I am on my second front main seal and now my head gaskets are bad. This truck has 61000 miles on it. I have noticed in the classified ads that it seams like a lot of other people have problems with this motor. How much money does it take to keep a f150 with a 4.2 on the road because I am out of money.

 

97 and 98 4.2's had some problems. but 99+ were good engines. has the coolant ever been serviced?

 

Why are your head gaskets bad? I haven't seen a 4.2 ever with a bad gasket. They are MLS (Multi Layered Steel) gaskets that don't usually go bad and cause a leak. Most internal coolant leaks are due to intake gaskets, or the occasional timing cover gasket. I have yet to see a 4.2 blow a head gasket. I have only had about three 4.6/5.4 engines have faulty head gaskets and that was due to a severe lack of cooling system maintenance. Other than the ones that occasionally leak externally.