I have a 1997 F150, I purchased new in 11/96. So far this truck has not given me any trouble to speak of. It has the 4.2V6 with the 5 speed manual transmission, 109000 miles. Somehow water got into one of the cylinder heads and it bent the connecting rod. I was wondering if anyone out there has heard of this sort of problem. I suspect the front cover plate or intake manifold gasket has failed allowing antifreeze to enter the combustion chamber. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

This is very, very familiar to me. https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...threadid=71093 This is why I'm replacing my leaking gaskets in the coming weeks.

I'm really sorry to hear about this happening to you. I suppose at 109,000 miles, there isn't anyone at Ford interested in helping out with this. I personally think it's a great engine but there are a lot of problems with the mating surfaces and the poor gaskets. The 97 4.2L's don't seem to last very long because of these issues.

I don't know what you're planning to do but the 4.2L is a very expensive engine. If not locally, you can find a replacement here http://car-parts.com

There is the front cover recall #99B29 Recall - Engine Front Cover Gasket Replacement

Also TSB #99-20-7 Coolant Loss/Engine Oil Contamination, 3.8L, 4.2L
related to leaking lower intake manifold side gaskets.

 

if you have to get a new motor, why not try to drop in a crate 302. more power and cheaper! also way better potential. i think most stuff should bolt up since the 3.8/4.2 is a windsor v8 minus two cylinders (did i just make that up or is it true? - i've heard this before).

 

Thanks for the reply Aj, I did speak to Ford today about it and they do to the miles (109000) there is nothing they can do about it. I will try to join the suite, Ford did tellme if there is some kind of change I could be reimbursed for any money spent repairing the truck.
Ken

 

If you are going to have the engine replaced I believe that Ford charges around $5000.00-$6000.00. You can get a used engine from a wrecked '98-'99 that wouldn't have these problems for $2000.00-$3000.00 plus install.

You could also just have the damage to your current engine fixed, I suppose. If it's just a bent/broken connecting rod and a scuffed cylinder, this is not too complicated to repair.

There will be a recall on these engines at some point. If it happens sooner rather than later you'll get slight reimbursment. If they hold off like they did with the '95 3.8L in the Windstars, they'll extend the warranty till 130,000 miles. If this happens, you can expect full reimbursment or a check in the order of $5000.00 towards a new vehicle. Regrettably, you will have to wait around for this.

I've seen a lot of people talking about it but I'm not aware of any class action suit agaist Ford on this.

Be sure to file a compliant at www.nhtsa.gov so that you are officially added to the list of engine failures. There are also some consumer action web sites that will take your complaint and contact Ford. There's a list of links at www.lemonaidcars.com.

 

Sheesh! Ford is tripping on their tie again?!?

My wife's 95 Windstar had the infamous head-gasket-took-out-bearings syndrome. The 'rebuilt' short block runs great -- but I'm getting a whiff of oil/antifreeze now -- and the clock ran out on the remainder of the warranty.

It seems to me that engines have had heads since engines were engines -- so the concept of squashing something between the head/block isn't a new concept.

There must be a terminal case of 'institutional amnesia' going on there in Dearborn.

I just can't wait for the 100,000 mile wrestle with plugs that won't come out (or blow out by themselves in the meantime).

 

Ken/AJ,

There is a pending class action suit on this matter. It will take a while before it does you any real good. But it is in process. It appears to have stimulated discussions by Ford to begin a recall of this motor. At this point it is a rumor being discussed within the FORD service departments. Possibly within the next 9 months.

Ken, unless they offer the recall past your 109,000 miles you probably won't be able to get much use out of it, BUT keep everything you do as proof and evidence. You may well be able to get some renumeration from it if the recall is even close. For instance the 3.8 recall for the Lincoln/Sable/Taurus (don't know about the Windstar) was 100,000 miles. You may be close enough that you can apply pressure when the time comes.

I would NOT recommend replacing it with a used engine. It is a crapshoot and the odds are you will have problems. It isn't worth the small savings to put an engine that you already know is suspect to failure.

Yes this engine can be repaired/rebuilt. Short of sending a rod through the block most anything can be rebuilt. The cost of doing so will be about the same as putting in a rebuilt engine. In effect you will be rebuilding the engine anyway. The bent rod is merely one of the end products. The heads/headgaskets will need to be re-done, the rod bent which would have also affected the bearing end of the rod and quite possibly the piston end. The coolant contamination into the oil will pretty much gaurantee your bearings are toasted anyway. So that will all pretty much be an engine rebuild as far as cost. Try an aftermarket rebuilt longblock. The cost ranges from $2600 to $3500. They offer better warranties than FORD does and they also fix and upgrade the flawed factory designs. ATK and Jasper are 2 excellent sources for quality rebuilt engines. They both have upgraded the head sealing capabilities. They also upgrade the timing cover gasket and a few other areas of the engine. I don't know if either of them are available to individual persons. These are jobber shop suppliers of engines.

I have owned and torn into both the 3.8 and the 4.2 engine. This won't be a minor repair.

jrm actually has a decent approach to a way to go, if you decide that you don't want this V-6 to contend with.

