Coolant Leaking problems of the 1997 Ford F-150 - part 2

I have a 97 Ford f150 xl with a 4. 2l 6cyl engine. There has always been a small loss of coolant and neither Ford service techs nor private machanics could ever find the leak. Well in Jan 2005 after the truck sat in the driveway for about 4 days and I started the truck and the engine blew. Towed it to a local shop and mechanic said the coolant was leaking into the engine and caused the damage. $4000 plus to fix it. After serching the internet I find that this is a very wide spread problem. I am trying to sell the truck to get a little money to help buy another vehicle. Help!.

My engine front cover gasket has failed in line with Ford's recall 99b29. Ford does not include my truck in this recall campaign. My truck is currently leaking a great deal of coolant through the failed front cover gasket. This could lead to a catastrophic engine failure. I have contacted Ford about this problem several times with no success. They have indicated that they have no intentions of helping me or fixing my truck.

Coolant leak in #4 cylinder. White smoke from buring coolant in engine. Rough idle and hard start up. Possible engine damage. Currently at Ford dealership to replace gaskets.

I purchased a 1997 Ford F-150 from a jacksonville resident in December of 2004 about three weeks ago, I went out to start it and heard loud banging from the engine compartment accompanied by bellows of smoke from the exhaust, I had the vehicle towed to a repair shop and, after the tech checked it out, was in formed the engine was shot. He then explained that the F-150s have had a trend problem with these engines for years; coolant would leak into a cylinder causing too much compression resulting in a bent or broken rod. It cost me $4220. 00 to replace an engine Ford knew was defective. I sent a letter (attached) to Ford and received a call from customer service basically telling me it was the owner's responsibility. This vehicle was meticulously cared for according to the owner's manual but, because of an engineering problem with the manufacturer, the engine failed. . Read more...

Coolant leaking from a faulty head gasket into the motor causing major damage. Resulting in Ford motor company replacing the entire motor for well over $4,000. This is not only a problem with my vehicle but many more. Just do a web search for faulty gaskets in 97 4. 2l engines. . Read more...

Coolant leaking in to crank case due to defective gaskets, please see. . Read more...

1997 Ford F-150 4. 2l engine loss of engine performance and leaking engine coolant, loss of oil pressure. Driving at highway speed, 70 mph oil pump failed at 89200 miles causing engine to throw a rod and spin bearings. This resulted in engine failure. I purchased a remanufactured 4. 2l engine from Ford to replace the failed engine. Ld engine core was turned in for credit.

I own a 97 Ford F-150 with a 4. 2l, v6. On July 16, 2004, the engine began making a knocking sound. Took the vehicle to 2 mechanics and both confirmed that the head gasket had failed, which allowed coolant to leak into the cylinder. At cold start, the coolant in the cylinder caused the piston rod to bend. Mechanics stated that new engine would cost $3,000 - 3,500 to replace.

Ford F-150 complaint on 4. 2l /v6 engine. Engine had total failure at 69k due to engine coolant leak into motor. I never received any recall notices for gasket problem noted in owner notification bulletins and technical service bulletins issued by Ford. This is a major problem due to poorly engineered faulty parts used by Ford in this motor. This is a major problem and all v6 F-150 owners should be compensated for damages by Ford. I need to pay four thousand dollars to replace the engine.

1997 Ford f150 w/ 4. 2l engine. The gaskets failed and coolant leaked into the engine causing a blown engine. Recall for front cover gasket was completed and I still had the engine failure. Terrible. 5000 dollars for a replacement engine.

Email fm joey gansz (ar) inquiring if there is enough information & complaints to require Ford to recall the engine gasket on the 1997 Ford f150 pickup truck. The consumer experienced engine problems due to a faulty gasket which allowed coolant to leak into the cylinders. The manufacturer was contacted but refused to admit there was a problem even though a service bulletin (sb 99-20-7) was issued.

