Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 032123 | 10/30/2003 | 97618 | 10004834 | Low rpm, no start, runs poorly, stall. 7.3l dit engine. *tt | 01/09/2004 |
| 032121 | 10/30/2003 | 97216 | 10004832 | A high number of high pressure rexroth pumps and injection pressure regulators (ipr) are being replaced due to oil leaking, when all that is required is a new gasket or seal on either the pump or ipr. *tt | 01/09/2004 |
| 032120 | 10/30/2003 | 97214 | 10004831 | 7.3l dit glow plug start-up on-time during cold temperature - service tip. *tt | 01/09/2004 |
| 980325 | 04/01/1998 | 603518 | Cold engine upper knock/tick. *yc | 07/18/2000 | |
| 985058 | 11/01/1998 | 613195 | Subject regarding external oil leaks - repeat message. *tt | 06/19/2000 | |
| 5050 | 11/01/1998 | 613183 | Repeat message regarding a stall on decel condition. *tt | 06/19/2000 | |
| 97618 | 03/17/1997 | 52000 | Low rpm- 7.3l dit engine fails to start- code 340 stored in memory and/or engine fails to achieve rated speed for 2-3 minutes after extended cold soak- f-series built through 2/9/96 and all econolines. *jd | 07/17/1997 | |
| 97216 | 01/20/1997 | 51404 | Leak - oil leakat engine valley pan and/or high pressure oil pump - vehicles equipped with 7.3l diesel engine. *tw | 06/27/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 980307 | 01/01/1998 | 607708 | Vehicle stalls/quits while driving. *ak | 02/06/2001 | |
| 5254 | 12/01/1998 | 615371 | Information on super duty 7.3 dit diesel engine vehicles exhibiti lack of power. *tt | 01/13/2001 | |
| 4625 | 08/01/1998 | 615162 | Brief information on vehicles exhibiting a stall on deceleration condition. *tt | 01/02/2001 | |
| 4617 | 08/01/1998 | 615155 | Brief information on vehicles exhibiting lack of power condition. *tt | 01/02/2001 | |
| 4629 | 08/01/1998 | 615165 | Brief information concern vehicles exhbiting external oil leaks. *tt | 01/02/2001 | |
| 4616 | 08/01/1998 | 615154 | Brief information vehicles exhibiting hard start / no start condition. *tt | 01/02/2001 | |
| 98-4726 | 09/01/1998 | 607139 | Repeat message, no change: hard start/ no start. *ak | 11/02/2000 | |
| 980312 | 04/01/1998 | 603506 | Excessive white smoke. verify glow plug operation by performing glow plug system operation check on the hard start/no start diagnostic sheet. *tt | 07/14/2000 | |
| 5047 | 11/01/1999 | 613141 | Repeat message regarding a hard start / no start condition. *tt | 06/19/2000 | |
| 5046 | 11/01/1998 | 613103 | Repeat message regarding vehicles exhibiting a lack of power. *tt | 06/16/2000 | |
| 985042 | 11/01/1998 | 613086 | Repeat message regarding vehicles exhibiting rough idle / miss condition. *tt | 06/16/2000 | |
| 980323 | 04/01/1998 | 603516 | Concerns with external oil leaks. *yc | 02/23/1999 | |
| BC0256970201 | 01/02/1997 | 51092 | A running change for the 7.3l to allow better definition on cylinder contribution tests in process. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC0782961014 | 10/14/1996 | 50408 | Concerns of check engine light 'on'. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - TURBO-CHARGER | |||||
| 98-4734 | 09/01/1998 | 607148 | Lack of power due to failure of engine turbo boost | 11/02/2000 | |
| 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 | |||
| 05/07/2009 | 250000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford e350. the contact awoke in the middle of the night to find his vehicle on fire. he attempted to extinguish the fire with a garden hose, but was unsuccessful. the fire department arrived and successfully extinguished the flames. a firefighter stated that the fire originated in the engine compartment. a fire report was filed. the vehicle is currently still at the contact's residence. the dealer and manufacturer have not been notified. the current and failure mileages were over 250,000. | |||
| 05/11/2009 | 1 | ||
| Our 1997 ford f350 truck was parked in our barn and caught fire yesterday morning for no apparent reason. the fire destroyed the truck and caused damage to the barn and also caught our atv on fire. i left for work at 7 a.m. and had been in the barn before leaving. the first department was contacted at 8:04 and by the time they got there, the truck was basically gone. we had other damages caused by this fire. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 06/28/2008 | 203000 | 1 | |
| The #3 spark plug on my '97 ford e-350 van blew out (about 1 year after the plugs were changed) while starting to drive slowly in a parking lot. i have been told by more than one mechanic that this is common on this engine (5.4 l 8-cylinder) and that it is a design defect. i have not had the money to get it fixed yet (estimated by mechanic to be $1500 to pull the head and repair). i have also read that there is a good possibility of fire when this happens, although that did not happen in our case (we shut down the engine right away and had it towed home). *tr | |||
