A client brought in their 2018 Ford F150 which was running a bit rough. The truck had a Saleen Performance supercharger system fitted to the late generation, direct injection 5.0L Coyote V8, accompanied with a re-tuned ECU it provided tonnes of extra power.
Upon start-up we heard a harsh mechanical noise, indicating an inspection was required before loading her onto the dyno.
We performed a leak down and compression test, scanned all the data and identified an overheat condition in the manifold, uneven compression and excessive leak down.
It was also found that there was no coolant in the supercharger intercooler system, this was re-primed which subsequently cleared the IAT management issue.
The engine was removed and dismantled, we found a side completely broken out of one piston, and evidence of detonation due to the vehicle being operated in an unsafe manner without appropriate cooling.
There was also damage to the cylinders from the detonation, so after research we contacted Modular Motorsports Racing (MMR) who supplied us some upgraded parts, including Darton sleeves, forged pistons and forged rods. The engine was blueprinted and reassembled, re-installed and turned over. She started on the first crank and sounds glorious.
