1997 Ford F-150 engine problems

544 complaints (20% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 99,560. 6 crashes reported.

owner complaints: 544
of this car's complaints: 20%
typical mileage: 99,560
crashes: 6
recalls: 0

Which part fails

Engine
197
Engine: gasoline
126
Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
37
Cooling system
33
Exhaust system
16
Exhaust system: emission control
3
Engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys
3
Exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)
2

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k

25k-50k

50k-75k

75k-100k

100k-125k

125k-150k

150k-175k

175k-200k

200k+

Ford F-150 engine problems in other years

Specific symptoms reported on the 1997 Ford F-150 engine

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Engine failure 121 Knocking 81 Overheating 71 Stalling 32 Check engine light 31 Misfire 20 Won't start 17 Loss of power 8

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Related investigations

Spark plug ejection from cylinder headOpened September 22, 2005, closed January 4, 2006

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 F-150 owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Jan 9, 2021 · Body, Electrical · SC · fire

December 3, 2020...my husband drove the truck over to a friends house. After being there for approximately 2 hours his friend walked in the building where he was and said, 'hey man, your truck is on fire!' everyone rushed outside to see the truck was in fact on fire. They called the fire department who came and finished extinguishing the fire. It appears the fire started on the drivers side near the tire, or behind the dash. I did not even think to check for a recall, but a friend told me to check because he was aware there was a recall. Sure enough, there is a recall and it describes what happened to my truck exactly. The federal safety agency recall number: 05v017000 date: jan 27, 2005 ford recall number: 05528

Filed Jul 9, 2016 · Engine · 146,000 miles · IL

Started the vehicle in a parking lot. The spark plug blew out of the head on the passenger rear of the motor. Tried the appropriate helicoil repair kit but there were no threads to tap into.

Filed Jun 27, 2016 · Engine · WA

My ford f150 somehow got water in the cylinder and bent a connecting rod at111000 miles.

Filed Nov 9, 2015 · Engine · 132,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 1997 ford f-150. While parked, the vehicle suddenly burst into flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000. Updated 02/02/16*lj

Filed Aug 19, 2015 · Engine · 150,000 miles · VA

While driving home from vacation, with about 150 miles to go, the #2 spark plug blew out of the engine. With about 30 miles left the #3 spark plug blew out. Curse of the ford triton engine

Filed Apr 12, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 207,667 miles · SC · fire

Driving at normal speed (45 MPH), no abnormal noises or vibrations present. Loud bang noise came from within engine bay, and truck began to sputter and stumble very badly. Check engine light came on and preceded to flash, put truck into neutral and rolled to the side of the road where truck was shut off. Excessive fuel was found on top of the engine at the third cylinder from the front on the passenger side (4.6l v8 engine). Spark plug was separated from the wire and lying on top of engine. Spark plug boot was melted and smoking suggesting it was previously burning. Spark plug was %100 covered by burnt sooty material.

Filed Mar 13, 2015 · Engine · 155,000 miles · TN

I have been having problems with engine overheating, heater temperature working intermittently inside, misfire on one cylinder. I have replaced thermostat, spark plugs and wires, and coils. Diagnotic code still reads misfire on one cylinder. Misfire is not constant. After researching I found others stating there is a recall... "recall # 99b20". I can not find a recall 99b20. I did notice there have been 545 other complaints concerning engine cooling and manifold o rings, blown head gaskets etc due to faulty components. I am adding my complaint as well for further investigative action, as I feel there should be a real recall to fix this problem/complaints.

Filed Feb 24, 2015 · Engine · 112,000 miles · TX

While starting from a red light, the engine blew a spark plug! I have the 5.4 v-8 engine. Fortunately the engine was not damaged or anything else. I immediately pulled off road and had truck towed to the local ford dealership. Repairs were $600.00.

Filed Jan 27, 2015 · Engine · 100,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, it caught fire. The contact stated that there were flames coming from the engine compartment. The contact did not disclose if a police report was filed or not and who extinguished the fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Dec 14, 2014 · Engine · 167,542 miles · KY

I came home from work on 12/13 2014 and noticed I had a water puddle under my truck so on 12/14/2014 I pulled in the garage and did some searching only to find the outlet tube in the manifold was leaking I assumed it was the rubber hose and when I went to replace it the outlet tube broke off at the base of the intake manifold. Upon doing some research I found that the only way to replace it is to buy a new intake manifold so at this point my truck is stuck in the garage . I checked the outlet tube and found 2 pinholes in it.this is a crate motor replaced by ford at 88000 miles I can't afford the 500.00 that a new one will costs so I'm out a vehicle at this time.

Questions about the 1997 Ford F-150 engine

Does the 1997 Ford F-150 have engine problems?

Owners have filed 544 complaints about the engine of the 1997 Ford F-150, 20% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.

At what mileage do 1997 Ford F-150 engine problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 99,560 miles.

Was there a recall on the 1997 Ford F-150 engine?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Ford F-150 have bad engine?

The Ford F-150 model years with the most engine complaints are 2018 (591 complaints), 2013 (567 complaints) and 1997 (544 complaints).