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1997 Ford Expedition engine complaints

Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 100, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 1997 Ford Expedition engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Apr 8, 2008 · Engine · 160,000 miles · WI

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition. While driving 55 MPH, a spark plug ejected from the cylinder. The vehicle then make a loud noise and shut down completely. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but it would only advance approximately five miles afterwards. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and they wanted to replace the head at the cost of $2,000. He consulted ford motor company, but has not yet received a response. The current mileage is 172,000 and failure mileage was 160,000. Updated 6/2/08 *cn updated

Filed Jan 3, 2008 · Engine · 122,000 miles · MD

Spark plug failure and damage on 97 expedition.

Filed Nov 5, 2007 · Engine · 110,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition. The contact stated that his vehicle caught fire. The engine and hood burning were able to control the fire. A fire report was filed. The manufacturer is aware of the failure, but there are no recalls available. They advised the contact to have the insurance company perform an investigation. The current and failure mileages were 110,000.

Filed Aug 6, 2007 · Engine · 85,050 miles · KY

Spark plug blew out of cyl. # 3 due to lack of threads in cylinder head, or lack of material in that location. The triton v series engines have an inherent problem with blowing the plugs out, it will cost between 2500- 4000 to fix one plug blow out, putting in inserts only causes the repair again at a later date. When is the government going to step in and say enough, the public has already.

Filed Jul 19, 2007 · Engine · 188,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition. The dealer informed the contact that the manifold bolts have rusted out and need to be rebuilt and re-drilled. The vehicle was not included in any recalls. The contact heard a ticking sound coming from the passenger side of the motor due to the manifold rusting. The noise ceases when the vehicle heats up. The current mileage is 190,000 and failure mileage was 188,000.

Filed May 18, 2007 · Engine, Transmission · 110,000 miles · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle fails to start when he turns the ignition and the power locks fail to operate. The vehicle has been jump-started and tested and all of the components appeared to be working normally. The contact stated that the four wheel drive feature fails to engage, although the indicator on the instrument panel illuminates. He has not notified a local dealer or the manufacturer because the failures are intermittent. The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 114,000 and failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Mar 29, 2007 · Engine · 47,200 miles · PA

Passenger side exhaust manifold studs corroded and broke on 4.6l engine, causing exhaust leak with emission control catalytic converter. Replaced studs with stainless studs, but not acknowledged on 4.6l.

Filed Jul 28, 2006 · Engine · 128,000 miles · TX

While driving at approximately 65 MPH # 2 spark plug pops out of the head.

Filed Jul 19, 2006 · Engine · 76,000 miles · CT

Driving my 97 ford expedition home from work it blew a spark plug and the vehicle only has 76k. Brought it to crowley ford in plainville, ct. And the plug was repaired for $750.00. It did not correct the problem. Was told that the engine needed replacing for the price of $5200.00. This problem is related to poor design. I did my homework. There are several other individuals who have reported the same problem across the country. At this time ford is not taking any responsibility for this.

Filed Jul 10, 2006 · Engine · 112,683 miles · CA

#3 spark plug ejected from the engine, which resulted in significant power loss. I nearly was rear-ended by a gas truck, but was eventually able to pull off the freeway. The spark plug threads were stripped from the head, the spark plug boot was split and the coil mount was broken off.

Filed May 11, 2006 · Engine · 154,000 miles · MN

I had a ingnitor blow completely out of the head on my expedition. . It immediately smelled of gas and sounded like a tractor. The ingnitor then kept hitting the fuel rail. We were lucky that the vehicle did not start on fire because of the two hitting and starting a fire with a spark. When I talked to a ford dealer they said that yes it does happen quite a bit because of the on the head...they only put 2 threads in to thread the ingnitor in. I think there needs to be a recall on this if this happens. Some one could be working on the vehicle when this happened and could start a fire due to the gas. It will now cost me $3000 to fix this design default only to get replaced by the same issue!!!

Filed Feb 8, 2006 · Engine · 132,980 miles · OH

Spark plug blown out of head by force of the engine, loss of power an major damage.

Filed Nov 29, 2005 · Engine · 132,000 miles · MA

Towing trailer and exhaust manifold studs broke. This caused a loss of power climbing a steep grade. Car behind almost hit us.

Filed Nov 4, 2005 · Engine · 118,000 miles · TX

Traveling @ 65 MPH and loud bang. Engine lost power and was extremely loud. Was told by authorized ford dealer that the spark plug had blow out of the cylinder. The truck was not fixed. Ford wanted $5000 for new engine or $4200 to rebuild mine. 1997 eddie bauer expedition.

Filed Oct 12, 2005 · Engine · OH

Dt: the contact stated that the 1997 ford expedition blew out plug a spark plug in the engine and stripped the head and the coil. This happened while driving at 35 MPH. The contact has been in contact with ford, and they told him to take the truck to the dealer and call them back. The dealership did a diagnostic testing , and said that it would take $4,850.00 to repair the engine. When the contact called ford back the person to whom the contact talked to did not understand why he was calling them back. The contact spoke to two different people and they did not know what he was talking about. The contact said that he planned to fix the truck when he has the money available.

