Ajragno,

I had a friend come over this morning and listen to my truck. He also checked the oil for any coolant deposits. None were found, and that let off my worries until we ran to the hardware shop to pick up a few parts for around the house. I let him drive, and he realized that when he reved the engine over 3500 rpms and sometimes even less, rods would begin to knock. The ford dealership is right by the hardware shop, and he knew the owner and a mechanic that worked there. We brought it by and they checked it out. Just by the sound of things they realized lots of work needed to be done. We left it there and when i came home i received a call from the service manager, a friend of mine as well, and told me the truck most likely needed a new engine!!!!We went back by and talked to the owner about this, and he had called some people at ford about this and is 99% sure ford and their dealership will pay for this engine due to us recently buying it and the 67,000 miles it had on it. Anyways, i will keep everyone posted on what is happening, thanks for the advice, and if you have any details on what rights i might have if i have any trouble with the dealership, let me know asap.

P.S. Hades- My truck has had a door crack in it and has been repaired/recalled, i asked at the dealership today, thanks for letting me know.

 

Hey everyone,
You can add me to your list of broken down 4.2 liter 97 Ford F-150's. This past saturday i went to start my truck up and it started knockin really bad, so i checked the oil and it looks a lil bit watery and then i checked the coolant and it was a lil over 4 qts. low, so i dont know if the head gasket is shot or not. I had it towed to the local Ford Dealership and they stated that the piston was hittin the valves so i dont know? I am going in on Friday to talk to them and see what i can get done. My truck only has 75,000 miles on it and they said i need a new motor now. They priced a new one at $4625, so i dont know if any recalls or TSB's will affect this or not? I feel that ford should back up the products that they made, even if they are bad.

Bradley

97 F-150 XL 4x4 Tan-color
DEAD 4.2 V-6 75,000 miles
Auto A-C
JVC Cd Player and 12 disc changer

87 F-150 XLT Lariat 4x4 Baby Blue-color
Rebuilding 4.9 (300) Inline 6
Auto A-C
Pioneer cd player, amp and MTX subs

 

Hey brad,
There's luck for ya man...atleast some...Just last week I took my truck (97 4.2L 5 spd.) to the dealer because i heard knocking at 67,000....I had bought it from there only 3 weeks before, and hadn't put but 350 miles on it....Afterall, my head gaskets and timiing gear cover was fine (no coolant , but rods were knocking all over the place and they decided it would be better off to replace the engine, I didn't really check in on the details... So they ordered one, put it in, and i ended up paying a little over 250 for the whole job.....I had no waranty on this truck but ford has a program running for these trucks (as well as a tsb on the timing gear cover) and they sent the dealership a 2001 4.2 engine to put in...THANK GOD! I think although you've probably had this truck for awhile ford will help. As long as you talk to the right people and they are willing to cooperate through ford...Ford will pay all but a $500 deductible, which luckily my dealer payed half of that. To beat that deal it came with a 100,000 mile 5 year waranty. I just got my truck back this afternoon, and it runs like a charm. Anyways, I'm not too packed full of information, besides, I'm 15 years old but through all this crap i've gone through already with a veihicle i should be of little help....well, im in a hurry, so i gotta get off of here. Post me if you have any info... Ajragno is also a great guy to talk to about this exact subject....he helped me through reading his posts......
Lata.

 

Isaac,

I was wondering if we'd hear from you again. I really do appreciate the update. It's pleasing to hear how well it's worked out for you.

I've been reading about these engine failures for about a year now and in just about every case, the victims seem to vanish without explaination after the engine failure and the complaint post. I was thinking that perhaps they didn't get a new engine and felt so demoralized that they simply didn't want to talk about it. Either that or Ford did give them a new engine but also made them sign a confidentiality agreement so that it wouldn't be made public that they are aware of the problem.

My engine hasn't failed yet but seeing that you were covered makes me wish that it would go now rather than later. I really just want to get the failure over with and move on so I don't have to worry any longer about when I'm going to be stranded.

I thought my truck was going to least forever as long as I took care with it. Buying out my lease now seems to have been a terrible misjudgement.

If you could scan an post work orders, I know that everyone would appreciate it.

Congratulations, Isaac

 

Dear AjRagno and Isaac

I went to the ford garage this afternoon and they said that the main bearings on the crank are shot possibly because of antifreeze in the oil. They said the pistons are hittin the valves. They looked up my VIN # and said the they fixed the timing cover gasket when it was recalled in 2000. But besides that they cant help me. I would like to know what kinda "program" ford is running to fix these engines and where i can get information on it. The ford garage is not very helpful in this situation. So i would appreciate any info you guys can give me. Thank you very much for your time.

