Ford Ranger Forum - Forums for Ford Ranger enthusiasts! - View Single Post - Duratec cooling mods -- Need to clear CEL

riscorpian · 01-04-2016, 08:08 PM

This is all some pretty interesting information. GSF, do you still have the original electronic thermostat available for any testing? I'm curious to know what else we might be able to learn about the old Duratec cooling setup since it seemed to be the Bane of that particular engine. Although, in all honesty, there were a fair share of Batman villains in that motor, not just Bane. I'd say intake runner valves were the Riddler, but I digress.

Anyway, I find it increasingly curious that Ford opted to switch to so many plastic components in a cooling system that was specifically designed to run through more intense heat cycles than normal. This explains a lot about the part failures that so many of us have had. And also why I don't see many people with newer Rangers running into them.

On a related note, when I bought an SCT tuner last year, MorePowerTuning (the company I bought it through) had a really hard time with my engine. The data they had on their end was inconsistent, so they needed me to log a few test runs in specific conditions to make sure they were looking at the right info. This worries me since they are an extremely specialized tuning company with a lot more information on all of these Ford vehicles than anybody on this forum, or possibly even specialized tuning sites. Combine that with the data log I sent there, and the end result is even more puzzling. I can't use that tune at all. It seemed to just cripple my engine's power every time I hit the gas, which I later discovered was due to ridiculously late spark advance. Seriously, it would jump deeply negative every time I took off, which is exactly the opposite of where it should be going. This new info on the thermostat makes me think that the PCM is counting on that system a lot more than it should be for calculating this stuff. Do you have any sources on the info you were able to gather? I'd like to bundle it up and send it off to MPT to see if they know anything.