Red Thunder, the coating was gone from all the pistons. It was the thrust side of the piston that had more damage, however the other side wasn't very good either.

Paintdglas, your van has this problem. Being a van, not a performance vehicle, that motor will probably not get as bad as some in the Lightnings.

WHAT04, yes it bothers me. I got this truck because I love the damn things. I leased the 99 and I am leasing the 01 and when the 03s come out I will trade the 01 in for it. My 95 was a keeper though. It really is a shame that these trucks have the problems that they do. It's even more a shame that Ford is not doing crap. The 99 Cobra had a couple minor issues and they put out an immediate recall and stop production. But with the Lightning, they just keep selling them.

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SAL - TEAM PSP
web- www.powersurgeperformance.net
E-mail sales@powersurgeperformance.net
tech@powersurgeperformance.net
F-150 Online Supporting Vendor

 

Sal,

I was po'ed about this whole deal and forgot to thank you earlier for stepping forward and sharing your findings. I would imagine this carries some repercussions for you in some way, and I respect you for your post. In a way, I feel better now, even though my engine is letting out its death rattle. At least I know I'm not imagining things.

Tim,

If you saw my "rattle" post, many are not affected. So don't let it get you down. If you make it to the 5k mark without wierd noises, you should be OK - let the modding begin. Mine was bone stock and started at 1,200 miles before any mods.

 

Man hearing stuff like this makes me wish I got a Gen1 and had it rebuilt and saved a couple thousand instead of the 01'.

Anyway the truck looks great and I'm not planning on hopping it completely (just a drop, homemade ram air, lower pulley, maybe shift kit, and anything to make it look nicer). Not a big list so if it holds up to that I'll be happy.

Though I have 13k miles and no problem signs yet.

My last 97 w/ the 4.6L just started to get the piston slap at about 50k, right before I sold it. Only did it when the engine was cold. And that truck was rarely abused, by abused I mean shifted over 3k rpms.

 

1st of all i would like to say i can't imagine life without my LIGHTNING! i'm proud of my lightning and Thank Ford & SVT for building the Baddest Truck on the planet! yes ther are some issues here relating to piston slap , intercooler leaks,front end clunks.. but all in all i feel there doing a great job in repairing and replacing parts and engines for the most part..i agree we paid a good price for these awsome machines and we expect nothing but the very best Ford has to offer in taking care of these problems and i feel confident they will.however we must admit these engines for the most part have taken some serious beatings on the highway and the track! i must say i am seriously impressed by the performance and durability of these engines.Like i said i can't imagine life without this Lightning! so i would like to remind us all that even with the problems we have we still have alot to be thankful for.after all we could be like the chevy boys and dodge boys! Low HP & Low Trq! witch result in Low E.T's and very few problems,LOL hey give me this High OutPut Lightning with its problems ANYDAY! Its still the most AWSOME Truck Ever to be built! JL

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93 cobra 10.90@127.00
99 lightning (black)
E.T. 12.06
best mph 112
60 ft. 1.65
(All Throttle No Bottle!)
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JL Powercooler
2# pulley
Level 10 shift kit
PI Converter!
DiabloSport Dist.!
(KEEP IT BETWEEN THE LINES!)
Proud!F-150 Supporting Vendor
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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E-mail: jlightningracing@cs.com
JohnnyLightningWebpage

 

I hate to tell you Sal but your dead wrong.Ask ford,They will tell you.Its all you chip makers that are blowing these things up!!!You know that extra 200 rpm, you move the shifts up.THIS IS WHATS BLOWING EM UP. ASK FORD<They will tell ya the truth,They have no reason to lie

"The chips are overreving these motors" said the service writer!!But how come chevys shift at 5200 too and I had one that I pounded and shifted at 6000 rpm all the time and it never even made a slight noise!!!??
I really never said that but it is true.My 99 chevys which I admit,I drove real hard never had a problem and made great power all the way to 6000 with a hypertech programmer..We are only shifting at 5400 with chips and we have MODULAR MOTORS!!!!!

Anybody who reads this post and thinks Im serious about sal being wrong needs to point an arrow to their ear drum.Its a joke

 

Hey Ray, it's funny you mention that. The 4.6 in the Mustang seems to have no problem revving up towards 7 grand, and yet our Triton truck motors have forged cranks, rods and pistons, and WE are the ones having problems!!

