2002 Ford F-150: engine failure

Filed Nov 15, 2014 · Engine · 75,000 miles · MO

2002 f150 harley davidson edition with only 75,000 miles blew a spark plug out of the head. Ford admits no culpability even though they have tsb's. Estimate to repair plug & change out other 7 spark plugs with 8 new coils was $2800. I could almost purchase a new engine for that. Found a reputable garage to do the work for around $900 total. Understand that I should get used to this happening until all 8 spark plug holes have been repaired. Ford man for 35 years. Own 3 currently. If dependability is no longer a priority for ford don't know what I will do.

Filed Jan 19, 2014 · Brakes, Wheels · 226,000 miles · OH · crash

Front brake caliper mounting bracket seized on the slide bolts that allow the brakes to move in and out when pressed and released. The slide bolts that allow the caliper to move have seized causing the vehicle to pull very hard to one side of the road. In my case I was towing a 20' commercial landscape trailer equipped with dual axle trailer brakes. I approached a traffic light and proceeded to make a left turn going a speed of approximately 15 to 20 MPH when I pressed the brake during the turn the truck pulled extremely hard to the left resulting in my trailer jack knifing into the left side of the truck causing major damage to my bed and rear wheel on my truck. Later after investigating the cause of the sudden pull found that the left brake caliper mounting bracket had one of the bolts seized while the other was moving properly allowing the brake to move a little but not properly causing the brake to drag against the rotor on the inner brake pad. When the brake is pressed the pressure pulls the truck to the left extremely hard. Replacing the slide bolts and the brake caliper mounting bracket fixed this issue and I haven't had any issues after replacement. I know this may be a little hard to understand as my description may not be the best, but the upper brake caliper bolt was seized while the lower bolt was moving freely, when the brake peddle was pressed caused the left brake caliper to grab harder than the right side causing the truck to pull extremely hard to the left. The trailer brake was set on 7 at the time and worked properly. The truck pulled so hard to the left caused the trailer to be at such a tight angle it began to slide and when I realized what was happening it was to late to correct it. The bed is still damaged from this. Btw I bought my ford in 2002 brand new with 5.4 v8 and I am at 271,000 miles and it runs like the day I purchased it! I love it!

Filed Oct 22, 2010 · Engine · 96,475 miles · MO

Ford f150 2002 was having what we thought was a wheel balance issue. Day before sounded like lifters we needing adjustment (tapping) that seemed to get better as it drove. Was turning onto a highway type road, engine made a bang that sounded like it threw a rod, followed by loud pops. There was no smoke or oil. Immediately pulled over and cut the engine. Had to tow truck to dealer ($90). Ford dealer identified blown spark plug #3, and used a kit to install helicoil to allow replacement spark plug. They said induction cleaning was also necessary due to the non-firing cyl, plus all new plugs. Repair cost $950. Lost use of truck for two days, and then found out this is a known issue without a recall; and it could happen at any time on other spark plugs. Spark plugs original to vehicle and normal maintenance was conducted on the truck. Was advised I could have done nothing different to prevent this from happening.. Shocked and appalled to read of thousands of similar occurrence, and ford even has a kit to repair their manufacturing defect.

Filed Aug 23, 2010 · Engine · 160,000 miles · 00

2002 f-150 ford 4.6 v-8 spark plug ejection. First time happened on june 20 2008 in the number 3 cylinder truck showing 160,000 kms. I removed the head sent it to machine shop to be repaired. 11 months later(182000) the heli-coil that was installed came out with the spark plug. Removed the head and installed reman head (on right side) during the spring of 2010 I started to loose compression on all cylinders, ranging from 0-90 lbs and the best cylinder at 120 lbs) brought it to a ford dealer, and results showed leaking was around spark plugs. Ford declared I need a new engine. I am lucky enough to be able to do my own repairs. I purchased a used engine from a wrecker and installed @ 190000kms in july 2010. I have spent over $4000.00 on this problem, and I am not dumb enough to change spark plugs when the engine is hot, I use anti-seize when installing, and torque as ford recommends! Ford needs to fess up to this issue and offer some sort of recall program. I'm sure that my repair bills would have been double if I had to pay for labor.

Filed Apr 8, 2010 · Engine · 105,000 miles · FL

My 2002 ford f-150 with triton 4.6 liter engine blew the #4 plug on sunday morning. After it spent 3 days in the dealership to repair the problem, it then blew the #2 plug the very same night I picked it up on 4/7. Now I have found that this is a very common and well known problem in the 1997 to 2008 for engines with aluminum head threads. Ford is not taking responsibility for this design flaw. It is a hug problem that needs to be acknowledged.

Filed Oct 14, 2009 · Engine · 100,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. While the contact was driving 75 MPH she suddenly heard a loud popping sound in the engine and immediately the vehicle shut off. A local mechanic stated that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. There were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 100000. Updated 11/13/09. *lj updated 11/16/09.

