Cracked Cylinder Liner ST180

[FiestaUK]

Hi All,
I am from the UK and own a 2014 ST180. I recently had an engine health check (at 59k miles) and found a cracked liner on cylinder 3. The compression test was normal with 182 psi in each cylinder. It also passed the smoke test, CO2 header tank test and no other faults were logged. The car drives perfectly with no coolant loss or white smoke. I have noticed a 1 second drop in boost under low load when car is cold (like a hesitation) but otherwise all is fine.

I actually have a stage 1 intercooler, 3inch scorpion cat back exhaust and ITG intake fitted for the last 6k miles. The car has a stock map and was never remapped in the past. My plan was to go for a stage 1 or 2 remap, however, the cracked liner will prevent me from doing this as I may risk causing the crack to worsen.

I plan to keep the car long term and wanted to ask what my options are. I was thinking of a bottom end rebuild with Westwood cylinder liners (or something similar), as this would hopefully strengthen the block and prevent any future issues. Do you have any opinions on this approach?

The other option is to buy a good used engine to swap with mine, but there is a possibility that this could crack again in the future.

Picture of the crack on cylinder 3:

 

[scooter123]

Here in the USA that engine would still be covered by the Powertrain Warranty which lasts until 60K miles. If you have a similar warranty it should be 96500 Km or rounded up to 100 Km. I would suggest you drive that car straight to your nearest Ford dealer.

I will also note the cause for that crack is a manufacturing Defect. Steel Tubing is usually made by taking a flat steel strip and using a progressive roll forming line to shape it into a tube shape and then welding the seam. After that there can be a followup stage that then draws the diameter of the tube down to a specific size over a mandrel. This results in a near perfectly smooth weld on the I.D. & O.D. and this type of tubing is called DOM Steel Tubing. The weak spot in this processing is that the edges of the steel strips need to be pretty sterile because something as simple as a mouse turd or bird dropping can create a defect in that continuous weld.

I will also note that this defect is forming what is called a Stress Riser and it's a near certainty that cylinder liner will crack completely at some point.

 

[Alkoran]

Here in the USA that engine would still be covered by the Powertrain Warranty which lasts until 60K miles. If you have a similar warranty it should be 96500 Km or rounded up to 100 Km. I would suggest you drive that car straight to your nearest Ford dealer.

I will also note the cause for that crack is a manufacturing Defect. Steel Tubing is usually made by taking a flat steel strip and using a progressive roll forming line to shape it into a tube shape and then welding the seam. After that there can be a followup stage that then draws the diameter of the tube down to a specific size over a mandrel. This results in a near perfectly smooth weld on the I.D. & O.D. and this type of tubing is called DOM Steel Tubing. The weak spot in this processing is that the edges of the steel strips need to be pretty sterile because something as simple as a mouse turd or bird dropping can create a defect in that continuous weld.

Powertrain warranty won't be in effect, there's a time limit which is usually 3 to 5 years.

 

[FiestaUK]

Thanks for the replies so far.
Warranty is not in the question. I am the 4th owner of a 10 year old car, Ford will not be interested and I wont waste my time going down this avenue.

As I plan to keep the car for a long time, I prefer to spend the money on fixing and then preventing this problem. As far as I see it i have three options:

Option A
- replace engine with a good used one with intact liners.
- Disadvantage for this is that the liners could crack again in the future leaving me in the same position as I am now.
Option B
- Have the engine fully forged. This will cost around £3k ($3800) but I will know that the bottom end will be bullet proof.
- It also means that I can keep my existing engine which recently had the cambelt and waterpump done and otherwise works fine.
Option C
- Have ductile liners inserted into the bore. Something like this https://pumaspeed.co.uk/product-Pumaspeed-Fiesta-ST180-Ductile-Iron-Sleeve-Liners_18033.jsp or this: https://westwoodcylinderliners.co.uk/
- Not sure about the reliability of this method and how much it might cost with an engine in situ that needs to be stripped to have these fitted.

My thoughts are to go for Option B as I will have a fully forged engine able to run bigger power should I want. In the short to mid-term, I anticipate only mapping the car to around 240bhp.

It would be great to have any further thoughts that can help me, or for any other approaches I have not considered.

 

[Dialcaliper]

Basically, option A will be the cheapest with the risk you outlined. A basic crate engine (or shortblock) will be a bit more.

Option B will be the next most affordable if you are planning to have someone else do the engine work rather than doing your own garage rebuild. You can spend some money on a short or longblock, but a full engine tear down is going to be really spendy unless you know someone who will give you a good deal.

Option C will be eyewateringly expensive, unless you are willing to do the engine tear down and rebuild yourself, and have only the block and head machining work and sleeving done outside. Just the sleeves and installation, at least in the US, will probably run $2000-3000 (it looks like Pumaspeed will sell and install them for 1800 pounds). By the time you pay labor to tear down and buildup, it’s probably cheaper at that point to buy something like Pumaspeed’s “Blue” sleeved crate engine (which is ironically similar in price to an OEM Ford crate engine) and have them drop it in the car for you.

My recommendation is do some research and decide on your budget and also how much work you will do yourself vs paying for parts/labor, and that will determine which direction to go (rebuild vs shortblock vs long lock/crate) and if there’s budget left over, how fancy you want to get. Also remember there will always be little extra costs to any project (tools or small replacement parts)

 

[The_Ryan]

What about option D?
D: Since it’s out of warranty anyways and doesn’t seem to be causing any noticeable issues just drive it until it causes problems and then explore options A B and C.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Powertrain warranty won't be in effect, there's a time limit which is usually 3 to 5 years.

5yrs on Fomoco poop*

 

[Alkoran]

5yrs on Fomoco poop*

3yrs in UK

 

[TyphoonFiST]

3yrs in UK

Even more gross! Thought we had it bad....

 

[FiestaUK]

Thanks for the further insights.

Option D - this one is definitely the best with a caveat that I might have a ticking timebomb. To be fair, the garage who performed the boroscope (well-respected independent ford specialist) said they see many cracked liners on the ST180, and mine was definitely not as bad as others. It could go on for years without problems. However, the dilemma is should I remap it?

The garage suggested a tame stage 1 remap from TRS which would take power to 230bhp, but they could dial the boost down to protect the cylinder. As they are TRS agents, I was a bit sceptical with the reliability for my engine as they are a business that wants to make money too.

So, it looks like option D for now. I will research costs and procedures for option B, as forging the engine will ensure longevity into the future. Will have to save £3k though, as I am not handy enough with the spanners to strip and remove the engine blocks.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^It will help ensure longevity as long as you do not go crazy with the power/boost levels.

Push the cylinder pressures and power too high and all bets are off, even on a fully forged internals, billet block.