i have a '99 F150 with the 5.4 v8 and the towing package with 26500 miles
whenever i turn the motor off, and i get out of the truck there will be an oil smell. Sometimes it is faint, but most of the time it is very strong smelling. I cannot find any place under the hood that has oil on it, there is not any oil under the truck and if i check the oil the level is not getting any lower. Has anybody had this happen?, or does anybody have any ideas

thanks in advance
ronnie

 

Yeah more than likly it is your passs side cyl head gasket leaking, they leak oil wich drips down onto the exhaust manifold, ford had problems with these durring say engine built around late 98 early 99, fix is to replace head gasket and to check for flatness of block and head, possiblity of a machining flaw on the head or block, hence that is why the block and head are checked for flatness. personally if this is the case with yours i would get my head gasket changed as if they replace the engine you will only get a rebuilt, sure nice of ford to give us rebuilts on new trucks hey? ( my $ .02 )

 

oh by the way, when they do your head gasket make sure you get your oil changed as coolant will go into the engine, ford ( up here atleast ) doesnt pay for fluids so you may have to, but believe me any coolant will destroy your bearings. on my truck i had my oil changed , then drove it for a day and changed it again, mybe over kill but i want mine to last.

 

i did a search of the archives last night and found several postings talking about the same problem that I am having. So I got a flashlight and went outside and looked and found exactly what everybody was telling me. So now i am gonna print all of the postings and go to battle with Ford.

thanks for the help

 

Ron993, could you send me a link to the postings that you found on the head gasket leak? I have A '99 4.6 and have had the same problem for about 3000 miles. The truck currently has 16000 on it, I just havn't had any time to go to the dealer or put up with their bs. Thanks

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99 F-150 XLT SC 4.6l Auto, 3.55ls, Roush Stage 1, K&N FIPK, Flowmaster Cat Back, Clear Corner Lenses, Tow Package, 6 Disc Changer


[This message has been edited by SoCalRoush (edited 09-30-2000).]

 

Ditto the 'change oil' advice.

Our 95 3.8 Windstar had a head gasket go -- fixed by dealer -- spun rod bearing soon after -- rebuilt short-block resulted.

Any hint of leaking head gasket is gounds for lubricant (oil) testing for contaminents, since antifreeze/water can show up need for further diagnostics.

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Y2K™ Jim

Toreador Red, Keyless XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 4wDisc/ABS, 3.73LS, Skid, HD 7700# Towing, LT-245's on Chrome, Tube-Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, named: "Nick"

 

Some 5.4L engines had faulty castings on the passenger side. It's a known problem and Ford will replace the engine. I'd be very surprised if ron993 had any problems with Ford covering the replacement cost.

 

SoCalRoush


Just go to the archives section and put in oil smell. That is where i got all of my info from. I am going to go to in to battle with ford in the morning, and i have plenty of ammo.

 

I too had the oil smell @ 23K miles(99 F250 LD, 5.4 - 260hp). It was leaking from the rear of the passenger side head.

- They replaced the gasket. Still Leaked

- They replaced the head (twice) + gaskets. Still leaked.

- Finally replace the engine (Not an FQR). 03/28/00 build date - put in this past April 2000.

Try for a new engine.

Note: The original 5.4 260hp (11/30/98 build date)did not run as well as the new 2000 5.4l. Someone said Ford made an exhaust manifold change.

https://www.f150online.com/f150board...**/001164.ht**

 

well i dropped my truck off at ford yesterday so now it is time to wait and see what they find and how they think they are going to go about fixing it

 

I also dropped my truck off yesterday. Today they called me and said it would be done tomorrow, they are replacing the head gasket. We'll see!

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99 F-150 XLT SC 4.6l Auto, 3.55ls, Roush Stage 1, K&N FIPK, Flowmaster Cat Back, Mobil 1, Clear Corner Lenses, Tow Package, 6 Disc Changer

 

A friend just told me about this board and I'm glad. I have a 99 F150 5.4L and have noticed the oil smell for about 8 months now. Bought it in December 1998. Last night I ran it for a while then looked for any sign of the leak and could not find anything. Can signs of these leaks be seen easily? I tried looking from the top and from the wheel well but didn't see anything. I've also noticed that I'm using about 1 quart of oil over last 5K miles (I know I need to change it.). Is that any indication of this leak?

 

will123, if you smell oil after driving it like I did, try looking from underneath, just behind the right front wheel. Look up where the cylinder head and block meet at the rear of the engine. I noticed a small trail of oil dripping on to the cat. and on to the lower control arm from the head gasket. It never dripped on the ground, but the lower control arm was caked with oil and dirt from the leak. I hope this helps!

 

SoCalRousch, Found it. Thanks. Maybe not quite as much residue as yours. I called the Ford dealer and they said Ford has put out noticies on the potential problem involving early 99 5.4s. Dealer wants to look at it to see "how bad" it is. I'll take it in next week. Thanks again.

 

ron993, how was the response from your dealer? I got a call yesterday on mine, they said they are replacing all of the head bolts and didn't have them in stock. I can't get it back until Mon. At least they gave me a new truck to drive while they're working on mine!