 

If the dealer service dept doesn't respond or offer help, you need to move onto the zone rep. http://www.bonforums.com/contacts/contacts_fordreps.htm

Before you call the rep, you should get a written estimate and thorough work order from the dealer so that everything is in writing. If you don't get it before you start to complain, they may say that it was some other problem.

It should last a lot longer than 75,000 miles on nothing more than regular oil changes.

There is a TSB for the lower intake side manifold covers leaking coolant. This is not a recall but the TSB does show that there is a common problem. If the failure didn't come from the front cover then it would be either the head(s) of lower manifold gaskets.

You can get more information about how to deal with Ford at www.lemonaidcars.com you can also buy the book. It seems to have helped a lot of people.

 

Without warning (on a cold start), my 1997 Ford F-150 (4.2L V-6 engine) threw a rod. As I have read dozens and dozens of posts on the Internet from people with the same engine and same problem, I am very interested in learning about joining any class action law suit in progress, or hearing from anybody that wants to join a class action law suit. This appears to be a known problem with this engine, and Ford needs to take care of it. My truck won't even be paid off until February - now it is useless!

Please email me your reply. Thanks.

 

Hey ajragno and others, I will scan my work order as soon as i get my scanner installed. I'll still be reading up on this subject and will offer my help to everyone(what little help i can be). Ford is putting us through he** and you guys don't deserve this....Hang in there and fight for an engine...I'd stay the best way to get the dealership to check into this program is to be equiped with info on this subject....Some dealerships simply won't even try to help you out if it's going to be free.

 

Read this to get an idea of what you can do. It's a very similar situation to the Windstar. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...d_windstar.htm

With persistance, Ford will help cover a substantial cost of this. There will be resistance of course. After all, Ford is a publicly traded corporation in the business of making money. They are not in the business of charity and goodwill.

You need to show Ford that they will lose more money by turning you away rather than replacing your engine. Class action suits are for large law firms and couch potatos that don't mind waiting years to receive a lousy settlement, more in favor of the defendent/respondent rather than the consumer. If you want a fair settlement, never, ever bother with a class action.

What you need to do, to begin with, is get it in your mind that Ford sold you a faulty engine and needs to take responsability for this. The rest will depend on your determination. If you need your truck, and have the money, then pay for the repair and hold onto your receipt for reimbersement later on. If you can afford to wait a few years, then buy another car a let your truck sit in storage until Ford offers to pay for the repair or some sort of certificate is offered on the purchase of a new Ford.

What I would do is try to work with the dealer by explaining that this is a problem specific to the '97 4.2L and there are many examples. Point out how others in your situation have been helped. There is a very methodical way of going about this. Escolate from dealer service manager to dealer owner to Ford customer service to zone rep to attorney general to small claims court. Receipts for certified mail and copies of letters are also very persuasive in court if it comes to that.

Don't expect Ford to give you a new engine. The way that this silly system works is that if you take it to the dealer, Ford does not necessarily reimburse them for the work they do on your truck so they may not be all that helpful. It's not easy for the local dealers to negotiate with the corporate office so they usually hesitate unless you're a big customer. Another factor is that Ford will not pay the dealer nearly as much to do the work of replacing your engine as you would. Ford tech-rate cuts the allowed labor times substantially.

The options I would press the dealer and Ford for are:
$150.00-300.00 complete engine rebuild.
$0.00-$150.00 for a replacement engine with comparable milage.
$500.00-$1000.00 New engine with 100,000 mile warranty.
$5000.00 towards a new Ford vehicle.

These are all very reasonable compromises and work for both you and Ford.

The threat of something even as simple as small claims court should be enough to get Ford to settle. It's going to cost them about as much to show up and fight as it would to settle with you. It's a big headache and it makes a public record that encourages others to sue so they'd rather avoid it all together.

This is a step-by-step example of just how to sue Ford: http://philip.greenspun.com/politics...-disputes.html

If you need to have then engine rebuilt, on top of the labor and parts charges, you can seek reimbursement for the time and effort it takes to sue Ford as well as the time you lose having your truck serviced, plus rental expenses and time off work.

Judges favor consumers heavily. Ford knows this and you should too. Don't be afraid to sue if they don't take your concerns seriously. The case should be resovled in a few months. A class action settlement is still years away.

***No, I don't email replies. This is a message board and if the information posted can help anyone else, then this is what the board is for.***

 

***This is a message board and if the information posted can help anyone else, then this is what the board is for.***

Yes and this is V-6 board. Not a 97 V-6 board.

Once upon a time you came here asking about your V-6. You got answers. I remember being one of the ones that offered some I'd personally prefer to know about everyones V-6 issues. It helps us all. 98s fail. An increasing number of later engines are beginning to show some issues. For those like me who work on engines, have sued manufacturer's and won and/or succesfully negotiated with dealers on how to address their tactics, I'd like to get as much info as I can about what areas I need to know.

