well, here's the question.

Was anyone given a definite answer as to why the 5.4L engine was leakin oil on the back of the passenger side.

Just got off the phone with an exec. at fomoco.ca who says that it's just the head gasket. From what I remember, there was the suggestion tossed around that there was a defective block or something. Any help would be good, I'm not letting them touch my truck till I have a final answer from someone who doesn't have a motive to get me off their case.

Thanks guys.

J.

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The Midnight Flyer
'99 XLT SC SB 4x4 5.4 auto 3.55 ls
Green and Gold.....100% ford....cracked doors and all.
I'm not driving fast.........I'm Flyin Low.

 

Many owners have posted that their passenger side engine leak was due to a flaw in the casting of their blocks. Engine replacement was the recommended fix in these cases.

Unfortunately, I learned this after multiple valve cover replacements by service department number one (**** Smith Ford in Raytown, MO), and allowed a second service department (Matt Ford, Buckner, MO) to replace the head gasket when the leak persisted.

The head gasket replacement did stop the leak, but coincidentally resulted in a harsh, inappropriate shifting of my transmission and the AC compressor started shutting off at highway speeds. The exhaust manifold started popping like a rifle when cooling down, they got coolant on the serpentine belt which started squeeling, they left a bracket loose to clatter around when they replaced the transmission due to the persistent harsh shifting, and finally decided to call the problem normal after reprogramming the shift module and replacing the drive shaft too.

Unless you want to risk the same treatment (I was offered 7K less than I paid for the truck new 10 months previously when I told them I wasn't going to drive it home) I would pray for a better service department. My dealer (Matt Ford) said that the $7K loss was the best they could do to get me into a vehicle I could stand to drive. The 27 days it spent being serviced didn't seem to matter to them.

My notarized letter to the Customer Assistance Center has gone unanswered for over four months, in spite of my regular e-mail reminders to the address they protect so well within their website. Sounds like you've already had more luck getting someone from Ford to talk to you, so all I can suggest is to drive as far as you have to to get to a good service facility, and pray. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely let the truck keep leaking.

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Ex-99 F150SC 4x4 ORP 5.4/3.73 Leaky Clunker
Now-98 Expedition 4x4 XLT
5.4/3.73 Slapper

 

I just got back from my dealer, I was in checking my 99 5.4. I took it in at 17,000 miles because of the oil smell. The mechanic was just buttoning up the motor after replacing the passenger side cylinder head. He took time to show me the old head, it looked OK, except a very small area of damage on the back of the head around one bolt hole. It is kind of weird, 'cuz the galling followed the outline of the gasket. It looks to me like the head gasket may have caused the head damage. I've heard others say that sometimes the fix was to replace the head gasket, that makes sense now.

I'd take your truck to a dealership you trust and let them open it up to see what is happening. BTW, the new head came assembled with a new cam, valves, even the gear.

One bad part is that it took over a week to get the new head in due to it being on backorder. Good luck...

 

thanks bud.

I have an appointment with the local dealership on wed. to get the new gasket put in.......I hope that's it, I've heard quite a few horror stories about this procedure.......from it not making a difference all the way to them forgetting a nut inside the engine, then denying it..........

anyway, will let yall know what happens,

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The Midnight Flyer
'99 XLT SC SB 4x4 5.4 auto 3.55 ls
Green and Gold.....100% ford....cracked doors and all.
I'm not driving fast.........I'm Flyin Low.