1997 Ford F Series: engine overheating

Filed Apr 24, 2012 · Engine · 82,000 miles · AZ

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.

Filed Jun 24, 2006 · Engine · TN

Ford lower intake gasket on 1997 f150 4.2l engine causing coolant loss.

Filed May 15, 2006 · Engine · 86,000 miles · FL

Periodic low coolant levels with no visible leaks, progressively worse low oil pressure, trouble starting, steam in exhaust coolant leaking into cylinder caused bent rod and necessitated engine rebuild.

Filed Jan 9, 2006 · Engine · 168,000 miles · NJ

Engine dead due to faulty gaskets, coolant leaking into engine.

Filed Aug 17, 2005 · Engine · 140,000 miles · TX

Upon starting my truck, a loud banging or rattling noise could be heard. The noise was not present prior to that day. I shut it down and upon doing research on the internet, 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. The distinction between those who received the tsb and those who did not (based on my research so far) seems to be made based on where the truck was assembled, not on where the engine was assembled. Ergo, some people have suffered catastrophic engine failure, with average repair costs of around $4500 dollars, due to ford not notifying owners of known defects.

Filed May 9, 2003 · Engine · 95,500 miles · NC

97 f150 began to have an unpredictable coolant leak, never going below minimum coolant level. Within the week noticed water in the oil and went to take the vehicle to a service station. When I started the truck there was a loud knocking, proving to be a damaged rod. Later research showed that this is common in the 4.2 liter v-6 engine due to faulty gasket. Ford ran a "campaign," but I never received any notification as to the problem.