or a defect on the head gasket at assembly, and over time it transposed damage into both.

I would look into resurfacing the Deck & Head, possibly replace the head and try to resurface the deck to take out the worst part of it.

Think about this - that damage lasted 122,000 miles before it let go, the problem is I doubt the dealer will attempt repair.

Some alternatives, just use some gasket sealer to fill the voids, or JB weld the voids and grind/file smooth.

Does it need addressed - YES but a simple cheap repair could possibly last the rest of the truck's life, is it a gamble - YES

It's a tough call on what to do (recommend) but an engine assembly being installed at the dealer is going to be very expensive, unless Ford Customer Care - Helps with the cost, since this appears to be a MFG Defect (Assembly)

EDIT: After a closer look, I see the Head Gasket is still on the head, so curious what the Head Surface looks like.

 

[NotBudule2]

A new head gasket and crossed fingers is the way I'd approach that one...

 

[TubbyZ28]

Hmm, being that both the Head & Block have depression, I think it was debris or a defect on the head gasket at assembly, and over time it transposed damage into both.

I would look into resurfacing the Deck & Head, possibly replace the head and try to resurface the deck to take out the worst part of it.

Think about this - that damage lasted 122,000 miles before it let go, the problem is I doubt the dealer will attempt repair.

Some alternatives, just use some gasket sealer to fill the voids, or JB weld the voids and grind/file smooth.

Does it need addressed - YES but a simple cheap repair could possibly last the rest of the truck's life, is it a gamble - YES

It's a tough call on what to do (recommend) but an engine assembly being installed at the dealer is going to be very expensive, unless Ford Customer Care - Helps with the cost, since this appears to be a MFG Defect (Assembly)

EDIT: After a closer look, I see the Head Gasket is still on the head, so curious what the Head Surface looks like.

Head deck surface is flat, I have that pic on my phone but it doesnt show anything (indentation or marring etc). the indentation is only on the block deck surface and it appears the black sealing material on the gasket wore away matching the pattern on the block. the gasket is not on the head in the photos i posted above, was being held in tech's hand.

If it was my racecar yea sure i would try to get by for the rest of the season with good ole jb weld, but not on something i need to rely on daily to commute across nj.

the price for long block replacement vs repairing the current engine are about the same, but repairing the current would only be a 1 year warranty. lonblock would be 36000 mile warranty (which basically would be 1 year lol)

 

[TubbyZ28]

end of the ranger road. ford will not do anything. my company said eff that. dealer is replacing head gasket and truck is getting traded in on a taco

 

[awd.nv]

end of the ranger road. ford will not do anything. my company said eff that. dealer is replacing head gasket and truck is getting traded in on a taco

My 2021 truck with 50k miles has been at the dealer for a week due to a strange engine knock/clack sound between 2500-3000 RPM that disappears with light throttle. The idle seems fine, and I didn’t notice any power loss other than I backed off the throttle immediately. It feels load-related, so I don’t think it’s a belt-driven accessory. My appointment was last Wed and as of that Friday, the tech was still unsure and had only removed the valve cover and plugs. They were supposed to drop the oil pan, but by Tuesday, that hadn’t happened yet. I am waiting for their calls since annoying them wont get it done any faster.

It’s frustrating because I’ve taken great care of the truck, and this issue came out of nowhere. I’m hoping for a new long block and that the tech does a great job putting everything back together. A new engine with 50k miles on the chassis wouldn’t be the worst outcome. My nightmare is they take it apart and slap it together only to tell me it was a bad CAT.

The dealer is doing what they can, and I know the tech has other jobs and might be waiting on Ford for next steps. Unfortunately, I may have to cancel our Huntington Beach camping trip since renting a tow vehicle would cost $500.

At least they gave me a loaner, but this Escape makes me miss my truck even more! I won't lie though, I am already doing research on new trucks to buy should the outcome not meet my expectations. Ranger Raptor, Chevy Colorado ZR2 and GMC Canyon AT4/AT4x are considerations at this point. I would love a powerful v6 but I can't put myself to buy a Nissan Frontier.

 

[TubbyZ28]

My 2021 truck with 50k miles has been at the dealer for a week due to a strange engine knock/clack sound between 2500-3000 RPM that disappears with light throttle. The idle seems fine, and I didn’t notice any power loss other than I backed off the throttle immediately. It feels load-related, so I don’t think it’s a belt-driven accessory. My appointment was last Wed and as of that Friday, the tech was still unsure and had only removed the valve cover and plugs. They were supposed to drop the oil pan, but by Tuesday, that hadn’t happened yet. I am waiting for their calls since annoying them wont get it done any faster.

It’s frustrating because I’ve taken great care of the truck, and this issue came out of nowhere. I’m hoping for a new long block and that the tech does a great job putting everything back together. A new engine with 50k miles on the chassis wouldn’t be the worst outcome. My nightmare is they take it apart and slap it together only to tell me it was a bad CAT.

The dealer is doing what they can, and I know the tech has other jobs and might be waiting on Ford for next steps. Unfortunately, I may have to cancel our Huntington Beach camping trip since renting a tow vehicle would cost $500.

At least they gave me a loaner, but this Escape makes me miss my truck even more! I won't lie though, I am already doing research on new trucks to buy should the outcome not meet my expectations. Ranger Raptor, Chevy Colorado ZR2 and GMC Canyon AT4/AT4x are considerations at this point. I would love a powerful v6 but I can't put myself to buy a Nissan Frontier.

i was looking at buying a ranger raptor as a personal vehicle, but this is now the 3rd ford vehicle that ford has not stood behind in my life. Focus RS headgasket under warranty at 16k miles, they didnt seal the timing cover correctly and went round and round for 4 months to get them to reseal the timing cover (it was pissing oil, a quart in a week). F150 2.7 ecoboost, driver side turbo failure, ford said they would not warranty because it was 5 days out of vin range for the recall, and now this. done with ford.

 

[awd.nv]

Yeah, I hear ya. You do everything right and still have those issues. Kinda sucks. I'm just lucky I'm still within warranty.

 

[dtech]

A new head gasket and crossed fingers is the way I'd approach that one...

Mr Haney would have sold a bottle of Bar's head gasket repair, a 2 for 1 special for mr douglas. Loved green acres almost as much as the 3 stooges

 

[Gims04]

My head gasket is a goner. 99k on the truck and started having issues similar to a battery going bad and even when I ran the code a bad battery was one of the fixes. I was trying to get off of work to by a battery but then while leaving work it was dumping white smoke - everybody knows what that means. I've been calling around to get quotes and have been told to buy a used motor and just replace it. Not looking good, still waiting to hear back from Ford and other shops.

Any thoughts on dropping a new motor? I love this truck and take care of all the general maintenance, but don't have the time to manage a fix this big.

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