Last weekend my F150 would not start after sitting out in the yard all night. The starter would engage but the engine would not turn over. I had it towed to a Ford Dealer. After two days they told me that the head gasket was blown.

The truck has 42,000 miles on so it is out of warranty. The price to fix it was $1295. I argued that Ford should pay for it. The next day the service manager told me that Ford would pay for half. Not good enough! Monday I will speak to the Service Rep from Ford. Wish me luck.

Has anyone heard of problems with the 1997 4.2L head gaskets?? I wonder about the cast iron block and alum. heads. Please comment. Thanks, Tom Casey

 

I have a 1997 F150 4.2L and it looks like the head gasket is leakin a little not much but im a little worried.
Did yours leak any before it trashed???

97 F150 4.2L Tinted, CD, K&N

 

The check engine light came on a few days before it would not start. I called the dealer about it and they said that if the truck was running o.k. then to use it and come in in a few days. I did not notice any leaks before. Tom Casey

 

hey I in the warranty book you get with the manuals it states that up to a certain point that you only have to pay $100 for a repair of a manufacturer's defect. This happen to me when I got my door crack repaired at 45,000. They told me to pay $100 and they would fix it. But after printing out some info on door crack from this site they opted to do it for free instead. So anyway hope this helps. Now I have to take a good look at my engine to see if I have same problem. Where do you recommend looking for this problem exactly at on the engine.

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1998 F150 XLT Reg. Cab, STX, White, 4.2 v6, 4x2, K&N, 3.55, Manik grill gaurd, **** Cepek 100 watt driving lamps, Kenwood mask CD-player, drop hitch, Ford hitch insert, 16x8 Atlas rims w/ 285/75/16 BFG All-Terrains KO to be put on when I get the new retooled bullseye spindles

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this has been happening for years on Ford Windstars. The 3.8 used on the Windstar is the basis of the 4.2 V-6 in the F-150. It has to do with the cast iron/ aluminum reaction between the head and the block. I have been reading a lot about it lately on the internet. There is a site called www.cartrackers.com I think it has a section under lemons or minivans that deals with these problems. Tons of info there.

 

There has just ben a no service charge order issued by Ford on the 3.8L and 4.2L engines.

"...affected vehicles may experience engine coolant leaks at the engine front cover gasket." Is this related to my head gasket problem?? Is it the same gasket?? Ford has just fixed my problem but they charged my $495. The original estimate was $1300 but we agreed that I would pay the $495 and get an extended warranty for 75,000 miles.

What do you think?? Should Ford have paid for the whole thing?? Thanks, Tom Casey