Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. He stated that while exiting a driveway at approximately 5 MPH, there was a loud, unusual noise followed by the vehicle independently decelerating. The vehicle was driven to a local repair facility where the contact was informed that the spark plugs had detached from the vehicle and stripped the threads holding the spark plugs in place. In addition, the failure caused the spark plug wires to melt. The vehicle was repaired with a coil spark plug kit. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted. The failure and current mileages were 67,000.
1997 Ford F-150 engine complaints
Page 3 of 19: complaints 41 to 70 of 544, newest first, as owners wrote them.
1997 ford f150 truck. Spark plug ejection problem. 3rd time. Every time it has happened, no warning, driving regular, then it blows out. Popping crackling horrible. 2 times same one, this 3rd time same side but different spark plug. Been helicoiled by a licensed professional, paid dearly.
1997 f150 brakes locking up and engine coolant leak into motor.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. While the contact was at work she was informed that the front end of her vehicle had caught on fire. The hood of the vehicle, interior, and both front end tires were burned and damaged beyond repair.the fire department was called to extinguish the fire and the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership or the insurance company. There were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 270000. The VIN number was unavailable.
I was driving my truck and heard a loud pop, as if a tire had blown or drive component broke. My truck began to run rough and shake after the noise and continued when I came to a stop very shortly after the sound. It also continued after I came to a stop and put my truck in park. Also, it increased in severity but lessened in time interval, of an obvious knock. I learned I had blown a spark plug out of my head, taking the threads in the head with it. The two options are to remove the head from the motor, which costs about what the truck is worth, or to fix it with the head on the motor and take chances that no metal shavings enter the cylinders. Both options require a heli-coil for the head. I had to heli-coil my head to replace the spark plug since there were no threads for the spark plug to attach to.
Sparkplug blowing out.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f150. The frontal head gaskets were leaking. Also he hears knocking in the engine caused by a defective connection rod. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. He was refused service because he purchased a vehicle from a different dealer. The manufacturer was notified and he was advised that there was a class action law suit for the failure. He was then advised to file a complaint with the federal safety agency. The failure mileage 219,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.
I have a 1997 f-150 4.6 v8 with approx 270,xxx miles on it. Around three years ago I replaced the original radiator at around 190,xxx miles, seemed fair that's a decent life I thought for a radiator. I took it to my local ford dealer for replacement. Since then I am now need of my fourth radiator, the last radiator was replaced in jan 2008. My local ford dealer and ford customer care folks are saying that the part is out of their 12 month/12,000 mile warranty and that there is nothing they can do. All repairs for this vehicle have been completed at this dealer for the past five or so years. My contention is that clearly these parts are suspect and the repair and failure history seems to support this.
1997 ford f150 with 4.2l engine. Started car in the morning. Made a grinding sound and stopped it. Restarted the motor and it rattling loudly and stopped it again. The number one piston bent the connecting rod.
Truck caught on fire in the middle of the night.
After driving about 2 miles and parking the vehicle, an engine compartment fire started about 15 minutes after leaving the vehicle.
My f-150 was running rough and had a "check engine" light illuminated. I took it to my local dealer for diagnosis and repair. They replaced the spark plugs, plug wires, and ignition coil for a cost of over $500. They stated that the #5 plug had been fouled with antifreeze. It ran fine for about a month, then upon starting my truck, a loud banging or rattling noise could be heard and the engine locked up. Upon doing research on the internet, I found numerous people who claim that a faulty gasket design caused water to leak into one of the cylinders inspection of the cylinders showed coolant to be pooled in the front, passenger-side cylinder. Certified mechanics attribute coolant in the cylinder to be due to a premature gasket failure. If not corrected, the problem leads to major engine destruction. Documented effects of the coolant leak are worn out bearings and surfaces, and broken or bent connecting rods, necessitating an engine rebuild. Ford sent a tsb to some owners of these engines to replace the faulty gasket but not to other owners. The knowledge of a faulty gasket design was withheld from some 1997 4.2l f150 owners. I never received notification, and like many people, have suffered catastrophic engine failure. Average repair costs are around $4500 dollars. Ford did not notify owners of known defects and ford technicians who should know better than anyone, did not notify me.
I recently noticed a loss of coolant and foamy engine oil. I found an online forum explaining this as a problem called hydrolocked.ford has known about this problem since 1999 an has issued a tsb 99-20-7 and onp 99b29.why has ford motor company not been held financially responsible for this ?
My 1997 f-150 4.2l v6 with 128,000 miles started experiencing an unaccountable for water loss that quickly turned into a rough idle on cold starts and then very noticeable steam from the exhaust at what time it was taken in for repair with a suspected blown head gasket. Dismantling the engine, there was water in the top end but there is no indication of head gasket failure and the heads have been pressure tested for leaks and turned out ok. It appears that the intake or intake gasket is the problem and upon online research it was discovered that ford has had prior complaints of intake and gasket failures.
My 1997 ford f150 4x4 on the right cylinder head the rear spark plug came out while driving loss of power now I can not drive it makes weird noises is there a recall on this spark plug no longer fits in the head was this a bad flaw to the 4.6 duel overhead cam engine .do I have a claim with ford motor company thank you!
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The vehicle caught fire in the driveway. The dealer advised the contact to bring in the vehicle for repair. The dealer called back and stated that the legal department did not approve the repair of the vehicle. They further stated that they sent the contact a recall notice, but he claimed that it was not received. The contact stated that they sent the notice to a different mailing address, which is why it was not received. The federal safety agency campaign id number was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 175,000.