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SAL - TEAM PSP
web- www.powersurgeperformance.net
E-mail sales@powersurgeperformance.net
tech@powersurgeperformance.net
F-150 Online Supporting Vendor

 

John,

I respectfully agree and disagree with your post. I APPLAUD Ford for production of these vehicles and thank them. Yes, you, the SVT guy reading this post.

It just seems to me that the bulk of the "issues" with this fabulous machine are crazy. 1.) A three year problem with the lower control arm. 2.) A freakin' nothing-more-than-a-heater core that spews coolant into the engine 3. And worst of all, pistons that are reminiscent in sound of 1930's era cars. 4. Oh yeah, door cracking? Come on.

I know you've had the leak. But if you had my noise, you'd be singing a different tune. With today's technology, this is child's play. It shouldn't be happening at all, much less for 2 years or more. We're not driving a cheapo foreign car here, it's a high-dollar, hi-tech piece of machinery. You're right, this is the baddest truck on the planet when the little (or big) things function like they're supposed to.

No flame intended at all, just my feelings tonight.

 

Sal, what's going to keep ALL of the L's from doing this in the long run? I have 34,500 miles on mine and I have never heard a thing. Does this mean I will never have the problem? What's going to keep my piston coating from wearing out? I'm sorry, but if one wears out, won't they all wear out?

Thanks, Jerry

 

The 351 and 302 were old age motors but were good....i used to beat on em all the time with power adders, over revs, overheats. the worst that happened was a bent pushrods from over reving.

Im not including my mustang motor in this because i destroyed a number of them...my fault 100%.

I know ford will never go back to using them but a 351 retrofit i think would work out nicely.....probably costly too...

Just my thoughts!

 

The 5.4 has a very long stroke and so they put in a long rod to accomodate that. One thing I noticed is that it has a very short piston, the wrist pin is high in the piston, the piston skirt is short, theres not a lot of room in the engine to put a properly designed piston in it. Or I should say a piston thats meant to go 100K+ miles. The piston doesn't have alot of bearing surface on the cylinder wall because of the short skirt.
So they put a band aid on the piston, a slippery coating. Actually the damn coating looks like an iron on patch, it falls off almost intact.
Dale

 

All cars have their share of problems.

Like Sal said, this piston slap has been going on since 97'. Never heard of a case with the mustang engines though, has anyone else?

Some of the problems I read, transmission rattling, the drive shaft Sal mention. This stuff seems like it's happening from to much power. Ford made a huge amount of power from these and engines, and then just upgraded everything else to deal with it, not design anything new to work with it.

Lightningquick - I know I don't know that much about these trucks yet, but I don't think an extra 200rpms at WOT shifts are gonna damage an engine.

 

Sal, I hope you're not mad at me for telling about the coating.

 

Sal, Thanks for update on the piston slap problem. This might explain why I have found what look like plastic shavings in the drain pan when I change the oil. Could it be this coating scraping off? Did you see any evidence of this during oil changes?

I don't race my truck heavily, and have 25,000 mi on it. It seems to be maintaining power. It hasn't lost any ET at this point.

When did you notice that your engine(s) were losing power due to this condition?

------------------
Red 00"
Pro-M mass air
Swanson chip
Aluminum driveshaft
Jay Lincoln homemade
traction bars
*******'s bed cover
Wet Okoles
Lightning floor mats
Email: jaylincolncobra@aol.com

"UNLESS YOU'RE THE LEAD DOG, THE VIEW NEVER CHANGES"
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4292716723

 

And this is precisely why I made the incredibly difficult decision to sell my absolutely favorite vehicle of the 41 I have owner. I'm not patient and forgiving, and found it stressful waiting around for the next intercooler leak, etc. I wish I had an L, and will again if they ever get their act together.

------------------
Sandy (Spider) Scott
Skydive69@msn.com
Lake Mary, Florida
99 White Lightning #2091 (Sold) Now Audi TT Quattro Roadster
I Miss The L

 

Paintglas, I would recommend the extended warranty. I'm not even considering keeping this truck w/o a 100,000 mile warranty. The $1000 is looking like a better and better investment.

------------------
Red 00"
Pro-M mass air
Swanson chip
Aluminum driveshaft
Jay Lincoln homemade
traction bars
*******'s bed cover
Wet Okoles
Lightning floor mats
Email: jaylincolncobra@aol.com

"UNLESS YOU'RE THE LEAD DOG, THE VIEW NEVER CHANGES"
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4292716723