I was out of state with some family, and my truck suddenly started making a "flapping" sound. The best way to describe it would be to say it sounded like a belt broke and was flapping around under the hood. My check engine light didn't come on, and all of my gauges were reading normal. No fluid was leaking (aside from condensation from the AC)

Had it hauled to a Ford dealer, and within a couple hours of having it, they told me that someone hadn't tightened the number 3 plug, it worked itself loose, and I was looking at a 3600.00 repair.

The tow truck driver told me he thought I had thrown a fuel injector. This happened on Monday the 12th. The warranty expired on the 6th. I have had it apporx 3.5 months-haven't even made my 3rd payment on it yet. Husband is frustrated as hell, because he is here (IN) and my truck is still there (KY) I took pics of the engine before I left KY, and there is a layer of dust over much of the engine, so I can't see how they would be able to determine that it needs a new head without removing anything under the hood. My delaership has made arrangements to have it hauled home by this weekend, so hubby will be able to finally hear/see it for himself.

Anyone had a problem like this, and what was wrong with yours?

BTW, its an 02 Eddie Bauer 4X4 with a 5.4 Triton V8

Thanks for any help-I am totally stressed with all this!
Tamara

 

Hi Tamara, I wish you were here under better circumstances. Your problem is not too common, but at the same time, not too uncommon. Take a look at this thread that mistercmk started just a few days ago.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=259328

You might also do a forum-wide search of blown spark plug or similar.

It seems that there is obviously some sort of manufacturing defect with these engines, but I haven't heard of any instances where Ford acknowledges it and fixes the problems. In your case, I doubt anybody has ever "messed" with the plugs after they were installed at the factory inasmuch as they are rated for 100K miles.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Hmmm Odd that his problem stemmed from the #3 plug on the passenger side as well. The dealer who has it says the plugs that are in it are not the factory plugs, but my dealer here says they have no records of ever having changed the plugs.
Guess I will have to wait and see what my dealer says. I just want my truck back!

My dealer said they will look at it and try to get it fix with little cost to me since the warranty expired 6 days prior to this happening. Hope thats the case!

Thanks for the quick response!

 

How many mile do you have on your truck?

if it is less than 36k or you got ext warranty. you should get the repair for free or some deductible.

edit::: after re-reading entire thread.

here's what you can do. ask the Ford dealer about offering you a " Goodwill " adjustment. You could get the repair for free or less than the actual cost.

 

Thanks, I will ask them about a Goodwill adjustment once my truck is back here. Apparently the owner of the dealership is involved with my case as the people from my dealer think this guy is acting a little shady. He keeps changing his story about what has happened with my truck. My dealer wanted him to take pics of it, but he kept coming up with excuses as to why he wouldn't/couldn't take pics.
Hopefully I don't have to contact Ford, and my dealer will take care of this in a reasonable manner.

 

by the way,
tell them the spark plugs have nothing to do with it. It is poor cylinder head casting design.
Ford, Lincoln / Mercury had that problem way back in 2002.

 

I am not 100% certain of this, but I believe that even if a warranty "expires," you still have 30 days beyond that. Anyone else know this to be the case? You'd obviously have to press them on the issue, because they do not want to do this for free. But if the plugs are indeed stock and it is indeed a factory problem, being 6 days out of warranty I think you have a case for them to fix it under warranty.

Good luck,
Matt

 

One more thing...

REALLY press the issue. Be polite, cordial, and all the rest, but be stern, unbending and persistant. This is what business understand (sad, but true). The nice guy gets screwed while the folks who make the stink make out. There are ways to make a stink, especially when you are in the right, without being a jerk. Just don't back down or cave in.

 

If you are only a few days out of warranty I see no reason why you cant at least get some help from Ford on it, where you would pay no more than 20 percent of the repair. We do this all the time at our dealership for people.

The only problem I see at this point is the aftermarket spark plugs. If some smart doit yourselfer drilled in some crap plugs well before they were due and they werent installed correctly you may be out of luck from Ford. It would be up to your selling dealer then.

Its possible that one plug had been a problem before, and they wheeled into Joe Blows speedy service and they threw in a plug of aftermarket variety and cross threaded it. Or possibly the plug had blown earlier and someone threw in that aftermarket plug and traded it off as fast as they could. No telling.

 

Thanks for all the response-I really appreciate them. So far, my plan is to "kill em with kindness" and see where that gets me. Thats why I have been dealing with them so far, rather than my husband-he wouldn't be so nice. Once we get it home, of course, we will deal with it together, but thus far I have been the only one to talk with them. If kindness doesn't get me anywhere, then I will get tough with them. The only thing I still don't understand is how the dealer in KY can tell it has aftermarket plugs if they didn't remove anything from the top of the motor.
Keep the suggestions coming, and I will let ya'll know what I find out when it gets back to Indy.
Thanks!
Tam

 

Thanks, Buzzard! Ya'll rock! I will be going into this armed with a lot of ammo to get the problem taken care of. My printers gonna run out of ink with all the work it's doing!
Sounds like Ford wants to bury it's head and ignore the problem in most cases. Not gonna happen with me!

 

You're welcome. Give'em he!!.

Homer does make a good point though. If some goofball did change the plugs and screwed it up.....

 

Well, from what I have been able to find out, the dealer should have checked that in their Blue Oval Certified Inspection. When I talked to the Service Manager at my dealer, he said that according to their records, it has all the original plugs. The dealer in KY says they are not original. Couldn't someone tell by looking at plugs pulled froma vehicle approx. how old they are? I mean, shouldn't they be able to tell (if they are aftermarket plugs) that they are older than 90 days, which is essentially how long we have had the vehicle? Does that make sense?

 

The "stock" plug is a Motorcraft. If you have anything but Motorcraft, then they are not the original plugs. With that said, there are several Motorcraft plug applications, so even if you have Motorcrafts in there and they #'s are different from those installed at the factory, then the dealer could be right.

If you're just out of the warranty period, I presume you have less than 36K miles on the truck as well. There is absolutely no reason for the plugs to have been changed in that number of miles. However, if there was some sort of mechanical problem, i.e. prior plug launch, bad COP with corrosion, etc. then someone may have fooled around in there.

Document everything as this could get drawn out and costly.

 

Well, I just got off the phone with the Service Manager at my dealer. It does need a new head, and it was the #3 plug that blew. I told him from that what I had read, that it didn't surprise me, he was shocked. I told him I had been doing some research and that it seemed to be somewhat of a common problem. I told him I had printed pages of info that I had found, and he seemed a bit taken back. He told me not to call Ford just yet, to let him see what they (my dealership) would/could do for me before I called Ford. My husband and I will be going up there this evening to see whats going on.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!