Stared my F150(03)today-It sounds like a diesel???

[Scott K]

I would atleast try the dealership, if they are hurting for work, and most are now they may do it regardless.

[Shack]

Before we go to plan 2 (cheap reman with a good warr.), how many miles do have on the rig?

Just cause you do not have maint records, does not mean (milage wise) the dealer could not help.

[Scott K]

He said 56k on the opening post

[Shack]

4.W.E has his eyes wide open , cause I guess I do not .

56K that is it.

I would make some calls dude. Depending on the build date, you are in the running with the mileage.

[Roofer]

5.4 Ford.............it's a plug blown out of the head. Go to ER Ford, talk to Jeff, tell him I sent you. He'll have it fixed right up.

[Roofer]

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[ddsbyday]

My milage on this truck is 66,000. I have had a dealer relationship for 20 years. This truck was bought from Burnsville Lincoln Merc. When the tranny went out on my Silverado at 230,000 I called my friend who started out at Polar and went to Burnsville. The tranny went out on west 7th. in St.paul. I called him. The tow truck was there before I even ordered a beer. His dealership was bought out. He is out of the buisness. I never used to even think about car problems before. I don't want to bother him. He is doing something else now. You guys are giving me sound advice and I am amazed at how much info I have received on a fishing web site. I really appreciate it. I am not trying to go the cheap route. I drive my cars until they are done. I just don't want to invest a ton of money in an engine only to have it blow a plug. I like the truck and at least it is summer(kind of) so I can drive my other car while it is being repaired. I have not given up on it yet.

[ddsbyday]

That was my mistake. It is 66,000. No plug was blown either. At tires plus they said on one of the cylinders nearest the firewall got quieter when they removed the plug. 300 $ to remove the cylinder and do the dx. I trust that the damgage is done and know that stuff happens. I am going to park it for a while until I decide what to do. I have learned a lot the last couple of days. People I don't know. I want to thank the guys at tires plus for being symapathetic to my problem and for you guys for giving me the bad news before I heard it from them. It made it easier to swallow. Thank you for your help.

[Scott K]

No problem, sorry it ended up to be the worst possibility for you!

[ChuckN]

Personally, I would get a second opinion from any authorized Ford dealer/service. I have not had good experiences with certain repair places, heck not even one Ford dealership, but an independent 2nd opinion would be good.

I'm not a mechanic, just throwing something out there as a Ford owner. Did anyone inspect the exhaust manifolds? Pretty common problem...the bolts that secure the manifold break on the 5.4L motors. Been there, and my mechanic friend repairs a few a month. They sure get loud when there's a good leak, it resembles a diesel at start up.

Good luck.

[Jeremy airjer W]

That definitely is not good!

[fishing tech]

I would also get a 2nd opinion. I wouldn't tell them you already had it checked. I beleive the Ford remans come with 3/36 warranty now. As far as the plug blowing out, they changed the plugs to have more threads instead of being held in by just a couple. I have been off work for a month with back surgery and our service dept is down to 35hr work weeks. So you may be able to deal a little. They also offer 90 day credit card, same as cash. Something to think about. Good luck.

[Scott K]

As these guys have all said, I wouldnt write off the possibility of ford warranting it yet for you. Ford is very customer loyal. They have programs set out for instances just like your. To be honest right now is the perfect time to bring it in, it is more dependent on the dealership then it is on Ford itself. Right now most places are slow, and they would love to have a big ticket job as this. Then again there are some shops that dont care at all! I would call and talk to the service manager and explain what is going on, they will tell you ahead of time if they will try to help you out or not, if they dont, try a different dealer!

[john.wells]

I still would not rule out the fuel. Have you burned through the tank and re-filled yet? It just seems too co-incidental that you just tried premium for the first time, and from a less than standard outfit. More often than not something simple is the cause, but engines do fail at times way before they should. I would second the motion for a second, or even third or fourth opinion, before shutting the book on it.