Filed Jul 18, 2005 · Engine · 151,000 miles · NC

On june 17, 2005 our 1997 expedition blew its first spark plug. We at the time that it was an uncommon occurence so we had a local mechanic fix the problem at the cost of $388. Not even a month later on july 15, 2005 our expediton blew another spark plug different cylinder but on the same side. We are looking into options to see which is the best option for us to go with. While researching we found that this problem is not so umcommon with a 5.4 liter engine whether in a expedition, f-150, etc and does not matter how many miles either. I saw the numerous compliants on consumer affairs.com which is where I found your number and called today. I think that ford motor company needs to start accepting responsibility for their defects in their engines. As of right now we are not sure how much it will cost to repair our truck. An estimate given to my husband was for $3600.00 to redo the heads or $4700.00 to replace the engine but if they replace with the same defected engine even with a warranty it will do us no good considering the warranty will not cover for this specific repair. This has also caused our family vacation to be put in limbo and trying to figure out how to pay for the repairs. My family does not have that type of money just lying around waiting to be used. Me and my husband both work to support our six children, and it seems like ford motor company needs to pick up the pace and help us considering they are not willing to come out and recall their defected engine.

Filed May 2, 2005 · Engine · 105,000 miles · AL · fire

The consumer stated vehicle was parked with the engine off in the yard when it caught fire and burned. Flames came from the front of the vehicle. Just had it serviced twice since december.

Filed Feb 23, 2005 · Engine · 178,000 miles · IL

The consumer was driving on the highway at approximately 65 MPH and at that speed the engine began to eject the spark plugs out of the seventh cylinder. The ignition coil sits under the fuel rail. The consumer feels, " this could ignite and cause a big fire to the engine." provide further details.

Filed Aug 30, 2004 · Body, Electrical · 65,000 miles · NY

Paint and finish on roof of vehicle peeling, cracking, flaking off - oxidation from rust, ruining entire outer car surface - have been advised that primer coat was either missed or skimped during the production process... Ford will not address this issue - one male rep from ford stated: "the paint job is only supposed to last 2 years" not an acceptable answer...also, child safety locks engage themselves, thus preventing occupants in rear seats to exit vehicle, can cause injury or death in an emergency situation... Also, vehicle rear wheels and or axels "chatter" at low speed turns... Also, an audible hum in vehicle at normal highway speeds...also, audible squeaking from interior side panels...ford dealer states: cause cannot be located...also, leather seats have cracked and show signs of abnormal wear - this is apparant in all leather seat coverings but especially in the front "bucket" or "captain" seats...ford states warranty for vehicle no longer covers -engine has had several episodes of "misfiring" of "revving" on it's own - has been explained away as a "computer" problem or a "sensor" problem - always at cost to consumer..."check engine" light has come on on numerous occasions, using previous explanations as stated previously. Have numerous invoices for replacements of sensors, computer chips, etc.

Filed Jun 23, 2004 · Engine · 91,000 miles · CA

Spark plug suddenly blew out of the passenger side cylinder head while driving 65 miles an hour on the freeway. Had the car towed to the dealer and they wanted $3100 to put on a new cylinder head. Did some checking on the internet and found it was a common problem with that engine that has not been recalled. Took the car to another shop and had inserts put in for all 4 spark plugs on that head for $2000.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Engine · 155,000 miles · CA

Spark plug blows out of aluminum head. This car has one of the most extensive service records paso robles ford has on record; these are their words. In other words this vehicle has been maintained very very well and to have the plug blow out in the first place is uncalled for. Secondly we paid to have a remanufactered engine installed and a few weeks later the plug blows out again. This is supposed to be on what ford calls a revised part to take care of plugs blowing out of the aluminum head. Ford will not give us a straight answer on what the revision is; this could be anything-possibly not even related to the problem. My understanding is the problem is that there are only three threads going into the aluminum head. Apparently the revision does not take this problem into account because it only took a few weeks for the exact same thing to happen.

Filed Dec 29, 2003 · Engine · 117,000 miles · CO

1997 expedition 5.l triton. Blew #3 plug 18000 miles after having it replaced. Research shows that this is a common failure though ford does not acknowledge any design flaw.

Filed Jul 17, 2003 · Engine · 71,000 miles · PA

While driving at 65 MPH vehicle lost engine compression. Dealer notified.

Filed Jun 19, 2003 · Engine · 156,000 miles · CA

Spark-plug blew out of aluminum head on a 97' ford expedition with 155,000 mi. Paid $4500.00 for a new "improved"re-built engine. Spark-plug blew out again with 1,000 mi. On new engine. Ford will not talk to us; we would like some answers as we were told the "improved" design addressed the problem of the spark-plugs only having three(3) threads holding it onto the aluminum head.

Filed Jun 11, 2003 · Engine, Suspension · MI

When I take off the gas is sticky and takes alot to get it going, when turning from stop my rear end vibrates like it's going to fall off. Aready had the transmission replaced by the dealer ship I got the car from. Driver side window clunks when rolling down, motor makes a knocking noise when cold. I just don't expect this kind of problems when you pay alot of money for a nice car.

Filed Feb 5, 2003 · Engine · MA

While driving the sway bar broke causing the vehicle to pull to the right. Please provide any additional information. Ph

Filed Nov 29, 2002 · Engine · MD

Cold engine knock continues after ten minute warm up and ten minute drive time. Contacted ford, no help. Dt

Filed Apr 25, 2002 · Engine · MN

Around 60 MPH vehicle feels like it's shifting/ jerks, then stalls. Dealer cannot find problem, stated that water was getting in the engine.

Filed Jan 23, 2002 · Engine · CO

Vehicle stalled at 55 MPH. After inspecting vehicle dealer determined there was no oil in engine and one rod had blown. Dash indicator did not show low oil prior to this incident. Engine needed to be replaced.

Filed Jun 28, 2001 · Acceleration, Engine · MD

When making right hand turns vehicle intermittently acts like back is independent from front. When coming to a stop, vehicle bucks and drags. Dealer informed consumer that motor, rear sway bar link, forward drive shaft and speed sensor needed to be replaced.

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