Spark plug - I'm really shocked this hasn't been recalled! Purchased this 2001 ford e-350 from the original owner who was a mechanic and kept all service records of this vehicle. It is in excellent condition. Had the van serviced and looked over before taking it on a longer trip. At 2 am and only after 5 hours of driving (all highway) we heard a loud bang followed by even louder rumbling and intense gas smell. This happened while driving and the van was in motion on the highway. We were able to exit the highway and wait until the morning. The next morning we took the engine apart and found the spark plug completely blown out of the engine. After buying the repair kit from the parts store and putting in a new spark plug we were able to limp our way home. Due to the force caused by the first spark plug being shot out, the engine now sounds like some other spark plugs are very loose and ready to go. Not sure the total damage until it can be repaired by a mechanic.
2001 Ford E-350 engine problems
17 complaints (33% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 119,000.
- owner complaints
- 17
- of this car's complaints
- 33%
- typical mileage
- 119,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine4
- Engine: gasoline2
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe1
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 2001 Ford E-350 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My 2001 ford e350 super duty van blew out a spark plug while driving 40 MPH and cost me $900 for dealership to repair....with only 117,000 miles on it. Ford needs to do a recall on this.
Spark plug was ejected from engine. No advanced warning or unusual sounds of any kind. Engine had been running perfectly and reliably up until this event.
While driving vehicle started running rough/missing lost engine power. Had to have the vehicle towed home replaced the fuel filter and pump. Still had problems. Towed to the dealer who finally advised fuel tank laminate was flaking. Found 4 other complaints on this site for the same problem. Online found that this is happening in multiple years/diesel types from ford.
Spark plug blow out of 5.4l engine causing gas fumes in passenger area.
I parked my f 350 diesel in front of my house for the night. Next morning ,before 6 a.m., I woke to the noises outside:cracking, popping, and explosions. The front of my truck was on fire. It was coming around all sides of the hood and around the front wheel area,also through the dash and steering area. I called the fire dept. And started putting the fire out using the garden hose. Four more explosions happened,and two front tires exploded as well. I fought the flames until fire trucks set up and took over. They put it out just in time to save $ 4,000 cash and ammo inside the cab.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford e-350. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, there was a loud popping noise from the engine compartment. The contact pulled over and noticed that a spark plug and coil pack had come out of place. The vehicle was repaired by the contact. The failure occurred again two weeks later. The vehicle was towed to his garage. The contact called the dealer who stated that they would file a report and repaired the vehicle with a temporary fix. The failure mileage was 167,350 and the current mileage was 167,422.
Spark plug blow out on ford engine for the third time different plug each time and also has happened over the interval of 80,000 miles.
Tl* the contact owned a 2001 ford e350. The vehicle was parked outside of the contact's residence when he heard an loud explosion. The vehicle had caught fire. The fire department was called. Once the fire was extinguished, the contact discovered that a hole had been burned in the hood of the vehicle, right above the master cylinder. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained outside of the contact's home and was not drivable. The failure and current mileage was 150,411.
We have a 2001 ford e-350 van with less than 80,000 miles. A spark plug has ejected from the engine, stripping the block. Of course, gasoline spews from the open cylinder, and the spark plug is still sending out a spark. A very dangerous defect, one that I read is commonplace, from the website : http://www.fordproblems.com/spark-plug-ejected-from-engine.shtml.
Questions about the 2001 Ford E-350 engine
Does the 2001 Ford E-350 have engine problems?
Owners have filed 17 complaints about the engine of the 2001 Ford E-350, 33% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford E-350 engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 119,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2001 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 2001 Ford E-350 problems
Brakes 6Fuel system 6Tires 5Transmission 5Seat belts 4Acceleration 3Electrical 3Steering 2Suspension 2Body 1Lights 1
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