Since you have a 5 speed a swap over to V-8 can be a reasonably easy thing to do. You would need a new ECU if you are going to run all the engine electronics. They can be quite pricey, but a good used 302 with lots of miles left on it can be had for $1000.00. A new rebuilt one can be had for twice that. You could also go with a non-ecu (older year) motor and that would be a simpler swap. That however means that you will looking at carbuerated rather than fuel-injected. Nothing at all wrong with that but you will be looking at more frequent tune-ups, less mileage and no ability to make emissions for that model year.

I agree with Y2K. Ford doesn't seem to pay attention to what they should have learned with the 3.8 head nightmare they went through already.

Heads and engines have been around since they figured out how to make engines. Ford certainly seems to be a slow learner when it comes the V-6. I won't go into the technical aspects of what is happening because it makes for a long post. But the point is, FORD missed the mark until 99. 99 was the beginning of the new 4.2 casting and they have had little if any problems with the 4.2 since then.

Y2K. I would think that your new engine comes with its own stand-alone warranty. In other words the clock goes to "zero" with the engine and the warranty is a seperate one for it.

*sigh* Ford should be ashamed of themselves.

 

I've only found a single document related to the 4.2L and it's over 2 years old.

http://www.bonforums.com/legal/lawsuit_38_engine.htm

 

Talltom,
Thanks to all again for the reply's, at this point I have purchased a rebuilt 4.2 long block for 2060.00 from Grooms Engines out of Tennesee. It comes standard with a 18 month and unlimited milage waranty for the 18 month period, and for an extra 149.00, I can get a unlimited miliage waranty, guess I don't have to tell you I bought the extra waranty! Check out there web site Groomsengines.com if you get a chance. All my waranty and purchase paper work have my vehicle VIN number on them, for future reimburesment. I won't hold my breath, but I guess I have a little hope.

 

I'm the ownder of a new company "Dark Age Performance", and we are going to sell performance shortblocks for the 4.2.

Shotpened stock crank
Ross forged pistons w/ rings
Eagle 4340 Forged H beam Rods
w/arp bolts
balanced rotating assembly
federal mogual bearings
and a few other items to list

availability should be within 6 months.

due to vendor rules i cannot give a price on the site, but it is around a Big bill cheaper than TomTallG estimate on a longblock.

 

Hate to be the bearer of additional bad news, but my 5-speed 1997 4.2L engine just let go this week with just over 80k on the clock. My mechanic's told me it’s a bent connecting rod. I just had the head gaskets, timing chain gaskets, and water pump replaced 3 months ago because the coolant leaked out on the highway and severely overheated the engine.

Ford MUST do something about these early 1997 and 1998 engines that are plagued with problems. It seems that a few other folks are experiencing the same bad luck as me. I'm confident that as more and more 97 and 98 4.2L F150's approach 80,000+ miles, and begin bending con rods and damaging other engine internals, Ford will have to recall, replace, or compensate owners.

I am not looking forward to having to shell out $4k to fix my truck in the hopes that Ford will eventually remunerate me for the loss caused by their faulty engines! THIS REALLY SUCKS!!!!!!

Todd F.
mrliquidity@email.com

 

I don't see where you guys are coming up with 4k dollars to fix this... I know of a couple machine shops that i got qoutes from to fix a problem like this and labor is between 400-600 plus parts... which should only be 1 rod which is like 40 bucks. call machine shops up and get prices. This is a easy fix that can be done for well under 1,000 bucks.

 

You are way out of line under the circumstances, Tallywacker. You think that you're giving friendly advise but it's not accurate.

This should be a discussion between '97 4.2L engine owners. If you don't own a '97 4.2L, you don't know how bad this is. We don't need you telling us that we are getting ripped off after an engine failure that was not our fault.

Why would it cost less to remove the engine and replace a bent rod and both head gaskets than it does to replace just the head gaskets???

I wouldn't trust anyone who told me that they could remove the engine and replace a bent connecting rod and shreaded bearing. Resurface a cylinder. Resurface 2 heads and replace nearly every gasket on the engine and put everything back together and in the truck in like new condition in just 5-7 hours. On a 2.0L in-line four this is possible but not on our V6.

Replacing a connecting rod bearing is 12.8 hours labor for a automatic with A/C. The rod itself is $78.00, not $40.00.

Relacing both head gaskets is 8.6 hours labor plus $166.00 for all the other gaskets you need to replace to get to the heads. Since most of the engines have warped heads from being overtightened at the factory, they need to be resurfaced as well. That's another $300.00-$500.00.

Ford is charging 29 hours labor to for all of the above plus disassembly, inspection, and replacement of whatever is unservicable inside the block.

You should just delete your last post and stay out of this discussion because you are not helping.

My passenger side head gasket as well as the front and rear intake manifold leak and this engine has been cared for like a child. You bet your *** I'm upset!

 

i think what talleywacker ment was (he said machine shop) is that a the engine repair alone would be that price. (not counting engine removal and reinstalled.

 

What!!!.....What!!!.....What did I just say about this being a discussion between '97 4.2L owners. This is our new support group. It's like an AA meeting and we don't need anyone telling us what color the sky is!!!Grrr!!!

Just so you know; your name is on the list now too, BROTHERDAVE

Silly me Everyone and the dog has an engine hoist, time and know-how to tear an engine down to the bare block. Not to mention put it back together again.

I figured that's what he was talking about but it's not practical.