Why can't they make an engine that will hold water?

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I have owned four fords in the last 40 years and all have developed either intake or head gasket leaks.

1981 Capri 2.3 L
1987 Taurus 3.0 Vulcan
1998 Windstar 3.8 L (intake manifold leak)
2015 Fiesta 1.0 L (TBD)

I know that some of this is due to dissimilar metals in block and head, but after making engines for 100 years, you'd think they would've perfected the design and manufacturing process. Most of these, a mechanic can make a long lasting permanent repair. And some manufacturers don't seem to have this problem.

Why is that many American manufacturers don't bother to get something like this right, when they know it is key to brand loyality? How much more can it cost to do it right?
 
Economics. Gasket lasts a few years. Person takes it in to dealer. Dealer makes money. Person chalks it up to bad luck. Mechanic fixes it permanently. Never leaks again. Flag waiver still waves his FORD flag. Trades for a newer model.Rinse, Repeat.
 
I don't know but I've owned 3 Fords and no leaks.

1990 Econoline 225k miles when I sold it
1995 f150. 252k miles and counting
Both have 4.9L

1988 crown Victoria. 5.0 good car. Should have kept it.

Nothing lasts forever though. Except herpes
 
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Who would believe that the 4 Toyotas I've owned have never leaked coolant. Two of them are 250k+ and still in use.
Oh, also an 18 year old Mitsubishi. Also still in circulation. It's never leaked either. And that thing has been beat to death. Another year or two and the rust demon will finally consume it.

Maybe I'm just lucky...
 
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I've never had a head gasket issue

88 ranger 2.3
98 f150 5.4
99 lightning
04 escape 3.0
13 gt500
 
I haven't had my Ford leak but have had a few GM's with intake leaks.

Why can't certain brands make auto trannys that last as long as the vehicle? Something is always the weakest link.
 
Had the timing cover leak on a Ford Ranger with the 3.0 Vulcan same as yours. Only 150,000 kms and have only been using OE Motorcraft coolant. Maybe the reason is because there's hardly any material in the gasket design on the coolant side. Apparently this is a really common problem on these engines.
 
Originally Posted by Imp4
Who would believe that the 4 Toyotas I've owned have never leaked coolant. Two of them are 250k+ and still in use.
Oh, also an 18 year old Mitsubishi. Also still in circulation. It's never leaked either. And that thing has been beat to death. Another year or two and the rust demon will finally consume it.

Maybe I'm just lucky...


Plenty of Toyotas have leaked coolant, so if you owned them a long time, I would call that luck, not just Toyota magic. The 3.0 in the 4Runner and Pickup comes to mind. It's not uncommon for 4.7s to leak from the water pump before the timing belt is due as well. And the Prius head gasket issues have been described in detail on BITOG.

Ford does their share of corner cutting, but coolant leaks are a fact of life on liquid cooled engines. Nobody has perfected it. I've dealt with coolant leaks on my Fords, all fixed in my driveway except for the water pump on my 3.0, which happened at almost 200k. I can live with a water pump, tstat, and heater hoses in 200k.
 
I have a Ford ranger with the 3.0 Vulcan. It has close to 200k and doesn't use any coolant.
 
Originally Posted by 01rangerxl

Plenty of Toyotas have leaked coolant, so if you owned them a long time, I would call that luck, not just Toyota magic. The 3.0 in the 4Runner and Pickup comes to mind. It's not uncommon for 4.7s to leak from the water pump before the timing belt is due as well. And the Prius head gasket issues have been described in detail on BITOG.


Water pumps by the nature of their design, leak coolant in the shaft seal but at such a low rate that it's negligible. That's why there's a weep hole. Ideally if they could last 300k that would be great, but it's not unreasonable to say that water pumps are a regular service item every 200k. It is a moving part after all. But what's unreasonable is to have leaks from the various gaskets. There's a whole whack of theory behind gasket materials, design, and such...I would've thought manufacturers could have that perfected by now. But then again, I don't think most vehicle are designed with a 30 year service life like the Land Cruiser so OEMs may just do the minimum required sizing and selection of these parts to meet their design service life requirements and call it a day.
 
Originally Posted by Burt
I have owned four fords in the last 40 years and all have developed either intake or head gasket leaks.

1981 Capri 2.3 L
1987 Taurus 3.0 Vulcan
1998 Windstar 3.8 L (intake manifold leak)
2015 Fiesta 1.0 L (TBD)

I know that some of this is due to dissimilar metals in block and head, but after making engines for 100 years, you'd think they would've perfected the design and manufacturing process. Most of these, a mechanic can make a long lasting permanent repair. And some manufacturers don't seem to have this problem.

Why is that many American manufacturers don't bother to get something like this right, when they know it is key to brand loyality? How much more can it
cost to do it right?

Weak gaskets that aren't up to sealing both aluminum and iron. Plastic manifolds do not belong on an engine.Go look at GM's 3.8 and see how their engineers screwed up a real good engine with their faulty manifolds and gaskets..
 
Gaskets and seals are going to leak eventually, and are designed to be replaceable. What is the alternative? Assemble entire engine with JB Weld?
 
I know my Hondas have had their share of heating/cooling system related issues. My last Corolla too. And my GM's. And my Fords. Not sure it's an American issue.....
 
Originally Posted by joegreen
I have a Ford ranger with the 3.0 Vulcan. It has close to 200k and doesn't use any coolant.


+1 Vulcans are great. Have two. No leaks. The older one is 20 years old this year. Changed coolant every 5 years. However, the early 90's 3.8 was a POS regarding coolant leaks.
 
No leaks on the following Fords: ‘09 F150 with 5.4, a pair of ‘11 3.5 Ecoboost F150s, ‘14 3.5 EB F150, ‘16 3.5 NA Explorer, ‘17 3.5 EB Expedition and currently have an ‘18F150 w/3.5 EB and a ‘19 Nautilus with 2.7. Most were traded in at 60-70k. One'11 made it to 140k. Only coolant used was for flushes. So far Ford is batting 1000, but that could change overnight.
 
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