| Issue ID | 846939 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10387309 |
| Manufacurer | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| Brand | FORD |
| Model | F-150 |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 16/11/10 |
| Component | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | While traveling on i-70, westbound through illinois, my ford f-150 began shaking violently and was barely controllable. There was no previous warning of any kind that there was a problem with the truck. I managed to get to an exit and got the truck to the nearest ford dealer, in the small town of greenville, il. The ford mechanic diagnosed the problem as catastrophic engine failure. At least two valve stems had broken and the valves had fallen into the cylinders. They could not tell me what caused the failure but showed me a few of the parts they had removed (a broken valve spring, pieces of valve stem and a frozen rocker arm). The engine had been scrupulously maintained and the oil and filter were changed at least every 5000 miles. The engine was clean and there was plenty of oil. I have since seen several on-line posts about this engine (ford's 5. 4 liter v-8 gas) failing due to faulty valve springs failing. I believe this engine has serious flaws that might cause serious problems if engine failure happens at high speed in traffic. Fortunately, i was in very light traffic when the failure happened. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 88200 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | PORTABLE SAFETY COMPLAINT FORM (PDF) |
| City and State | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO |
| VIN pattern | 1FTPX14524NXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | |
| Anti-lock brakes | |
| Cruise control | |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 68 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |