I had to replace my motor with 106,000 miles , cost me 3 grand. Had engine coolant in 1 cylinder, I believe this is gasket defect . They redesigned gaskets in 98 model. I believe ford knows this problem

 

My engine just died at 148,071 miles. It was running great 'til then. The sad thing is that I knew what to look for (hydro-lock) and would not have tried to start it, but the conditions fooled me. I slept in a bit and decided to go with my wife to take our daughter to school. We went to her car and it wouldn't start. The battery appeared to be dead. So we went to the truck. Turned the key and nothing happened. I thought, another dead battery? I tried it again, it cranked a little, but didn't start. As I started to crank it again, I remembered the problem and let go, but it started. It made a loud, terrible clanking noise. When the mechanic (not the dealer) pulled my truck into their shop, he said it made a big "bang" but kept running 'til he pulled it in. When I picked it up, he showed me a hole punched in the side of the oil pan by the broken rod.

I went with a Ford remanufactured engine and also had the clutch replaced. The "new" engine runs very smooth and solid. I'm happy with it, but I'm not too happy about the old engine's early death. That engine could have easily gone 200,000+ miles.

 

www.leakingfords.com not sure if it's still up. I pulled the motor myself and had it rebuilt for $3000. Needed to buy the cam feedback sensor tool but the motor went back in fine. I was angry at Ford for so long, I literally kept the bent rod/piston combo on me(in the back of my truck), and showed EVERYONE their great TSB program. I would also mention everything else that pre-maturely wore, like my outer tie rods popping off at 10 km/hr with only 65,000km on the truck(no offroading either).

Never will I purchase a Ford again. Never. "Ford built tough"...my a$$

 

Brought my '97 4x2 w/97k on it in for the cruise control recall at Freeway Ford in Bloomington, MN and I have had great service there, don't get me wrong- but I mentioned the intake gasket problem and asked how much to have the work done.
The service person said he had not heard of any intake problems and asked me if I had seen any white smoke coming out of the tail pipe because that is the first indicator of an intake leak.
Well I have been adding antifreeze slowly for 2 years now and I believe I am running on borrowed time.
Has anyone done this intake themselves and how much time do I put aside?
Thanks, Jeff

 

Back in November 2002 I was working alot of overtime and making a lot of money.So,to prevent the infamous hydro-lock from happening to me I had my local Ford dealer replace my lower intake gaskets.Since then ive helped two of my friends replace theres.It only takes about 3-4 hours.The gasket kit cost' about $75 from Ford.Its also a good thing to clean the EGR ports on the lower intake.

 

Im seeing alot of replies about 97s but not many 98s. My truck is a 98 built 12/18/97 and i noticed a little bit of white goo under the cap and thought it was just moisture build up but would there be any other tell tail signs to go by other than loosing coolant? I have been topping off my coolant maybe a couple quarts every two and a half to three months.

 

I have a '98 4.2 . You guys should be careful how much you drive your trucks with coolant leaks. My truck had the same problem. I just kept the coolant full and continued to drive it while I figured out what I was going to do. One morning I started it. It turned over fine but when it fired I was horrified to hear the sickining sound of a broken rod slaping around inside the motor. Over the night one cylinder had filled up with coolant, since water is not compressable the rod broke. $2300 for jasper motor + $200 intall kit + $ 1300 install.

 

Well hey i am new to this site but i got a 1997 f-150 extended cab flairside with the 4.2 v6 and i have been hearing alot of problems on this 4.2 motor but luckily mine has not given me any problems yet its got 110,000 on it, sure when i start it on the cold mornings it starts a lil rough and it idels extremly high for a few seconds and it doesnt have neck breaking accleration but other than that its been alirte truck

 

Well hey i am new to this site but i got a 1997 f-150 extended cab flairside with the 4.2 v6 and i have been hearing alot of problems on this 4.2 motor but luckily mine has not given me any problems yet its got 110,000 on it, sure when i start it on the cold mornings it starts a lil rough and it idels extremly high for a few seconds and it doesnt have neck breaking accleration but other than that its been alirte truck

 

At 105,000 I just replaced the crankshaft, main bearings and rod bearings and of course the lower intake gasket. So if I were you I would have my lower intake gasket replaced ASAP. By the way the cost $ 1283.00 by a local mech.
Good Luck

 

I hate to say it, but your not buying a Ford vehicle every few years isn't going to hurt their sales. If you really wanna get the point across, you should go to one of the news channels and sometimes they have the segment where they talk to citizens about problems and it helps to get their point across to the whole community.

 

I have a 1997 F-150 w/ the V6. Hydo-locked motor at 80,000 miles. Spent over $2500 and many man hours to get it fixed. Send me an email and put me on the list if anyone is willing to organize a class-action lawsuit. My name is Eric Epperson and my email address is eepperson727@yahoo.com.

 

Ford is putting money out for cars, but not us '97 4.2 V6 owners.
Check this link out.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...s_x.htm?csp=26

 

If there is a class action for the 4.2L put me on the list. Stephen Gibson webmaster@rubbins-racin.com I spent $3700 in January that I shouldn't have had to to replace mine. I called Ford and asked them to HELP with the cost of the new motor and they said there were no problems with that engine, they were sorry I had problems out of my Ford product, but they were in no way responsible for what happened to my vehicle.

I am typicaly against lawsuits and class action ons at that, but when you pay several grand because someone didn't do their homework it kinda give a slightly different impression. Hopefully I'll get the 100,000 mile out of my new engine that my last one should have gotten. I'm may be drivng the last Ford I'll ever own, but I'd like it to last as long as possbile.

 

Yeah got me too. The only good news is that I now have updated gaskets, hoses, belt, water pump, heads, and bearings. It should last another 100,000.