84k and time for a head gasket

[awd.nv]

I've only hit over 230° once, I think. I was towing, uphill, in the desert. Gotta slow down for those grades. I was on the stock intercooler, then. And intake air temps definitely effect coolant temps under load. The last time I came through the desert it was considerably cooler, but I don't think I saw over 210°.

I agree, keeping the temps down is a good idea, still. We have to remember that even the big rigs can't go WOT over the mountain. Why should our passenger vehicles be any better?

For sure, I was still feeling out the Ranger then. Coming home from Lake Havasu, AZ two weeks ago or so and temps were 110F, going up mild hills at 65mph with a headwind and temps were over 220F but didnt break 230F. I would like to see at least a 10F reduction in temps. If I got a 20F drop in temps I would be super happy.

You bring up a good point about the intercooler as well. I was tempted to do both at the same time but that is a tougher one, my wife would probably give me the stink eye for a week or two lol

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[AdamHarris]

This is very disappointing. I ran my Subaru's with aggressive tunes their entire lives, over 220k miles on the 2.0 turbo forester suv and never had a single engine issue and I drive super! aggressively, like constantly. If the gasket failure is indeed due to the tune then I am already regretting buying this truck new... I guess I'll find out in a couple years.

Subies blow head gaskets all the time.

 

[DT444T]

For sure, I was still feeling out the Ranger then. Coming home from Lake Havasu, AZ two weeks ago or so and temps were 110F, going up mild hills at 65mph with a headwind and temps were over 220F but didnt break 230F. I would like to see at least a 10F reduction in temps. If I got a 20F drop in temps I would be super happy.

You bring up a good point about the intercooler as well. I was tempted to do both at the same time but that is a tougher one, my wife would probably give me the stink eye for a week or two lol

I went with the Mountune since they were having a kickass sale. I honestly don't feel any difference, and since I can't see intake manifold temps I can't verify their claims. But It SEEMS that the truck doesn't get as hot while towing. I was WOT up the Grapevine on I-5 headed to Burbank from Buttonwillow and it had no issues.

The Mountune is actually SLIGHTLY narrower than stock (like 1/2") so it isn't blocked by the core support, but it is fairly thicker than stock. ?‍ I'm happy with it so far.

 

[CJBax]

Subies blow head gaskets all the time.

I think "all the time" is a bit much but I think I get your point. Yeah, they do blow gaskets, but with just a tune and no other mods, I have never had a single engine issue on any of my turbo subaru's and I put a LOT of miles on them. I was not trying to say that subaru engines are indestructible, just that I hope this 2.3l ecoboost gives me the same reliability, at a minimum. For the record, I've owned 6 subaru vehicles and still own two of them, one new and one with over 160k miles on it, currently working hard in Alabama farm country. Other than a few recall things that never caused me any problems, none of my Subaru's ever failed, even once. So sure, they do blow gaskets, I'm not claiming they don't, but I stand by that I am disappointed to hear about failures of the ranger engine such as the OP's and that I am hopeful that my ecoboost experience is as positive as my Subaru experience, because I absolutely LOVE my 2021 ranger and I loved the '08 4.0l ranger before it. This new ranger is much nice to drive as a DD vehicle than the '08 ranger ever was.

Regards.

 

[awd.nv]

I went with the Mountune since they were having a kickass sale. I honestly don't feel any difference, and since I can't see intake manifold temps I can't verify their claims. But It SEEMS that the truck doesn't get as hot while towing. I was WOT up the Grapevine on I-5 headed to Burbank from Buttonwillow and it had no issues.

The Mountune is actually SLIGHTLY narrower than stock (like 1/2") so it isn't blocked by the core support, but it is fairly thicker than stock. ?‍ I'm happy with it so far.