On a cold start my Ford F-150 broke a rod due to engine coolant leaking into engine. This is a known Ford defect in which Ford sent out a technical bulletin but who will not cover the $4,000 dollar repair.

In fall of 2003, had coolant leak at 60,000 miles. Coolant was pooring out of front of motor. Ford dealer said it needed new front engine gasket. They split the $500 cost with me. About 3 months later, the truck began knocking loudly. Had new headers put in . . . Did not fix the problem. No help from Ford. Very good care is given my vehicles. The truck was always maintained on schedule, never used off road or for towing. Very disappointed that a truck treated like a car would have such problems.

Engine failure due to coolant leakage into cylinders.

Vehicle had coolant leak into cylinder #3 causing rings to collapse and loss of compression in cylinder. This is going to require a rebuild on the engine that has only 70,000 miles on it.

The engine head gasket blew twice and caused coolant to leak. This problem was recalled for some 1997 f150's but not the consumers vehicle due to VIN.

A tapping noise has occured in the engine. A Ford mechanic stated that it was a spun rod bearing. Ford claims that there is nothing they can do to help me for a malfucntion caused by a bad front cover gasket leak. This caused the coolant to leak into the oil, mixing water wtih oil. I know I'm not the first to report this. I was informed by other owners to file a complaint as well. Dt.

Engine front cover gasket failed, creating coolant leak. Ford recall 99b29 affected 141,800 1997 Ford F-150 4. 2l engines. Ford did not include my truck in this recall but it has suffered the same gasket failure. Dt.

97 Ford f- 150 pickup w/ 4. 2l v 6 it has come to my attention that this engine gives trouble w/ failing head gaskets . Mine failed at 86,560 mi. Engine coolant/antifreeze leaking into #s 3 & 6 cylinders so both sides of engine were affected Ford owes me $1765 dollars if they knew of this problem please help!.

Front engine cover gasket failed allowing coolant to leak is this problem covered under recall TSB# 99b29 Dec. 1999 what do I do ? I never got a recall from Ford or dealer.

Consumer received notification from Ford , in service program #99b29, that engine gasket front cover was defective and would be replaced with a redesigned model. Consumer complained that there was an expiration date of March 31, 2001 for this service program, and Ford was not going to replace this defective component for free when this defect could cause engine coolant leaks. Please provide any additional information/attachments.

We purchased this Ford vehicle from a Ford dealer eight months ago. We just learned it has a blown engine probably resulting from coolant leaking into the engine. We've learned Ford has replaced other '97 f150 engines with this defect. Our dealer indicates there have been no such service bulletins. We paid $12,000 eight months ago.

I have spent over $1,000 on miss-fire problems in 1. 5 years and it was finally found that one of the cylinder heads had a factory defect that caused a coolant leak. Even though the warranty has expired, I have a hard time paying $2,000 to fix a problem that existed the day the vehicle was made.

Consumer was traveling about 40 mph on highway and heat level line stayed in red zone. He added coolant into engine. Vehicle was okay. The vehicle was leaking due to timing chain cover failure.

Engine front cover gasket leaked coolant into the engine block destroying engine and the transmission, engine would not idle down so that it could be down shifted. It is a manual transmission and the truck needed to be turned off so that the truck while off could be shifted from 5th back into first gear. Once the truck was turned on, the transmission could be shifted up from first to second, and second to third etc. ***dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****739923.

Complete loss of coolant. Head gasket was originally replaced under TSB#99131,relating to coolant leaking through the head into the oil. The problem however has continued with a complete loss of coolant through the head gasket approx every 6-8 months.

Loss of anti-freeze or coolant both doors starting to crack rear sliding window leaking.

Consumer received Ford recall #99b29 (replacement of the pitted timing gear cover which caused coolant leakage), however after repair the engine required repair due to spun bearings which was directly caused by the coolant leakage.

Coolant leaked due to worn out gasket on water pump front cylinder. Yh.

Left and right head gaskets failed allowing coolant to leak into cylinders. ****dimms 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis******770825.