I was driving down the road and I heard a loud pop. The engine had a very abrupt loss in power and began shaking as I tried to accelerate. I was on a 2 lane road and had no choice but to try and maintain my speed to prevent causing an accident from being rear ended. After driving several miles to a place I could safely stop, I checked under the hood an a spark plug had been shot from the engine. After reviewing this on the web, there are many complaints like mine where spark plugs were shot out of engines. The federal safety agency needs to evaluate this as review. Had the engine caught fire I would not have known and I had no where to pull off the road. This is a result of an cylinder head with inadequate threads for spark plugs to thread into and take hold over time the aluminum weakens and this happens. If this wasn't a problem why did ford redesign cylinder heads after these model engines to accommodate more threading to hold the spark plugs in the engine?
2003 Ford F-350: fire, smoke or burning smell
5 of the 90 complaints about the 2003 Ford F-350 describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- recalls
- 1
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
I called ford motor company my 2003 ford f350 sd. Sc. 4x4 5.4 eng. With the problem with both exhaust manifolds rotting away & the studs & nuts that hold the exhaust manifolds to engine heads that they were all rotting away , they told me we won't fix the problems for free . I would like for to investigate this problem before many people will get injury or many fatality will happen when the exhaust manifolds fall off and catch on fire & burn up because fire comes out of the engine to the exhaust manifolds . I talked to many ford dealers they told me that they have replaced many of these exhaust manifolds with the same problems I have & had to charge the owner of these trucks & many other years of these ford trucks . Please help me & many other owners of these ford trucks to make ford motor company recall this problems before people will die & fix this problem for free . Thanks
2nd request fax re consumer's concerns re his 2003 ford f-350 6.0 l diesel truck due to loss of power/irreparable turbo lag.*mr the vehicle has been taken to the dealer several times but they have been unable to correct the problem. The problem has progressed to the point that the vehicle has complete loss of power at stop, particularly when in reverse. On two separate occasions the consumer was unable to backup an incline. Lots of exhaust smoke came from the tail pipe but there was no power.
The consumer tried to start the vehicle, but it would not start. The consumer waited a couple of hours, went out and the vehicle started. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic and the wiring harness was replaced. Four days later the vehicle would not start again, later on, the consumer was informed that the vehicle was on fire. The vehicle was totaled. *jb
The vehicle was shooting out flames from the driver side wheel well area. *nlm....
Service bulletins that may apply
- Warning indicators-parking aid-reverse sensing system (RSS) and forward sensing system (fss)-false...
- DTC U1262 (scp communication bus fault) stored in the instrument cluster (IC)
- Driveability concerns and set diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's) P2614 (camshaft position output circuit...
- Lack of power and/or diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P0103 - air induction system water/snow deflector kit
- Low charging system voltage while snow plowing
- False diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's set during use of active commands with wds
Related recalls
Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v battery
- What is wrong
- On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles equipped with 6.0l diesel engines, the engine ground stud that attaches the negative battery terminal eyelet to the engine block may be loose.
- Risk
- If the ground wire is loose, electrical current may flow to the radio suppression strap causing it to heat and potentially melt or ignite adjacent components which could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the engine ground stud and the radio suppression strap and adjacent components will be inspected for damage and replaced, if necessary. The recall began on july 23, 2004. Owners should contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 04V327000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2003 Ford F-350 fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2003 Ford F-350?
5 of 90 owner complaints about the 2003 Ford F-350 (6%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Ford F-350?
There is 1 recall and 6 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Ford F-350
VIN decoder
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