Ford's Focus RS Head Gasket Failures Might Have Been Explained
Remember the Ford Focus RS saga where it was suggested that head gaskets were failing? An intriguing new plot twist has asked the question whether they’re failing because they are the wrong part.
There’s a growing head of steam, backed by evidence, that points to the problem being caused by the 2.3-litre RS block somehow having been fitted with the head gasket from the 2.3-litre EcoBoost Mustang, whose physical nature has several small but vitally important differences.
This new possible explanation comes from an initial Road & Track suggestion, which was followed up through various channels with owners and mechanics, eventually reaching Jalopnik.
The issue centres on a specific hole in the Mustang’s head gasket that shouldn’t be there on the Focus equivalent. In conjunction with a small V-shape depression between the tops of the cylinder bores, it’s allowing boiling coolant to stagnate and damage the cylinder head, hence why Ford is replacing those, too.
It’s a long article and you’ll need to set some time aside to read the whole thing – and all the supporting texts – but the evidence definitely seems to point towards a slight mishap on Ford’s part when it came to building the RS.
We agree with Jalopnik that it’s puzzling if Ford hasn’t yet realised that the wrong gaskets have been installed. It’s also surprising that the company hasn’t offered a simple gasket-replacement recall. There’s more to come in this story; we can feel it in our bones.
Source: Jalopnik
Comments
Hopefully they just own up and give free replacements and repairs to owners, nothing can be gained by ignoring a growing problem
They seem to have been good with the recalls so far, but it’s weird that they haven’t acknowledged the cause yet.
Not “hopefully”. Nobody should have to “hope” to get their car fixed. Ford has to fix the problem and anything associated with it. Furthermore, not just fixing the problem on the cars that have been affected, but also prevent the problem from happening on every other car. No ifs, no buts.
This is the definition of a company trying to hush things up, and resulting in the reputation of the RS to fall… ffs Ford
Remember the Pinto :D?
Like the ST loom. Full recall in the states. Quiet tsb in the UK resulting in me, my wife and baby sitting in the middle of a four lane roundabout with no power. Not dangerous at all! FFS indeed.
Found On Road Dead (Old meme)
Fixed
Or
Repaired
Daily
When you try to run higher boost without making vital checks.
This is old news lol
As a ford owner I’ll admit they can be infuriating idiots at the best of times. Luckily they’re cheapish to fix in comparison to other (German) performance brands. I love my car but I’m not going to be a return customer.
Ford.. Found On Road Dead..
But surely engineers who work at the assembly line would be able to spot that the head gasket doesn’t quite line up with the Focus RS’s block and head the same way that a Mustang’s does? I’ve got a sneaky feeling that Ford didn’t bother to redesign the gasket properly to save manufacturing costs. Well, Golf GTI it is, then.
From the looks of it. The gasket lines up, it’s just that there is material lacking in certain areas that correspond with the Mustang 2.3 Ecoboost motor, but not with the Focus RS 2.3 Ecoboost.
Lol. If you are avoiding a car because of possible issues, then the Golf GTI should not be your solution. I own an ‘09 MkV GTI (~110k miles) and something new fails on it almost bi-weekly.
this is why you dont mix and match parts :/
They know and just don’t want to cough up the money to replace all of them.