Plz help quick, I am in the process of purchasing a 99 Ford Lightning with 38,000 miles. I drove it home tonight and while checking it over I noticed the intercooler tank was empty! I figured this was not normal and decided to search the net for info on what type of fluid etc. and low and behold there are all of these problems with leaking intercoolers.

My question is this...does anyone know if Ford will do the replacement even though it is out of warranty and I am not the original owner???

Plz help, Berry

 

I asked an svt dealer today about whether they would cover this if needed in the future on my 00 with 27.5 k or if i should get an extended warranty.The answer was as of today they were only fixing them under warranty but if you just bought this,the dealer should make good on the i c fix.

 

Berry, I am not sure anyone knows for sure. First I heard that Ford would pick up the tab even after the warranty, since it is a well known and documented problem. Then someone said that was not true. The next thing I hear is something of an 80/20 deal, where the customer picks up 20% of the replacement tab.

Are you buying from a Ford dealer? If you are, make the fix a condition of the sale, since no dealer should be selling a broken truck and that one is definitely broken. If they agree to fix it as a condition of the sale, make sure they use the right parts and check out all the things that could be damaged.

They should use the correct, new parts kit, change the spark plugs, replace the 02 sensors, and check the cats for damage. Also have them do a compression check and show you the results. If they do all this and it drives right and makes no strange noises, everything should be ok. Stay on top of them though, make sure they fix it right before you sign ANYTHING.

 

I'm not going to speculate who is correct on the warrant issue, but I can’t see Ford going through another cobra issue for $500 x 8000 trucks? That’s only $4 million dollars; can you imagine a class action law suite?

I suspect that Ford can easily recoup the $4 million by making their customers happy and having them return for other cars / maintenance.

If ford is replacing the IC for a different design would this not be a recall of sorts eventually and covered by DOT or am I missing something? I also can see why it’s not a current recall because Ford can’t get all the IC’s that they need from Allied to fix the current bad ones, so they are simple waiting for yours and mine to go bad before replacing them.

Of course this is only my speculation of what a good company should do.

 

I guess I am out of luck on this truck. I am buying it from a used car dealer here in Albany, GA. I intend to call the local SVT dealer to see if they will due it. If they won't then I will ask the used dealer to honor th 20%. If they wont I guess I won't be joining the ranks of the L-owner elite as soon as I wanted too.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and disappointment to you. At least now you know the deal and will not get screwed.

I'd bet that there are a whole bunch of L's running around with empty intercoolers. It's sad but true, almost all of the 99 and 00 models eventually leak.

 

I can tell from your posts you want a L bad, but don't buy this one. Just think about what else could be wrong with this one; where did all that coolant go?, why did it(L) end up at a used car dealer?, and etc.

Btw, get the VIN from any used vehicle and take to carfax.com to find out many things: clean title, flood damage, serious accident, etc.

Dan(another georgian)

 

Four of us are getting our intercoolers changed this month. Mileage and mods are unimportant. I have 47K on mine. It's a question of knowing people at dealerships and knowing how to work with them. Lots of dealerships are really cool. Some unfortunately are jerks. You just have to separate the wheat from the shaff.
noelvm

If all else fails try screaming at the top of your lungs in the service writer area. They really don't care for that.

 

For those who care, I called SVT and the dealer in Adel, GA who is going to repair the used Lightning I bought today and the repairs for the leaky intercooler it appears are going to be covered under warranty!!! I called and talked to SVT and told them it had only 38,700 miles. So right now it looks like they are covering it. It took a little coordination on my part with the dealer, the used dealership I bought it from, and SVT but it looks everything is working out. Thanks for all the help everyone.