Got a '97 4.2L F150 that let me down this morning. 109K miles. Didn't want to turn over at first crank. 23F this morning....this truck has never been in cold weather. Took several attempts. When she did start the check engine light came on. Running very rough until warm.....then she calms down. Sometimes there is white smoke at the exhaust on the restart. Changed the oil. Changed the air filter. Added some fuel injection cleaner to gas. Added anti freeze to coolant system....there was some freeze up in the coolant overflow. Topped off the fuel tank. Removed positive terminal for a few minutes and ended the check engine light. Once the engine cools off it's still a rough start up. New oil change is running very clean. It's my work truck. Afraid to travel. Any ideas?

 

freeze up in the coolant tank?? not good 23 degrees isnt that cold. do a complete coolant flush and refill with 50/50 mixture.

 

The 97 & some 98 4.2s were known to get faulty lower intake gaskets,causing coolant to seep into the cylinders and hydro-lock upon next start up.Do a search in this forum using the words "lower intake gaskets hydro-lock".Also,this is good reading material;
http://forums.treemedia.com/fb/showthread.php?t=224

 

If you catch this problem before the engine is blown can anything be done to make the vehicle worth saving? Is the engine design inherently flawed?

 

Yes,change the gaskets ASAP!
No,just the gaskets are.Newer updated gaskets will fix the problem.

 

Truck is in the shop. Mechanic was a bit hesitant when I told him what I wanted done. He said he had worked on alot of blown 4.2 engines but never someone coming in before a serious problem developed. I checked with Ford using the VIN. My truck was never recalled. When the class action settlement happened in '05, my truck was still under an extended warranty. Don't know what to think?

From the symptoms my truck developed and the information in this forum, I have no doubt the lower intake is the problem.

Thanx for all your help. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

 

Make sure they change the oil and filter "before" starting the engine after changing the gaskets! If not,there could possibly be excess debris or coolant in the oil and you don't want that running thru the engine!

 

Update. Truck is out of the shop and running great! Mechanic changed out the lower intake gasket. Total cost was $384.15. I love me Ford truck! Although I will admit that it would have been better if Ford had let all of us owners know of this problem before breakdown. Our mechanic said he had lost count of how many blown 4.2 engines from '97 an '98 he had worked on......he was of the opinion that Ford should eat all these engines.