1997 ford f 150 4.2 i ran my truck a few days ago and it ran fine, i cut it off and it sat for about a week. i went to start the truck and the engine was locked up. i checked the oil and there was none. no oil on the driveway where did it go and how did it lock up if it was not running......

 

I might be wrong, but it sounds like a gasket failure leading to a hydrolock = seized engine. See here for details. I suggest checking you coolant (actually look at it) as well as removing the spark plugs and talking a look.

 

All your questions are answered here;
www.leakingfords.com

 

Finally, I was right about something

 

now you don't know that you're right yet lol

 

Running the engine out of oil is not a sign of hydrolock.

 

Hm, weird. Gasket failure usually results in anti-freeze/coolant leaking INTO your oil, not your oil leaking INTO your radiator, right?

When was the last time you changed/checked your oil? Did your drain plug fall out and the oil leaked out while you were driving, hence when you parked it there was nothing left to leak out?

Tom

 

hey guyes guess what, i removed the number one and two sparkplugs and water poured out of them. hydro locked... i turned the engine by hand and pumped the water out. can i save my motor it is free now. if i flush the engine and put new gaskets in it will it be saved or am i just s.o.l.

 

i called ford in detroit MI, the person i spoke with said they had no idea that this was happening to the 97 model for with the 4.2 , i say bull****

 

i called ford in detroit MI, the person i spoke with said they had no idea that this was happening to the 97 model for with the 4.2 , i say bull (you know)

 

Don't bother calling ford.

hey, if your capable of that type of engine repair and have the proper tools to change the upper and lower gaskets, then go for it. however, did you ever figure out where your oil went???? Not into the radiator right? I don't think that's possible as the radiator carries much greater pressure than that of your oil.

Tom

 

i would pull the pan and get some plastigage and check the bearing clearance. you'll have to pull it anyways to clean all the watery goop out of there. if you still have good clearance in the rod bearings, then I'd go ahead with a gasket and flush job. If the clearance is bad or you see excessive flaked metal in the pan, time for a full rebuild. But, look on the bright side, at least it didn't come apart and is probably rebuildable.

 

I'm new to the forum, was looking for info about locked 4.2s. Mine's a 97 with 180,000 miles. This truck has been well maintained and ran great. 2 weeks ago I parked it at the local airport. When I came back, it was locked. My mechanic says (to my surprise) that there's no oil in the engine.

I doubt Ford will take any responsibility for a truck that's 8 yrs old with high miles, but I'm gonna try.

 

highmiles97 . i called detroit mi about my ford and they said they did not know anything about the 97-98 hydrolocking. good luck if you find a way let me know

 

Highmiles,

Welcome to FTE,

This thread, if you read above, will answer your question to the T.

Ford will kick you out the door if you ask them to pay one cent for your motor, so don't even waste your breath. Find a mechanic that will do it for less money than the dealer and get the gaskets replaced.

you have the infamous www.leakingfords.com problem. I'm sorry

Tom