NHTSA Complaint #10227087 — 2000 FORD RANGER

FORD 4.0L ENGINE HEAD GASKET LEAKAGE, CAUSE OVERHEATING OF RINGS, CRACKED HEAD, ONE NEW HEAD, ONE REBUILT, WITHOUT ANY OVER-TEMP INDICATION. I COULD SMELL A SLIGHT ODOR OF BURNED WATER FOR OVER 1 YEAR, WHILE NEVER FINDING A LEAK. THIS EXPENDITURE OF ABOUT $2K DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM, NOW I HAVE RELAXED RINGS, POOR, BUT NOT BAD COMPRESSION, AND USE LOTS OF OIL, WHEN I'VE BABIED THIS ENGINE, DONE ALL MY OWN WORK, AND OIL CHANGES, AND HAD LESS THAN 90,000 MILES. THIS LACK OF POWER, THEN SUDDEN DECREASE IN COMPRESSION CAUSED THE ENGINE TO BUCK SEVERELY, POINTING ME IN ALL KINDS OF FUEL AND ELECTRICAL AREAS OF MAINTENANCE. AT THE SAME TIME, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, BUT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME OR ANYONE'S CODE READER TO READ THE PROBLEM... THIS LACK OF COMPRESSION AND ENGINE DEMISE CAME ON UNEXPECTEDLY, SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT NOTICE OVER A ONE TO TWO WEEK PERIOD. A LOCAL AUTOSHOP OWNER OF 35 YEARS TOLD ME THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT ON THE HEAD GASKET, BUT AS YET I HAVE NOT FOUND IT. AT PRESENT, AFTER TWO HEADS WERE REPLACED, I CAN DRIVE THE VEHICLE, BUT CANNOT DEPEND ON LOW OIL CONSUMPTION... I NEVER HAD ANY OIL CONSUMPTION PROBLEM BEFORE THIS EVENT. *TR