NHTSA Complaint #10144030 — 1997 FORD F-150

I HAVE A 1997 FORD F-150 WITH A V-6 4.2L ENGINE. THIS ENGINE RAN ROUGH AFTER BEING DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WAS THEN SLOWED TO NORMAL CITY SPEEDS. THIS WAS INVESTIGATED AT LEAST THREE TIMES WHILE UNDER THE WARRANTY PERIOD WITH NO TROUBLE FOUND EACH TIME. AT ABOUT 70,000 MILES THIS TRUCK BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH AND THE SHOP WHICH SERVICED IT TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT SPARK IN THE RIGHT HALF OF THE ENGINE, BUT CAME UP WITH NO SATISFACTORY RESOLUTIONS. I NOTICE THAT I WAS LOOSING COOLANT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND BLINK OCCASIONALLY. THIS CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS UNTIL ONE DAY WHEN I TURNED ON THE ENGINE THERE WAS A LOUD BANG AND AN OBNOXIOUS CLATTERING. THE TRUCK WAS TOWED INTO A DEALER AT WHICH POINT I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE WHICH COST $4200. AFTER 55,000 MORE MILES I STARTED LOSING FLUID AGAIN AND EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND TOOK THE TRUCK INTO A DEALER WHICH FOUND NO TROUBLE. THE SYMPTOMS WERE A FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND NO HEAT WHEN THE HEATER WAS TURNED ON. ALSO, LOOSING FLUID WITH WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST. FROM OTHER POSTINGS ON VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS I FOUND OUT THIS WAS A CLASSIC FAILURE FOR THE 4.2L V6 WITH A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. I SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF ANOTHER BLOWN ENGINE. WHEN I CALLED A DEALER TO SCHEDULE A RETURN VISIT I WAS INFORMED THAT THIS THE SAME ENGINE AS THE TAURUS 3.8L WITH A LONG STROKE HENCE MAKING THE DISPLACEMENT 4.2 LITERS. ALSO, I WAS INFORMED THAT ENGINE HAD THE SAME TROUBLE AND MANY HAVE TO BE REPLACED. *JB