Do I have the only 03 that has had a motor problem? Rod, piston, ring, valve, head gasket, etc.

Jerry

 

yes

 

theres parts inside there?

 

Just hit 6000 miles and no problems here. (Knock on wood)

 

So far...of course most that buy a Lightning don't come on here....

 

mines a champ

 

Mine runs strong, 4500 miles

 

I made a call to SVT last week and told them of my problem with Ford. They are sending out a Field Service Engineer this week to look at my truck. After all the problems with the 01-02's throwing rods I just wondered if any 03's have had problems. It is pure hell to have your truck just sitting at the dealer tore half apart for weeks and have no idea what is going to happen.

Jerry

 

IMO it takes a lot of the "right" bad conditions to throw a rod. Too cold, too lean, too much boost, etc. Unless of course it was put together incorrectly in the first place, which I believe yours was Jerry.

We have weak rods yes. But it's not as faulty of a design as the heads/plug issue is.

 

Just a sugestion...have your own mechanic present.

Jim

 

Sorry to hear about your problems Jerry, THAT SUCKS

This may interest you

Quoted by CajunCobra
Truck: 2002 Harley-Davidson


This engine was asembled incorrectly at the factory. 2 main bolts fell out and a third was unscrewed about 1 inch. Properly torqued and stretched main bolts do not fall out. Ford had written this failure off as a "Chip caused Faiulure" without even looking at the engine. After threatening to sue, Ford Rep decided he should look into the engine and prove that the chip caused the failure, What a surprise to find the main bolts in the bottom of the oil pan. This truck has been in the shop since Dec. 14, 2002, sitting there without Ford even looking at the engine. I have stated all along that a chip cannot cause an engine to break a rod. Ford would have written this off and gone their merry way, had I not made enough waves to force them to look at the engine. I thank Anthony Gray, of Gray Ford in DeRidder, La, without his help, Ford would never have looked into this engine without a law suit..
DT

This is where a main bolt should reside, or maybe it did, at one time.



These 2 main bolts found in the oil pan show excellent threads, no metal in the threads, why is that significant, it shows that the bolts backed out, not stripped.




This shows a thrid main bolt backing out.

 

Jerry,

I've almost got 10,000 miles on my '03 already and it's still running strong without a single problem. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Chris

 

Jerry, sorry to hear your still having problems.

Suavy

 

Jerry, i thought my 99 was strong, handling all the mods, like the first chips (guinea pig) and several thousand pounds of nitrous, without a single trip to the dealer for anything but the free intercooler swap, which never leaked anyway,,,, but looking at my 03, it looks like they addressed a lot of the problems we bitched about around here, and seems to be a beefier block. i'm running high 12's on the 03 with 900 miles on it, without a chip, which was explained to me, "as a warrenty killer" right now. everything and anything will be blamed on a chip. it is the easiest thing to check and the hardest thing to defend against, when you are trying to get a drivetrain problem ironed out under warrenty. good luck and i hope it's something obviously in your favor

 

Way to go Jerry! Stick to your guns.

I think once a real "Engineer" (Gear head) sees the cylinder, and has them remove that piston, you will get a warranty shortblock.

But let this be a lesson to all, never bring a Lightning in for warranty service with mods!