I have heard several rumors that a potential recall was in process for the 5.4L engine, 1997 through 2001 because of machining problems for oil lubrication. I intend to call my dealer today. Any ideas if this is true?

 

I wouldn't think they would do that because of cost. An interesting side effect of this is that Ford had lost me as a customer as I have to worry about my truck for the entire time I own it. Praying I don't see an oil leak or a door crack. Not a pleasurable ownership experience. It's like knowing you WILL have an expensive bill to fix the engine, you're just not sure when.

 

My '99 has about 38K miles on it now and I run it HARD...I don't worry about the 5.4 leaking or blowing up. What's the point of that? If it does deal with it, otherwise no worries. To say that Ford has lost you as a customer because of possible troubles in the future is not very reasonable. You can have trouble with any consumer item you buy. For me, my F150 has held up very well and I, for one, do not lose any sleep about possible future problems.

Drive hard and enjoy life!

 

Yea, what he said.

Wes

 

I have had no problems

with my 5.4...67,000 miles and still working fine. But I would gladly take a new engine if Ford wants to give me one.

 

I'm on my 4th "late model" Ford truck. 3rd with the 5.4L engine. My old '97 didn't have door cracks when I turned it in. I have not had any oil leaks. None of my Fords have ever been towed.

There are more important things to worry about. My latest truck, a '01 SuperCrew has never been back for any warranty service other than the warranty alignment that all my trucks got before the 12/12k warranty on alignment ran out. My '01 hasn't been recalled. My '01 hasn't had a single problem.

 

most of the oil leakers were in 99, I would not worry to much about it now, the enigne has been around a lot longer since

btw mine was a 99 - head gasket leaked at 5,000km - hasnt leaked since - not worried that it will - gennerally speaking they start leaking durring the warrenty period (may not be caught then but gennerally start).

Personally I feel if they haven't leaked or havent leaked for a year after the repair then they won't

Just give them clean air, fuel and oil and there should be no problems (well we hope)

 

I've got 44k on mine and you couldn't pay me to put another engine in it! This thing rocks!

 

22000 miles....never been in to the dealer.

I doubt if Ford will do a recall $$$$$$$.

 

I understand that I can experience troubles with any vehicle, but we're not talking about an inexpensive repair here. I have the '99 so it's something for me to think about.
And no offense folks, but that casual attitude is why manufacturers don't worry about defects like this. Hey, "why worry, right?". Sorry, this is a major defect they don't want to own up to. Glad y'all have spare cash to fix it if it should fail. I don't. And it's not why I spend alot to buy late model vehicles. I have been a Ford fan for a long, long time. I have an '01 Explorer Sport Trac and a '99 Lariat Xcab. The quality is simply not what it once was. Now the little naggy things are adding up and getting piled on the possibility of a major engine repair. I am reaching the end of my chain.
To each his own, but I'm a "vote with my wallet" type of person. If the new leadership takes an interest in making Quality Job 1 again, they can gladly have my money. I love Ford trucks. But to spend $25,000 and say "Hey, if the heads leak, they leak" is ludicrous.

 

90,684 miles as it sits in the garage at this moment. Feels like it's just "broken in".

 

I owned a 91 Chevy Extended cab. Had my eye on the new Supercrew since July 2001. I kept reading all the posts in the SuperCrew forum regarding different problems with them such as Piston slap, tranny thunking, vibrations between 45-55 mph, paint problems, and door cracks. I decided to not jump to the Ford due to all this. I could not see paying 30K for a truck that had the potential to have these issues.

Well, I sold my Chevy two weeks ago with 183k miles. The truck never had any serious problems, no oil leaks, did not use oil, got 16 mpg in the city and I ran it hard. It delivered excellent service.

I broke down and bought a 2001 HD SuperCrew that I found at a dealer. I have had it a week and had just cleaned it up, and backed it into my garage. I came out the next morning and opened the garage door, and the sun was up. It had the perfect angle of light, I guess, and I found the infamous paint problem on the hood of the truck. At closer inspection, I also saw the same thin paint coverage on the left front fender. I did not notice it when I bought it. Now I have a 30,000 dollar truck with the paint problem. I HATE having to paint a new truck. 10 years down the road it will not be the same. I would rather have a high mileage vehicle any day than one that has had paint work.

So, the moral is, I agree with linetest. It's way to much money to spend to just shrug it off. I don't believe in worrying about it, but at the same time, Ford can't expect consumers to just live with it.

They better start living up to their "quality is job 1" marketing gimmick, because at this time, it's simply a gimmick. Take any vehicle resale book whether it's kbb, edmunds, or NADA, and you will find out quickly that a Ford or a Dodge devalue quicker. The Dodge is rediculous, and the Ford will be 1000.00 less than a comparible Chevy.

RickC

 

I don't think that was meant to be if it leaks, it leaks.
It is more along the lines of if it happens it happens, don't stay awake nights worrying about what could happen.

You can die at any time, do you worry about that ?
If you don't wake up every morning worrying about dying, then to wake up worring of your truck is going to develope a problem today, your priorities are slightly askew is what I read into the post.

Drive it enjoy it ! It is a truck made for working, and if it does develope a head leak, if you take care of it , it will not cost a whole lot of money to correct, and you'll still own the truck for a long time.

It is a truck, it is meant to be worked, and driven....life is too short to worry about what if....
Like it was posted before ( and I cannot say it enough )
Drive hard and enjoy life!

 

I went over to Edmunds.com to compare Chevy vs. Ford resale values to see if there was any truth to your statement, and quite honestly from what I see atleast, there isn't.

1990 Ford F-150 $2987 - $4643
1990 Chevy C1500 $2727 - $4193
1990 F-250 $3187 - $4624
1990 C2500 $2934 - $3565
1990 F-350 $3749 - $5208
1990 C3500 $3214 - $4193

1993 F-150 $4011 - $7069
1993 C1500 $4261 - $8840
1993 F-250 $6145 - $9114
1993 C2500 $5381 - $8209
1993 F-350 $7730 - $10,842
1993 C-3500 $6203 - $8945

1995 F-150 $5984 - $10298
1995 C1500 $6081 - $10514
1995 F-250 $7446 - $11352
1995 C2500 $7215 - $11337
1995 F-350 $9370 - $13809
1995 C3500 $7777 - $12424

1998 F-150 $8377 - $17054
1998 C1500 $8703 - $17,005
1998 F-250 $10385 - $18746
1998 C2500 $10033 - $17003
1998 F-350 $10623 - $21036
1998 C3500 $11170 - $18207

As you can see for the most part Ford's resale value has beat Chevy's over the last 12 years, and especially on heavy duty models. Not once did a comparable Chevy sell for $1000 more. And we're not even taking into account that the Chevy in almost every case cost more new.

 

that is too much a price spread. Choose two comparible models like the silverado and the what XLT, Eddie bower, what ever fords top of the line is. Add the same exact options and milage, and see how it comes out.