| 10/10/2008 | 108817 | 1 | |
| 1997 ford e350 v-10 engine van blew out the number 4 spark plug. loud popping sound followed by loss of power and strong fuel smell. also had a neighbor with an f-150 that had same problem and truck burned to the ground in under 5 minutes. *tr | |||
| 05/06/2004 | 48526 | 1 | 04/07/2004 |
| The motor home engine operated fine while we were on an extended 1700 mile trip. the gauges registered normal. we checked the oil & antifreeze & they were at the normal levels. after we returned: at mileage 48526 we started the engine on may 6, 2004 the engine started with a large knocking noise & there was white smoke out the tailpipe. 2. antifreeze had gotten into the oil so the rod bent & #1 cylinder was scored when the engine was started. 3. the head gaskets & head was normal - the whole engine had to be replaced!*jb | |||
| 01/10/2003 | 63000 | 07/14/1997 | |
| Spark plug was blown out of the aluminum head of an e-350 ford v-8 vortex engine. mechanics i have spoken to have reported familiarity with this exact problem when vehicle reaches 60,000 plus miles. individual with same type and year (97) truck is having same trouble. | |||
| 04/25/2001 | 6 | 02/01/1999 | |
| Oil filter housing unit bolted to left side of triton v-10 engine fell off the engine after bolts which held the housing apparently vibrated loose. the failure resulted destruction of both the sending and return oil lines to the oil cooler and also heavy damage to oil cooler after it too also fell after being yanked by the falling oil filter mounting unit. at time of failure there was no indication that there was an oil pressure problem because the instrument gages were still reading full pressure. engine was saved from damage after driver shut engine off and steered motor home down a two lane road to where it could safely pull off. note there is an extream fire hazard issue with this large amounts of oil sprayed on the left side engine manifold. tires. six firestone steeltex tires and a non-firestone spare tire were replaced due to sever cracking and evidence that tires were showing immenant failure. tires were only load range d. vehicle should have load range e. replaced with non-firestones on all positions. (dot number: vd1l1xe127 tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| 12/27/2000 | 1 | ||
| While vehicle was being driven spark plugs blewout on engine head. engine head was replaced. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 04/21/2001 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states the 1997 ford v-10 caught fire under the hood, consumer is unsure of cause. yd consumer states no further information has been available from insurance company or dealership, consumer mentions that on dog died due to the fire. *tt | |||
| 04/01/2002 | 1 | ||
| After vehicle was started an unusual noise occurred in engine compartment. dealer inspected vehicle and determined that engine needed to be replaced due to coolant leaking into the cylinder. *ak *mj | |||
| 02/01/1998 | |||
| Our vehicle quit while we were driving on a 2-lane rural hwy. w/no shoulder. it acted like it was losing power. the check engine light started fluttering on & off and then the other electrical functions started to fade. the engine then quit totally. we tried to restart the engine; it would turn over but not fire. after approx. 10 minutes we tried again and it started and ran fine the rest of the way home. we took our vehicle to the galloway ford dealership on 3/25/99, inv.#fdts344292, and they said the following on the invoice: road tested 48 miles at hwy speed and stop & go seed w/firm & soft acceleration. 2 different events did happen. after short drive heading towards i-75, transmission seemed to neutral out, the engine was still running. brought vehicle back to shop, but did not happen on the way back. took to tech. they tried 1 more time to record on gps, negative recording/took out 1 more time. before getting off lot, the engine seemed like it was going to shift, but just died. started back up. took out again with gps, neither even occurred. at very low speeds, transmission seems to be slipping or not up shifting. very very low speeds . . . . bob brooks. the technician and service adviser told me that they did not know what the problem was or how to correct it. i think that this is a serious safety hazard. what would happen it my family and i were on an interstate and the engine quit? with no engine power, do we have steering and brake control? i am afraid to use my vehicle because of this. any help you can be with this problem will be greatly appreciated. *ak | |||
| 06/20/1997 | 2 | 09/30/1996 | |
| Vehicle continues to vibrate and make noise after engine replacement. | |||
| When proceeding from a stop position or coming to a stop the vehicle will stall. cause unknown. please give any further details. *ak | |||