I have recently heard alot of people saying that there has been alot of problems with the head gaskets blowing on the 5.4L V8. I know one guy who had a '99 F150 and he went through 3 head gaskets in under a year. I was also told that they are going to start recalling some of the engines. I have a '97 F150 with the 5.4L (50,000mi) and it has been good to me, anyone heard anything about this?

 

my 99 4x4 xlt had to get a new head gasket at 30,000 km.i was told that the dealer installed an upgraded head gasket but as i was not at the dealer when they pulled the motor to install the new one i can't say for sure if the 2nd one was actually any better

 

My 5.4 is in the shop having the headgasket replaced on the right bank. 38000 miles on it when it went. Ford is picking up the expense. Something must be going on with these engine we don't know about.

 

I have a 4.2L 97 f150 and I'm getting a free engine put in because I contacted Ford about my head gasket, turned out there was a recall on it b4 I had it and it was never corrected. Saves me about $3500. Email them with your vin number at ford.com

 

I've got the leak now on my '99 but it's out of warrenty. Anyone know if Ford will cover this or not? I noticed that on the NHSTA website that this is a know issue for 5.4s built with in a given timeframe which leads me to believe it's a defect during manufacturing. Can anyone help with me trying to get this issue covered by Ford? My 5.4 falls within the time period for the TSB 8093 and TSB 13846 by Ford.

- Dae
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>my 99 4x4 xlt had to
>get a new head gasket
>at 30,000 km.i was told
>that the dealer installed an
>upgraded head gasket but as
>i was not at the
>dealer when they pulled the
>motor to install the new
>one i can't say for
>sure if the 2nd one
>was actually any better

 

What are the indications of the head gasket leaking? I have a 97 with 5.4, with 65,000 miles, no problems I can tell.

 

When mine started leaking it was just like the posts I had read where people were finding oil on the bell housing of of the tranny. Once I saw that I just looked to see where it was coming from and it was leaking between the block and the head on the passanger side. I'm guessing that the leak starts really slow and by the time anyone notices, it's been leaking for awhile. The reason I think this is because the block is iron and the heads are aluminum. because they are different they expand at different rates when the engine warms up causing the gasket to eventually scratch (Cause little grooves) and leak. Slow at 1st the more as time goes on. What I think is needed is a gasket of new design to compensate for the 2 pieces expanding and shrinking at different rates. This may not be a problem on the older blocks b4 7/99 or newer blocks after 6/99 because I hear that the blocks built between 7/98 and 6/99 were not milled evenly on the passanger. All I can say is that I hope it never happens to anyone else because of a factory defect. Infact, I think all the engines built in the time frame of the Ford TSB should be fixed via recall if not replaced. I think it's just one of those things that will eventually happen to these motors like it did on Fords 3.8s.

 

My 4.6 is at the dealers right now getting both head gaskets replaced, '98 with 13,680 miles.

 

I bought a 99 150 ect cab used It had 41k on it. Whrn I shut off engine it had a smell of oil. Went back to dealer they looked it over and told me it need head gasket. They replaced engine with a rebuilt. I also have cracked doors. Need to get that settled.

 

I have a 99 Ford F-150 4x4. I smelled oil about 28K and asked the dealer. Ford replaced the head gasket under warranty.

Discussed with my brother-in-law who is a truck mechanic and now works for a Ford dealer. He said there had been some problems and that there were several TSB's on the subject. Said the problems were mostly on the right side for some reason. Supposedly, Ford is putting in an upgraded gasket.

 

I own a 2000 F250 SuperDuty 4x4 with 46,600 miles and it is at the dealer right now having the head gaskets replaced. The passenger side head gasket blew out and was slowly leaking coolant at the very back of the head. The engine never overheated but I continuously had to add coolant after the initial coolant flush and fill at 36,000 miles. (I did this myself as with all of my Ford vehicles using distilled water and Prestone coolant as per the owner's manual.) The truck started losing coolant and after 3 months I located the leak (still very slow) and immediately contacted the dealer and sent it in for repair. As per the service advisor at the Ford dealer, he said that they have been experiencing head gasket problems on the 5.4L engines due to the different thicknessess of the head gaskets during assembly on one side or the other (not always the passenger side). They are also repairing the rear axle seal where the drive shaft connects (Dana 4.10 traction lock real axle) which I also noticed was leaking. I also had the transmission replaced at 36,300 miles due to first gear clutch failure (as per the actual technician working on the truck). The transmission was tagged with a sticker that read "This transmission qualifies for the Ford 4R100 Dealer Replacement Program". Since the truck was 300 miles out of warranty, Ford split the cost of the repair ($495) and extended the warranty to 100,000 miles free of charge. This truck has also experienced 2 transfer case/no shifts to 4WD low withing 2 1/2 months of delivery (shift motor replacement and shift wiring harness replacement). I have also experienced 5 valve stem failures on the Argent Steel Wheels resulting in 5 flat tires and the loss of 2 tires which had to be replaced due to excessive damage to the tires after they deflated (Goodyear Wrangler RT Tires from the factory). This truck has received regular oil changes and lubrications religiously every 3,000 miles using only Mobil Lubricants. Lastly, the brakes squeak excessively since delivery, but are still in good condition (4 wheel disc).

 

I can't find the specified TSBs on the website. Can somebody post a link or quote them here? I've got a 99 with 45000 miles - what are the chances of Ford fixing the problem for free?

Thanks

 

I can't find the specified TSBs on the website. Can somebody post a link or quote them here? I've got a 99 with 45000 miles - what are the chances of Ford fixing the problem for free?

Thanks

 

Does anyone have any idea whether the gasket leak problems are confined to the Romeo or the Windsor engine or not? I looked at my service manual and it appears that both blocks are different in small ways. I'd think that only one engine plant location would have caused the rough sealing surfaces during milling operations unless both blocks are actually made in one place.

Just curious. My 5.4 y2k does not have any leaks yet at 16K miles. It is a Windsor plant engine.

Thanks