Most everything you recommend is valid, but keep in mind you learned it from others. Presentation becomes key when you go off to fight the battle.

Hopefully this will serve you when your engine actually fails. Up till now all you know is what you hope will happen when it does. For those that have actually failed, life takes on a bit different meaning if you are the one that owns it.

This isn't meant to be a flame post. But I stop participating in a board when it becomes narrow minded.

 

TallTomG:

I agree with you. I would also say to AjRagno that you have ALOT of excellent information and I enjoy reading your post, very impressive.

Now of course you may take this wrong and if you do I apoligize but this forum is for V-6 any and all V-6 for what ever year. The point is there are still problems with them, as like mine an 01 with a leaky head gasket. No it's not leaking coolant in the motor but regardless its a major problem just like the 97. So what it says at least to me is the 4.2 is not completely corrected. I have read post that "well no one has heard that much about the 01, so not a problem" I say sure it is because how does anyone know it's not or might become a major problem its less then a year old.

I want to learn from you (AjRagno) as well as others and other years because there all 4.2, some may have been engineered a little different from past problems but there still basically the same.

And for the very few who don't think a leaky head gasket, but not leaking coolant into the motor is not major I say your wrong, any time you have to tear down the motor, taking it half apart it is Major period. Try to imagen all the problems that can go wrong if the guy doing it dosnt pay attention and do his job correctly, you could be bringing your truck back in many times to fix problems from the first tear down.

Anyway I said my piece, I love coming on-line to learn things and I hope to hear from many V-6 responses so as to learn more.

 

TallTomG & 01 XLT Sport,

Stating that I had implied this is a '97 V6 message board is entirely subjective on your part. I never said that or even thought about it until you brought it up. The original post in this thread was about a '97 4.2L and that is how I've veiwed threads in this topic; that they are about the problems specific to the 1997 4.2L. When we know that the 97's are failing at a higher rate than any subsequent year, and all for the same reason, it becomes improtant to focus on this fact.

Although there are potential problems with any machine, there are very specific issues that are coming to light with the 1997 4.2L that are directly related to the design and production of that model year. I have such enthusiasm about this subject because Ford is playing all of us for fools. I am sincerely hoping that enough '97 4.2L owners will read these messages and spread the word wherever they can that Ford will take responsability sooner rather than later.

I don't think that people should have to wait for their engine to fail before they find that this is common. They shouldn't have to suffer the financial loss and inconvenience of a complete engine failure when Ford knows that there is a high likelihood of such a scenario. Ford should be sending out notices to every single owner of '97 4.2L, telling them to immediately contact their dealer service dept for a free inspection. Instead, Ford is keeping a quiet as possible and only helping if someone makes a fuss and even then, only on a case by case basis. Ford could be doing a lot more.

I still wonder what's going to happen with my truck. I spent a week crawling around in my engine compartment, replacing gaskets recently and hope that I did the right thing. It's been about a month now and my coolant recovery tank has not lost any measurable amount. I check the level every day and look for drops of coolant running down the engine as before but haven't found any. I had previously gone through a gallon of coolant each month. As far as I can tell, my engine is now going to last a long, long time and I owe little thanks over all to Ford for this because of their lack of concern.

 

AjRagno:

Ok then I stand corrected. I do agree with all the things you have posted in here, especially that Ford should be doing ALOT more for those of you with the 97 4.2.

I just took it before that the problem I had (leaky head gasket, no coolant in motor) was not major or nothing to be concerned with as far as you went. I was making a point before that although I agree the problem with the 97's is a MAJOR one and MAJOR screw-up on Ford's part, but I also believe the problem I had to be Major, due to tearing the motor down etc.

I know you as well as others may not of heard of any other 4.2 leaky head gasket problem, and I hope no one every has it and I just happen to have got a defect, but at this time no one knows if it may become a bigger problem down the line like you 97 4.2 so I feel it important to at least mention it on-line so others know and know to check on their motors since someone (me) had already had the problem.

I do hope your truck last a long time and know this, guys like me are behind you as far as Ford should be owning up to their problem and doing what is right by you and all others with the 97 problem no matter what it takes.

 

i took a company truck to the dealer a 99 f150 with 4.2. The check engine light was on plus the trans shift cable was broke. the engine had 88000 miles on it.
long story short the service manger told me the headgasket right side was starting to leak. told me to get rid of the truck.
I ask about replacing the headgasket and he told me that once you open -up that engine you had about six monts left on it. that at about 100,000 miles is all the engine is good for.

thats bad for me i have a 2000 with 66000 mile on it with a 4.2 and change the oil every 3000 miles.
I also ask about the 3.8 becouse i have one in my 99 stang. i was told same engine differnt heads.

 

hertzman... they are the same heads. different stroke of a motor but same heads, lower intakes, block. girdle is different as well as oil pickup and oil pan and a few other items, but the heads are the same.