Coolant Intrusion Cylinder #1

[PBST]

I haven't posted here since my car was new:

115K mile 2015 Fiesta ST, daily driver since day one,
99% stock (aftermarket intercooler).


Started running rough & Check Engine Light came on Tuesday while driving about a mile between jobs.

An hour or two later, CEL was still on when I started it to drive home.

About 8 miles into the commute, the temp went full scale hot.
I turned the heat to max, brought the temp back to half scale
& I got off the highway to shut it off/let it cool down for about a half hour.

I was about 2 miles from a safe place I could park it overnight, so after the half hour rest I limped it over there,
temp stayed around half scale, but now the heat would only blow cold so I know I was down on coolant & I didn't trust the gauge at this point.

Before I left it for the night I put a code reader on the engine and it said Cylinder #1 misfire.


Went back the next night, filled the coolant & changed the #1 plug.

Fired right up, no CEL, no rough idle.
It drove home as good as ever.
Temperature never went above 194 degrees (according to the code reader) on the ride home (40 miles).



This morning, went to start it up, and it did a half a crank and it stopped,
then another half crank and it stopped cold again.

Pulled the plug out (suspecting coolant), yep, plug was wet, smelled like antifreeze.

Cranked the engine with the plug out, it spun no problem and it blew all the water out.


Question:

Anyone else run into a sudden coolant intrusion like this?
Never had any issues before, never used a drop of coolant.
We also have a 2016 1.6L Turbo Escape and it needs coolant from time to time, but never has my car needed any.



For the moment I'm going to hope the short block is OK and buy parts for a head gasket & timing belt since it's time for that anyway.

If its the head and or short block when I get in there I'll have to decide between new, rebuilt, or junkyard replacement.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[PBST]

I should add,
this 2015 was not effected by the coolant recall (according to Ford anyway).

I'm the original owner & never received any notices in the mail.

I punched my VIN into the Ford recall site to double check today.

No Recalls listed.

 

[Mikey456]

I had a problem with cylinder #2 and leaking coolant. I was lucky and it was under warranty. The dealer was going to initially replace the head, but found more damage underneath after inspection. They replaced the motor after 30k miles with a Cobb stage 1 tune and stock intercooler. I live in a relatively hot climate. I’m running a bigger intercooler now.

 

[cidsamuth]

PBST, I’m sorry this is happening to you.

The question will be that, if it’s a head gasket issue, whether it ruined the motor. I think your plan is solid, especially if you can do the work yourself. Replace the gasket, inspect the head, do the timing belt and water pump while you’re in there. See what happens.

With the age and miles, you might find the exhaust manifold bolts are seized in the head. If possible, you might want to lift the head off with the manifold still attached.

 

[Geebs]

If that engine turns over, there is a good chance it's ok. If you do attempt to fix it you will most likely need to either true the head (if your lucky) or the block or BOTH (if your not lucky). I have replaced 2 head gaskets in my time (95 S10 and a 96 cavalier) and both times it was the head that was the culprit. Keep us posted man and best of luck to you!! Don't forget to change that oil and really flush the block out too...maybe even change that oil twice if you need to!!

 

[PBST]

Thank you Mikey & Geebs for the support!

And thank you cidsamuth for the advice/support and the tip on exhaust manifold bolts

I'm putting aside next weekend to pull the head, check the block and go from there,

I'll update things as they go along,
thanks again!

 

[PBST]

Small update,
I opened the oil pan plug, thinking there may be a layer of antifreeze at the bottom of the pan.

There wasn't,
even the first few drops out of the pan was engine oil, not antifreeze,
but the oil all had a strong antifreeze odor, and it felt a little slicker than normal to me.

I didn't like the idea of the bearings sitting in what may be an oil/antifreeze mix (especially the turbo bearings!) for the week,
so I changed the oil, and filter, cranked the starter again with the #1 plug out in case there was any more coolant in that cylinder
(there wasn't any) & to pump a little fresh, clean oil to the bearings in place of the tainted mix.

 

[koozy]

IIRC someone else posted here a few years back of a similar scenario and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the cylinder head. It would only consume coolant under pressure and heat, enough to lose coolant but not enough volume to make it elsewhere.

 

[scooter123]

Be aware that pulling the heads on these engines is not nearly as simple as you may think. One major complication is the Cam Phasers, in order to replace the timing belt or remove the cylinder heads you have to start by locking the camshafts in place using some special bolts that Ford calls "tools". Also if you need to remove the camshafts it is critical to walk the cam saddles off the head by turning each bolt 1/4 turn at a time, try to rush this and you can snap a camshaft in half. This is an engine where you really need the factory service manual, which is available on the Helm web site.

 

[cidsamuth]

Be aware that pulling the heads on these engines is not nearly as simple as you may think. One major complication is the Cam Phasers, in order to replace the timing belt or remove the cylinder heads you have to start by locking the camshafts in place using some special bolts that Ford calls "tools". Also if you need to remove the camshafts it is critical to walk the cam saddles off the head by turning each bolt 1/4 turn at a time, try to rush this and you can snap a camshaft in half. This is an engine where you really need the factory service manual, which is available on the Helm web site.

