Engine Cooling System problems of the 1997 Ford F-150

97 f150 with 130k engine gasket blew. This engine had a recall on engine and timing cover gaskets, and when I typed my VIN number in on the Ford site, they said I had no outstanding recalls. I asked Ford for the name of the dealer who lied and said they did the work and only got paid for it, and Ford said they had no info. I got the shaft, and it cost 5k to get engine rebuilt myself.

I have a 1997 F-150 4. 6 v8 with approx 270,xxx miles on it. Around three years ago I replaced the original radiator at around 190,xxx miles, seemed fair that's a decent life I thought for a radiator. I took it to my local Ford dealer for replacement. Since then I am now need of my fourth radiator, the last radiator was replaced in Jan 2008. My local Ford dealer and Ford customer care folks are saying that the part is out of their 12 month/12,000 mile warranty and that there is nothing they can do. All repairs for this vehicle have been completed at this dealer for the past five or so years. My contention is that clearly these parts are suspect and the repair and failure history seems to support this.

I recently noticed a loss of coolant and foamy engine oil. I found an online forum explaining this as a problem called hydrolocked. Ford has known about this problem since 1999 an has issued a TSB 99-20-7 and onp 99b29. Why has Ford motor company not been held financially responsible for this ?.

1997 Ford f150 4. 2 v6 oil pressure falls to zero after warm up. . . With warning. I was deceptively sold this problem without warrantee just last month. My truck has only 66k miles and now I discover a big ongoing problem. . . Just by placing this top line in any seach engine you'll reach. . . Read more...

1997 Ford 150, 144,000 miles. Engine knocks and is loosing coolant. After doing research just found out this was a common problem with the 4. 2l v6 engine. I never received a recall from Ford stating a problem with the manifold gasket. I am the original owner.

Coolant leak.

I own a 1997 Ford f150 with a 4. 2l 6 cyl engine and I am having the same problems with coolant leaking and water pump gasket failures as tens of thousands of other owners of this make and model Ford truck. My truck has 90,000 miles and I am paying $1200 dollars to have this problem rectified. Ford has issues TSB's on this issue since 1999 and nothing is being done to reimburse or protect the consumer from this recognized failure. This should be an official recall and reimbursement made to owners who have paid to have this condition rectified.

Gasket failed on 4. 2 liter Ford engine, causing a rod to break. I was never notified of the gasket recall in 1999. It's going to cost me $3000 to fix. Ford should be liable for this. There are thousands of others just like mine out there.

Loss of coolant in 4. 2 l. V-6 engine. Ford F-150 pick-up truck.

Recall on Ford truck that I did not recieve, which my have saved me from getting a new engine. Recall#99b29.

1997 f150 4. 2l v6 60k miles water in cylinder warped rod. Engine no good. Cant afford to spend 5k dollars to try to repair engine.

(1)Ford 1997 4. 2 l v6, slow coolant leak/gasket leak resulting in internal terminal damage to the engine. (2) replacing lost coolant every so often is not unheard of for a common high mile engine but by doing so, the problem is gradualy getting worse until the engine locks up! (3)the fix is thousands of upset consumers spending hard earned dollars replacing a factory defective motor with another factory defective motor at the owners expense! thanks Ford! found the problem is very common after researching the web. Please help! sincerly, ex-Ford fan.

My '97 Ford f150 4. 2l v6 failed in my driveway upon starting three weeks after purchasing it. After turning the ignition, I heard loud knocking and banging coming from the engine and I shut it down. I found oil pouring from under the engine. Upon inspection found that the # 2 connecting rod was shattered which took out the oil pan, the oil pick up tube, and bent the crank shaft. Removed upper intake manifold, and found coolant in the rear port of the lower intake manifold.

I had purchased a used for F-150 for the dealer it went through inspection and was working very well. However after about six months of use it started to loose coolant, but dot visibly. It would run hot , I would add coolant and continue. Then in April of 2005 the engine locked up and had to be replaced. The mechanic said that the engine had hydrolocked and would need to be rebuilt.

I own a 1997 Ford f150. I recently had to replace the engine. I replaced it with an engine from a 2000 model. One year later I'm haveing the same issues with the new engine. While resovling the problems I was having I learned several people had this same issue. It seems that TSB #99-20-7 was issued by Ford. It describes my problems in detail. I caught it much earlier this time and was able to replace the lower intake manifold gasket before any significant damage was done to my 2000 engine. Ford needs to take resonsibility and fix the issues related to their TSB #99-20-7. One of the biggest problems is the information regarding this issue is not wide spread. The issue is often mis-diagnosed as a blown head gasket, which is twice the cost to fix. So consumers are paying the price for Fords cover-up. A web site is setup with a plethora of information regading this issue. . Read more...

Ford f150 1997 defect gaskets and cooling system leaked. The consumer was aware of another vehicle with the same make/model that had the same problem. The consumer requested reimbursement. The ball joints were replaced.

While driving the vehicle overheated due to a faulty intake manifold that caused coolant to leak inside the engine. The dealer was notified and determined that the engine needs to be replaced. Please provide any additional information.

