1998 Ford Expedition: engine failure

Filed Oct 13, 2009 · Engine · 151,000 miles · CA

Driving our 1998 ford expedition with a triton 5.4l v-8 home from a weekend camping trip, the engine blew a spark plug. We were on a very busy 5 lane highway with our three children under 6 years old. We spent nearly two hours on the side of the interstate waiting for a tow truck. I understand this is a fairly common malady; one in which the federal safety agency has investigated before. I understand that many outside ford motor corp feel this is a design flaw and creates unnecessary emergency events on the side of the road.

Filed Mar 1, 2005 · Engine · 119,000 miles · CT

Engine failure. In my research of the type of engine in my vehicle, a 4.6l made in the romeo plant, have found that there has been numerous people that had their motors fail(blown). I have a ford expedition 1998 with a 4.6l engine and the 8th digit of the VIN # being a w for romeo plant. When I called in excess of 20+ auto salvage yards, I had gotten the same response. That particular engine from that particular plant was a problem. I was also told 1997 was the same occurrence. Unfortunately, I owe almost $7000.00 on this vehicle that I now can not drive with out replacing or rebuilding the engine, which will be more than a couple thousand. I have been told by these many salvage yards and my local ford dealer the problem occurs when antifreeze makes its way into the oil and burns out the main bearings.

Filed Apr 28, 2004 · Engine · 88,000 miles · IL

Driving one day and heard a loud pop then no response or power from the engine.a certified mechanic said that the 3rd spark plug was blown out of the head and the acknowledged that this is a common thing in these type of engines. I also talked to the dealer that I bought this joke of a vehicle from and they said that they get these kind of repairs in all the time - domino ford in midlothian il. I talked to ford motor co. Consumer complaints and all they said was "sir there is no recall on your'e vehicle and they said have a nice day. The mechanic said they would put in a insert or heli coil and that it might work but after scanning the internet there is all kinds of complaints out there with this exact kind of problem with the ford pickups , vans and SUV's that have this triton engine. Ford won't acknowledge this because they know that under a recall it will cost them a lot to fix this obvious manufacturer defect. Of the complaints that I read and talking to my mechanic they all mention that the threads that hold the spark plugs are not long or deep enough to contain the spark plug for good. For 40k price tag ford motor co. Should replace the engines in these vehicles. Do we have to wait for someone to sacrifice their life for this to get rectified? Just like the tire issues. If someone does die due to this defect I will be the first to come forward on this on when I complained and that nothing was done. Peoples lives should not be risked to line fords pockets. If you sue them they will drag it out so long because they made 40k a vehicle on this model alone and they will drag it out until you can't pay for help anymore.

Filed Feb 7, 2003 · Engine · 58,300 miles · MN

At 58,000 miles one of the spark plugs was blown out of the cylinder head on the drivers side. The repair required a replacement head assembly; however, no heads are available in the entire country. Only option from ford was to replace the engine! The engine had already been replaced at 33,900 miles due to a piston slap problem. The cylinder head only had 25,000 miles on it when the spark plug blew out. Ford would not provide any assistance due to the fact that the engine warranty ran out at 24,000 miles.

Filed Aug 29, 2002 · Electrical, Engine · LA

Repeated problem that has escalated to a suggested engine replacement. The #4 coil has been repaired 10 times. The vehicle warranty and extended warranty have been exhausted. Ford has repeatly failed to find the real problem. The customer service department representatives and supervisor have said that there's nothing ford can do about my problem. "it's the ford policy."

Filed Apr 30, 2002 · Electrical, Engine · GA

While at idle the #3 sparkplug blew out of the cylinder stripping the threads. The repair facility estimates $2000 to repair. This is exactly like odi #743868. There is a defect in the heads. This engine was replaced twice at about 30,000 miles because of leaks in the headgasket. The current engine only has 34000 miles. When the spakplug blew out it spewed gas over the engine creating a potential fire hazard.

Filed Mar 29, 2002 · Engine · TX

Dealership says oil leak due to engine block being mis-cast. Dealership recommends new engine to fix the problem. Heads could be replaced but problem would reoccur again. This problem has occurred in many engines and ford is aware of this but is offering no help with the cost of replacement or recall on the engine to anyone but those who have ford extended warranties. This is the original engine that was put in the truck. The defect has always been there and is not something that has occurred over time. Cost of new engine approximately $4,500.

Filed Apr 11, 2001 · Engine · CA

While sitting at idle, the engine blew a sparkplug from the cylinder, completely stripping the threads and requiring an entire new header assembly ($1800 repair). I had never heard of such a failure but the dealer has seen it on other expeditions/navigators and f-150 pickups. This SUV is used as my wife's "mini van" and does not pull trailers or go off-road. There has to be a manufacturing defect with the aluminum head.

Filed Feb 1, 1999 · Engine, Tires · CA

Engine failed. Yh