1997 FORD F-150 Complaints

INTAKE GASKET WENT OUT CAUSING ANTIFREEZE TO LEAK INTO PISTON AND WHEN TRUCK WAS CRANKED UP IT BENT ROD BROKE PISTON REPAIR BILL WAS $1685.00 SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DOWN ABOUT THIS. MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM JUST LOOK UP 1997 F150 INTAKE FORUM THANKS. *JB

I HAVE A 1997 FORD F-150 WITH A V-6 4.2L ENGINE. THIS ENGINE RAN ROUGH AFTER BEING DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WAS THEN SLOWED TO NORMAL CITY SPEEDS. THIS WAS INVESTIGATED AT LEAST THREE TIMES WHILE UNDER THE WARRANTY PERIOD WITH NO TROUBLE FOUND EACH TIME. AT ABOUT 70,000 MILES THIS TRUCK BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH AND THE SHOP WHICH SERVICED IT TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT SPARK IN THE RIGHT HALF OF THE ENGINE, BUT CAME UP WITH NO SATISFACTORY RESOLUTIONS. I NOTICE THAT I WAS LOOSING COOLANT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND BLINK OCCASIONALLY. THIS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS UNTIL ONE DAY WHEN I TURNED ON THE ENGINE THERE WAS A LOUD BANG AND AN OBNOXIOUS CLATTERING. THE TRUCK WAS TOWED INTO A DEALER AT WHICH POINT I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE WHICH COST $4200. AFTER 55,000 MORE MILES I STARTED LOSING FLUID AGAIN AND EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND TOOK THE TRUCK INTO A DEALER WHICH FOUND NO TROUBLE. THE SYMPTOMS WERE A FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND NO HEAT WHEN THE HEATER WAS TURNED ON. ALSO, LOOSING FLUID WITH WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST. FROM OTHER POSTINGS ON VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS I FOUND OUT THIS WAS A CLASSIC FAILURE FOR THE 4.2L V6 WITH A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. I SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF ANOTHER BLOWN ENGINE. WHEN I CALLED A DEALER TO SCHEDULE A RETURN VISIT I WAS INFORMED THAT THIS THE SAME ENGINE AS THE TAURUS 3.8L WITH A LONG STROKE HENCE MAKING THE DISPLACEMENT 4.2 LITERS. ALSO, I WAS INFORMED THAT ENGINE HAD THE SAME TROUBLE AND MANY HAVE TO BE REPLACED. *JB

DT: CONTACT STATED THE REAR BRAKES LOCKED ON COLD STARTS. THE DEALER ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THE BRAKES, BUT THE PROBLEM RECCURED. THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED NO FREE REMEDY. *AK

1997 FORD F-150 I MADE A LEFT TURN ,STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL & THE PEDAL STAYED TO THE FLOOR. ABOUT 100 YARDS LATER I HIT HEAD ON INTO A GUIDE RAIL. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS RELATED TO THE CRUISE CONTROL RECALL. *NM

1997 FORD F-150 4.2L V-6 TRUCK STARTING KNOCKING THIS MORNING WHEN I WENT TO START THE MOTOR. 60,000 MILES AND THE ENGINE HAS LOST ALL OIL PRESSURE AND IS KNOCKING TERRIBLY. I USED IT 2 DAYS AGO AND THIS MORNING IT'S BROKEN. HAPPENED WHILE SITTING UNDER THE CARPORT OVER NIGHT. PROBABLY THE ALL FAMILIAR LEAKING GASKETS THAT HAS PLAGUED EVERY 4.2L V-6 FORD OWNER. *JB

DT: THE CONTACT STATES THERE IS NHTSA RECALL 05V017000 ON THE VEHICLE CONCERNING THE CRUISE CONTROL. THE PARTS NEEDED FOR RECALL REPAIRS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT THEIR LOCAL DEALERSHIP. THE CONTACT SPOKE TO THE MANUFACTURER, WHO CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. *AK UPDATED 01/11/06. *JB

OUR 1997 FORD F150 PICKUP TRUCK HAD BEEN TURNED OFF FOR AT LEAST 6 HOURS, SITTING IN OUR PARKING LOT, WHEN IT CAUGHT FIRE ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 23, 2005. THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE IGNITION. UPON HEARING THE FIRE AND COMING OUT TO THE PARKING LOT TO INVESTIGATE, WE CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHO CAME AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. NO OTHER CARS OR BUILDINGS CAUGHT ON FIRE, ALTHOUGH SOME NEARBY HOSES AND BOTTLES OF AUTOMOTIVE FLUID WERE DAMAGED. *NM

WHILE BACKING OUT TO GET ON HIGHWAY CONSUMER FORD F150 HAD NO STEERING. *TS (11/16/05) THE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY HAD BROKEN. THE CONSUMERS FOUND THAT A PIECE ON THE STEERING SHAFT ASSEMBLY THAT WAS MADE OUT OF ALUMINUM HAD WORN OUT. *SC

97 FORD F150 4.2 L ENGINE, NO GASKET RECALL NOTIFICATION, THROWN ROD DURING STARTUP JUST LIKE THE LARGE NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME FAILURE ON HTTP://FORUMS.TREEMEDIA.COM *JB

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE SOLUTION FOR CRUISE CONTROL WAS NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE CRUISE WAS DISABLED AS PART OF NHTSA RECALL 05V017000. HE HAS NOT CONTACTED FORD.*AK