Been reading thru, doing recon on first major problem I have had with my 1998 F150 XL 4.2, auto trans. I bought it in 2000 with 24k (a turned in lease truck). Have driven it only about 40k miles in the last 10 years. Changed oil and filter every 3000 miles, with no noticeable usage. With rising gas prices, recently had to decide whether to keep or sell, wife decided for me to keep it, so I replaced belt, all hoses and replaced the battery. Then I had to rebuild the starter and alternator in short order.

Had been losing just a bit of coolant for years, but no leaks --- occasionally thought I smelled a bit of antifreeze when first started on cold mornings. A few weeks ago, I turned the key, and the motor would not turn at all. My first assumption was that the new battery was bad, but it tested fully charged and GOOD.

Got to thinking that it might be like my '94 Taurus with a blown head gasket, so I pulled the plugs, and coolant ran out #4 and #5 (front two on the left side). The motor turns easily with a wrench (plugs out), so I drained the coolant and the oil. Then I put WD-40 followed by oil in the spark plug holes and turned the engine by hand to keep the rings free till I could get to it. I put in new oil and a cheap (sacrificial) oil filter and used the starter briefly to turn it (without plugs) to bring it up to full oil pressure several (many) times. My idea was to flush the oil channels, main bearings, etc. of any coolant. Then I drained all that mess and removed the cheap oil filter. All that was to prepare to AT LEAST replace head gaskets.

THEN I read (here) about the '97 4.2L problems with the intake manifold gasket leakage (my 98 was built in Oct/Nov 97 and actually uses the belt routing and thermostat gasket of a 97). But now I have hope? that I may not have to pull the heads.

??? Do the 4.2 V6's NOT have head gasket failure problems as bad as the 3.8's a few years back?? ALSO, since I never saw significant mixing of coolant in the oil (as in running with large amounts of water in the oil) and the engine turns easily by hand, is it likely I avoided deeper engine damage? Opinions are welcome. Thanks.

 

Replace the lower intake gaskets and hope you don't have a bent rod. I got my truck for free because it had a bent rod from bad gaskets.

 

I'd guess it is VERY unlikely you have head gasket problems. As mentioned above, look first to replace lower intake manifold gaskets.
Sounds like no internal damage, so that is a good thing.

Also, soemthing else to keep in mind....
There were also problems with premature failure of timing chain cover gaskets. Not as frequent, but still happened.

My bet: replace the LIM gaskets and you'll be good to go.

 

Went to start my 98 F150 yesterday and it wouldn't crank. Called AAA and had them send someone to test battery. Battery was fine and they said my started was shot. So since the wrecker was already there I decided to send it to my local repair and it wasn't there more than an hour when they determined it to be Hydrolocked!

They were unable to turn the engine by hand and took out spark plugs and found coolant.... Interesting because I just had to put in a half gallon of coolant before I started it. NO issues with it before and now I am being recommended to buy a whole new refurb engine and put it in. The truck has 110,000 but I have only owned it 6 months. I'm sure previous owner knew it was beginning to be an issue and was smart and sold it.

But I am afraid to put another 4.2 in it because then I could have same issue.

 

Rebuild the original engine with the new updated gaskets.I have had 2 4.2,s in my XL,s.The first had 168,000 on the clock,and was still running strong.It was a 97.my new ride is an 07 with the same engine,and does just as good a job as the 97.
If there was no major internal damage(other that the blown gaskets) you should be able to rebuild yours,and have MANY years of trouble free service.
BTW...Welcome to our world.The 4.2,s did have some issues early on,but with the newer updated parts,theyre tough as nails.

 

hi, i am replacing the lower intake gaskets for the second time!
how do you know if the gaskets are the up-rated type? 3mm and 4mm get a mention in old threads but how do you determine which are correct.
sorry for jumpin in. bokker.

 

Bokker,

Not sure about how to tell, but here is a TSB with part numbers.
99-20-7***COOLING SYSTEM - 3.8L - UNDETERMINED LOSS OF COOLANT***COOLING SYSTEM - 4.2L - UNDETERMINED LOSS OF COOLANT***ENGINE - 3.8L - ENGINE OIL CONTAMINATED WITH COOLANT***ENGINE - 4.2L - ENGINE OIL CONTAMINATED WITH COOLANT

 

thanks brian real good help. bokker.

 

Hey there, n5926g,

I'm currently in the '88-'96 Forum, but am considering getting a newer truck, so your comments are very interesting to me. I wonder if you would mind clarifying something for me? Specifically, by what year(s) did Ford have the 4.2 outfitted with "...the newer updated parts...." that you mention? And what were the parts--new lower intake gasket set and ?

Thanks in advance,

Big Six