Overnight hydrolock condition, caused by faulty intake gaskets and cylinder head gaskets, causing immediate and unforseen internal damage up to and including damage to pistons, rods, crankshaft, and bearings. We were non-informed due to ford's neglet to send appropriate recall notices for both vehicles owned by our family. This is a well documented problem within the internet community, and although ford did issue recall notices, we did not recieve any to our current knowledge. Ford motor company will not fix this problem because apparently it is too late to turn in a recall. The response given by ford motor company does not seem ethical in my eyes, and many consumers are out of transportation and be out the money that this will cost them to fix the problem themselves. These are honest, hard working citizens that have believed in ford for many years, and for this kind of problem to come up and to have them not do anything about it, removes any shred of confidence still remaining in todays manufactured goods.
1998 Ford F-150 engine complaints
Page 5 of 7: complaints 101 to 130 of 187, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt: the consumer took the truck to the dealer for an inspection. They found an exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold. The dealer claimed that the bolts contained condensation and had rusted out on both sides.
Water leaked inside engine mix with oil causing lockup
1.white smoke coming out of tail pipe for about 2 minutes, returned home. Tried to start my truck the second day to bring in the garage, there was a loud clunk!!! Engine would not turn !!!! 2.right lower intake manifold side gaskets failed, allowing coolant to leak into engine oil and cylinder. Issue is addressed by ford with tsb article no. 99-20-7 3.engine failure, bent rods!!!!! Having to replace the engine!!
Have had problems with my 1998 v6 ford f-150 pick up, regarding coolant/water loss, so have continually done coolant maintenance. Started the truck up last saturday 5/7/06 and the engine made an an awful sound, and white smoke came out of the exhaust. The truck was running fine the day before. My truck was towed to a mechanic yesterday, and they say the engine needs replaced, which will cost $4,000.00 plus. I have seen many, many complaints from f-159 v6 owners, 1997-2000. I cannot afford to have the vehicle repossessed, as I still owe $4,000 plus on it. I cannot afford the rebuilt engine repair, and now have no means of transportation. Also, I am currently unemployed and looking for work. Ford company needs to do right by their customers, as this same problem has happened to so many f-150 owners. A class action suit is currently on-going in northern california, according to a consumer website. I never received a recall notice from ford. Please let me know how I can join this class action lawsuit.
When I started my 1998 ford f-150 today, a great deal of noise occurred and finally a rod shot out of the bottom of my truck's oil pan. The truck has only 72,000 miles on it. Upon investigation, I have discovered that many people have had the same problem with their 4.2 liter engine. Apparantly ford know about this problem, but refuses to acknowledge or fix it. From what I have read, the problem starts with the head gasket going bad putting coolant into the engine creating the failure. Please help others so that won't have to shell out $2,500 for a new engine or possible get hurt from flying parts!
I have an ford f150 with the 4.2 v6 engine. I have taken good care with oil changes every 3-5,000 miles. In 2001 I noticed it was losing coolant. Took it to dealer and they found nothing wrong. Have had it checked twice since then. Coming home from work yesterday, I noticed the oil pressure dropped to 0 everytime I stopped and the engine idled. Took it to personal mechanic and he called ford dealership. He was told the engine was getting ready to blow. That there was a problem with this motor and mine has lasted more than most. I have seen on the web other f150 owners with the same problem. Coolant leaking into the cylinders and destroying the engine. Ford should take responsibility for this defective engine. Mine would probably have gone out before now, but I changed the oil really well. Now I'm out $4,000 to put in a new engine.
Started vehicle and heard a clanging noise under the hood. Immediately turned vehicle off and checked under hood for source. Had a relative to start the truck while I examined the engine for cause. Shortly after 2nd start and stop, oil began dripping under vehicle. Holes had been knocked in the engine block and oil pan. I have the 4.2l v6 engine in my ford f-150. I now have to replace the engine because of the damage caused by the thrown rod.
While driving 65 MPH, the driver heard a loud popping noise coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic determined that the right head needed to be replaced due to a spark plug blowing out. *ak these were the original plugs. According to the consumers research on the internet and talking to service managers, this was a well known problem for the aluminum head 5.4 l v8 engine. The years that were affected were 1997-2002. *sc
Coolant leaking into engine. I have had my truck at the dealer several times and 3 other mechanics in my area. I have a 98 ford f150 with the v6 4.2l motor. It has 120,000 miles on it now and started having problems at 115,000. I have changed the oil every 3000 to 4000 miles and the coolant every 3 years. I have look into internet forums and noticed that there are 100s of others with the same exact problems - most with far less mileage.
Catatrophic engine failure at 52000 miles. Ford dealership admitted there was a problem similar to 3.8l engine tsb notice. On disassembly by professional garage they indicated head gasket failure as causing the connecting rod bearing to fail, (similar to 3.8l failures).
Parked truck in driveway. Running fine. 2 hours later started truck. White water vapor from exhaust and rod knocking. Intake manifold gasket failed, causing hydrolock. Removed engine replaced rod piston and bearings. Have old piston and rod.
Coolant level dropping slowly with no visible leaks. Blown lower intake gasket, filled cylinder and broke # 2 connecting rod.
My 1998 ford f150 4x4 blew 3 coils within 3 months of each other, culminating with the ignition coil in august 2004. I contacted ford and was told I was being put on a "recall list" in case others had complaints. When the coils blow, there is a horrible noise from the engine and an immediate loss of power due to the spark plug no longer igniting that cylinder for the engine to run off of. Luckily, I was able to pull over to the side of the road and call a wrecker without incident. All three coils were replaced and I still have receipts. I traded the vehicle in due to the numerous problems it began having.
