Gang,

After noticing a small oil spot on the floor of the Batcave and investigating the source of said leak, it appeared as if the rear main seal has gone south. Nice.

Oh joy, off to the dealer. NOTE: Aforementioned "Cooter and Gomer Ford" are a thing of the past (you old timers will know what I'm taking about). "Dealer X" is now in the picture and has custody of my truck, mods and all.

Initial diagnosis is the passenger side head gasket blew however there was NO, REPEAT, NO coolant in the oil. whew.

In reading the Engines forum, this seems to be a commonplace with the 5.4 however there hasn't been much mention of it here. Some non-S/C 5.4's have eventually had their engines replaced due to a "bad casting" on the block/heads.

The truck has 6800 miles presently and the current fix is to replace the head gaskets however they are on "D99" which I assume by the Service Manager's voice tone and facial expression this is some sort of ultra-double-secret probation backorder status.

Has anyone else had this issue with their Lightning and, if so, what was the ultimate resolution. Please feel free to email me if you would rather not post it publically.

Respectfully,

 

Sorry to hear the bad news....thats just what im dreading. Since I use to work at a dealership as an engine mechanic for a few years I was reluctant to buy my L. I have replaced probably 50-60 passenger side headgaskets on these 5.4 engines. Most of the time this will fix the problem if done correctly. But a few times (4 or 5) I had to replace the engine after the vehicle developed another leak in the same area....due to block casting in the rear of the block area. But, yes, D99 means they could take a while to get the parts...most of the time if they call around though another local dealer can have a set in inventory and not even know it. Anyways...hope the new gasket fixes your leak. I would hate to have a new engine put in my L.

Oh, by the way, mine is not leaking as of yet....just dreading the inevitable. Hopefully not...but im prepared for it.

 

Orphaner,

Thank you very much for the response, insight, honesty, and candor...

What is the correct method for replacing the head gaskets? The Service Manager seems to be very open minded.

D99'd Bob

 

Bob

I just had my pass side gasket replaced after 35000... Leaking just enough to stink when the cats heated up... Like you I read of the problems....

Bad news is I think it is leaking again a week later... Not sure I want a 2001 or 2002 block....

Doug

 

It's not leaking ....it's just marking its spot

 

Bob,

Passenger side head. On mine I believe they used a little RTV in addition to replacing the head Gasket, as the problem is in the Casting. 3000 miles later and no leaks yet. I think they try and fix it first, if that doesn't work...new engine.

I think the big issue is that if you do eventually need new engine make sure you get new engine. (not remanufactured)

See ya at WFC

Jim

 

Hey Bob
I had mine done also. Unfortunitly, I believe it is leaking again. I take it in on Thurs. They told me that if it did leak again, SVT said to change the motor. The first time was at about 10,000 miles. It now has about 13,000. I should know more by Friday.

 

Hey Bob, make sure they replace both valve cover gaskets...as you have to remove the front timing cover and gaskets to take off the passenger side head and if you try and not take off the drivers side valve cover you can stretch it out and not reseal very good....wich will eventually cause another leak...LOL (not that it happened to me or anything, LOL) And I had very good luck with using Copper seal...some copper looking spray that you put on gaskets to help seal. I never had another leak after using that stuff. Hope you have good luck with your leak.
The only oil problems that i have is burning oil....LOL First oil change (3000) was 1 1/2 qt.s low. And after driving back from VA to see ICULOKN, i had 4500 on the truck....and it was 1 qt. low on only 1500 miles. I hate to take it in to see what is wrong, because its not leaking anywhere....clean as a pin underneath....so that mean only one thing...burning the chit out of it. I have noticed smoke screens when i start it up occasionally. But since i left the dealership business a little over a year ago, i know what goes on there and i hate to have my engine hacked....I mean removed...LOL was that a mental slip? Anyways...like I said Keeping Fingers crossed for ya!

Mark.

 

Doug, Jim, and PFA,

Thanks for the info regarding your trucks. Swapping engines is a bummer anyway you slice it. However, I'll be ready at WFC5.


Gator,

oh contraire. THIS is the way to mark one's territory...or something.



Orphaner,

Again, thanks for the tips. I'll pass them along to the Service Manager.

Bob

 

if you have done over 50-60 of these... why not just go ahead and replace yours before it goes south? you can probably do it in your sleep by now... or am i missing something?

 

What is the possibility that over-pressured engines, ie, supercharged engines like ours, will be prone to leaking at that seal because of the twisting that takes place added to the high pressures?

 

S/C doesn't have anything to do with it. It is a problem with 5.4 Casting i/e.,
All 5.4s are suspectible to this

 

Like Reality1 said its with all 5.4's 99% of all the headgaskets that i replaced on these trucks were on 4X4 F-150's and Expeditions. And yes Reality1 I could go ahead and do some preventive maintanence, but that is a little overkill. when it comes to oil leaks....I say dont fix it if it isnt leaking yet. Because who knows I may have gotten a good block from Ford ( If that exists>>LOL) and as long as there is no oil dripping on my Cats, then i am happy. Like I said, mine is clean as a pin underneath....for now at least. I wish everyone luck with this problem in the future.

 

is this head gaskett problem ,happening across the board=99/00/01/02 or particular years?

 

I had my engine replaced under warranty with a remanufactured engine when the plugs blew. SVT said that the replacement engine was punched out 30 over and had "different" rods in it.

I wonder what they meant.