Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 13186 | 09/01/1999 | 6090542 | Information regarding front cover & water pump bolts-torque valve revision/3.8-4.2l. *mjs | 03/21/2000 | |
| 99207 | 10/04/1999 | 6089651 | Subject on engine coolant leaking into the engine oil on some vehicles. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
| 99131 | 06/28/1999 | 606484 | Concerns with engine coolant leaking into engine oil on some vehicles. *tt | 08/25/1999 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 6996 | 09/01/1999 | 6090309 | Information regarding a change in the torque values of the engine front cover water pump bolts. *tt | 03/14/2000 | |
| 99146 | 07/12/1999 | 608422 | Concerns with the oil dipstick and / or pcv valve dislodging from the engine and / or engine oil leaking from dipstick tube. *tt | 11/24/1999 | |
| BC0325972301 | 01/23/1997 | 51435 | Some 5.4l front end serpetntine belts may make some noise between temperatures fo 30 f-50 f. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 15517 | 01/01/2002 | 630043 | Subject regarding exaggerated engine braking on deceleration. *yd | 04/12/2002 | |
| 4638 | 08/01/1998 | 615176 | Malfunction indicator lamp on, with p0300 - p0308 misfire diagnostic trouble codes with a 4.6l engine. *tt | 01/03/2001 | |
| 11496 | 04/01/1998 | 613754 | Some vehicles equipped with the 4.2l engine may exhibit a vibration or boom, off idle between 870 - 900 rpms. *tt | 08/01/2000 | |
| 982474 | 04/01/1998 | 603536 | Some vehicles with the 4.2l engine may exhibit a vibration or boom, off idle between 870-900 rpms. *yc | 02/24/1999 | |
| 980317 | 04/01/1998 | 603510 | Symptoms regarding p0300-p0308 misfire dtcs with 4.6l engines. *yc | 02/23/1999 | |
| BC0782961014 | 10/14/1996 | 50408 | Concerns of check engine light 'on'. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||||
| BC0325961129 | 11/29/1996 | 50733 | Some front end serpentine belts may make noise when between 30 and 50 degrees fahrenheit. *tw | 06/17/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||||
| BC0883961004 | 10/04/1996 | 50440 | Vehicles may exhibit an exhaust leak &/or noise due to warped exhaust manifolds. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | ||||||
| DP05005 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/22/2005 | 01/04/2006 | SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD | ||
| On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 07/14/2004 | 76099 | 2 | 10/30/1997 |
| 1) engine begins to runs rough. ) egr ports become clogged 3) intake has to be removed and ports cleaned and injectors flushed. was told by the mechanic that this is a known design flaw with the ford 6 cyl. engine, and that there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. it will have to be done again periodically. *ak | |||
| 04/03/2004 | 77123 | 1 | 08/06/1998 |
| I dropped a rod today in my 1997 ford-f150 with 77,000 miles. check engine light seems to come on every 1000 miles. highly unlikely that i would never purchase another ford product. maybe 1997 model was a problem with ford acknowledging problem. *nm | |||
| 10/25/2001 | 1 | 05/01/1997 | |
| I was informed by a certified ford mechanic, the problem that i had experienced with my vehichle is a common defect with the ford 4.2l v-6 engines. the seal for the intake of the fuel injection system cracks and causes coolant to leak into the cylinders. a cylinder will evantually contain so much coolant that on start up of the engine the push rod or main bearing for the piston will break. the reason being, coolant can not combust , causing so much pressure in the cylinder it breaks either the push rod or main bearing. i had also talked to other independent mechanics and have been informed that many of the 4.2l v-6 engines in these vans have been repaired or replaced for the same reason.*ak | |||
| 12/03/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1997 | |
| Notified by auffenberg ford service department that timing cover seal allowed moisture into engine block resulting in blown engine. advised by service department that this is a recall problem with the 4.2 liter engines on the f-150 which is also the same engine installed on the e-150 van series. contacted ford customer service and they denied any problems with the vans. it is difficult to believe that a vehicle maintained as well as this one was would develope this type of a major problem at this low mileage. a synthetic blend was used for the oil which was changed at the recommended intervals and monthly during the winters. after talking to several service dealers in the area, i was left with the impression that this is a common problem of defective parts installed by ford motor co.. two of the local independant service centers indicated that they have seen this problem recently on the e-150's with ford denying any problems. *ak | |||
| 04/05/2001 | |||