Ford f-150 truck exploded and burnt to a crisp. *bf the fire department stated that the fire began under the hood of the vehicle. *tc
Vehicle was parked when all of a sudden the engine caught on fire. Manufacturer was contacted by consumer but the cause was undetermined.
I have a 1998 ford f150. I was just driving at 45mph and the number 8 spark plug blew out of the head of my truck. Just can't figure out how this would happen. Plugs were replaced 15000 miles ago. It appears this is a common occurrence on the ford triton motors after doing some research by talking to parts stores, the internet and the dealer. Dealer says nothing is being done to fix this problem and that no recall was made. I believe this is a dangerous situation. Please help?
This complaint was received via e-mail. 4.2l engine became disabled and burned a bearing in the crank shaft. Had to have the engine replaced by ford at consumer's expense. Mechanic indicated that this was a common problem with ford and this size engine.
I took my 1998 ford f150 v6 for a minor repair and when I checked with mechanic he told me that he folded water in the oil. Mechanic informed engine needs replacement.*ak did some research and this seems to be known issue with cetain ford engiines and I felt I ws not made aware of the issue with a leaking head gasket problem
Spark plugs blew out while vehicle was sitting still. A loud noise was heard. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The plugs were the originals.*ak the consumer stated that the spark plug blew out of the head. *tc
(1) no events leading to failure. (2) started hard, heavy white smoke out the exhaust and knocking in the engine. Onsequences - #4 & #5 rods in cylinders stressed. (3) correction of failure - 4.2l engine replacement at my expense. Ford would not back up even though I have obtained tsb-99-20-7 and this truck was manufactured 12/97. Recall was thru 5.1.97 and engine was put in trucks until 1.15.98.
98 f-150 4.2 v-6, engine failure due to coolant leaking into motor from faulty gasket. Ford put a recall when it was new, but I bought mine from dealer used, now the motor is bad, and I still owe quite a bit on it.
Consumer attempted to start the vehicle while parked. After several attempts the engine fired up. Consumer heard a loud knocking sound coming from the engine. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for a check up. Dealer examined the vehicle, and found that one of the rods was bent in the engine. A new engine was needed.
I own a 1998 ford f-150 with the triton 5.4l engine. The engine has a serious design flaw that causes it to loosen and eventually blow spark plugs out of the cylinder head. In none of ford's publications that come with the vehicle does it state that these spark plugs need to be retorgued at a certain mileage. The problem first occured at 91,000 miles. Ford does not acknowledge this as a problem. I am now faced wit a $3500 repair to keep my truck running. Doesn't sound "ford tough" does it? I've done some investigation and found hundreds of these problems posted on messageboards. Please do something, innocent people can not be taken advantage of by ford. We bought ford because we thought it was a vehicle that would last and provide great service. Replacing a cylinder head should not be considered regular wear and tear. There is a serious problem with the design of this engine!! Thank you in advance for your help.
I bought a 1998 f-150, 3 years ago. The engine blew up without any warning. My wife drove it to work, it ran fine. She starts it up to come home, and the engine was knocking loud. She had to have it towed home. The 4.2 engine is a lemon, and from what I have read from numerous people, and heard from many friends is that these engines are junk, and ford knows they are. A friend of mine warned me about these engines, he had to have his replaced 3 times within 3 years. 3 times his engine blew up.. These things are junk!!!!I think ford needs to do a recall on these engines, or refund us our money back on the purchase price. I am very unsatisfied.
I have a 1998 f150 I bought new. I have been a ford person for many years but will not buy another ford until the problems with the motor and transmissions are corrected. At 72,000 miles I had to replace the transmission. ($2,200), at 92,000 miles check engine light came on, idling was rough but drove fine. Took it to the mechanic he said tune-up would correct it. $400 later, still check engine light and idle rough. It just stopped and wouldn't start back up. I'm having to replace the block ect.. Having to continue to pay a nice vehicle payment each month and insurance and still not having a vehicle to drive is ridiculous. Very disappointed with ford!! Kl.
While under warranty, my ford f150 blew the #2 sparkplug and cylinder head at 25,000 miles. It has happened again with the same cylinder head 60,000 miles later. The repairs will cost me $3000.00. Ford motor co. At this time is unwilling to cover the repairs. This seems to be a serious problem with the 1998 triton v-8 engines as I am seeing alot of the same complaints being filed.
The spark plugs blew out at 30,000 miles which caused gasoline to spray onto the engine. Consumer bought a new engine. Currently, at 40,000 miles vehicle experienced the same problem.
1998 f-150 with 75000 miles. Spark plug #2 blew out while driving 30 miles/hour. This is a common problem. If you do a search on www.google.com for "blown spark plug" the number one hit is for www.f150online.com a ford enthusiast group. This site, links to lots of people haviing the same problem. The problem is an apparent design flaw in the cylinder head. Only 6 threads are holding the spark plug in place. Since a blown spark plug almost always results in the cylinder head having to be replaced. The cost to the consumer is around $2000 - $3000 dollars. This needs to be investigated at a minimum.
My engine failed due to the following information. According to ford tsb 99-20-7 these engines were assembled with obsolete engine front cover gaskets and/or lower intake manifold gaskets. When these gaskets fail, the resulting damage will often create the need for an entire engine replacement. Due to this failure an engine is needing replacing. After looking at cases on the internet. I find ford not correcting a major defect in there product.
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