crack head on ranger wlt

towerdiesel · Postby **towerdiesel** » March 28th, 2014, 11:45 am

i hv had to add coolant on every morning about a litre
how do i know if head/gasket has blown
hard start sometimes mostly when hot

dyna9275 · Postby **dyna9275** » March 28th, 2014, 9:23 pm

what area you from,could recommend someone to check it

kamakazi · Postby **kamakazi** » March 28th, 2014, 9:25 pm

Does removing the thermostat prevent the head from cracking in those engines?

pjfred · Postby **pjfred** » March 28th, 2014, 9:34 pm

Nope, it actually helps to destroy engine when removed.

kamakazi · Postby **kamakazi** » March 28th, 2014, 9:48 pm

Just asking. ..know someone with and he was asking me same question

towerdiesel · Postby **towerdiesel** » April 1st, 2014, 10:07 am

I don't live in T&T. I live in st lucia

3stagevtec · Postby **3stagevtec** » April 1st, 2014, 8:48 pm

towerdiesel wrote:i hv had to add coolant on every morning about a litre
how do i know if head/gasket has blown
hard start sometimes mostly when hot

Once there is no visible leaks elsewhere, it's highly possible. Before starting in the morning, remove the 4 glow plugs and disable the fuel pump. Crank engine via starter for a second or two and look for signs of water shooting out through the glow plug holes.

I did that on a Ranger and had discovered coolant was leaking into the #4 cylinder. The van drove normal even with the cracked head..

Jon_One · Postby **Jon_One** » July 19th, 2014, 11:25 am

just to share my experience .. My head cracked on my bt50 at 120,000kms a little more than 3yrs old .. 2.5 wlt .. ok got it repaired all was good .. thought it was just a fault .. because cooling system checked out ok ... 3 weeks later noticed water level going down .. maybe a 1/2 ltr to a litre .. thought it was just a leak .. Tuesday night radiator head burst .. upon further investigation after repairing radiator and noticing van still overheats . thermostat was shot .. when we did the test in a pot of hot water it didn't start opening until the water started boiling i.e 100 deg c + .. on the thermostat it says 82 deg c and well online says 80-95 deg c is normal operating temperature of any thermostat .. which means in the first place the thermostat was stuck closed . but in my terms I would say opens late .. because it is not exactly stuck . but the material on the spring maybe loses its temperature control property slightly.. so it all boils down to the thermostat . just that in the beginning the change was too small to detect .. so now I hate this thermostat .. By the time we detect that it is at fault it is already too late ... murphy gauge it is .. I took out the thermostat Tuesday temporarily .. temp is normal now .. but I have one big crack in my head again .. sucks .... maybe got abt 2500kms - 3000kms before early cracked head symptoms started again ...

Jon_One · Postby **Jon_One** » July 19th, 2014, 11:28 am

at the first sign of overheating on any wlt . I would change the thermostat .... that mofo ...

what sort of problems would a bad clutch fan cause ? like how high would temperature climb ? just want to know ....

Jon_One · Postby **Jon_One** » July 19th, 2014, 1:09 pm

Van doing 126500kms now . so major damage took 6500 kms or so to really happen... with the bad tstat ..

speedaholic · Postby **speedaholic** » July 22nd, 2014, 3:00 am

clutch fan needs to be stiff at all times... with the engine off.. try spinning it with your hand.. if it spins freely.. or it easy to spin.. it needs to be replaced/ repaired... as for the thermostat.... i have been running my L200 with out a thermostat for the past 4 years... and have neer had over heating issues.. as a matter or fact.. when cruising and not boosting... the temp stay Under the 1/2 mark all the time.. and only when i hit the hiways and start to press will it go up to half and stay there..

my buddy has a 08 ranger 2.5wlt... its @ about 105k on the clock... his clutch fan is really slack.. we installed a aftermarket water temp guage on it.. with normal driving the temps is consistant at around 180-190deg F... needle is on half mark at this point in dash... when @ full throttle on highway.. temps would go up to 220-230deg F and the guage would peak and start beeping.. its a Pro Sport Peak/warning guage.. and the needle on the dash is still at the half mark, and doesnt move even tho the temp increased by almost 40deg F... so.. my advice is.. install a water temp guage... remove the thermostat.. and also try Red line water wetter...! that sheit works wonders!

bt50 · Postby **bt50** » August 1st, 2014, 10:07 am

My head on mt bt50 cracked at 65000kms and by 70000kms it had reached point where water was in cylinder. I changed my head install a 3 core radiator, additional fan on ac condenser and I removed my thermostat. I sold van at 140000 kms and I did highway driving everyday avg speed 140km. No over heating with thermostat being out. Present owner still runs van without thermostat

Dragsta · Postby **Dragsta** » December 10th, 2015, 8:17 pm

3stagevtec wrote:Once there is no visible leaks elsewhere, it's highly possible. Before starting in the morning, remove the 4 glow plugs and disable the fuel pump. Crank engine via starter for a second or two and look for signs of water shooting out through the glow plug holes.

I did that on a Ranger and had discovered coolant was leaking into the #4 cylinder. The van drove normal even with the cracked head..

Guys my BT doing 107,000k's

Van recently started to hard start and rough idle with white smoke for a few seconds Only on Mornings or When engine Cold..

i suspecting its head crack seeing thats some of the symptoms..

not really loosing any water so far... Van working like normal after it has started and warmed up a bit..

i've took out the glow plugs and cleaned them, they were really carboned coated.. but it didnt make any difference wit the hardstart and rough idle...

ill try what 3stage said and see if any water comes out when tumbling..

BTW whats the cost of a WLT head now?

Shel · Postby **Shel** » December 10th, 2015, 8:33 pm

Ok so I have a 4x2 2010 ranger. You guys have me thinking. Should i take the thermostat out just for safety before it starts giving trouble?

ranger · Postby **ranger** » December 11th, 2015, 12:37 pm

do not clean the glow plugs.....change them! The part number is NGK Y701J,

Dragsta · Postby **Dragsta** » December 22nd, 2015, 6:40 pm

Dragsta wrote:
3stagevtec wrote:Once there is no visible leaks elsewhere, it's highly possible. Before starting in the morning, remove the 4 glow plugs and disable the fuel pump. Crank engine via starter for a second or two and look for signs of water shooting out through the glow plug holes.

I did that on a Ranger and had discovered coolant was leaking into the #4 cylinder. The van drove normal even with the cracked head..

Guys my BT doing 107,000k's

Van recently started to hard start and rough idle with white smoke for a few seconds Only on Mornings or When engine Cold..

i suspecting its head crack seeing thats some of the symptoms..

not really loosing any water so far... Van working like normal after it has started and warmed up a bit..

i've took out the glow plugs and cleaned them, they were really carboned coated.. but it didnt make any difference wit the hardstart and rough idle...

ill try what 3stage said and see if any water comes out when tumbling..

BTW whats the cost of a WLT head now?

Okay guys.. I've changed the GLOW PLUGS. i used the NGK Y701J and problem is gone...

No more Hard starting, rough idle and white smoke when cold..

van starting one Tumble when cold..