I recently went out to start my pampered 97 F150 just to hear a sinking "clunk". With a little research, the engine will turn back and forth about 180 degrees and stop in each direction. After reading through the forum, I really feel worse. Are there any updates on the problem, or do I just need to shell out some $ and tackle this on my own?

 

Im sorry to hear about your truck...but you may be looking at a new engine for free....My truck had the dreaded leaky head gasket problem and i came out with a new engine....the best person on the forums to talk to about this is definitely ajragno....he knows everything about this. Anyways, to give you a little background on my situation, i had bought the truck from the dealer, 97 f150 reg cab 4.2l, about 3 weeks befoire i realized this problem...My engine ran great from the time i took it to get a new engine,, but had all the syptoms of the leaky head gasket and you could also hear a faint knocking when the engine temp. went up. The dealer then told me it would need a new engine, and that ford had a program for these trucks where they would supply a new engine and pay the dealer to install it, but had to pay a 500$ deductible. Since i had bought the truck recently from them, they split the charge so i ended up paying just a little bit over 250 for the whole job..WHAT A DEAL. 2002 engine. Anyways ford should pay for these problems because you don't deserve them, but this also depends on your milleage...hopefully you are under 75,000 miles, because otherwise i really don't know if they will heklp. I was at 67,000 when i doscovered this problem, but ford handled it very well and i hope the same for you...Any questions you have i will try to answer...And hopefully ajragno will reply to this as well

 

Your engine is most likely hydro-locked.

This is because your lower intake manifold gasket failed and allowed water into your cylinders while the engine sat overnight. Whatever cylinders happen to have intake valves open when it shut off are the ones that filled with water.

This year vehicle had a recall performed for this problem. But not all vehicles were included.

Find out by VIN if the recall applied to yours. FORD will probably say it doesn't. That is the stock answer they give everyone.

Ford will fight you over it but you can convince them to give you a new engine at a greatly reduced cost if not free. But you have to be able to plead a good case.

The gasket was replaced due to the failures it was having. It was made of a plastic that got brittle and basically crumbled. When that happens, you get the result you are experiencing. Ford went to new gasket design.

Pull the plugs, turn the engine over, it will then. It will also shoot water out the top of the cylinders now that it has a place to go.
The good news is, if you didn't get it started you may have actually saved bending your rods. MAY be not positivively. The starter is capable of a lot of torque. You may have no damage at all or they may be crinkled or bent. No way to know at this juncture. This board is filled with threads to help you. Just search 97 4.2 and you can see the post that will apply. Look for coolant loss, knocking, dead etc......and if you want more help e-mail me directly and I can walk you through how to proceed.


TallTom