Third door jammed.
The worst 1998 Ford F Series problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine7
- Fuel system4
- Tires4
- Acceleration3
- Body3
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine7
- Fuel system4
- Tires4
- Acceleration3
- Body3
- Electrical3
- Lights2
- Suspension1
- Visibility1
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
Technical service bulletins for the 1998 Ford F Series 89
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
- 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
- Some dedicated cng vehicles may exhibit driveability conditions of hard start / no start / rough running
What 1998 Ford F Series owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
While driving 25 MPH the #2 spark plug striped its threads and blew out of the head. The plug remained in the wiring harness cap and continued to spark. The repair cost $220.00. I am told this is an ongoing defect in the design of some of fords engines.
Spark plug blew out of the head with such force that it cracked the coil and was sparking on the fuel line with fuel vapors coming out of the head at the same time. This could have caused a fire/explosion if the vehicle could not have been shut off quickly enough. I was idle in my driveway and not on the highway where it would have taken longer to shut the vehicle off. Internet research returned astonishing amount of complaints for the same issue.
I had the truck on a lift to check for a noise from the undercarriage. I noticed that the front fuel tank strap was rusted thru and the tank was loose. Had to make a temporary repair. I checked the VIN on the ford website and the information was there was no recall.
My fuel tank straps are rusted out and falling off my truck allowing my fuel tank to be less secure.
Ford has a known problem with the windshield allowing water to leak into the cab,over time it has corrupted the wiring,making electrical devices fail to having a dead short that causes power to dash to continue after key is removed,this is a fire hazard at best, to the fact the windshield wipers can fail at any time.ther are many tsb's concerning this problem 99133 98246 976011 98913 to name a few.this also crosses over to several models and years and in canada there is a recall for some of the f series ford truck for this very problem. My problems are typical of all the outhers. Ther is rust present under dash,doom lights,door lights,chimes,power windows and windshield wipers do not work. Vehicle does not hold charge due to power drain without key in ignition. I have also had a problem with the cruise control not disengaging after tapping brake or throttle I could feel the peddle reset itself after tapping both. I have had the window replaced and resealed. At this point I will be replacing the general electric module and hope that fixes the wipers for me. It's hard to say what else is fried at this point. That part would be available. I may have to replace the fuse panel also. It seems that many of the ford tech's are having a problem with this and its replace parts till you or the problem goes away at your own expense, but no one is taking responsibility for the faulty window install that had caused this in the first place.so to sum it up this vehicle has the potential to spontaneously combust,run away or have the wipers fail at any time also the car fires attributed to the cruise control may in fact be related to this problem. I think someone should take a look at this.
I have had 3 tire failures due to valve stem failure. All three times we were going down the freeway and had sudden loss of air pressure. This resulted in replacing two tires on 2 vehicles and replacing stems on the remaining 6 tires. Both vehicles had new tires put on about the same time at the same dealer. (april 2007) I understand from consumer report that there is a recall on dill valve stems. I am trying to determine if these stems were part of that recall.
I have a 1998 ford pickup with a 5.4l engine and just today as I was driving it the spark plug blew out. As soon as I heard the popping sound I immediately shut the truck down. I opened the hood and there was the plug dangling there. I was able to install the plug back on but got 3 turns on it and it was tight. No way should a spark plug only have a few turns on it and no way should a plug fly out of an engine that is spewing gasoline and the plug still sparking. If there is a class action lawsuit against this company sign me up. Never again will I buy a ford product. All their vehicles catch fire( remember the cruise control). This is a prime example why the us auto industry sucks and they still want us to bail them out. I have half a mind to go to detroit and beat the crap out of an engineer there. I am all for an attorney to call me if it is a class action lawsuit. If you make faulty dangerous products such as this you should be put in jail! People can die from this! I hope ford goes the way of all the rest of the old american auto makers. We should not have to bail them out so they can make more dangerous products and snowball the public!!
This was not a particularly bad incident, but it could very well have been. I consider it a 'close call' from which there is a warning to be heard. The straps holding up the gas tank on my f-150 rusted through, dropping the tank [fortunately at low speed where I could stop fast - even so, another foot or so and I would have burst the tank against a sewer grating]. The tank was rust-free, as were the vertical parts of the straps. I think that the plastic pad between the straps and the tank held water against the strap, rusting it. The pad wraps around the strap, and I believe scooped water thrown by the tires. I suggest either a pad redesign to eliminate this, or that the straps be of stainless. The straps appeared to be intact, but the metal was pretty much converted to rust without changing shape. It is not like the straps were visibly rusted away. I suspect that the pad held the rust in place. I had changed the oil not too long before and noticed nothing wrong. I do not specifically recall looking at the straps, but I do try to look around when I am under the truck just to see if anything is funky. Had I been going at any decent speed, not in a parking lot, I suspect I would have burned to death.... The repair was simple; replace the straps and two plastic vent hose connections that failed. Jacking up the tank [full] and tying it up so the truck could be pulled up on a tiltbed was a hassle, mainly since I did not have the appropriate tools on hand. A simple inspection would have prevented this incident, though it would have to have been more than just a visual inspection; poking the strap with a pick to verify it wasn't all rust just looking like surface rusted metal.. But your system will not take that number, saying it is invalid. It is a 1998 f-150 4wd, extended cab, stick shift, with AC.
I own a 1998 f150 approx. Two and a half years ago I purchased a set of 4 general ameritrac SUV tires from sears, size p225/70 r16 109s. Within a period of one year and a range of 18 to 28 thousand miles, three of the tires have had the tire separate from the steel belts, the last which happened today, almost killed me. Something is wrong with the manufacture of these tires. I do check the pressure on a regular basis,every 2 to 3 weeks. I still have the last two tires that have failed.
Compare the 1998 Ford F Series
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Questions about the 1998 Ford F Series
Is the 1998 Ford F Series reliable?
Owners have filed 20 complaints about the 1998 Ford F Series, 2.9 times a typical F Series model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1998 Ford F Series?
Engine and cooling, with 7 complaints, typically around 113,000 miles. Next is fuel system (4).
How many recalls does the 1998 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).
VIN decoder
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