I purchased a '97 F150 back in April 01 and now I have the following and would like to know if the dealer will honor the extended warranty that I got with it.

Paint is cracked all down the two channels on the top of the cab

Front windshield is leaking (first day of rain in Months!)

Rear slider window is leaking

Engine sounds like a person is tapping on it with a small ball peen hammer during warm up early in the morning but never at any other time.

Engine has started stumbling when at a complete stop. rpm's will fluctuate from 600rpm-1100rpm but never the same length of time

Engine has 70,121 miles

no cracks in doors
no rust in tailgate
never had the "check engine light come on"

dealer replaced tires, plugs and wires when I purchased it.


HELP!!!

 

I don't know what you paid for it, but you may have stuck with a bad one. I bought a 97 in June 2000 andhave 72,000 on it now. Never had the problems that you mentioned, however, the ball peen hammer is definitely piston slap, which I also have. As to whether the dealer will do anything is argumentative. Some dealer will stand behind their products and others won't. Depends on how long you have had it and how strongly you present your case. Good Luck. Would I buy another F150, I don't think so....

 

Front window- sounds like it is not the original with 70K miles. find a place that does them for nothing, they usually call and solicite your house. Have them install a new one

Rear window, common if there is ever a camper back there. The plastic frame cracks. Check the frame for cracks. Either replace or use a lot of black silicone to seal.

Roof channels- common issue like the door crack. Most likely from the 3-4 door configuration and chassis flex. Get in line on that one.

Engine stumbling -- that with the fact the dealer changed plugs, I would have to say you have a spark plug boot that came off the wire. VERY common problem. YOu just have to push the boot back down on the plug. The other problem is that the wires may not be on the right cylinder. Someone did not install them correctly. I would go back and check that out. Also clean off the MAF sensor.

Engine noise -- have you checked the oil level? if that is good, then you may have piston slap. If it goes away in 5 minutes, that is acceptable. use some synthetic oil or a little ATF in the oil to help quiet things down.

 

Paint in the channels cracked - common problem, good luck getting any help on a repair.

Front windshield leaking - Agree with Matt90GT- probably a replacement windshield with a bad seal, or an OEM windshield with a bad seal. Either way, should be reinstalled correctly for water tightness and to insure structural integrity of the cab.

Rear slider leaking - Common on '97s - I had the problem also. I watched where the water came in and put a bunch of RTV in there. Fixed the problem and I haven't looked back since.

Engine tapping on morning warm up: Never had a slapper or heard one in person. Only other thing - what oil filter are you using? Make sure its a motorcraft or other "good" brand that has a good anti-drain back valve on it.

Engine stumbling - Sure does sound an awful lot like something with the plugs and wires. Check everything out and se if it helps.

Best of luck! I've got a '97 with 133,000 miles on it now, and it still looks good and runs like a top.

 

THE F150 GODS MUST LOVE ME~!

Took the truck in last sunday. Received a call from service manager in am that they would check for the leaks but could not check for the piston slap as their mech had already warmed the truck up and drove it into the car wash. I ok'd the checks (cost only $105.00). When the mechanic drove the truck from the car wash to the service bay, I received another call from the manager.

"Uh, I wanted to let you know that the engine is still fully covered under warranty and will be replaced as soon as they get an engine in" service manager.

"I thought that you wouldn't be able to check for the piston slap until tomorrow am?" me.

"Well, we were going to do the tests for the stumbling and the mechanic drove your truck in." serv. man.

insert pause.

"And??" me.

"To put a long story short, we are replacing the engine as the mech. was trying to put the truck on the lift, it threw a rod through the side of the block." serv man.


"WHAT???!!" me.

in short, the truck will have a new 4.6 ('99) engine by this wed. and they have agreed that the factory paint warranty (5yrs.) is still good and they are going to repaint the cab and reseal all the windows with new seals.

I will get my truck back in 3wks running and looking new again!!!!

all it costed me was printing out all the tsb's on the problems and having a lead-footed mechanic at the dealership (found out from one of the other mech's that he had spun the heck out of the tires when he went to put it on the rack due to the water in the bed) and $105.00.....

 

Well, sad the engine fell apart, but hey if you get a new one out of the deal - more power to ya! Glad to hear all the other things are being dealt with too!

 

Looks like you might get the Power Improved engine for your 97 and other issues resolved to boot!

I think that most here would agree that your dealer is not typical in addressing your repairs, I personally have had horrible relations with the dealers in my area

Good luck Radstang!

 

What power improved engine? That is the 5.4.

The only updates to the 4.6 is really the ECM programs to boost up to 231hp from 220hp. heads, intakes still the same.

 

Hey Matt, please clear this up for me. The heads on the 4.6 and 5.4 are interchangeable, yes? You're saying that despite the interchangeability the smaller brother of the 5.4 does not leave the factory with the better set of heads!?

If that's the case it's just one more shameful strike against the blue oval. Why should the 4.6 owners be treated like a red headed step child and be deprived of superior parts so readily doled out to their larger displacement counterparts

BTW, if the only improvement to the 4.6 is the ECM program then would these updated models benefit less from usng a chip??

TIA, LE PEW.

 

yes, yes, and yes.

The mustangs get the PI heads back in 99 and went from 225hp to 260hp ratings. There was a new intake also required with the stangs.

Only the 5.4s in 98-99 got the PI heads. The 4.6 is esentially the same longblock as it appeared in 97. And you are correct, the chips would do less and require premium for a newer truck.