Well, I hauled my truck into the Ford dealership the other day because my engine blew up. After I pushed it off the trailer I went inside the shop and saw a complete Lightning drivetrain with a blown plug out of the head. I new the kid who drove it because there is very few Lightnings around and I know where they are from.
Couple days later I called my dealership to see when my truck was going to be fixed and they said my engine was going to need to be replaced and warrenty WASN'T going to cover it. I don't know why! They said because I had a chip, different converter, and traction bars. That is bull $h!t. I only have 17,000 miles on her. I also had a filter kit and ram air and they didn't mind that. The other person who had the Lightning needed a new motor also. Warrenty WASN'T going to cover his truck either. He has 8,500 miles on his truck.
Ford is full of it. I payed an extra $1800 in extended warrenty also and that is money down the drain! What do you guys think?
I guess I am going to have to go to plan "B". (Let my dad talk to them)

 

Man that sucks, if they are voiding the warrenty they have to give you the money back on the extended warrenty. I would talk to them and see id there is anyting they can do, maybee they will split the coat with you?

If not fight them, maybee even file a small claims court case.

 

Good luck, Hope everything works out for you. Sure seems to be alot of blown motors lately. I guess I was one of the lucky ones that got a new motor after my motor blew.

I found out what time the rep was comeing to look at my truck and I was there to meet him, I talked to him for a while about the truck and we talked about his 98 cobra that has all kinds of mods done to it. He then called the warrenty people and got me on the way for a new motor.
I think that it helped me to be there and talk face to face with the rep, instead of over the phone.
Jeff

 

I've never posted negatively on this board, and I do not intend to start a flame war, but honestly guys....

Everytime I hear about someone on this board blowing an engine, I feel money burning a hole in my pocket. You modded your engine...your engine blew up...now you want Ford to pay for it. Guess what, Ford doesn't pay for it. They pass the cost right on to the other customers.

The standard argument that I expect is..."What do you know? Ford has the oneness to prove the mods caused the problem." Blah, blah, blah. I'll probably get attacked with some remark about not having all the facts. Well, why don't you tell us what you were doing when the engine blew? Were you racing? At WOT? Driving slowly to the corner store for a Baby Ruth? Idling in park, wating for the engine to warm up?

"They said because I had a chip, different converter, and traction bars. That is bull $h!t. I only have 17,000 miles on her. I also had a filter kit and ram air and they didn't mind that. "

That's all Ford needs, y'all. But I'll probably hear something about the engine running just fine with all the mods before. My only comment is this: Maybe 17,000 miles was all she could give you with how she was driven with the mods chosen.

I don't want to pay for another blown engine, especially when the owner should know the possible outcome of the mods he chooses, but I'm sure the inflated price of my next Ford will speak for itself.

J.D., please don't think this a personal attack, for that is not my intention. I just wanted to express my frustration at everyone thinking that Ford is the bad guy here when, obviously, there are other factors to consider.

By the way, I have a 2001 Silver Lightning...Bone Stock. I'll probably get something about that, too.

 

Hey J. D. sorry to hear about your situation. Just goes to show you that people have to start taking off their mods before they go in. I was an Engine Tech at a local Ford Dealership for 6 years before my current job, and I took it easy on people...because i am a guy who likes to mod my cars also. I put an engine in a 99 L that spun some rod bearings and it had been moded a little (chip, filter, ram air) When our service manager aske what caused it i told him...must have been loss of oil pressure or just a bad bearing...lol. Didnt tell him about the mods...he would know what they were anyway. And...it worked out good also....Ford never called back the engine and i took it home for $200. Thats what some scrap yard here was going to buy it for so I told them i would give them that much...and it was mine. But anyway...sounds like your dealing with a bunch of od farts who dont like fast cars/trucks. Find you a mechanic who likes to race and stick with them.

Mark

 

With just about everyone modding their L's...I would not be surprised if we see this more from dealerships.


What were you doing when the motor decide to "let-go"? Just curious....

 

what were you doing when the engine let go? My truck is stock, and with everyone's motor's blowing up, it may stay that way. My conclusion is startng to form to: I'd drather have a cool truck that's fast, than a faster truck that i'm having a motor put in all the time. Has anyone pinpointed the direct cause of the majority of these engine failure? I know the fact the these tritons have a long stroke and the rods are weak has been mentioned, but can we all afford o have the motor's set up like sal's (it was sal's that I saw right) with new rods and pistons?

 

Guys, if you think Ford will shell out one penny... keep dreaming. It ain't gonna happen. I know from experience.

