....to say the least.

I bought my third Ford truck back in 2004. It was my first brand new purchase and needless to say, I was very excited and happy. She is a 2004 F-150 FX4 with the extra cab....what a beauty! I also purchased an extended warranty to get me covered bumper to bumper for 7 years or 100,000 miles. Well, the first thing to happen within the first 10,000 miles was a spark plug issue. At 60,000 the radiator went and had to be replaced. At 75,000 the tranny blew and that had to be replaced. Well, I am now at 88,000, and I've got a blown cylinder head. I'm about 50 days out of warranty . It is also my understanding that the blown cylinder could have caused more damage to the engine. My neighbor is a Ford mechanic and just shook his head after checking out the engine for me. He said the repair at the dealership is going to cost me at least $3,000.00 and that a new engine might be the best option if I decide not to dump it. I'm all thumbs when it comes to mechanical work, so I can't do any of the work myself.

So I guess my questions are... Has anyone seen this before in an F-150 with such low miles? Do I have any chance at help from Ford? Would it just make more sense to replace the engine (it seems like I got a lemon for sure)?

I've maintained this vehicle very well. I use the truck for work (no towing) and it is part of my livelihood. I have always loved Ford trucks, but I have to say I am second guessing my purchase...these amount of problems with a truck of this age is effin ridiculious.

Thanks for any input you folks might be able to provide.

 

Sounds as if you were just unlucky and got a lemon. I don't see Ford helping at all with that many miles and out of warranty. Just to make it worse, I have 128,000 on mine and replaced two front bearings and a window reglator.

 

ford isnt going to do anything after all its 7 years old with 88k on it...Probaly due to first year of a new model vehicle. One reason i would never get a first year vehicle, its always best to wait a year or two for all the bugs to get worked out.
My 03 has 122k and had a power steering pump shocks and brakes. Other than that nothing has went wrong with it.

 

That philosophy doesn't always work, Just remember, they were 3-1/2 years in before they changed the spark plug fiasco. 05's are probably a worse choice than the 04's, with that injector issue. Just because there's some new technology doesn't mean that the bugs will get worked out after the first year, or some new wrinkles don't show up in later models of the same basic layout, because they decide to tweak something or use a different supplier.

I too have an 04 5.4. I haven't had to do much to it, had a brake caliper sieze up last year, and a squirrel chewed thru a wire leading to the COP, and I've got to change at least the drivers side tie rod end, but nothing major.

I would hate to say it, but the OP is just plain un-lucky.

 

there are always those trucks out there that give you problems. every now and then someone gets one. id say just fix the headgasket and sell it for an 06-08 model

 

Thanks for the replies guys! It's a lemon for sure.

A bit of an update....

I called my dealership today and spoke to the service manager. They can't help me since I am out of warranty even though I have a clear history of problems with the vehicle. So, I called Ford customer service directly, spoke to a representative, then her supervisor, and was told the same thing. They won't even give me a break on the tear down of the engine to find the exact problem. I'm not at all surprised, but figured I had to give it a shot anyway.

Right now I am leaning towards putting a new engine or new cylinder head in the truck. I hate the idea because I think it may just be throwing money down the drain. The only reason I am even considering it is because the body and frame of the truck is in such good shape. I have virtually no rust, dents, or dings, on the vehicle. It has new tires, new springs and shocks, new brakes, plus the new tranny and radiator. I'm just not sure if I should give up on it yet. My main hesitation regarding a new engine is that once I got the transmission replaced, I really felt like it was time to dump the truck (even though it ran fine) and I didn't act on it; a part of me is telling me to walk away now. Just not sure I want to get into the payment thing again (my hesitation in trading it in before)....new trucks cost a lot of $$$.

However, I really like fivespeedsteed's idea of repairing the problem (estimated cost of $3,000.00 sound about right?) then trading her in. Should I have the repair done at a dealership or an independant garage? After the repair, if I trade it in to a Ford dealership (and have it repaired at one) would that be a mistake? I figure the first thing they'd do is look up my repair history and then give me squat for the truck.

Anyone have a new engine put into their vehicle that might be able to share their experience? I'm really not sure it's a good idea. Sounds like throwing good money after bad.

I am not at all mechanically inclined (but I'll build you a mean deck or kitchen ), so please excuse my ignorance in these matters. :o

Thanks for all your input and help!

Chris

 

2005 Fx4

Cam phasers
Broken Spark plugs
U joint
Clogged Catalytic converter
9 MPG
Console shifter and radio bezel/ashtray rattles if I run over a junebug.
Windows squeak, and take 5 minutes to roll all the way up.
ABS engages at every stop sign
Air conditioner barely gets lukewarm.

Ive spent thousands maintaining this P.O.S. Last Ford ever.

 

Sounds like you're about due for a stuck injector......

 

I had an 05 fx4 5.4 3v and it was a lemon as well. I say dump it for 09-up, are do like i did and save money and buy an 97-03 f150 and enjoy trouble free driving. Good luck

 

My mechanic found me an engine out of a 05 F-150 with 50K on it. Comes with a 6 month warranty on the engine. Does this sound like a good choice (not really sure I have any other choice anyway)? $3,265.00 including the engine & labor.

Then what? Drive it til it dies or trade it in???

Thanks!

 

If it's an '05 engine I'd be inclined to have them change the plugs while they're putting it in.......

 

AND injectors.

 

Trade it in on a new one.

 

On the flip, I've seen some with 05s and 04s over 250-300K miles.

Just sayin' ..... it's a crap shoot. 32oo installed and put plugs and later injectors in it before swap ..... that's how many payments on a new one? Not many.

 

just put an LS1 in it.

My initial response was to say get on ebay and look up LKQ and see what they get on a motor but I looked and a pull out 3v is in the $2500 range! ! ! which is absurd for an extremely common motor. I'd go the pull out w/ warranty route before I went w/ a reman, simply for ease of the swap.

You'll end up spending more to fix what you have. If the head gasket is gone(you weren't very specific so just assuming) it may have been related to the radiator issue you had and it could have warped the deck on the block. you can't resurface it in the truck or w/o disassembly.(you can but you shouldn't). If it warped the head there's a chance it also screwed up the cam journals, this will show up later on.
its a truck, its easy to work on, get a few buddies and borrow an engine hoist and order up a motor and spend friday night unhooking everything and spend saturday R&R'ing it. basic hand tools, floor jack and a hoist.