| Coolant level dropped, consumer found timing cover leaking, allowing coolant to leak in oil.*ak *jb | |||
| 03/19/1999 | |||
| At 29,000 miles engine head gasket has prematurley blew out, causing coolant leak, cause unknown. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 11/05/2007 | 135039 | 2 | 06/30/1998 |
| I experienced the same symptoms described in the camshaft position sensor recall which affects e-series vans. on 05nov07 my engine light came on and my engine began to hesitate, as if it would stall. i took the van to the ford dealer on 06nov07. they said they could not find anything wrong. they reset the codes and the engine light went off. on 09nov07 the engine light came on again and the engine began to run sluggishly. i did not drive the van over the weekend because i was afraid it would stall while i was driving. on 12nov07 the dealer replaced the dpfe sensor at a cost to me of $364.04. i contacted ford corporation on 06dec07 requesting reimbursement for the repair. my request was denied. failure of dpfe sensor has the same results and the same safety implications as the failure of the camshaft position sensor. ford should include this failure in the recall as well, or someone will be hurt eventually. *tr | |||
| 10/16/2001 | 1 | ||
| Exhaust is smoking bad, service engine soon light has illuminated, dealer states engine needs replaced, consumer states there is a tsb regarding this, tsb 99-20-7. *slc | |||
| 08/30/2000 | 5 | ||
| Vehicle is stalling when backing up and coming to a stop. this became progressivly worse. dealer cannot remedy problem. *ak consumer also stated that the vehicle stalled whille pulling out into the incoming traffic. vehicle was hooked up to a monitoring device which had detected a faulty e dpfe sensor (problem still occurs, even three weeks later). consumer was instructed to take vehicle back the following week (aug 19th). *scc | |||
| 2 | 04/01/1998 | ||
| Faulty engine (new) replaced with remanufactured engine( dot number: tire size: 255/70-15 ) | |||
| 8 | 02/01/1999 | ||
| Vehicle has a vibration problem, most noticable at between 58 and 65 mph. the dealer has made eight attempts to repair the vehicle and i have been without the vehicle for over 30 days. i met with a manufacture rep at flagler ford who told me they were going to give me back all of the money paid on this vehicle except for $700.00 for milage used providing i bought another ford vehicle. during my search i test drove three other ford vans, all of which had similar vibration problems. i finally found one that i was willing to accept, and when the manufacturers rep was contacted, she did not live up to her committment. i am now asking for arbitration and relief under the lemon law. | |||
| 07/09/1998 | 50 | 04/01/1998 | |
| Motor acts like it is choking and won't take gas. it sometimes dies and have to restart. vehicle sometimes dies when slowing down to turn at intersection,causing you to stop in middle of traffic. brakes are not good. when applied hard they vibrate very bad. | |||
| 05/28/1997 | 1 | 05/28/1997 | |
| Engine noise coming from vehicle is very loud. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 07/12/2002 | |||
| While driving vehicle would not gain speed, dealer determined that catalytic converter had melted on one side, and mass airflow sensor was replaced.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CATALYTIC CONVERTOR | |||
| 07/12/2002 | |||
| While driving vehicle would not gain speed, dealer determined that catalytic converter had melted on one side, and mass airflow sensor was replaced.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 12/07/2005 | 48008 | 2 | 03/07/2000 |
| Engine hydro-lock. i own a 1997 e-150 conversion van. it has the 4.2l v-6 engine. i have had to have the intake manifold gasket replaced along with the water pump and gasket and also timing gear gasket. all due to a faulty intake manifold gasket. ford replaced this in the v-8 model cars due to reading a lawsuit about it on their site. i have read in many forums that i'm not alone in this costly repair. i contacted ford to be told that the lawsuit did not pertain to my van. since i'm not alone, i would like to know what if anything can i do? http://www.fordmanifoldsettlement.com/index.html http://forums.treemedia.com/fb/archive/index.php/t-224.html | |||
| 02/08/2005 | 47800 | 1 | 03/01/1998 |
| Ford motor co. had knowledge of failure of the front cover gasket and lower intake manifold gasket in 97 & 98 e-150 and f-150 vehicles. failure of any one of the above items will end the life of a engine. ford will not ackknowledge this problem even though numerous tsb's have been put out. this is such a problem that a web site is dedicated to it. (leakingfords.com) another site that has many complaints about this is http://forums.treemedia.com/fb/showthread.php?t=224&page=4&pp=15 people that have this failure end up needing a engine replaced. *ak | |||