Filed Aug 31, 2009 · Engine · 52,154 miles · NV

Event.. I was driving west bound on the 215 freeway in las vegas, nv. Exiting durango road. I sat at the intersection waiting for the signal light to turn green. When the light turned green, moving forward, I was making a left hand turn going (10mph) south bound on durango road, just at that time I herd a loud pop noise. As I was pulling over, my truck (f150) was running rough, I stopped, put it in park , shut the engine off, opened the hood and there sat a coil pack including the spark plug on top of the motor. After evaluating the incident more, I notice that the coil pack and spark plug came from the passenger side engine head #three (3) cylinder. My truck has the original motorcraft spark plugs in it since 2002. Not sure why the spark plug would just pop-out. Nice job ford!! Ford manufactures the motor (triton 5.4l) and the motorcraft spark plugs? Seems very simple whose responsibility this is. Repair cost''the repair shop is estimating $2,500.00 head repair or new engine at approximately $6,500.00 inc. Labor. Questiions.. How is the consumer going to know prior to the spark plug popping out, to secure it? Why are the spark plugs popping out? Not enough threads? How do the executives at ford sleep at night knowing that this problem could take someone's life at any time? Personal comment.. When the spark plug or the coil pack was ejected from the engine head, this could have hit the fuel rail and started a tremendous fire, like a lot of people in the us we don't always carry a fire extinguisher because an '!@#$% spark plug is going to pop out of the engine head and start the truck on fire. This is ridiculous!!!! Ford motor company needs to own up to there mistakes before somebody looses there life. I am not the suing type of person, but if one of my kids looses there life driving my truck because of a spark plug problem and ford motor company did not tell me about it, I am afraid to tell you what I would do. This is not a threat just reality.

Filed Dec 20, 2008 · Engine · 116,000 miles · HI

I experienced a spark plug blow out on my way to work. I was stranded on a narrow road and had to call for help. My dad called a tow tru ck and we had it towed to the dealer in kailua kona, hawaii. We saw that a spark plug had blown out. The tow truck driver said his truck did the same thing. At the dealer they said they did not know why it did that. After getting it repaired for $600.00, my truck would not run. They said, you need a new engine at the tune of $5,000.00. It ran fine prior to that spark plug blow out. With further investigation, an expert mechanic suspects they mishandeled the installation. They want me to pay for their mistake. This started out a ford part defect, but is ending up a destroyed engine. I will demand they fix it, or we will sue. This is outrageous!!! Ford should not be bailed out. Why can't someone do something about this? Jail, perhaps? I am without a truck.

Filed Aug 21, 2007 · Engine · 66,000 miles · WA

I have a 2002 ford f-150 with 65,000 miles on it. It is the 4.2 liter v-6 that has always been taken care of. The motor threw a rod and needed to be replaced and stopped with a loud banging and the cost was 5,000 for a new long block by local ford dealership. I have looked on the internet and seen hundreds of folks having to have their same v-6 engine go out prematurely. From 40,000 to 100,000 miles. The plastic intake gaskets are faulty and it gets coolant on the spark plug in cylinder and motor goes out by throwing a rod. Ford does not accept any responsibility for this lemon engine that seems to have many design flaws starting from 1997 when they started putting it in their vehicles. *tr updated 09/19/07

Filed Mar 16, 2007 · Engine · 45,345 miles · NJ

I own a 2002 ford f 150 lightning with 45, 234 miles on it. My vehicle experienced some engine failure due to a spark plug shooting out of engine head. I believe it was the 3rd cylinder that failed. I was climbing onto a off ramp and just starting to accelerate when I heard this popping sound coming from the engine. I was accelerating normally when just like that the spark plug shot out. I bought the truck pre owned with 27,000 miles so I never thought to buy additional engine coverage. The truck was in good enough condition for the dealer to grant me a 5 year loan though. Anyway I checked underneath the hood and saw the broken spark plug coil and the spark plug with ripped threads. I had the lightning towed to my how where it still sits. At this point in time I am making $466.46 monthly payments on a vehicle that I am unable to drive. I called ford about my problem and got nowhere b/c they said I was beyond the 30,000 mile warranty or the 3 year warranty. Ford gave me an estimate to fix the damaged head for 3,600 hundred and 5,400 to do both. Now from what I understand the 2003 ford lightnings do not experience spark plug issues b/c the engine were built with updated heads. That right there says that ford realizes that these trucks are defective to some degree. I am very frustrated in this matter b/c I spent 29,000 out of pocket for this truck and I can't even drive it. Now I have to spend almost 6,000 to get it to driving condition. Like 29,000 isn't enough money already? I work very hard in life to buy this truck I cant just pull that kind of money out just like that. If I have to join a class action law suit so be it. But all I am asking for is my ford f-150 lightning back I missed my truck.

Filed Feb 21, 2006 · Engine · 41,539 miles · WI

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine made a popping noise without warning. The vehicle was pulled over and upon inspection, the contact found a spark plug on the engine. The vehicle was driven to the dealership. The dealership determined the spark plug blew out of the engine head. A new engine head was installed. Updated 03/09/06.

Filed Dec 7, 2005 · Engine · 30,121 miles · WA

2002 ford f150 svt lightning 5.4l engine with only 30,121 miles on it blew up on dyno meter on 12-1-05 at only 3300 RPM's. Local ford dealership where I bought it says it is out of warranty and too bad. Estimate for new engine is $5300 plus tax, etc, installation adds up to a total of $9,300 which I don't have. I am still making payments on this truck too. I have read 32 complaints on this site tonight regarding the spark plugs ejecting and causing engine damage (a rod was thrown in this case). Thank goodness I wasn't on the freeway with it. This is a serious safety issue. How many complaints does the federal safety agency need to get before they make ford recall and fix these engines that only have 4 threads on the spark plugs??? Hopefully before anyone is killed as a result. Maybe more people should join the california law firm's lawsuit on behalf of 9 people that you list on your "defect investigations" page.