Jan 2021 CX-9 Cracked Head

ctbale

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2022 CX9 Tourin
This car was built 6 months after the tsb. Should have the updated head. Facebook post says dealer pulled this cracked head off a CX9 built Jan 2021. I spent a ton of time looking at the castings and comparing it to the TSB but it looks identical. Anybody know what the changes actually were on the updated head? I know the TSB said the exhaust gasket was changed. I wonder if all they did was just put in deeper exhaust studs? These pictures are from the head that was removed from his CX9, built Jan 2021, that was leaking coolant. He said he was not told the location of leak which would have been REALLY interesting.
 

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IMO you're not very likely to get the answer you're looking for. In order to be truly reliable, the information needs to either come directly from the automaker (via TSB or some other document), or from someone who can show hands-on, physical evidence which proves both the root cause, and also what modifications were done. And from what I've seen over the years watching this stuff, automakers always release as little information as possible about any issue with their vehicles. And there are also very few folks around who are capable and dedicated enough to do the physical analysis which is required to identify the cause of the problem and the fix.

My personal favorite flavor of this is the Hyundai/Kia Theta debacle with their Theta II engines. They've replaced hundreds of thousands of those engines under recall/extended warranty over the past 10 years, and are still currently continuing to do so. However, even after all of these years, those automakers have never released an official cause and modification(s) for that massive problem. Yes, there was the 'engine debris' fairy tale from Hyundai early on, but that one was blown apart, when the problem continued to happen to subsequent vehicle years, long after it was first identified on the 2011 Sonata. There have been numerous theories proposed by lots of people (including the notorious 'whistleblower'), but never any confirmation from the automakers. And I doubt they ever will do so.

The most surprising thing to me is that Mazda has even admitted (in their TSBs) to the existence of defective parts, which they have done a few times in the past few years on multiple issues. Perhaps they just couldn't come up with any plausible mumbo jumbo, and were forced to actually be truthful about those situations.

I've had the same type of question you asked, many times in the past for a variety of situations. Definitive answers however have been very few and far between. Good luck with your search, but be leery of 'facts', with no associated credible source. There are more than a few people around who have no problem just blowing smoke, with no factual basis required.
 
IMO you're not very likely to get the answer you're looking for. In order to be truly reliable, the information needs to either come directly from the automaker (via TSB or some other document), or from someone who can show hands-on, physical evidence which proves both the root cause, and also what modifications were done. And from what I've seen over the years watching this stuff, automakers always release as little information as possible about any issue with their vehicles. And there are also very few folks around who are capable and dedicated enough to do the physical analysis which is required to identify the cause of the problem and the fix.

My personal favorite flavor of this is the Hyundai/Kia Theta debacle with their Theta II engines. They've replaced hundreds of thousands of those engines under recall/extended warranty over the past 10 years, and are still currently continuing to do so. However, even after all of these years, those automakers have never released an official cause and modification(s) for that massive problem. Yes, there was the 'engine debris' fairy tale from Hyundai early on, but that one was blown apart, when the problem continued to happen to subsequent vehicle years, long after it was first identified on the 2011 Sonata. There have been numerous theories proposed by lots of people (including the notorious 'whistleblower'), but never any confirmation from the automakers. And I doubt they ever will do so.

The most surprising thing to me is that Mazda has even admitted (in their TSBs) to the existence of defective parts, which they have done a few times in the past few years on multiple issues. Perhaps they just couldn't come up with any plausible mumbo jumbo, and were forced to actually be truthful about those situations.

I've had the same type of question you asked, many times in the past for a variety of situations. Definitive answers however have been very few and far between. Good luck with your search, but be leery of 'facts', with no associated credible source. There are more than a few people around who have no problem just blowing smoke, with no factual basis required.
I believe this 2.5 turbo engine is still a solid engine. But being a mechanic my whole life for the life of me I can't see any physical difference on these two heads. I bet some machine shop in California that does head repair or restore probably knows. My curiosity is just killing me.
 
I believe this 2.5 turbo engine is still a solid engine. But being a mechanic my whole life for the life of me I can't see any physical difference on these two heads. I bet some machine shop in California that does head repair or restore probably knows. My curiosity is just killing me.f
One other possibility to consider is that the same head with the defect was used on the vehicle you believe should have the new one (based on the date). I'm not saying that's the case, only that it might be.

And what makes this even more difficult to figure out is that the stamped part numbers on the head are only partials (PYFA on mine). The full numbers must be contained in the QR codes, and I haven't been able to determine what's going on with those either. No complete part numbers that I've been able to find - so far anyway.
 
This car was built 6 months after the tsb. Should have the updated head. Facebook post says dealer pulled this cracked head off a CX9 built Jan 2021. I spent a ton of time looking at the castings and comparing it to the TSB but it looks identical. Anybody know what the changes actually were on the updated head? I know the TSB said the exhaust gasket was changed. I wonder if all they did was just put in deeper exhaust studs? These pictures are from the head that was removed from his CX9, built Jan 2021, that was leaking coolant. He said he was not told the location of leak which would have been REALLY interesting.

The head changes might be increased thicknesses of aluminum around the exhaust studs which would be difficult or impossible to see visually. You would probably have to section some heads to see the differences.
 
The head changes might be increased thicknesses of aluminum around the exhaust studs which would be difficult or impossible to see visually. You would probably have to section some heads to see the differences.
Yea, thats kinda what i thought they did. But if they added aluminum around those studs, it wasn't very much. Fingers crossed on my 2022. Just wont do any dukes and hazard jumping and I will be fine! Haha
 
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