My v10 ford e-350 motor had a head failure and a spark plug blew out while driving. A fire started in the engine compartment and the explosion sound created a panic and startled response that almost lead to a vehicle crash. The vehicle was towed to a repair facility and they were familiar with the problem. They work on fleet vehicles regularly and they stated they have seen this problem many times before. The aluminum head of the engine was too weak to hold on to the spark plug and that lead to the explosion, fire, and damage. The shop informed me that this could very likely happen again because of the defective design of the engine and if I am traveling with my family I could be left stranded, possible a very dangerous part of the highway while driving steep or dangerous roads. If the vehicle catches on fire again it could explode if the gas line ignites. This one cylinder cost $800 to fix but now I have 9 other ones to worry about. I was not able to find a current recall but there will have to be one issued to ensure the safety of any american driving a ford vehicle with this engine. After researching the internet I have found literally thousands of different people stating similar scenarios.
1997 Ford E-350 engine problems
15 complaints (19% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 108,817.
- owner complaints
- 15
- of this car's complaints
- 19%
- typical mileage
- 108,817
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine7
- Engine: gasoline5
- Cooling system1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford E-350 engine problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
What 1997 Ford E-350 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My 97 ford club wagon heater lines to the reas heater disintegrated. I found the leak and disconnected the lines to find them deteriorated 3/4 the length. I kept the lines for inspection. Contacting ford their response was that they had no information or recall on this problem with a vehicle this old. My friend [xxx] , pastor at church of[xxx] , freeport, illinois was not as fortunate. The 97 ford van the church uses had leaked enough coolant out unnoticed that they almost ruined the engine from over-heating. There should be a warning to all van owners to watch for corrosion and leaks so they do not ruin engines and a solution should be given by ford motor company. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford e350. The contact awoke in the middle of the night to find his vehicle on fire. He attempted to extinguish the fire with a garden hose, but was unsuccessful. The fire department arrived and successfully extinguished the flames. A firefighter stated that the fire originated in the engine compartment. A fire report was filed. The vehicle is currently still at the contact's residence. The dealer and manufacturer have not been notified. The current and failure mileages were over 250,000.
Our 1997 ford f350 truck was parked in our barn and caught fire yesterday morning for no apparent reason. The fire destroyed the truck and caused damage to the barn and also caught our atv on fire. I left for work at 7 a.m. And had been in the barn before leaving. The first department was contacted at 8:04 and by the time they got there, the truck was basically gone. We had other damages caused by this fire.
The #3 spark plug on my '97 ford e-350 van blew out (about 1 year after the plugs were changed) while starting to drive slowly in a parking lot. I have been told by more than one mechanic that this is common on this engine (5.4 l 8-cylinder) and that it is a design defect. I have not had the money to get it fixed yet (estimated by mechanic to be $1500 to pull the head and repair). I have also read that there is a good possibility of fire when this happens, although that did not happen in our case (we shut down the engine right away and had it towed home).
1997 ford e350 v-10 engine van blew out the number 4 spark plug. Loud popping sound followed by loss of power and strong fuel smell. Also had a neighbor with an f-150 that had same problem and truck burned to the ground in under 5 minutes.
The motor home engine operated fine while we were on an extended 1700 mile trip. The gauges registered normal. We checked the oil & antifreeze & they were at the normal levels. After we returned: at mileage 48526 we started the engine on may 6, 2004 the engine started with a large knocking noise & there was white smoke out the tailpipe. 2. Antifreeze had gotten into the oil so the rod bent & #1 cylinder was scored when the engine was started. 3. The head gaskets & head was normal - the whole engine had to be replaced!
Spark plug was blown out of the aluminum head of an e-350 ford v-8 vortex engine. Mechanics I have spoken to have reported familiarity with this exact problem when vehicle reaches 60,000 plus miles. Individual with same type and year (97) truck is having same trouble.
Consumer states the 1997 ford v-10 caught fire under the hood, consumer is unsure of cause. Yd consumer states no further information has been available from insurance company or dealership, consumer mentions that on dog died due to the fire.
After vehicle was started an unusual noise occurred in engine compartment. Dealer inspected vehicle and determined that engine needed to be replaced due to coolant leaking into the cylinder. *ak
Questions about the 1997 Ford E-350 engine
Does the 1997 Ford E-350 have engine problems?
Owners have filed 15 complaints about the engine of the 1997 Ford E-350, 19% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1997 Ford E-350 engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 108,817 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Ford E-350 engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford E-350 have bad engine?
The Ford E-350 model years with the most engine complaints are 2005 (21 complaints), 2002 (20 complaints) and 2001 (17 complaints).
Other 1997 Ford E-350 problems
Tires 24Brakes 17Suspension 6Fuel system 5Acceleration 4Electrical 4Transmission 4Airbags 3Body 3Seat belts 2Visibility 2Steering 1Wheels 1
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