Just wanted to drop a line to tell people out there that had to replace their 4.2`s that their not alone...replaced two of them last year.Both were 97`s . One four wheel drive and one 2 wheel. 86,000 miles and 67,000 miles on them.Gee...now I know why my family has always been GM fans.

P.S.

Thank you Ford and the
Dealerships that do not
like to take responsibility
for their screw-ups!

Brian :

 

150,000 miles and no major problems.......never cared for GM trucks at all....I love my ford...BTW...I am sure that there are good GM forums that would be happy to ford bash

 

dont get a 97 and you wont have that problem. I have a 00' and it still purrs like a kitten. I love it.

 

only 97 and 98 have that prob BTW. I have 40k no prbs yet, great motor, never had a prob with a Ford, not any with a GM either, jsut bad uck with them.....then again I am having bad luck right now with things running into my Ford.

 

I love it when people come in here and tell us how terrible Ford is because they had to replace an engine or 2. I'm GM NEVER has bad engines or lemons or...no wait a minute. I owned a 95 GM...in 2 years I replace:

Transmission (clutch, tranny, and all)
Starter (3)
Alternator (3)
Battery (2)
Terminal ends (twice)
The AC went totally out
Alignment went out twice
Brakes squeeled
Passenger side door did NOT open from the inside
The window cranks never stayed on on either door
...and the list goes on but I think you get the drift!

Please, save your 4.2 bad comments for something else because you have absolutely no validity in them, but thanks for trying!

 

I would have never knocked a ford before this incident.But,seems how the dealership could not find a problem with my coolant loss and would not stand behind their work after the engines went .I have had fords in the past with no major problems other than a tranny. Let`s face it! $8,000 in one year would make anyone rather hot!!! (I think?).If i would have had the knowledge of the 97 & 98`s having bad engines when I was shopping I would have never bought one.Wasn`t till now that I found this site...! I would like to thank all for the replies good or bad.

Brian

 

Nice to have you find FTE. Sorry it's on such a sour note.

It is well know Ford had problems with gaskets on the early runs of the 4.2 motor. But, your case seems different...
You had both of these engines checked at a Ford dealership prior to their "expiring", is that correct?
There is a TSB about the problems related to the gasket failures on the early 4.2 motors. Your Ford dealership should know about this and should have reported this to you, giving you the option of spending money to make repairs prior to something much more traumatic occuring (sounds like that's where you wound up.)
Do you have copies of all your paperwork? All your receipts?
You can get copies of the TSB info relating to gasket leaks/failures. I'd prepare my case and visit the Service Manager and/or Dealership owner. If they failed to attend to your complaints based on the existing TSB info and general awareness of said problem I'd continue chasing compensation.
Something just doesn't add up ?????

 

That`s what I can`t figure out.Where did I go wrong.I had my lawyer send copies of service records to the dealership and to ford and literature of other people having the same problems.Ford Motor Co. and the dealership both sent me a letter that denied there was any kind of problem. At that point my lawyer advised me of the higher cost to having her around,not guaranting that ford would pay some of the cost if any.Of course this all came at a bad time,losing a job to Mexico.But hey,who wants to get into that debate...lol! I wish I have had a little better luck I guess.

Brian

 

My truck (with the 4.2 in it) couldn't fall out of a tree fast!

 

junkford?,

I had a 98 Blazer, purchased brand new. It was in the shop 14 times in 2 years. Everything from blown head gasket at 26,000 mi. to failed rear trans seal, seat's broken (3 times) and all the window motors went out at one time. When I went to GM, the same thing, we can't help you. I purchased a 99 Ranger, drove 137,000 in three years, no problems. My wife bought a Mitsubishi from the same ford dealership, it had a noise in the engine bay. After the 3rd visit, they said if we can't fix it we'll buy it back. They offered this , not me asking for it. All auto makers make mistakes, sounds to me like you need to find a new dealership to deal with. My current f-150 is an '02 bought new in Feb. '02. It currently has 94,000 miles on it and no problems, if you don't like the truck , get rid of it. The 8k you already spent would have more than offset the neg. equity on a trade.

 

Urrrrggg!!

I HATE ALL auto dealerships and their service departments. Out of all the new cars and trucks I've purchased, and it's alot, I've only ever had ONE good experience with a service department and that was with the Lincoln dealer in Pompano. Red carpet treatment all the way.

Otherwise, I never take my truck or car to the dealer. If I can't fix it myself, i'll pay someone else to fix it right. After all, my time is worth $$ also. And If I have to spend 50 hours of my time just to get a dealer to fix something correctly, then I just blew $3,000.00 that I could have used to pay someone else to fix it right the first time.

For me, there is NO SUCH THING AS WARRANTY. This word does not exist in my language. And I feel sorry for any fool who would be ignorant enough to allow themselves to be talking into an "EXTENDED WARRANTY". This word is not even in the universal language and was invented by thieves and loan sharks. My brother purchases an extended warranty from Dodge, and when he took his truck in for a valve problem, they told him that he voided his warranty because the Dodge had been "modified". Modified??? K&N air filter and flowmaster exhaust. That's it.

I'm upset now.

Tom

 

Tom,I hear you! My neighbor took his new Chevy in last week for a "miss" it was having at highway speeds.They said it was from "excessive oil" on the MAF sensor; culprit? K&N air filter! They booted him to the curb! They said because of the "modification" he was responsible for the MAF sensor replacement! Almost $300.00 later,his truck runs fine now,and no longer has the K&N in there!

 

is that a common problem for a K and N or were they BS'ing him

 

Blue oval, K&Ns are notaorious for doing that to Chebby motors, I know at least half a dozen guys who have had to replace their MAFs due to the filter. For some reason Fords do not have that problem?

 

Wow, someone else is on, yes, it is a common problem with chevies. only chevies though, no idea why but the oil off of a K&N messes it up. In that instance I can understand them not changing it under warranty. I mean it is directly related to a mod you did, you cannot expect them to fix it for you. Then again, maybe Chebbie should put a disclaimer on all their vehicles stating not to use just a K&N filter, maybe a whole intake might remedy the problem, no idea......