I have a '97 4.2lt. Now for the problems:
1. The check engine light always comes on for a few days then turns off again.
2. When I drive the truck to the store or anywhere at all it almost stalls when it is idling. When it does this I turn it off and restart it and it is fine. It has stalled many times!!!

3. Black around the tail pipe.

4. Now its leaking oil!!!

I have had it to the dealer 3 times and they are telling me that they can't find anything wrong with it !!! Now I just hit 45000 miles and is out of warranty. I can tell you this pisses me off quite a bit. Has anybody had any of the same problems, and if so were they fixed and how? Ill never buy another Ford V6 again!!! I have the automatic tranny - it sucks!! It barely pulls itself up my damn driveway.
It is getting easier to talk bad about my truck - but I still love it. I just want all th Bull***** fixed.

Ed
'97 4.2 Auto exracab
265 75 16 tires
catback system
Airtornado
K&N system
3:55 (wish it had 4:11 - then it would get out of its own way)
Superchip

 

Make sure the fuel pressure is ok . It could be running rich which will set a O2 sensor code and cause plenty of other driveability problems including stalling. Scan the PCM for code and then run the pinpoint test for the code it will most likely end up being a O2 sensor , have seen a few of the V6 engines running rough O2 sensor was the cause. But run the test see where that takes you.

 

I just recently sold my 97 F150XL supercab shortbed 4.2L/5spd. I had troubles with this thing from day one. I had it back to the shop twice for the front cover leaking (the second time on me, didn't know about this until I picked it up) The alternater went out at 25000 miles. The battery shortly after. the tires were all junk in 15000 miles (wilderness AT's). And the check engine light would come on occasionally. I took it to the dealer the first time as it was under warranty. They kept it for 2 days, found nothing, did it again a week later. It never seemed to affect anything though. I sold it and went back to an older truck. I will never own one of these V6's in a ford fullsize again. (noe do business with the local Ford Dealer )

Brad Godkin
1986 F350 CC/SRW
6.9liter/C6

 

Hey I have the same problem with my ford 4.2. The problem is when you take it to ford to have the codes extracted from the PCM they dont have a clue! On occasion it backfires through the motor and dies on idle. I go to restart it but everything is fine. My tailpipe is black. Sometimes I try to accelerate and the engine just doesnt want to go. I thought it was because of my high milage but i guess that isnt the case. I do have 237,000 miles on it and it doesnt use any oil. Overall i am very impressed with this motor but this idl3e problem is getting on my last nerve!!!!!!!!!!

Can someone help me?

Larry

 

Hello,
Well I called FORD and they took my truck and found the problem. It was the oxygen sensor, fouled plugs and a dirty MAS. Just thought I would put what was wrong.
Ed

 

I seriously don't understand what you said. I have a 4.2 v6 with the 3.55 gear and the truck hauls. I always rip people off the line, sometimes even unsuspecting sports cars, and passing on the highway couldn't be easier. All I did was add Cherry Bomb Vortex dual exhaust and K&N filter, and the thing rocks!!! And it sounds so pisser when the overdrive kicks in when I floor it on the highway doing 70...it rockets up to 90 like there's nothing to it. I'm not saying the v8s are not that much better, but to be honest, i fing the 4.6l v8 is very similar to the 4.2 l v6 in power comparison. My friend has a 97 4.6, and i have the 99 4.2, and We are almost always neck and neck off the line.

Ryan A.
currently have:
99 F-150 xlt reg. cab short bed 4x2
4.2L V6, 3.55 gears
K&N air filter
Cherry Bomb true dual exhaust w/ 18" chrome tips
18"x36" removable sunroof (love that in the summer!)

soon to add:
2" body lift
1.5" suspension lift rear only (blocks between the axle and springs) for that extra sloped downward look.
305/70/R16 BFG T/A KO all terrain tires
American Racing 16"x10" Outlaw II's (possibly Baja's)
Rhino spray on bed liner
Tint the windows, 5% light.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-May-01 AT 11:44 PM (EST)[/font][p]Im with ryanstruck but there was a recall JUST on the 1997 4.2 for the timing cover leaking but these v6s ROCK
Rodney

 

I just want to say as far as V-6's go the 4.2 is probably the quickest out there.I ha a '98 F-150,reg cab longwheel base 5-speed.I took it to Rankin road in Houston many a weekend.I outran several Chevy and Dodge V-8's and even a few Ford's with the 4.6.Only mods were a free flowing exhaust and a K & N air filter.It had a 135,000 miles on it when I sold it.Now I drive a '98F-150 supercab swb auto.It also has the 4.2.While it is not as peppy as my first one it is still ok.I need some help though.I found a wrecked '98 with the 5.4 V-8.What all would I need to swap over to make it work in my truck?

