Two problems related to power train have been reported for the 2003 Ford F-350. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While preparing for a camping trip this pass summer, I went to check the oil level. When I went to remove the oil dipstick, the dipstick tube broke, due to corrosion. This is the first time in my 25 years of owning a vehicle for that to happen. It would be alright, but in order to replace the tube, it is required to remove the exhaust manifold to properly replace it. In turn it cost more money to replace a product that should not break. I was fueling my truck and wanted to check all my fluids.
I was driving down the road and I heard a loud pop. The engine had a very abrupt loss in power and began shaking as I tried to accelerate. I was on a 2 lane road and had no choice but to try and maintain my speed to prevent causing an accident from being rear ended. After driving several miles to a place I could safely stop, I checked under the hood an a spark plug had been shot from the engine. After reviewing this on the web, there are many complaints like mine where spark plugs were shot out of engines. Nhtsa needs to evaluate this as review. Had the engine caught fire I would not have known and I had no where to pull off the road. This is a result of an cylinder head with inadequate threads for spark plugs to thread into and take hold over time the aluminum weakens and this happens. If this wasn't a problem why did Ford redesign cylinder heads after these model engines to accommodate more threading to hold the spark plugs in the engine?.