While driving the vehicle shut down and would not restart. It was later determined that the head gasket failed which leaked anti freeze and caused the engine to seize. *nlm *cb
1997 Ford F-150 engine complaints
Page 12 of 19: complaints 311 to 340 of 544, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The engine rod piston blew, which caused the vehicle to be non drivable. *nlm ph
Coolant leaking at front cover gasket and lower intake manifold. 1997 ford f-150 4wd. Vin#[xxx]. I purchased vehicle used. Have recalls and service bulletins been maintained on this vehicle? I will be taking the vehicle to jacob george ford, houtzdale, pa for full inspection tomorrow. Any information on the maintenance would be useful for us to correct this problem. Thank you. *nlm information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Consumer states the exhaust is located at the right side, causing the tires to overheat and blow up. In july firestone wilderness ht size 23570r16 dot w2081pt were replaced by goodyear ,and problem still recurring. Dealer stated nothing was wrong with the exhaust pipe. Consumer indicated that firestone diagnosis was that tire blew up due to overheating.
The truck was built with the exhaust exiting in front of the right rear tire, which caused excessive heat to the tire and a burning smell. The hub caps and wheels were discolored, and the rear axle seal leaked, all these problems were caused by the defective exhaust system which was due to the extreme heat. The rear oil seal leaked oil. *mr *ph
I drove to work that morning and everything was fine. I went to my truck to leave work that evening and when I cranked my vehicle it made a loud pop like a back fire in the engine compartment and started rattling immediately. I shut my truck off and opened the hood to see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary and found nothing out of place. I had my truck towed to a local dealership and was told I had suffered internal engine damage at start up and would need a new engine. The cost would be almost $4000.00. I got a second opinion from another mechanic who worked at another ford dealership in my area and was told that these particular engines (the 4.2l in the 1997 model year) had a problem with the gaskets allowing water to leak into the cylinder (water cannot be compressed so it kicked back and bent the rod) causing internal engine damage. I was told by the mechanic that there was a recall that addressed this problem and that ford has since corrected it in subsequent model years. It is apparent that ford knows of this problem, but chooses not to do anything to help the affected customers. I did call ford's customer service hotline and was told that the recall did not include my vehicle even though it had the same problem because it was not manufactured at the plant that the recall covered. I asked why the recall was not broadened to include all 4.2l engines since this is evidently a widespread problem. I also wanted to know if I had any recourse at all and was told that I could have the engine replaced at my expense and if ford decided to broaden the scope of the recall I may be eligible for a refund in the future. If the recall would have included my vehicle I would not be lodging this complaint now. If you know there is a manufacturing defect the right thing to do is to correct it and keep your customer base. Do you know of any recourse that I may have in trying to get this problem corrected? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Engine motor was making a knocking noise, and has no oil pressure. This could result in the engine blowing up. Cause unknown.
Nar 6-03-2003 *mr defective head gaskets ruining the engine.
After 2 days of rain I went out to start my 1997 ford, f150. Rain water had leaked in from firewall area on to the intake manifold area and leaked in through a fuel injector fitting and found its way to a piston . The first attempt to start the starter engaged and abruptly stop after 3 more attempts at starting the engine it turned and started.the engine had severe banging noise(about 100 decibels ).I was told I had a bent piston rod from water being on top of piston and the engine was ruined!
Engine check light illuminated. There were repairs done to the vehicle, but the light still illuminated. Please provide details.
1. The front engine cover gasket on my 1997 ford f-150 was defective. There was a recall at one time on this problem but was checked by a ford dealer and nothing was found to be wrong. Approximately 6 months later it had to be replaced. Because the recall had expired ford would not replace it for free and so I had to have it replaced at my cost of $600.00. 2. Air bags and seat belt restraints. My wife had a wreck in the same vehicle and the air bags did not deploy or did the seat belts lock up like they are supposed to. I tried to get ford to explain to me why that would happen and they said the insurance company would have to handle it. The problem was still not solved. Also the ABS did not work.
Crank shaft pulley broke 4 bolts and came off harmonic balancer on 1997 ford f150 causing loss of rower steering,alternator,and water pump functions.
While the vehicle was parked in the driveway, it caught on fire.
My 1997 ford f-150 4x4 spontaneously burst into flames from the engine compartment after having been parked in my driveway for 12 hours over night. The engine had not been run, was not hot, and had no malfunctioning parts to my knowledge. I was awakened friday morning by a jogger beating on my front door screaming that my truck was on fire. It burned the engine completely, destroyed the hood, cab, and the entire of the front end of the truck before it could be put out by the fire department. The local fire marshal and arson investigator investigated the fire and found no signs of malfunctions. *jb parked the vehicle at 6:00 pm at around 6:00 am the next morning the vehicle caught on fire. The fire was coming from the engine compartment. The fire seemed to be hottest on the drivers side of vehicle. The tire on the drivers side was totally melted. The tire on the passenger side did not fail. Shortly before the fire the cruise control stopped working. Once in a while the check engine light would come on. At one point an interlock switch on the vehicle brake pedal was replaced because could not get the vehcile out of park. Will e-mail pictures to bruce york. Only aftermarket equipment was a stereo professionaly installed. The vehicle only had liabilty insurance.
