Sorry JnBmx but the easy fix should be on Ford's part not the owner who is stuck with a faulty motor. I don't know of many people that have over $3k falling out their a$$ to pay for a defect. Nobody knows about this until they have to deal with it themselves or they discover this info after they have already bought the vehicle.
To add as well resale values on our vehicles are low because it is a base line truck simple as that.

 

I've made every attempt in my messages to convey that all the info I've seen suggests any 4.2L engine built after 1/15/98 is not going to be commonly affected by these specific gaskets issues. For most owners however, the only thing they know with full certainty is that their engine didn't last anywhere near as long as reasonably expected. When Ford brushes them off and says they've never heard of such a problem, of course they're upset and post a message about it. Not everyone is aware of the details however.

There are a number of problems that owners with these specific engines face. First, there is knowledge of the potential failure. Many owners were not even aware of ONP 99B29. Being a "B" Status program, it was not given the priority of a safety recall. After it expired on March 31, 2001 it would not show up in OASES, even if your vehicle were included. If you call a dealer, they'll see TSB #99-20-7, listing the revised gasket and updated service procedures. But, they will have no OASES record of the 99B29 program. This means that an affected owner could take his vehicle in for service at a Ford dealership; If the vehicle were low on coolant because of an internal leak, the tech would just top off the level, rather than inspecting the timing cover or pressure testing the system. Even if the tech were aware of the previous program, he/she would have no interest in taking time to inspect the gasket because Ford would not pay for the inspection time.

Beyond just notification issues: There also appears to be the problem of vehicles affected, but not included in the 99B29 program. The engines listed in Ford TSB #99-20-7 all "REQUIRE" the updated gasket (s) and installation procedure (s). Going by the dates listed, "ENGINES" were built through 5/01/97 with the questionable engine front cover gasket gasket. ONP 99B29 only included "VEHICLES" built through 12/31/96. Anyone with a vehicles build date later than 12/31/96 was not informed of the program and if the engine front cover gasket (timing cover) failed, they were also responsible for the repair costs.

My truck was built on 05/05/1997, so I was not included in the program. I ended up paying nearly $800.00 for the replacement of my leaking gasket. My Engine Front Cover Gasket receipt. You can see that this was performed at a Ford Dealership and cost quite a fair amount of money. I'm also not the only 1997 4.2L owner not included in the program but nonetheless, suffering from the same gasket failure. I was aware of the potential failure and had the leaks addressed, before the engine was damaged. Part of the problem is that if an owner is not aware of the risk, the engine can be severely damaged very quickly. In the case of my lower intake manifold leaking coolant: I leaked over 1 qt of coolant into the engine oil in just 4 days, while my truck sat in my garage. If I'd started the engine, it would have been destroyed.

Every indication I've found shows that my truck's engine was built with the same gasket as those included in 99B29 and as such, it should have been included in the program as well. What is so pathetic about Ford's response, to me, is that they simply state it wasn't included, threrefore: I am responsible for the repairs. They say 99-20-7 is just a TSB. But, ONP 99B29 was based on information provided in TSB 99-20-7. That list of engines and vehilces requiring the revised gaskets is also dated two months prior to issuing the 99B29 program, indicating that Ford knew they were just going to let me be damned when my gaskets failed. This is not the sort of customer care I appreciate when my family has given Ford over $75,000.00 since 1997.

Not only does TSB #99-20-7 show that not all affected vehicles were included in 99B29; it also shows that Ford knew the lower intake gaskets were as much of a problem and didn't take appropriate action. If they are willing to fix vehicles for a faulty timing cover gasket, why aren't they also willing to fix a faulty lower intake manifold gasket on the very same vehicle? In my view, with the number of failures now being reported, this is simply wrong.

In the opinion of Master Ford Technician at www.flatratetech.com:
When my gaskets failed and Ford told me there was not a problem, I went looking for answers and this is what I found. You can decide for yourself how you'd feel in the same situation; Faced with the costs of replacing failed gaskets and even engines with relatively few miles.

 

AJ, I have one word for your last dissertation: BRAVO!!!!

FordsaysTough to AJ (Have you ever thought of going to law school? You'd make a HELL of a lawyer!!!)

 

I think it's really unfair for somebody to say quit whining if they don't have a '97 with a 4.2 also.

 

go to north philly and set it on fire lol


moose

 

My '97 4.2 Supercab auto has 129,000 miles on it with a minimum of problems. I wish I could find another new one as good as this one has been.

 

AjRagno you are great. As much as your information makes me mad, I appreciate it. I spent $450 to get the front cover gasket replaced but that Ford dealership did it wrong. Had to be towed to the purchasing dealer where the whole front cover(old gasket material had plugged the oil pump) was replaced as well as the gasket again for $800. 2 days later had to have the main bearings redone at a price of of over $500. needles to say my truck was built AFTER the problem was fixed at the factory. The purchasing dealer was great, they actually discounted the last 2 repairs 20% because i called the customer service number through Ford to complain. They even went to bat for me through Ford and asked for a refund for some or all of the repairs. But Ford said no. Of course the first dealer didn't help me on repair as well. So when a year later when it started to lose coolant again and they couldn't find the problem i traded it in. I know its rotten but I wasn't going to put even more money into the engine again. After all Ford said mine wasn't a problem engine...

 

A year later the truck started loosing coolant AGAIN!? Sounds just like my f150. What year did you trade that in? And was it a 1997? I've been told by mechanics that the coolant losses wouldn't take a year to resurface, but you and I know that isn't necessarily true!

Ever thought of possibly getting back that money that you lost in your trade value? There may be a way...working on collecting info for a class action suit since this seems to be a huge problem with the 97 and early 98 4.2L engines from Ford. Let me know if you're interested.

 

I am just recently the victim of a blown 97 4.2 with 97k miles. Threw out a rod on Thanksgiving day. I went to the dealer when I heard about the recall on this site and they told me that my truck was not on the recall list. This was about a year ago. I am getting a rebuilt engine, hopefully i wont have this problem again. I took care of this engine, changed oil regularly and made sure water and oil were not mixing, did not help, it went out quickly.

thanks for listening.

 

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

report and file your 97 4.2 lower intake gasket case with NHTSA, they will take us serious if enough people file same complaint.

 

i have a 97 4.2, does this problem happen to all of them, or did I get lucky and have a good one?

 

chances are you will have coolant in your crank case sooner or later, I heard of cases at 17k miles all the way up to 170k. change your gasket before your engine is ruined. sold my 97 4.2 with bad engine for $1500. one less thing to worry about.

 

i have almost exactly the same truck as u cept mine is a a supercab.

i have am the original owner and now have over 80k on it now.
the ONLY time my truck has been to shop was to replace the master cylinder around 10k ago. and i run the ***** outta this truck

u may want to get the the warranty because there have been problems with the slave cylinder in out transmissions, and these are pretty expensive to replace. but other than that, u should have no problems aside from normal maintenance.

 

OMG i jus realized how old this thread was lol wth

 

01 4.2 doesn't have faulty gaskets, only 97 models produced before mid may or 97 have the gasket problem.