My 1997 Ford f150 with 4. 2l v-6 manifold gasket failed which caused coolant to leak into cylinders. Without any warning, at cold start the coolant in the cylinders caused pistons/rod to break and engine suddenly began loud knocking and pouring white smoke out of exhaust. This truck has been meticulously maintained and has never been driven hard. Local repair shop says the local machine shop they use for rebuilds has seen at least 24 of these engines since January 1st, 2003! estimates to rebuild or replace this engine range from $2,000 to $4,000. We have not yet decided what to do - scared to get new engine from Ford because same problem may still be present.

The vehicle experienced the same defect with the water pump as stated in recall 00 v 094 000, however the vehicle identification and model was not included in the recall.

This leak has possibly damaged my engine it was a Ford design flaw what can I do? I attempted to send you this report on 12/07/02 but it was not complete was the message that was sent back to my e-mail. Therefore, I am sending this to you again I understand that a recall number 99b29 has been placed by Ford but it does not cover this problem. What can I do? please contact me if you would and let me know what I should do here! dt.

This truck should have been included in the Ford recall 99b29. After contacting Ford. They refuse to extend the recall. It is my belief, that the recall was too narrow in scope and should be extended to all 1997 Ford F-150 trucks. Many other Ford owners have experienced this same problem (leaking gasket which in turn permits the coolant to leak antifreeze into the engine, thereby damaging the engine). The 1997 Ford F-150 was the first year of the new model design and apparently Ford is not stepping up to help their customers. My research has indicated that this problem occurs with the 1997 F-150 when the truck has reached 60,000-70,000 miles and after the warranty has expired. The Ford dealers as well as corporate has knowledge of this problem and are refusing to acknowledge that this recall was not broad enough to cover the many trucks that have encountered this problem. Had my vehicle been included in this recall, I would have taken my truck immediately to my dealer to have the work performed, thereby avoiding any potential damage to my truck's engine. Instead, I was not the recipient of a recall letter and Ford tells me my truck is not included. It seems clear that my truck experienced the same identical problems which the recall specifically states: " 1997 Ford f-series 150, equipped with 4. 2 l engine; vehicle my experience engine coolant leak at engine front cover gasket; thereby causing severe engine damage is not immediately corrected". This is exactly what happened to my truck and how Ford can not claim liability is unconscionable. I would ask that you please launch an investigation into this defect and try to get the recall broadened in scope. Thank you very much. Dt.

No summary. Dt.

Timing gasket failure followed by engine failure. Good running truck brought to firestone shop for diagnosis & repair of water leak. Timing gasket and water pump replaced. Water pump was not leaking, but had 100k miles. After leak repair severe hesitation noted on acceleration from stop. While returning to firestone oil pressure drop at red light after passing other vehicle. Cam shaft sensor now bad and changed; hesitation fixed, pressure ok. Drove < 5 miles; accelerated onto interstate & drove 4 mi. At 1st stop after exiting interstate oil pressure drop. Returned to firestone. Now I need a new engine--$3000!.

2/01 vehicle was brought to lithia Ford in concord to diagnose over heating. Cooling system was checked and stated c. S. Was holding at that time, tore down motor, found bad bearings, oil pan milky, head gasket bad. Replaced w/4. 2 engine which was covered under an ext warranty, other recommended fix clutch disc throw out bearings. 11/2000, pwr steering hose bad, replaced,10/01 ck eng lit one,, idle air cntrol valve replaced,6/02 overhearing, new thermo,coolnt flsh, oil change, new brakes recommended, done. 9/4/02, overheating again, recommended new radiator/water pump, inqired on pcv modification recall, they will replace.

Vehicle was parked in front off of house and coolant fluid was leaking from engine. Dealership was aware of problem.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

No summary.

First noticed that the truck was hesitating and could not accelerate easily. Took to a friend of ours who opened up a new auto shop and he changed the oil and noticed that it was contaminated with coolant. He then pulled up TSB from the internet regarding engine contamination, article no. 99-20-7. He encouraged us to take it to a Ford dealer where they could further diagnose and hook up to their diagnostic machines, as our check engine light was on and he wasn't set up to read the computer. We drove the truck, with brand new oil, 4 miles to our house, parked and called a tow truck to come and take it to the dealer where we had purched the vehicle. We also saved a sample of the contaminated oil in an old windex bottle and sent it to the dealer. It sat for three days with no one looking at it until I finally drove there myself and asked what the heck was going on. I was informed that the person that was supposed to look at the car did not come into work and he had someone else looking into the problem. I then had to call back when I got home, 5 hours later, and was told that the whole engine had to be replaced or taken apart to see just how much damage had been done. They said it was excessively driven with the contaminated oil. We never even knew that the oil was contaminated, nor were we ever notified of the recall notice. We have the oil changed every 3,000 miles, always! then he proceeds to tell me that our vehicle is not part of the recall. That is all we know for now and am waiting for more information from the dealer after he talks with his manager and Ford. Hoping for the best.

Due to a design flaw fuel filler tube cracked, causing fuel to leak. Also, engine check light came on, and vehicle overheated. Please provide further information.

Coolant leaks through timing chain cover; wipers come on unexpectantly while in off position.

When on the highway vehicle runs hot. When pouring coolant in to it, vehicle leaks. To vehicle dealer, and they could not remedy the problem.

Coolant was added to the vehicle, and within twenty minutes the coolant level was low, and the vehicle started to drive roughly. Driver shut off the vehicle and would not restart it. Dealer found that cause of the problem was a faulty head gasket.