'98 F-150 swb supercab
4.2 auto
K&N air filter
255/70R16
JVC head unit with JVC 12 disc changer

 

My 2 cents....

No major problems until I hit 44K miles. The oil pressure gauge dropped on idle, and bounces anytime I am running under 1K RPM. Now the dealer tells me that the crank bearings are bad, rods too, and I should get a new long block...

I wish I could get half the miles some of you have gotten out of yours! I am not happy with the V-6, but it seems that some of you have had good luck - mine must have been built on a friday!

I am shopping for a new motor now, and was thinking about getting a V-8, but you guys have (for the most part) made me feel better about the 6....

 

>My 2 cents....
>
>No major problems until I hit 44K miles. The oil pressure
>gauge dropped on idle, and bounces anytime I am running
>under 1K RPM. Now the dealer tells me that the crank
>bearings are bad, rods too, and I should get a new long
>block...
>
>I wish I could get half the miles some of you have gotten
>out of yours! I am not happy with the V-6, but it seems that
>some of you have had good luck - mine must have been built
>on a friday!
>
>I am shopping for a new motor now, and was thinking about
>getting a V-8, but you guys have (for the most part) made me
>feel better about the 6....

 

I have a '97 F-150 v6 4.2lt. I had to have the bottom end rebuild at 44,000miles due to a main spinning. I had a front face, fuelline, and a lug nut recall. (which wasn't needed becuase of after market rims and tires.) I have a multitude of other problems with my truck. For the power I am happy with it, But the biggest down fall of this vehicle is that after market parts such has superchargers, intakes, MAS upgrades, ect. These parts are available for the 4.6, 5.4 (which comes stock in the SVT Lighting) and even the 4.0lt. Besides the problems with my truck I would have to say that this is the biggest complant I have about the 4.2 v6.


Sheldon.

 

ed, i've had this very same problem. bad fuel mpg, no towing power,feels like it's not starting off in 1st gear. next it's going rev way up then slam into gear. have the transmission valve body checked mine had to be replaced valves were sticky and burnt.

 

Yep..... Got a 4.2L V-6 97 F150 and have many of the same problems.
Had the fuel injectors cleaned several times, still get what appears to be overcarburation when it acts like it's stalling and I goose it to keep it from stalling. Backfires when I do this, by the way. After it 'f a r t s', then it seems to be okay for awhile.
Engine analysis revealed no problems that should cause this problem. However, this past week, had one done for a check engine light that had remained on constantly for four days ( normally it will come on for 1-3 days, then go off, without any apparent cause). What this analyze showed was that the IMRC was not functioning correctly. Near as I can determine, this intake control is connected with the injector runners, controlling air flow much the same as a butterfly valve in normal carburators. If, in fact, this control is malfunctioning, that would explain the problems with backfires and stalling. Yours may be doing the same thing. I had thought it was a throttle positioning sensor causing the problems. Tell your mechanic to look for a code 1538, which he may have to look up in AllData to get the explanation for.
So far, I haven't done anything about fixing this problem. My frustration level hasn't risen high enough yet, I suppose.

I was looking at motorhaven.autoanything.com at their power gains section and they have a Superchip that will replace the stock Ford chip that controls the IMRC function which will supposedly allow a 10% HP gain as well as 12-15% torque gain. Evidently Ford dogs out the mid-range torque by restricting available airflow. The list price on the website is $225 USD. This may seem a little steep, but, if the frustration level is high enough, it may be worth the money, IF anyone has one that will work on the 4.2L V-6.

 

I too have 4.2l v-6 problems. I have a 97 with 79k miles.

Came back froma 120 mile trip last week - truck was running fine when turned it off saturday... monday came out to start it and i have a sound from the motor like someone is in there with a jackhammer the second i cranked it - so shut it down...thought it might be the torue converter came loose...but everything seems tight... the sound is very loud and difficult to pin down but my guess is the bottom end. truck still runs ok just sounds like hell
so checked the oil and it had coolant in there. never had a coolant leak before (just changed the oil that week)
Any one have any ideas what might be broke. I am thinking maybe rod bearing or ????? is that normal for that to crap out that quick?


also had the following problems :


For the last year or so the oil pressure goes to nothing when truck is idling in gear after its warm. No one seems to know what is causing this problem....if anyone knows how to fix it...pass it on. also truck idles very rough only after coming to a stop after extended highway travel

Had engine light coming on for awhile intermittantly code shows #4 cyl misfire... that has been corrected but now #4 cyl is has lower pressure than all the others. All others are 185-190 and #4 is 150.

transmission had to be totally rebuilt at 74k miles. tranny guy said it wasnt being cooled properly and caused it to overheat. Was wondering if this had anything to do with the coolant leak from the timing cover that ford will not fix (was still leaking after i had the recall done and they wouldnt fix it right...)
so tranny guy put xmission cooler on truck and bypassed the built in