Good to know. I was mixed between intercoolers and since only Mishimoto makes a radiator, I might stick with them but the Mountune one looked well built too. My goal is to prevent possible heat soak which is probably the main advantage since the stock turbo can only do so much.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

FWIW, I had another car with an engine that was somewhat of a precursor to the Ecoboost. My car ran better with less knock (basically none at WOT) on an aftermarket tune and I flogged the car for 115k miles (175k on the car) with the tune before I traded it in. People were more likely to blow their engines on stock ECU calibration than a good aftermarket one. The guy in the video I posted a page or two back had/has 500whp on his stock block Mazdaspeed and was making that for several years. I really believe driving habits and diligent monitoring of logs is what allowed me to have fun with mine and prevent it from going Zoom Zoom Boom during my 12 years of ownership. IMO, everyone who flashes a tune on their truck should be monitoring logs or it's just a guessing game as to what's happening with the engine, tuned or not. Again, just my experience on this. Hopefully the OP shares the mode of failure so we can all speculate until then lol.

Mazda gang, had a modded 2012 mazda 3(intake, exhaust, rear sway bar). Was broke at the time but was pushing 180 hp and was very happy with it. Wish I could afford a speed3 at the time. My dream car is a heavily modded 2020+ Miata. They are only looking better and better each year especially the RF versions.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

The WOT on every ramp never gets old, or any place that it can be done safely or without supporting the municipal court system (AKA ticket)
That's one of the reasons I got this truck, I can hammer it and still get 15 MPG, the F150 I traded in would manage 7-8 MPG with a heavy foot.
But I'm an old racer that gets in practice laps on every road I drive?

WOT as much as I can safely. I also treat it as a learning experience, testing known limits in various known roads.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

Good to know. I was mixed between intercoolers and since only Mishimoto makes a radiator, I might stick with them but the Mountune one looked well built too. My goal is to prevent possible heat soak which is probably the main advantage since the stock turbo can only do so much.

I would 100% choose Mishimoto over any other brand. The amount of R&D they do is insane, and the customer transparency in the R&D is great. It's good to see a whole article on the process versus just +5hp +10 torque in perfect dyno conditions on the sales page.

 

[DT444T]

The Mishimoto claims 46% larger volume than stock, whereas the Mountune claims 35% over stock. But when I bought the Mountune it was on sale (Black Friday) for $591 (regular $789) vs Mishimoto's $750.

It seems like I remember Mishimoto's being more expensive than that and if I were to do it again at regualr price I would probably go with the Mishimoto, too. But given that I saved $160 I'm still happy with my Mountune.

 

[D Fresh]

I would 100% choose Mishimoto over any other brand. The amount of R&D they do is insane, and the customer transparency in the R&D is great. It's good to see a whole article on the process versus just +5hp +10 torque in perfect dyno conditions on the sales page.

Mountune is very closely related to Ford and Ford Racing. In Europe Mountune is on par with AMG and BMW M division. They've even collaborated with Ford on factory performance specials.

Mishimoto makes good stuff. But on a Ford I'd take Mountune all day long.

 

[Doc]

Mountune is very closely related to Ford and Ford Racing. In Europe Mountune is on par with AMG and BMW M division. They've even collaborated with Ford on factory performance specials.

Mishimoto makes good stuff. But on a Ford I'd take Mountune all day long.

Yup, I’ve been knowing that for years, people told me on forums I was FOS…mountune has been there all along ..
Regards

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

Mountune is very closely related to Ford and Ford Racing. In Europe Mountune is on par with AMG and BMW M division. They've even collaborated with Ford on factory performance specials.

Mishimoto makes good stuff. But on a Ford I'd take Mountune all day long.

I wasn’t aware, I thought they were just another company trying to make extra mods. Thanks for enlightening me on that fact, I will have to take a closer look at them.

 

[D Fresh]

Yup, I’ve been knowing that for years, people told me on forums I was FOS…mountune has been there all along ..
Regards

I had never heard of them before I got my FiST. Started looking into them because Ford Performance offers their tunes and hardware with warranty coverage.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

I had never heard of them before I got my FiST. Started looking into them because Ford Performance offers their tunes and hardware with warranty coverage.

If Ford Performance trusts them enough to offer a warranty on their hardware, count me in too!

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

I installed the Mountune intercooler and couldn't be happier. Nice to know about the quality and Ford collaboration you guys have mentioned too, I did not know that.

40+ years in business and right in my SoCal backyard

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