I'd like to see the results of a compression check on that cylinder and all of the others! That will go a long ways towards telling if there's any damage to the rings, etc. I'm also concerned about what happened to ALL of the bearings when the crankcase was full of fuel instead of oil!

I also wonder what damage it did to the rods, pistons and bearings when the engine hydro-locked and you tried to start it??? Anything that was strong enough to burn out the starter probably did other damage as well!

Have you contacted Ford DIRECTLY????? Also have you tried to see if Ashley can do anything?

I too am very suspious of the dealer claiming that you needed a new engine when they thought it was on YOUR dime but now saying that it only needs a starter after they found that it was under warranty.

FYI Ford doesn't pay anything even close to the going rate for labor and parts so dealers don't like to fix things under warranty, even if Ford does "pay" for it!

 

I'd be very concerned about the rod of the cylinder that hydrolocked. I know of two people who've hydrolocked an engine, and had a rod break 5000 miles or so later. Of course, they were Chevys, so maybe you'll be okay.