 

Except for my ram air and the soon to be lower pulley.... my dealer intrduced me to the idea of the chip and in fact installed two different models until I was happy.

The first was a flip chip and the second is the current chip refelcted in my signature.

Man... I am not going to be a happy camper if I have trouble and the dealer doesn't stand behind it.

I think I'll hold off on the pulley for now until there's more light on this subject.

 

When I called to get my build number from SVT, the person
*proactively* said that anything I add to "alter the performance" of my truck would void the warranty. It almost sounded like a threat if you ask me.

And even if you take out your mods and clear the computer before taking it in, it doesn't take but a couple seconds to see where the sealant was scraped off the contacts and arouse some suspicion. It all depends on the person working on your car and if he wants to make a fuss or not.

So pay your techs a little extra so they don't make a fuss

 

Actually, considering all the people running modified trucks, the % of engine problems are very small.

When manufacturers build a vehicle, they do not build it under the premise that people are going to substantially boost the power of that engine. When you do that, some will fail. This is because not all parts are the same....... there are some variances in the tolerances.

You can cry or yell all you want, but the fact of the matter is, these vehicles were modified to race. Plain and simple. None of the manufacturers will cover failures due to racing, because, again, there are just too many variables.

While you may get a dealer who is cool about the mods, most will not be.

To expect Ford to build their engines to the point that you can add 100 hp with absolute reliability is absurd. Just like asking them to have their tranny able to handle that hp reliably.... or handle pressure mods, hi stall converters and shift kits is absurd.
While some may have no problems...... some will, it is the nature of the racing beast.

Those of us who have dealt with a lot of racing know that with hp comes breakage. Sometimes, you will spend big bucks on aftermarket parts...... and those parts will break the first time out. It happens. It is even more likely to happen under the stress of moving a 4700lb brick quickly, as this puts alot more strain on the components.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

 

Something to keep in mind... Cars that Ford hand builds SPECIFICALLY for racing purposes (i.e. 93,95,00 Cobra Rs) don't even come with warrenties!! Not only that, but Ford doesn't even list service parts for them in thier computers or parts books. We all complain about Ford not warrenting Lightning motors and suchs, how'd you like to spend $60k on an 00 Cobra R and still have to pay to fix everything yourself?

 

For those wanting to know what I was doing to my truck when she let go, I was on my way home driving about 85mph and decided to floor it. I was going fast enough where it jumped into third gear and not into second. My speedometer climbed to about 105mph and then it felt like I was on the brakes. The tach fell to about 2000rpms with my foot in it and then dies. I rolled to a stop and tried to crank it back up, but nothing. The motor turns over though. I got out to check under the hood and there was oil and antifreeze everywhere! I get back in my truck and turn the key on to see what my temp gauge was reading and it was setting past the red! Apparently my truck had over-heated.
That is the story. My dealership is claiming that I have no compression.

 

I have been reading all these post on dealers voiding warrentys and have kept real quite. Being a tech at a ford dealer i see it all from escorts with NOS comming in with engine parts on the front seat, but i also see the lightnings comming in with the stickers all over them clearly explaining what the truck is used for. This not directed to anyone in general. But why cant you just pull the chip put the stock airbox in take the pully off etc etc etc. I am seeing all these trucks comming in with boost gauges , stickers etc. And i know that means jack**** you can put whatever you want on your truck you paid for it but understand that it draws attention to you and your truck. A tech does not want to replace your lightning engine under warrenty. He wants you to pay for it becasue warrenty times pay jack ****. And once he sees that nice shiney pully hanging off your crank its all in his hands. I suggest that you all spend more time either taking your truck back to stock as possible or seriously trying to make a friend at your dealer. A good relationship with your ford tech can help you in ways you will never know. So next time you come back in the shop freaking out cause the guy that changed your oil left a little bitty grease spot on your seat........ buy that guy some lunch or something ... he might just come back and be your worst knightmare . This was not directed to any specfiec person or to offend or **** anyone off just a little advise from the other side ....

p.s 01 lightning JL EQUIPTED
93 MUSTANG COBRA VORTECH BLOWN

 

J.D.-Man, sorry to hear that about your L!! Guys at work were talking about the other L there that Ford had voided the warranty on. They said a young kid owned it, the brake rotors were blue and cracked everywhere(power braking assumed),it had 8500 miles on it, and it had two melted pistons!! What melts pistons like that other than NOS? I can see Ford voiding his warranty. I think Ill leave mine alone for now!
This warranty thing is a touchy subject........guess we all need to take our mods off before going to the dealerships! Hope things somehow work out in your favor.