Hi All I am matbe looking in buying another truck and I am seeing a few 97 & up F-150s with bad head gaskits . My question is , is this perpendicular to the 4.2 engines or the 4.6 engine or the 5.4 . Thanks in advance

 

Perpendicular???

The gasket issues with the 4.2 pertained to intake manifold gaskets and timing cover gaskets on the 97 and 98 models. Problem address for 99
I am not aware of problematic head gaskets in any other years.
I am not aware of known gasket issues on the 8's, but I'll let others comment on that.

you say you're seeing gasket issues on 97+ f=150's.........What engines???

 

I have seen in my travels of seeking a 4.9 for my 93 F-150 a lot of 4.2s needing head gaskits. My other question is , is the 4.2 engine as reliable as the 4.9 ? Iv'e seen 4.9s get in excess of 300K and still run strong.

I just bought a 97 F-150 with 190K and the owner says it needs head gaskits. I started it and it sounded pretty good, But I didn't let it get hot or normal operating temperture. But the botttom end sound good

 

I don't think either the 4.2, 4.6, or 5.4 will ever be as reliable as the 4.9.
Of course we're comparing apples and oranges but the 300 was one tuff engine.
I'm not sure what to say about the gasket issues with the 4.2. To the best of my knowledge, there were no problematic gaskets on the 99 and up engines.
Hopefully others will chime in if they know of issues with the head gaskets.

 

Thanks Ottwaguy kinda what I though which is the reason why I am reluctant to get rid of my 93 with the 4.9. But sadly time moves on Thanks again for your reply

 

ive seen mainly the 5.4s had the problem with headgaskets leaking oil, very few 4.6s had the problem but mine did tho. its a 97 supercab 4.6 4x4 o/r. i did mine this weekend, it was a pita but worth it to do it myself.

 

Ok well after I get this thing home and take a real good look at it. So I can see what's really going on . I started it up and it didn't sound too bad, But it has 190k on it which is why I might change out the engine.

But I can imagine how you feel after doing it your self . And it only taking a weekend that's OK

 

The oil leaks through the head gaskets seem peculiar to the Romeo engines in particular. The Windsor engines, not so much.

Check the 8th digit in the VIN, Romeo engines that spot is a "W". The 8th digit for the Windsor engines is a "6". There are other differences, and a lot of parts are not interchangeable.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave good infomation That sure will help

 

Have you checked for oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil?

 

Even on the year that is more prone to blowing head gaskets, its often a sign that the cooling system has not been maintained. Even if it has never overheated, old coolant can cause circulation and corrosion problems that can result in a blown head gasket.

 

Proper maintenance is the key to longevity for sure. You hear time and time again about the importance of changing fluids when you buy a used vehicle. Coolant is no exception. When I bought my last truck, I didn't properly check the coolant before purchase......I am not sure what was in it. I suspect it was coolant at one time, but omg! Some folks own a vehicle, but do as little as possible to it and when it starts to act up....sell!!!
I just saw a post recently where a guy just sold his truck and was bragging about how many miles were on it and how it still had all it's original parts.

 

Well I got the truck home on Tuesday I topprd off the coolant and reolcaed the battery and away I went I drove it the 25 miles to my home. I ran like a new truck I could not believe it. It had plenty of power the heat was good and. I thought that maybe I got lucky and it was missed diagnosed.

Well I got about a half mile from my house and all hell broke loose she started steaming up like it was on fire (LOL) and I got it in front of my house and I could see coolant leaking from under got down up under and it was coming from the exhaust.

I shut it off and when I went to restart it, it hydro lock and now coolant goes right through it right out the exhaust.

How can you determine if it the head gaskits or the intake gaskits. Now water in the oil or oil in the water