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Ford F-Series: Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

2180 messages,  Last post on Nov 26, 2006 at 10:18 PM

You are in the Ford F-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford F-150, Ford F-250, Ford F-350, Ford F-100, Truck

Messages Page 60 of 218

#591 of 2180 Blown-up 2001 5.4 by tzash

Feb 18, 2004 (1:22 pm)

I have a 2001 F-150 Lariat 4x4 5.4 with 48,000 Mi.
It has been approx 5,000 miles since the last oil change. The drain plug is tight, and the motor never seemed to burn oil. Friday evening the motor suffered a catastrophic failure. As I was driving down I-95, the "service engine soon" light came on, the engine began to lose power and the oil pressure dropped. Before I could pull off on the shoulder and shut it off, I heard a short "screech" (Obviously a seizure).
 
Not fair considering that I just bought out the lease and haven't even made the 1st payment yet!
 
Anyway.- My mechanic has told me that there is a company he deals with, that can get me a new "0" milege motor with all of the updates needed according to the TSB"s issued to the dealers, for about $3,000 (Motor only). It also comes with a 2 year 40,000 mile warranty.
 
I really like this darn truck. It's my first Ford and I liked it so much, that I convinced my wife to get rid of her 1999 Suburban and buy the 2001 Expedition XLT with the 4.6
 
Does the price of this replacement motor sound right? Whew! big bucks...
 
Any alternative suggestions would be appreciated.

#592 of 2180 tzash by jrc346

Feb 18, 2004 (7:20 pm)

What exaclty caused the failure? I have had nothing but good things to say about my 5.4L, now at 96,500 miles and no problems.
 
I change the oil at 7,500 miles and I DO have to keep an eye on the oil level. It uses about a quart of oil about every 1,000-1,500 miles. That would probably bother some people out there, but not me. When I think about what my engine does in those 1,500 miles, it kind of makes sense. At those hot temps some of the oil is going to evaporate and get sucked into the intake through the PCV system. Sorry to hear that your Ford loyalty is being tried. Put in the new engine, and just keep an eye on that oil;-)

#593 of 2180 TZASH by docknow

Feb 22, 2004 (11:15 am)

Put in the new engine. I have 167,000 on my 1997 F-150 ext cab flareside. I use about a quarter of a quart every 4000 miles, the oil is always changed every 4000 miles, the only thing I have done to the vehicle in 167,000 mile is replace the ball joints at 125,000 miles because the factory saves .20 cent per vehicle by not putting grease fittings on at the factory. This is the best truck I have ever had, I plan on driving it until it has 250,000 miles.
 
Good luck with your truck.

#594 of 2180 Buying an older F150 by northstart

Feb 24, 2004 (12:39 pm)

Hi guys. Im going to start looking for an oldish F150 later this year to use as a promotional vehicle for my business here in England. I?ve looked a number of trucks of all makes but I like the look of the mid to late 80s F150
 
Therefore I was wondering if anyone had any experience (or problems) with these. I know all of the usual things to look for and a truck of this age isnt going to be perfect but did they have any major vices that I should watch out for?
 
The model I will be looking for is a long bed regular cab V8 auto, probably a 4x4 but I would rule out a 4x2

#595 of 2180 2004 F150 computer problems??? by 9750

Feb 25, 2004 (9:41 pm)

I bought an '04 Lariat in January. Now I've got 3600 miles on it. Yesterday the check engine light came on and the information center read something to the effect that the engine was operating in SAFE mode.{I can't remember the exact wording} I took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong, so they reset the codes in the computer. The dealer checked with Ford and found that there have been problems of this sort, but they should have new software to download in about a month???
I back out of the garage this morning, and the same thing happens with the check engine light and SAFE mode. Is anyone else having problems like this?

