Powerboost CEL P237C/Exhaust Heat Exchanger Leak Megathread

[iceman77]

I have a Job1 2021 Platinum Powerboost. I have been fortunate and not had a single issue of any kind in 12 months. Still, I am interested in any bypass solution just in case. Especially since my blend date for my new 2022 Powerboost was 2 days ago.

I took the whole heat exchanger apart and identified the source of the leak. I have documented everything and I will post the info here once I managed to fix the leak.

Complete bypass is possible, it would be my last resolution, should I fail to fix the leak on heat exchanger itself

more info to follow soon!

Sponsored

 

[Snakebitten]

You are a crazy man Iceman. I mean that in the best way.

 

[Nasto]

You are a crazy man Iceman. I mean that in the best way.

More like a steely-eyed missile man!

https://www.todayifoundout.com/inde...expression-steely-eyed-missile-man-come-from/

 

[iceman77]

You are a crazy man Iceman. I mean that in the best way.

One thing I can tell for sure! The heat exchanger valve is easily replaceable. It is being held by 3 screws.

@Oxford_Powerboost, if you don’t have a leak, you DO NOT need a new exhaust inlet pipe assembly. Just the valve. You could install it yourself from any of the leaking units with fully operational valve

 

[iceman77]

@rhymeandreasons the pic below explains why I said that your damaged unit would have been EASILY fixable!

I wonder how could your dealer's master technician missed this! He could have re-used the connectors from your old unit and your truck have had been fixed weeks ago

 

[Snakebitten]

Wonder if it will ever be sold NOT as a complete exhaust pipe assembly?

Awesome pictures!

 

[iceman77]

Wonder if it will ever be sold NOT as a complete exhaust pipe assembly?

Awesome pictures!

When I first took it off the truck, I got quickly discouraged when I noticed the nuts welded to the bottom of the tray. But this time, after closer inspection, I noticed, the inlet pipes are detachable, and the top lid just pops off! That exposes the inner structure of the heat exchanger. the entire plastic part can be taken off, and replaced. so is the valve.

The source of the leak is the inlet pipe holes, they are deformed (perhaps due to manufacturing defect, or wrong material used, that deformed by heat). The holes are oval shaped, instead of perfect circle, and the coolant seeps through. I pressure tested the entire unit once I removed it from the truck and that's where the liquid seeped through.

I tried to replace the o-rings for larger one, but the deformation is bad, and it merely slowed down the leak. I will try to use some silicon gasket sealant (used for water pump housing assembly) as my next try. If that does not fix the leak, than hell with it, all the plastic part comes off, I leave the valve connected (so PCM does not complain about it) and I just bypass the coolant hoses (just as I did it before). That will for sure take care of the business!

 

[FordConvert]

More like a steely-eyed missile man!

https://www.todayifoundout.com/inde...expression-steely-eyed-missile-man-come-from/

Of course we are referencing The Martian! Because some of us have need to “science the hell” out of these trucks in an environment devoid of parts and service!

 

[Snakebitten]

When I first took it off the truck, I got quickly discouraged when I noticed the nuts welded to the bottom of the tray. But this time, after closer inspection, I noticed, the inlet pipes are detachable, and the top lid just pops off! That exposes the inner structure of the heat exchanger. the entire plastic part can be taken off, and replaced. so is the valve.

The source of the leak is the inlet pipe holes, they are deformed (perhaps due to manufacturing defect, or wrong material used, that deformed by heat). The holes are oval shaped, instead of perfect circle, and the coolant seeps through. I pressure tested the entire unit once I removed it from the truck and that's where the liquid seeped through.

I tried to replace the o-rings for larger one, but the deformation is bad, and it merely slowed down the leak. I will try to use some silicon gasket sealant (used for water pump housing assembly) as my next try. If that does not fix the leak, than hell with it, all the plastic part comes off, I leave the valve connected (so PCM does not complain about it) and I just bypass the coolant hoses (just as I did it before). That will for sure take care of the business!

Amazing.

So a manufacturing defect?
Or a materials design defect?

What I mean is that if heat is going to deform the material and result in the leak, then heat exchangers that have never leaked would eventually.
But if the manufacturer actually either built them out of tolerance, or perhaps an inferior plastic recipe, then you could get a bad "batch"? And thus not all heat exchangers on Powerboosts have been equal?

 

[rhymeandreasons]

52 for me!

Lastly, how about a column for “Total Days Without Truck?” The winner for most total days gets a backordered prize. ?

 

[Severdog]

When I first took it off the truck, I got quickly discouraged when I noticed the nuts welded to the bottom of the tray. But this time, after closer inspection, I noticed, the inlet pipes are detachable, and the top lid just pops off! That exposes the inner structure of the heat exchanger. the entire plastic part can be taken off, and replaced. so is the valve.

The source of the leak is the inlet pipe holes, they are deformed (perhaps due to manufacturing defect, or wrong material used, that deformed by heat). The holes are oval shaped, instead of perfect circle, and the coolant seeps through. I pressure tested the entire unit once I removed it from the truck and that's where the liquid seeped through.

I tried to replace the o-rings for larger one, but the deformation is bad, and it merely slowed down the leak. I will try to use some silicon gasket sealant (used for water pump housing assembly) as my next try. If that does not fix the leak, than hell with it, all the plastic part comes off, I leave the valve connected (so PCM does not complain about it) and I just bypass the coolant hoses (just as I did it before). That will for sure take care of the business!

In a perfect world, somewhere there is a Ford engineer reading this thread, saying to themselves...."no sh*t! I told them this would happen!"

 

[Thunderchief]

Just curious why you think so? Especially the dealership. How would they know?

I don't think they knew my particular truck would have a heat exchanger failure. I believe they knew the 2022 Powerboost Lariat trucks had a high failure rate of this part over the entire fleet. I am aggravated that I paid $68,000 for a truck with a known problem, had a expected failure, and then had to call someone ten miles away for a ride home when I took this very expensive truck to the dealer for overheating where I was told they would "try to work it in".

 

[RalpL]

I don't think they knew my particular truck would have a heat exchanger failure. I believe they knew the 2022 Powerboost Lariat trucks had a high failure rate of this part over the entire fleet. I am aggravated that I paid $68,000 for a truck with a known problem, had a expected failure, and then had to call someone ten miles away for a ride home when I took this very expensive truck to the dealer for overheating where I was told they would "try to work it in".

It's not just the Lariats, is it? Isn't it a Powerboost-related issue across all trims?

 

[UGADawg96]

I don't think they knew my particular truck would have a heat exchanger failure. I believe they knew the 2022 Powerboost Lariat trucks had a high failure rate of this part over the entire fleet. I am aggravated that I paid $68,000 for a truck with a known problem, had a expected failure, and then had to call someone ten miles away for a ride home when I took this very expensive truck to the dealer for overheating where I was told they would "try to work it in".

If this issue was first reported here last month and these trucks have been out for over a year and only a few members have had this issue so far, then stating that, "they knew the ... trucks had a high failure rate of this part over the entire fleet" is a bit of a stretch.

 

[Nasto]

52 for me!

You got me beat, assuming we're judging on the agony scale of 1-10! I'm recalculating my downtime to 37 days instead of 40, since I shouldn't count the extra days I left it at the dealer for the protective layer work, so @TN Rotty , maybe sort the spreadsheet by Days w/o Truck would be the best indicator?

Sponsored