Engine shot - Coolant intrusion - 74k miles on my Ford Ranger 2.3L I4 xlt

[dstig1]

Well then I guess it is confirmed... You can never be too sure that you got an actual mechanic vs a Parts-Swapping Monkey (TM)

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[dtech]

Update: The dealer service consultant is upset with me for ratting her out to corporate about this being an issue caused by "off-roading". She told me not to tell corporate that I've "off-roaded" before and I told them that she told me that Maybe I shouldn't have. I dunno if I screwed myself by doing that... the suggestion that off-roading or tire sizes caused this just seemed so ridiculous that I had to mention it. They've put in warranty request with corporate. Might take a few days for that to process with a decision.

More info: the tech used a bore scope and saw head gasket failure and extensive scoring on cylinder walls. No cooling fan issues.

she should be fired or find a gov job. I've previously posted this sevice sob story handy, my interaction was with the Saab dealership service mgr :

TB failure occurred while traveling from Denver to Buff, cruising around 55 and punched the gas pedal to pass and CEL lights up, boost and rpm were limited but continued on the journey to Buffalo NY before checking in with a local dealer. This is where one of my more memorable SAAB experiences occurred, while waiting on the repair I asked the service mgr if they see a lot of TB failures, at that time my car was under 20k miles. He replied - "no they never fail unless you are using cheap gas like they sell on the Seneca Indian reservation"
I assured him I wouldn't use that gas - but actually I have always when visiting WNY because my in laws had a cottage a short drive from the Seneca Indian reservation where no taxes were levied so yes cheaper gas . But couldn't believe a service mgr would say something so incorrect on several levels, I had to conclude that maybe he had relatives at the Little Big Horn. Got my car back and got out of that place.

 

[got3fords]

she should be fired or find a gov job. I've previously posted this sevice sob story handy, my interaction was with the Saab dealership service mgr :

TB failure occurred while traveling from Denver to Buff, cruising around 55 and punched the gas pedal to pass and CEL lights up, boost and rpm were limited but continued on the journey to Buffalo NY before checking in with a local dealer. This is where one of my more memorable SAAB experiences occurred, while waiting on the repair I asked the service mgr if they see a lot of TB failures, at that time my car was under 20k miles. He replied - "no they never fail unless you are using cheap gas like they sell on the Seneca Indian reservation"
I assured him I wouldn't use that gas - but actually I have always when visiting WNY because my in laws had a cottage a short drive from the Seneca Indian reservation where no taxes were levied so yes cheaper gas . But couldn't believe a service mgr would say something so incorrect on several levels, I had to conclude that maybe he had relatives at the Little Big Horn. Got my car back and got out of that place.

A sob story at SAAB. Classic.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Marketing: look at all the fun and adventurous things you can do with a Ranger.

Warranty: You actually bought a Ranger and did those things?! Claim denied

I had a similar experience at the dealership from the sales desk to the finance desk.

Sales desk: This truck is bullet proof, man. You could do jumps with it. I do with mine all the time!

Finance desk: Really, without these 3 warranties... what you have there is not a Ford Ranger, it's a hand grenade.

 

[TJC]

That's what I thought...asides from differing physical connections, Ranger's 2.3 is tuned for torque and I think crank/stroke is different...

Wow! Stoke is different?

 

[veedubtuner]

Update: The dealer service consultant is upset with me for ratting her out to corporate about this being an issue caused by "off-roading".

Then maybe she should have kept her ignorant pie hole closed and kept the assumptions about what "caused" the issue to herself.

 

[veedubtuner]

I had a similar experience at the dealership from the sales desk to the finance desk.

Sales desk: This truck is bullet proof, man. You could do jumps with it. I do with mine all the time!

Finance desk: Really, without these 3 warranties... what you have there is not a Ford Ranger, it's a hand grenade.

I'm not the best photoshopper lol

 

[Msfitoy]

Wow! Stoke is different?

Correction:


AI Overview

The 2.3L EcoBoost engines in the Ford Ranger (270 hp/310 lb-ft) and Mustang (310-330 hp) share the same 3.45-inch (87.5 mm) bore and 3.7-inch (94 mm) stroke, producing 2.3L displacement
. The main differences are tuning and hardware: the Ranger uses a twin-scroll turbo for low-end torque, while the Mustang emphasizes higher RPM power.

 

[got3fords]

The 2.3L EcoBoost engines in the Ford Ranger (270 hp/310 lb-ft) and Mustang (310-330 hp) share the same 3.45-inch (87.5 mm) bore and 3.7-inch (94 mm) stroke, producing 2.3L displacement
. The main differences are tuning and hardware: the Ranger uses a twin-scroll turbo for low-end torque, while the Mustang emphasizes higher RPM power.

So that implies the turbos are different?

 

[dtech]

s
A sob story at SAAB. Classic.

yeah this was a 2004 Saab - Saab started using EFI back in the early 70s , no fuel touch the throttle body.

 

[woodworker]

Update: I talked to Ford corporate customer service and they were more helpful than the dealer service woman. They are working with the dealer to have them do a tear down and diagnose further than just reading codes. They said that I might possibly qualify for some help in getting warranty pricing instead of normal customer pricing on a fix. Crossing my fingers because this is a really financially unfortunate time for me personally to have to replace this engine or take a huge loss and buy a new vehicle

Hoping for good news.

 

[awd.nv]

Correction:


AI Overview

The 2.3L EcoBoost engines in the Ford Ranger (270 hp/310 lb-ft) and Mustang (310-330 hp) share the same 3.45-inch (87.5 mm) bore and 3.7-inch (94 mm) stroke, producing 2.3L displacement
. The main differences are tuning and hardware: the Ranger uses a twin-scroll turbo for low-end torque, while the Mustang emphasizes higher RPM power.

I would assume the turbo could be different but I am betting the cams and intake manifold may be different as well.

There was some video that went over the Ranger 2.3L vs Mustang and there was something different with the oiling system I think too? Been some years since I saw it, but Ford seemed to work to make the Ranger application more durable.

 

[dozxab]

Thanks, I am planning to call Ford corporate sometime today.

The Ford dealer service lady told me that they "saw signs of off roading"... that there was "bits of mud underneath the vehicle" and that this or having non-stock tires was the likely cause for my engine failure... seriously WTF??

I don't even take this thing off road very much and the stuff I do is mostly mellow fire roads... She kept re-iterating this off-roading point and that I should not mention that the truck had "been off road" when I call corporate...

It is literally an Off Road model! Good luck to the dealer trying to prove the tires or the surface they came in contact with somehow damaged your motor.

 

[silversurfer]

It is literally an Off Road model! Good luck to the dealer trying to prove the tires or the surface they came in contact with somehow damaged your motor.

I literally made this exact comment to her... The name of the truck has the word "Off Road" in it. lol

 

[TJC]

Correction:


AI Overview

The 2.3L EcoBoost engines in the Ford Ranger (270 hp/310 lb-ft) and Mustang (310-330 hp) share the same 3.45-inch (87.5 mm) bore and 3.7-inch (94 mm) stroke, producing 2.3L displacement
. The main differences are tuning and hardware: the Ranger uses a twin-scroll turbo for low-end torque, while the Mustang emphasizes higher RPM power.

Still a big difference, but not block, bore, or stroke differences. I really had no idea, but figured Ford was too cheap to build multiple base engine platforms... but with Ford, anything could happen!

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