Or just throw a new engine in it, LOL

 

[PBST]

Kinda disappointing update (so far),
the parts all took longer to get than I hoped, and I missed the window of opportunity to pull the head before other jobs took over the garage.
(Floors and rockers on my son's Cherokee so he'll have a winter vehicle).

In the meantime I found a Tuxedo Black 15' ST for a good price and that's my daily driver while the Blue one waits for it's turn back in the garage.

 

[PBST]

Thank you for the replies since my last post,
I have the cam tool, and hopefully can handle the job once I get the garage space back.

All I'm sure of is coolant is in the #1 cylinder after it fully warms up,
nothing seems to get in there if it's just started, and moved around cold/not fully warmed up.

I think that could be a cracked head(maybe), the block(hopefully not), or just the gasket(doubtful).

Either way, I can't risk having a pushmobile taking over the garage until the other projects get cleared out.

As far as just swapping in another 1.6L,
yep that's definitely one of the options if the liner is cracked.

 

[PBST]

Not a great up-date to this thread.....

I bought an engine semi-local to me (via ebay),
in case the head gasket swap didn't work out,

and the "new" ebay block is cracked

bad crack:


worse crack:


and the missing axleshaft boss I should have noticed in the (small) ebay pic:


ebay pic:



I don't know how anyone can sell an obviously broken engine like this.
The seller seemed OK (250 miles from here, 20k feedback, 99% positive),
and the price was right ($1,670.85 on ebay + $250 freight for a 69k mile Fiesta ST engine)


I picked up the engine from the freight office on 12/27, but didn't get a chance to go over it until today.
We are still within the first 30 days of purchase, but just barely.


I am going to write up a very polite message to the seller about returning this broken engine.....


Edit/update:

Engine seller responded quickly, had a couple questions, requested a few pictures,
then very graciously & professionally took responsibility for this issue.

 

[PBST]

I messaged the seller,
we'll see what happens.
unfortunately its a long weekend in many places,
hopefully they're working Monday,
I'll deliver it in person if necessary.

This is a pic of what the mounting boss should look like:



and here's a pic of what the bosses are used for in the vehicle (bracket for axleshaft):


And a pic of the ebay engine from a little more distance for perspective:



^this was the side facing down on the tire during shipment, so even when you unwrapped it, it wouldn't be visible until you physically lifted the engine up to look under it.


Edit/update:
as stated above,
Engine seller responded quickly, had a couple questions, requested a few pictures,
then very graciously & professionally took responsibility for this issue.

 

[Jabbit]

Where in New England are you? I have a 50k mile Fiesta ST engine in So. NH area.

 

[PBST]

Where in New England are you? I have a 50k mile Fiesta ST engine in So. NH area.

Me too.
I'm interested, I'll PM you for details,
thanks!

 

[cidsamuth]

Sorry this happened.

My motor blew up not long after I posted on this thread (10/29/22), and the first motor I got was also junk. Luckily, the seller stood behind it and sent me a good one.

 

[PBST]

Sorry this happened.

My motor blew up not long after I posted on this thread (10/29/22), and the first motor I got was also junk. Luckily, the seller stood behind it and sent me a good one.

Wow, sorry cids! I hope posting on my thread didn't send any of my bad luck your way!

Glad you got it sorted out,
I have to get in contact with my engine seller today.
Crazy that they'd ship a junk engine, I guess they just hope the junk one won't get installed in time to send it back(?)

 

[Intuit]

the "new" ebay block is cracked

FleaBay is where everyone goes to get rid of their junk. I quit futzing with'em many years ago. It was great when initially joined mid-late 2000s. By 2012 or so things started gradually going downhill. I eventually quit repairing small electronics as a result. My return rates were so high that I began labeling myself an "unpaid product tester"; repeatedly double/tripled my time frames, workload, decreased customer satisfaction and negatively impacted margins. Most returns were a fight about return shipment cost and would take 1 to 3 weeks to get anything back after receipt. I've seen/dealt with every trick in the book ranging from deleted feedback to intentionally exchanging for an incompatible (read: cheap) replacement under "lieftime warranty". Didn't matter whether I dealt with Joe Blow seller with 100% positive or Big Corp Name with >600,000 transactions, the experiences were the same. Last year I needed a part off a rear caliper bracket for my motorcycle (now trashed due to rear-ender at >60MPH) that was unavailable anywhere but FleaBay so had the motorcycle repair shop order the whole caliper. Got the small part I needed off the caliper bracket but the caliper itself was of course junk. Of course the FleaBay seller didn't disclose.

 

[cidsamuth]

Wow, sorry cids! I hope posting on my thread didn't send any of my bad luck your way!

Glad you got it sorted out,
I have to get in contact with my engine seller today.
Crazy that they'd ship a junk engine, I guess they just hope the junk one won't get installed in time to send it back(?)

You might have seen mine on FB …. Rod #4 broke at the track and buzzsaw’d the block, oil pan, and starter.

I was 118 MPH when it blew. Oil and coolant hit the back tires, and I went spinning. The gravel trap saved me.