The vehicle experienced the same defect with the water pump as stated in recall 00 v 094 000, however the vehicle identification and model was not included in the recall.
Incident = in 2000 ford motor company extended the warranty on ford f-150 pickups to cover a known design problem involving a gasket that kept coolant fluids from leaking into the crankcase and destroying the engine. They only offered to replace the existing gasket to make sure it wasn't leaking and then extend the warranty for another 12 months. Just as they knew it would, approximately three years later (april 27) their replacement gasket cracked and coolant fluid leaked into the engine through the crankcase, and my engine seized up. Damage resulting = my engine began to clatter, and I drove straight to a dealership. I am now having to replace the engine ($3,600.00 plus tax). In talking with the authorized repair dealer in clarksville, tn where the truck broke down and my usual authorized repair dealer here in nashville, apparently this is happening to many of the f-150's that received a new gasket and an extended 12 month warranty. Again, ford knew there was a design problem (which by the way both places told me ford corrected in subsequent years) and only offered a band-aid approach to dealing with it. In talking with the ford motor company consumer affairs, I have request that the cost, or at least a portion of the costs, of my new engine be paid by ford. The repairs will be made tomorrow, april 29. Needless to say, ford has not responded or offered to pay for my new engine.
The timing chain failed which caused coolant to leak onto the lower intake manifold. *jb ph
The truck had a knocking sound. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic who stated that the front cover gasket and manifold side gasket failed allowing coolant to leak into the cylinder. At cold start, the coolant in the cylinder caused the piston rod to break. He also stated that the engine would cost $4000. To replace. *nlm
Ford f150 v6 total engine failure. Engine threw a rod on the #1 cylinder. Vehicle has been meticulously cared for and not driven hard at all. The internet is abundant with complaints of this engine.
A tie rod fell off while driving. The front engine seal and intake manifold gasket failed resulting in and antifreeze leak. Some of the vehicles lights (dome light and dash light) stayed on although the vehicle was turned off. *ak
The engine head gasket blew twice and caused coolant to leak. This problem was recalled for some 1997 f150's but not the consumers vehicle due to VIN. *nlm
Engine front cover gasket leaked-replacement at 350.00 in line with recall 99b29. Ford does not include my truck in this recall. After reairing the engine, the engine failed and is now being replaced at 3500.00 dollars. Ford's recall is inadequate.
Goodyear tire had low pressure, causing them to blowout. In addition, consumer replaced wheels:cap/cover/hub, and exhaust system.
The engine was replaced because of a knocking noise.
Refer to tsb 99207 lower intake manifold failure. Coolant will get into either the intake or exhaust ports, with potential to cause engine failure. Most failures are occuring between 60 and 80k miles. Just past most ford warranties. They installed a high failure gasket in the 1997 f150 with the 4.2l v6 for approximately a year, and now people are reaping the benefits of the repair cost to correct. If you refer to www.f150online.com and see the message boards, the problems are beginning to pour in as these trucks reach this mileage. Ford did not notify any owners and should have done so, so that the owner may have taken the appropriate and corrective actions with the dealer.
Water was found in the oil during a routine oil change in aug 2002. The VIN was traced back to be part of the timing chain cover recall. When the vehcile was brought to the dealer, the dealer claimed no knowledge of the recall. When ford customer service was contacted, they did acknowlege the recall, and that the vehicle was part of the recall. We never received the letter, and we were informed that the recall had expired and the repair would not be covered. We made the decision to pay $800 for the recall repair (which the dealer happened to have a kit in stock). Six months later, the engine has apparently blown another gaseket (sounds like the manifold gasket from others experience) and filled the #1 cylinder with water. Other internal damage is unknown, the engine will be replaced rather than repaired again.
With no previous indications that anything was wrong, upon starting engine heard loud clacking sound, shut off and towed to mechanic. Who said it was an internal problem that could only be fixed by ford dealership or a machine shop. It was a holiday so we took it to a machine shop who verified his previous encounter with the same model engine before that a rod was bent which cracked the piston, caused from a "defect in ford's intake head gasket", which leaked water into the engine. He also stated one more crank or run a little longer the piston would have shattered and gone through the crank shaft which could have endangered anyone in it's range (hwy, etc.). The engine is now being repaired and when ford was contacted they denied any problem with the gasket and any responsibility. The machine shop has a "service notification" that the gasket has been replaced with one that will not leak. This is a very costly defect that could have been prevented if ford had sent notice to owner's. I feel ford should own up to their defective part and pay for costs owner's like myself have encountered. I have a notice of recall for a different gasket leaking coolant which was replaced by the ford dealership, #99b29.
Front engine cover gasket failed in line with recall 99b29. Ford does not include my truck, built in 1997. Recall campaign 99b29 indicating the original recall was inadequate. Ph **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**770847
The head gasket on my "97" ford f150 failed while my wife was driving filling #4 cylinder with coolant and bending a rod. No warning, no overheating, water in the oil, etc. Only a flickering check engine light. My mechanic says it was simply a factory defective gasket and should not have blown considering mileage and up keep and maintenance done to this vehicle. After a little research on the internet I am finding this is not an isolated incident and that ford has had more than a few gasket failures with this engine. *ph **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**770846
Left and right head gaskets failed allowing coolant to leak into cylinders. ****dimms 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis******770825. *ak
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