NHTSA Complaint #10205382 — 1999 FORD F-250

I OWN A 1999 FORD F-250 PICKUP TRUCK WITH A 5.4 LITER TRITON V8. MY TRUCK HAS 103K MILES ON IT. I HAD JUST REPLACED ALL THE SPARK PLUGS LESS THAN A YEAR AGO. LAST WEEK ON MY WAY TO WORK, I HEARD A POP AND THE ENGINE STARTED MAKING A BUNCH OF NOISE, LOST POWER AND QUIT. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER INTO A PARKING LOT AND CALL A TOW TRUCK. ONCE GETTING IT HOME, I NOTICED THAT A SPARK PLUG HAD BLOWN OUT OF THE ENGINE. MY #3 SPARK PLUG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE BLEW STRAIGHT OUT OF THE HEAD AND DESTROYED THE IGNITION COIL PACK. AFTER DOING MUCH RESEARCH OVER THE INTERNET, I'VE FOUND THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE FORD ENGINES AND FORD WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THIS WILL COST WELL OVER $3000 TO FIX. IT'S A GOOD THING MY ENGINE QUIT SO SOON, OR I COULD HAVE HAD GASOLINE SPRAY OUT OF THE OPEN CYLINDER AND CAUSE A SERIOUS FIRE. *JB