4.2L V6 Blwn Head Gasket
 

I just Blew the Head gasket on my 97 F150 , 4.2L V6.
I read in another earlier post that this is a common problem for this engine in 97. Do I have any recourse through Ford for the repair. The truck is out of warranty but if Ford knew this was a problem I feel they should be at least partially responsible.
I changed the oil regularly and did regular maintenance since the truck was new. Any help would be appreciated.

4.2L V6 Blwn Head Gasket
 

Welcome to the club of those who have changed their oil regularly, and maintained their engines fanaticaly, and yet must still get it in the tail pipe from Ford.

What you actually bought was the "Drof 150 mod'ell ninty sevone,
engione de voe poin ziex", it was manufactured in portugal and then later shipped here- all the logo's and emblems were changed, and you got suckered into it....lol.

No really, you are right that Ford should have done something about it since they knew these gaskets were faulty to begin with, and they are responsible for it.

Don't expect that to mean anything to them-something like this won't hold any weight once the vehicles out of warranty-not without a class action lawsuit anyway.

At least you caught it-I never even knew about this problem until I threw a rod. Never saw any sludge-and I changed my oil regularly as well, never saw anything like it-if I had'int seen the broken seals for myself during the tear down I would not have believed it.

You gonna eat it-just like the rest of us did. With any luck you caught it before it became a real problem-if not bend over baby-that's one expensive engine! I recieved several quotes on it when I replaced mine, and it is more expensive than the 5.4L(is'int that sick?), or Chevy 5.7L.

Good luck!


Regards.

I just got the bad news today. A little less than a year ago, I bought a '97 E-250 cargo van with the 4.2 V6. I bought it from a reputable dealer whom I 've known for several years, and thought I had the find of a lifetime. It only had 28.8K miles, which I verified with the previous owner, a university transportation department, and it was nice and clean inside and out. It drove like new.

Sometimes it was a little balky starting from the time I got it; occasionally, it felt like it was trying to kick back against the starter, but eventually it always got going. When the weather got cold, it refused to crank. I blamed it on the 7-year-old OEM battery and put in a new 850 CA replacement, but it still wouldn't roll over. I thought the starter was probably bad, and had it towed to a mechanic, who called me a little later and said he couldn't turn the engine with a breaker bar, until he removed the spark plugs. Then, when he turned it, coolant squirted out of the holes. He diagnosed it as a failed head gasket.

I just found the leakingfords link, and I feel a little sick.:'( I can't imagine that the mechanic is unfamiliar with the problem, but I plan to visit him Monday and show him the info I found and make sure the problem is addressed from the right direction.

hello there.. Are ya sure its your head gasket??? because there hasnt been too many head gasket problem with the 4.2 .. Lower intake gaskets are bad... that would put the coolent into your cylinders. definatly find out for sure save some money..

Lynkel,your head gaskets are most likely ok.Its the lower intake gaskets that go bad and cause problems.All your answers are at this website;
www.leakingfords.com

Thanks for the feedback

After reading the leakingfords info, I came to the same conclusion; the head gasket may be OK.

I had already talked with the dealer who sold me the van; he's a pretty much straight-up guy with whom I've had dealings over a considerable period of time, and he only handles above-average clean used trucks and vans. I told him about the $1,500 repair estimate, and he thought it was a rip-off. He called another shop where they send all their work and worked out a deal to have repairs made at their cost. I still pay the bill, but it's a lot less expensive. I talked with the owner there, and then had my van picked up from the first shop and hauled there. It got there yesterday afternoon (Friday), and they hadn't started on it, yet.

Yesterday afternoon after I visited the leakingfords site, I printed off the info and took it to the shop. By the time I got there, they were closed, so I left the info on the driver's seat along with a note asking them to do their own diagnosis, including a compression test, before they start to tear it down. I'll follow that up with a phone call on Monday morning first thing. I'll pass the info along to the dealer where I bought the van, too; they might find it handy in the future.

Once everything is resolved, I'll post an update here.

It's all fixed; my "blown head gasket" was in fact the lower intake manifold gasket. Total bill came to $565, including the tow, oil change, and new coolant. It didn't include the $94 that I spent on the first tow and diagnosis at the place that quoted $1,500.

Kind of ironic that I should be elated that the bill is "only" $565 for something that shouldn't have happened in the first place, but that's life. It doesn't turn me off to Ford trucks, not by a long shot. They've served me well, and I think for the most part they're incredibly tough.

An '89 F250 HD with the 351 engine gave me five years of good service hauling a 2800-lb slide-in camper from Indiana as far east as West Virginia and as far west as Nebraska, even though the guy who put the first 100K on it never changed the oil or the air filter element. My nephew is driving it now, without the camper, and likes everything about it except the gas mileage.

A '97 F250 with Powerstroke and 5-speed took over that job in 2000 with a newer, lighter camper, and aside from an annoying level of engine noise in the cab on long trips, it's done an admirable job.

I've had IH, Chevy and Ford trucks going back almost 40 years, and they've all been good, but I get along best with the Fords.:)

Glad to hear you have it fixed now Rob! :)

4.2 f150 2000
 

My motor ran good then it started knocking really bad so i put new crankshaft an bearings in it an it stopped knocking but now it runs like crap an the motor oil is very milky can anyne help