ttt
superfords, thats a bummer i wanted the new head ..... oh well. At this point i
can't see any oil i can only smell it. I do have a question, do i get the gasket
replaced now, or do i wait until i see it driping from the head. I have a 6year/75k ESP plan so time & miles are not a problem .. what do you think ?

FRITZ, Stock Silver 2001 "L" BaBolt's s/s tips

 

man, thats totally up to you. depending on how bad the leak is, I might suggest you wait. hell, you might eventually blow a spark plug out and get both repairs done at one time and a new design cylinder head at the same time!

seriously though, it depends on how bad it is. if the oil is dripping and the smell is bothering you, then I'd say have it done.

if the symptoms are not that bad, then you might let it ride for a while. no sense in tearing the truck apart if it isn't absolutely needed right now.

just my .02

later,
chris

 

superfords,
You covinced me, i'll wait until it really starts driping or it shows i'm losing oil
on the dip stick. It's been about 5000 mi (that iv'e been smelling the oil) and it
hasen't shown on the dip stick (yet).

FRITZ, Stock Silver 2001 "L" BaBolt's s/s tips

 

I went and looked at my replacement head yesterday. It only had 4 threads in the spark plug hole same as the old head with blown plug. The dealer did tell me that they spoke with Ford and were told that this is the NEW higher performance head from Ford and that was all that is available. Has anyone on this board seen a new head with 8 or close to eight threads on it??? Have any 03 owners screwed a plug into their head and noticed how many turns they got? I realy would like to get the eight thread head, I just can't believe Ford put this 4 thread out in the first place. Thanks.

 

the big question is that if the 5.4's both blown and non are blowing plugs with 4 threads then why are the windstars not? 3.8l aluminumn heads with 4 threads

 

Offroad, I don't know about the windstars. But it just defies logic to put such a weak link into a high-performance truck. My dad just bought a log spliter with a 8hp honda engine , he removed the plug and the head was fully threaded. Honda, BTW has an excellent reputation for building very reliable engines.

 

geez,

this reminds me of the 99 cobra recall, people had me so worked up that my car was a p.o.s. 1 week after i bought it on blue oval news that i didn't even want to drive it,

after getting out 1 day and enjoying the vehicle, i was like "this is stupid"

my l had a 4lber on 2 days after i bought it, a 6lber on at 10000 miles.

after 53 weeks, 200 1/4 mile passes and 30k miles, the truck was as good if not better than day 1,

enjoy the vehicle you have and quit worrying about what you don't, if it's that big of a deal, sell it and buy something else.

 

I have had my head gasket done twice already.. It only drips a little on the header and I typically only smell it once a day or twice... It is not hitting the floor yet and the dipstick is hardly dropping at all between oiil changes.. I am waiting since the dealer screwedup the truck the last time they did it...

Hopefully the new gasket design will help

Doug

 

I haven't read through this thread, but from my past experiences with blown head gaskets (and I have had a lot of them), I have never seen it "drip" down the block. I am not saying it doesn't happen, but normally the antifreeze would either go out the tail pipes or end up in the oil pan, or oil will be in the antifreeze.

 

Its oil NOT antifreeze. And the 5.4 block is infamous for not sealing well on the passenger side rear. The oil drips off the back corner of the head down the block and onto the stock cat.... In my case it now drips on the primaries of the header...

Check this thread https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...hreadid=106146

Mobil 1 stinks...

Doug

 

Have the tech check the decks for flatness.
Wit till you get a remanned motor and you'll be really happy..Not.