My best friends 98 E150 van,with the 4.2, hydro-locked on him Monday morning.He pulled # 4 plug and the excess coolant poured out the cylinder.I called a friend that works at a local Ford dealership,Gator Ford,and they are going to install a new 4.2 for $3100.00 and change.The engine alone is $2049.00.

If you have a 97 or early 98 4.2 and have not replaced the lower intake gaskets,do it! You never know when yours will go! I had mine replaced 11/2002 and have slept alot better since.

 

Just curious, will replacing the gaskets fix it for good or will you have to keep replacing the gaskets every so often?


David

 

Replacing the gaskets once fixes it. It's not a process that you will have to repeat. Here's my reason...all the 99 and ups don't have the problem. They have the right gasket, and they don't go bad it seems.

 

yeah my 97 is in the junk heap after the gasket blew on it it makes me sick when i think of my old truck

 

I'd really respect Ford, if they stepped up to the plate, and did the right thing about those defective engines.

 

Heh, trust me, you're not the only one. I wonder how many times we've actually said this. A count anyone?

 

Please leave Florida out of this count.

Couldn't resist.

 

is there a walkthrough anywhere of how to replace the gaskets?

 

Haynes or Chiltons manuals do a very good job on removal and installation of the upper and lower intakes.And,there are pictures too.

 

awesome, i'll go shoppin for one today

 

What are you tryin' to say

We've got the cool touch screen system now specifically designed for idiots who can't punch holes in paper.

 

hey busa01... do you ride a 'busa?

 

only if you ride a blue and white Yamaha R1

I got rid of my 2003 Busa and bought the new Kawasaki Z1000. The Busa was awsome straight line but cumbersome in the corners. Plus, a very long bike which made it uncomfortable for long stints, and I love to ride long distance like down to Key West and so forth. The Z1000 has the Motorcross handlebars on it with the modified ZX9R motor and is a very fast bike (not like the busa) but with all day comfort, and looks freakin' awsome as well.

Several of my friends have R1's. I think you need a 50 pound dumbell mounted on the front fairing just to keep the front down leaving 1st gear Thing's freakin' crazy

Tom

 

hehe mine's silver and black, i couldnt find a blue and white one for a decent price

sweet, the z1 is a hot lookin bike, i'd think those motocross bars make it a wheelie monster too. the shotgun pipes on that bike look pretty badass too...

 

ha, yeah it's a love-it-or-hate-it bodystyle. But I love it, especially the pipes. I want to go aftermarket but I can't find anything as nice looking. Don't want to just through a set of Muzzy's on there, then it would just look like every other bike.

Yeah the upright seating position and the lack of any decent sized fairing make the front come up real nice in first. Just open the throttle and leave it their and the front comes up nice and predictable, no surprises. Other than that, I think the motor has been de-tuned for low end torque, cause the thing tach's out at 11K which is awfully low. I keep wanting it to go go go, but the rev limiter keeps telling it to stop stop stop

Tom