NHTSA Complaint #10430112 — 2001 FORD F-150

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AND HEARD A LOUD POP AND STOPPED THE TRUCK AND CALLED THE TOW TRUCK. THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT A SPARK PLUG BLEW OUT OF THE HEAD OF THE ENGINE AND IT WAS GOING TO COST $550.00 TO FIX, HE ALSO SAID THAT IT WOULD BE A TEMPORARY FIX AND THAT I WOULD NEED A NEW ENGINE BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR SOME TIME WITH THESE ENGINES BECAUSE OF THE ALUMINUM HEADS AND THERE WERE ONLY 3-4 THREADS ACTUALLY HOLDING THE SPARK PLUG. A FORD MOTOR CO. WARRANTY INSPECTOR SAYS THE FORD TRITON V-8 ENGINES ARE "DROPPING LIKE FLIES" BECAUSE OF BLOWN SPARK PLUGS. I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE FORD SPARK PLUG BLOWOUT ISSUE. FORD TRITON ENGINES FROM 1997 TO 2003 HAD A PROBLEM WHERE SPARK PLUGS WOULD RANDOMLY FLY OUT THE CYLINDER HEAD. THIS APPEARS TO BE DUE TO A FEW ISSUES (ENGINEERING DESIGN FLAW), FIRST THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT THREADS (3-4) IN THE HEAD TO PROPERLY HOLD THE SPARK PLUG. SECOND THE THREADS IN THE HEAD ARE NOT INSERTED, IN OTHER WORDS THE THREADS ARE IN THE ALUMINUM AND ARE NOT VERY STRONG. SPARK PLUG EJECTION IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE FUEL VAPOR STARTS COMING OUT THE SPARK PLUG HOLE, WHICH IS CLEARLY A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE FUEL VAPOR CAN BE IGNITED BY THE LOOSE SPARK PLUG - AND IN FACT THERE HAVE BEEN A SMALL NUMBER OF CASES REPORTED OF ENGINE FIRES DUE TO SPARK PLUG EJECTION/BLOWOUT. FORD NEEDS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIRS OF SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT AND SHOULD EXTEND THE WARRANTY REGARDLESS OF AGE ON THE SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT ISSUE, THEY ALSO SHOULD BE FORCED TO PAY A FAIR AMOUNT OF LABOR TIME, BECAUSE MOST OF THE REPAIRS COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. FORD HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS SERIOUS ISSUE OF AN ENGINEERING-DESIGN FLAW AND NEEDS TO RECALL 17 MILLION VEHICLES FROM 1997-2003. *TR