#596 of 2180 79 F-150 Question by jrc346

Feb 26, 2004 (3:49 pm)

I have never thought to post any question about my 79-F-150 in here, but why not? Anyway, my 1979 F-150 is a regular cab, long bed 2x4 with a 302 (5.0L) V8 with the C4 three speed auto tranny. It was restored and repainted a dark green (couldn't stand the poop brown color), however it is a continuous project that I work on in my spare time. The frame and engine bay are still in need of refurbishment and cleaning. The bed will have to be replaced in the future as well, but for now it looks nice! Anyway, enough of that crapola, now to the important part.
 
I bought the truck at 90,000 miles 5 years ago (It has 128,000 currently) and shortly after I started getting a rattling/clanking noise from my engine when traveling at highway speeds (60MPH +). It only does it when in drive (wont make noise when held at the same RPM as on highway while in park) and is inconsistent, meaning that it comes and goes. It also only happens when I am just cruising, so if I press on the gas harder or take my foot off the gas, it stops. This seems to have been a problem since I had a new carburetor put on. I have also done a top engine clean, had my timing adjusted, tried different octanes of gas, and while some things seem to help it, it never goes away completely. I don't know where to go next. Do I look at the distributor for problems with the vacuum advance or do I turn to the electronic spark controller, or is the carburetor the cause of my problems? How about the EGR valve or a vacuum leak? While the noise hasn't really gotten worse in the last 30,000 or so miles that it has been doing this, I am worried about the damage it may be causing to the engine. Plus no one can tell me what the noise is. The truck runs beautifully, and gets about 14 MPH average, which is great, but I don't want to be stranded someplace or have to put in a new engine right now. So, if there are any ideas out there I would be greatly appreciated to hear them:)

#597 of 2180 Small block noise by akjbmw

Feb 26, 2004 (6:38 pm)

I put a 351W in a '62 Comet once upon a time. When I rebuilt the engine before stuffing it in there, I didn't get the single bolt that holds the eccentric (drives the fuel pump) attached to the front of the cam tight enough. It started flopping against the inside of the cam cover with a REALLY un-nice clanking sound. Major sphincter action.
This may not be what you have, but if the timing chain tensioner is getting worn, it might be touching the cover and providing you with the unfriendly sounding clanks.
Might be worth a check see, especially if your water pump is getting up there in age (while you're at it).
Good luck and happy trails.

#598 of 2180 jrc346 by wijoco

Feb 26, 2004 (6:50 pm)

Can you describe the sound? Is it a spark knock or something else? I've had a few 70's F100s with the 302s and Iv'e piddled with them quite a bit.

#599 of 2180 Noise description by jrc346

Feb 26, 2004 (10:48 pm)

First off, thank you for your willingness to help me out with this one. Who knows, maybe we are on to something?
 
Now, the only battle is trying to figure out how to make the noise appear on this page. I think rattling is a pretty good start, but that can mean a lot of things. To me it sounds like valvetrain noise. Like a rocker arm and pushrod are just flapping all over the place. However, this only happens when I am cuising with a steady foot on the accelerator going 60 MPH +. Another way I can think of this noise is when you take two spoons and hold them together back to back and shake them (haha not sure if this is how that works with the spoons, but I have seen this done with certain music (bluegrass?)) So, take that noise and do it with 3 or 4 sets of spoons rapidly, it would sound like a rattling or clacking. It can be clearly heard inside the cab. Not sure if this is actual detonation or not. I find it strange that it goes away the more I press on the gas. I did forget to mention that I did the top engine clean because the noise became much louder. I was really nervous that something was about to go, and thought that it might be possible that I had carbon buildup in the top end of the engine that was causing the ruckus. 50% of the noise was gone, but quickly came back (100 miles) to the way it was before it became louder. I am about to pour some more money into the engine. I need a new radiator and I have a coolant leak somewhere (not the water pump). So one of these days I will have to get the hood open and spend a day with it. Again, thank you for your help.
JRC
p.s Would the noise coming from the cam cover happen at any other time (idle, acceleration, etc) or just at the times I am describing? I have been told before that this could be a place to look for an issue. Also, would the performance of the fuel pump be effected if this was happening?

#600 of 2180 Rattle by akjbmw

Feb 26, 2004 (11:15 pm)

JRC. How're the bushings in the distributor?

Messages Page 60 of 218

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