While driveing at 60 MPH there was a loud crash from the left rear then a grinding pop from the left rear all while the rear end of my truck felt like it was fish tailing on ice or like some one huge was shakeing it from side to side I almost lost it into a field I was so suprised I got stopped to look the left rear shackle cut loose because it was almost all dotted away the lower springs on both sides are miss aligned by 2 inches each and the spring end is now peeking thru the bed this truck was bought brand new by my best friends dad and was well taken care of kept in the garage and not used to tow or haul but it is rusting away so badly that the exhaust bolts have rotted away on both sides and will cost 1500 to fix alot of that is the cost to get the bolts out of the exhaust manifold they say built ford tough but they realy meen ford built it and if u get it wet tough its gona rot away !
The worst 1997 Ford F Series problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine22
- Electrical7
- Fuel system6
- Acceleration5
- Suspension3
- Body2
- Brakes2
- Steering2
- Tires2
- Transmission1
- Visibility1
Specific symptoms reported on the 1997 Ford F Series
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
Undercarriage fires
Alleged subject vehicles driven through tall grass experience fires caused by grass clippings collecting on vehicle exhaust system components.
PE97005
Technical service bulletins for the 1997 Ford F Series 142
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Jerr-dan: anti stall feature for ford f series light duty chassis with V10 gas engine and an engine drive...
- General (PCM) power train control module programming procedures
- General power train control module (PCM) programming procedures
- Rough idle, miss and various other driveability concerns on vehicles with 7.3L dit engine
- Remote keyless entry (RKE) - service tips
- False failure of the vapor management valve (VMV)
- New service part - number 5 needle bearing and race kit - 4R70W transmission - service tip
- Subject regarding vehicle lean correction procedure developed for diagnosing and correcting vehicle lean
- This bulletin states that some 4.6L fqr engine assemblies may have a smaller or larger knock sensor...
- Some vehicles may exhibit wheels that seize to the hubs and are difficult to remove during service
What 1997 Ford F Series owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The truck was parked in a strip mall parking lot. A few minutes later someone said that there were flames coming from the hood. The car was a total in 10 minutes. Four off duty firemen were there and could not put the flames out. Near by fire station was called. Its response was with in a few minutes. Truck was totaled.
While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle started surging up and down in speed erratically. I did not realize that it had to do with the speed control, but finally took it out of cruise for good. The speedometer still was surging up and down between 4 and 10 MPH difference from what my speed was. After the vehicle was shut off for a day, it ran fine until I ran it on the road for about 40 miles, then it did the same erratic speed changes.
When I first bought the truck in 2001, the engine had approximately 82k miles. I was having a hard time starting and sometimes it would not start. At first the dealer thought it was the starter and they replaced it. They told me to take it to pepboys to get the starter replaced. When they started the car a mass of gray smoke come out of the tail pipe. Two days later the engine froze. Since I had a warranty agreement I took the truck to a local ford dealer, they stated it had hydrolocked and the engine needed to be replaced. The warranty company sent out a short block and ford completed the rest of the repairs. At the beginning of april, my daughter was using my truck and she drove it to my house and parked it out front. It sat for 2 weeks, when I went to start it, it would not turn over. Replace the battery and it still would not turn over. At that time the starter smoked and took the truck to a mechanic who replaced the starter. He tried to turn it over and it would not turn. He stated they tried using a torque wrench and still could not turn the motor. The mechanic recommended that the engine be replaced. I had the truck towed to my home. After reading the info about another truck hydrolocking, I decided to check to see if my truck had the same problem. When I pulled the plugs, I had coolant drain from the #3 cylinder and a small amount of coolant leak from #5 cylinder. Preparing to replace the lower and upper intake manifold gaskets.
Recall correction turns to explosion danger! Ford issued recall #11 s 21 on the replacement of the fuel tank straps. Best ford of nashua performed the service to install new straps on october 7, 2011. In conjunction with the recall work, a vehicle report on best ford letterhead was provided showing all systems were in good working order. On october 21, 2011, during a regular oil change the service person advised me that my fuel tank was leaking. I immediately reported it to best ford on october 21, 2011 to which they refused to correct the leak. They insisted that ford would not cover any other repairs. I informed the best ford service manager that fault was theirs and did file a written complaint. I have returned to best ford on three additional occasions and sent not less than five emails to request a face to face meeting. They have in each case refused to fix the leak caused as a result of the recall work performed in their service department. Complaints have also been sent to ford motor co (customer service and the ceo) and they have likewise refused to assist with corrective action. The possibility of a fuel tank strap may have been corrected, however, my very maintained f150 is now a present danger of explosion.
After filling up the gas tank, pulled out on to the road, small bump in the intersection. Rusted straps broke and gas tank fell off. Lucky it was raining and road was wet or could of caused fire.
Was fortunate to notice gas tank hanging down from under carriage... Was preparing to drive 50 mile in on interstate... Was able to drive to local dealer...not where purchased... And they installed a new gas tank strap..which with labor was 93 dollars... Well worth it when considering what could have easily happened at 70 miles per hour. Am amazed that even noticed until too late...thought it was an isolated event until starting to look up other numerous problems that have had with this vehicle.
Walking to my truck I notice the rear fuel tank strap broken and hanging and the fuel tank hanging from the front strap only. The rear strap was totally rusted through. The rust also rusted the tank I and I had to replace the tank as well on 10/3/2010.
I own a 1997 ford f-150 pik up truck. Both straps that hold the gas tank in place have broken in two separate incidents.
On august 1, 2010, our ford f150 (VIN [xxx]) started on fire and burned from the engine on out. The hood is totally burned through and the windshield also burned. The entire engine compartment is ruined. The truck was in our driveway at the time and we were alerted my neighbors who saw flames shooting 10' into the sky. We believe this engine fire was due to one of the recalls of ford's faulty switches or wiring that ignited the spark into a full burn.
Compare the 1997 Ford F Series
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Questions about the 1997 Ford F Series
Is the 1997 Ford F Series reliable?
Owners have filed 47 complaints about the 1997 Ford F Series, 6.7 times a typical F Series model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1997 Ford F Series?
Engine and cooling, with 22 complaints, typically around 96,000 miles. Next is electrical (7).
How many recalls does the 1997 Ford F Series have?
No recalls on record.
What year does the Ford F Series have bad engine?
The Ford F Series model years with the most engine complaints are 1997 (22 complaints), 2001 (17 complaints) and 2002 (16 complaints).
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