Blown spark plug from Ford Triton V10 engine which can cause a major fire in the engine compartment.

- Glendora, CA, USA

I was driving my 1999 Ford F150 4X4 with 5.4L engine home from work and stopped at traffic light. The light turned green and I proceeded to go and then "pow" the truck began to make a loud "popping" noise and lost all engine power. I was in the middle of the intersection and somehow managed to keep it running long enough to get through the intersection and on a side road. I hesitated to open the hood because of the strong gasoline smell but it wasn't on fire "yet" so I opened it and found one of my ignition coils (coil packs) loose on top of the intake manifold. Upon further inspection I realized the spark plug had blown out of the aluminum cylinder head. I was able to catch a ride to the auto parts store with coil and plug in hand. The salesman at the store immediately knew what had happened and even knew the engine was a 5.4L before being told. He said that if I was lucky I would probably just have to install a helicoil or threaded insert in it. The other option was to replace the cylinder head. I purchased new coil and plug then drove back to my truck. I tried to clean the threads with a spark plug thread chaser but there were no threads left to clean. I searched the web and found numerous complaints of the same issue. Some people said they had multiple spark plugs blow out or "spit out" on the same vehicle. Why doesn't Ford have a recall on this" the gasoline smell was due to the fuel injector still spraying while the plug was blown out of the head. What if it had caught on fire" I haven't repaired it yet but will try the "repair kit" that was handed to me when I bought the coil and plug. I think Ford should recall all the 5.4L engines that have this problem and install the helicoil or insert to prevent a customer breakdown or a potential vehicle fire.

- Kearney, MO, USA

While driving my 1999 Ford Triton V-10 powered C-class motorhome in heavy traffic the engine made a loud bang. After the bang it continued to rattle badly and mis-fire. Worked my way across traffic and stopped in a no parking zone for 2 hrs awaiting a tow truck. We were in a fairly un-safe position, as the shoulder was limited and it was on the exit route for the California speedway just after a nascar race. The repair shop has told me that a spark plug blew out of the cylinder head. I'm learning that this is a common occurrence on this model engine.

- Simi Valley , CA, USA

My family and I were 25 miles from home in our 1999 Ford F-250 when a spark plug blew out of the head. I had the truck towed to the Ford dealership and was told that even though the truck had less than 75,000 miles. I had to pay for the repair. This repair cost us over $3,000.

- Mcneal, AZ, USA

I blew a plug on my Ford F150. Engine has had proper maintenance. It has about 80,000 miles on it. 5.4 V8 year is 1999. Called Ford and they will no acknowledge a problem and will do nothing to reimburse any of the repair costs. I think it is a faulty head on the Triton engines.

- Sauk Rapids, MN, USA

My truck started making a noise and slowly got worse over about 6000 miles. I brought it into Ford and the said it was pistion slap or a bad bearing. They tolsd me it wouldnt affect the performance or the truck and it is a fairly common problem. So I told them I wanted to trade it in and they said they didnt want it because it was making noise. Help!!!

- Council Bluffs, IA, USA

There is a common problem with the right side head gasket in 5.4L V8 engines in vehicles from 1999. This problem results in a blown head gasket that requires repair at great expense. In addition the repair that is approved by Ford is not permanent, so the vehicle many times has the same problem multiple times. I personally have a vehicle with this problem and have several friends with the same problem. I believe that Ford needs to issue a recall for this problem and fix it right so that recurrences do not happen.

- Oregon, WI, USA