Defective engine that causes the intake manifold gasket to leak coolant into the engine oil. I have had this replaced twice and am now in need of it again.
Vehicle running rough and smoking at start up. Mechanic said #4 cycle getting coolant on spark plugs fowling out plugs. Mechanic repaired heads and replaced blown head gasket/tuned up engine/ replaced fuel and air filter/ serviced fuel system / resurfaced heads.
Front engine cover gasket failure. Currently being repaired, at an estimated cost of $1,400 dollars.
1997 ford f-150, wipers quit while using them in rain, head gasket leaks oil on exhaust which intern smokes and could possibly cause fire.
I purchased a ford factory motor 4.2v6 crate motor for my f150, back in 2004. The motor has 10,000 miles on it and has blown for the 2nd time during this trucks lifetime. I had it serviced because the check light came on. Ford replaced the sensor and took it for a test drive and the service technician came back with blown motor, and will not fix it. Their are currently hundreds of complaints against this motor and no one has had any luck with it. I would like to know if their is anyone that could help me with this matter.
I have owned a 97 ford f150 xcab for >7 yrs. I kept up on all maint & oil/fluid changes. I have cared for my truck as I have my own kids! It ran well on friday night (4/4/08) then on saturday morning husb turned the key and the engine started to bang loudly and spit out white smoke. There were no prior symptoms or engine warning lights leading up to this so I checked the internet to look into it. I came to find there are thousands of people this has happened to and that ford knew all about it! My truck has only 116,000 original miles in 10 years! Not abused. Apparently, ford issued a recall on a faulty gasket that allowed coolant to leak into the plugs/oil but it was not a recall I was offered or told of when we asked if there were any recalls on the vehicle over the years! Today I found 2 more recalls 4 it on their site (not the gasket 1) that they didn't tell me of on 4/7/08 when asked 4 a VIN when calling about the problem. I asked 4 the price of a rebuilt engine as they said they wouldn't fix a rod & quoted $5,500. When I asked if it was for everything, he replied "no - parts can really add up, honey"! I took great care of this truck! I opted to tow it to another accredited shop since they wouldn't give me a total price. Not including 2 tows & paying $150 to diagnose I was quoted a min of $7,300 to fix w/rebuild +/- 12%. Why should I have to pay 4 something that is fords fault? They made a faulty engine & left thousands of us to pay 4 it! I can either buy a new car or walk now! Im handicapped w 2 disable adopt foster kids & husb who's a police officer! 1 income/ we rent, so wont qual 4 cash loan! Please see this: http://forums.treemedia.com/fb/archive/index.php/t-224.html where other ford 4.2 owners noted same issue & their responses fm ford. We need help or direction on how to start/join a class action suit against them to get repairs done or $ to pay for it!
Noticed low oil pressure notice anti-freeze always low with no leak to be found started up one morning loud clicking noise could be heard.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact attempted to start the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. The engine turned over twice, but did not start. The contact looked under the vehicle and found a piece of metal on the ground along with an oil leak. The contact spoke with a mechanic and they stated that the motor needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 95,843. Updated 04/29/08. *lj the consumer stated the engine was replaced due to a fualty head gasket. Updated
Engine locked up from coolant from intake gasket leak at 78813 miles fordfleet.com there was a recall for intake gasket but never received recall 1997 ford f150 4.2l engine.
I have a 97 f-150, v-6 4.2l engine pickup. I have always a coolant leak coming from somewhere, but lately it has got worse. I've researched this subject and found that there are alot of ford owners with this same vehicle and engine with the same issue. Loss of coolant. Intake gaskets, headgaskets and timing chain cover gaskets. This is not only a consumer issue but a safety issue and it seems ford does not recognize the problem. I contacted ford and it was stated there was no recalls concerning this issue. You would assume that with a large population of ford owners having the same issues something would be done to rectify the problem. Instead its left to the owner to conduct the repairs with a heavy financial costs. It can only be assumed ford is fully aware of the problem that consumers are having. Why isn't anything being done? Not only do I have the timing case leak, but now I have to worry about when my engine will seize due to intake or headgasket leaks.
Lower intake manifold side gasket failure. Allows anti-freeze into number one cylinder.
Hydrolock on 1997 ford f-150 v6 4.2 engine. Was not aware of any problems with the engine until the engine seized and was quoted $4500 for a new rebuild engine. I was curious of why the engine would seize and did some internet searches only to find it is a common problem with engine year and build. Why was I never notified of the potential for this problem if so many others have experienced it, and what to watch out for if symptoms of this condition are evident?
I have a 1997 ford f150 with a 4.2 l engine that just turned 100,000 miles. I bought it second hand from a ford dealership june 1999 with about 45,000 miles on it. This truck was meticulously cared for over the years. After noticing that the coolant level was down after a a recent refill I refilled it again. I didn't drive the vehicle for about ten days but when I went to start it the engine made a clunk and wouldn't crank. I suspected the battery after a charge yielded the same results. The battery was replaced but still the same result and also after refinishing lead terminals and starter replacement. I checked the oil filler cap and there was a thick light brown substance I had never seen before on it and all the way down around the inside wall of the filler tube. I suspected a leak in the head gasket or elsewhere and went to the internet sites for clarification. After some research I realized I was far from being the only one with this problem. As I suspected the coolant leaks via the loose seal of the head gasket into one or more of the cylinders. It appears that this was a known defect and recall that ford never conveyed to all the owners of this model.
Engine failure.
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