Ford Motor Company provided the dealership with insufficient instructions on replacing gaskets which victimized many consumers Dearborn Michigan

My 1997 F150 was recalled for a defective timing cover gasket in December 1999. At the time the milage read approximately 60,000 miles and the motor had overheated due to a complete loss of coolant only a few days before the recall was received.

One month later the dealership replaced the defective timing cover gasket. At that time I had commented on the timing of the recall's arrival with respect to the nearly simultaneous coolant loss described in the recall notice. However, no mention of my comment was ever listed on the paperwork. Not surprising as the dealership was rolling out the recalls with little time to spare between customers.

I drove the truck out of the dealership and by the time I had gotten home I noticed the oil pressure gauge reading low when slowly idling. The mechanic told me to watch it. As time went on, the frequency of the low pressure at low idle became only intermittent. After the next oil change, the problem had seemingly disappeared.

Over the course of the next 50,000 miles and approximately 18 months the truck gradually became noisy-this I attributed to the fact that the truck simply was accumulating more milage. It wasn't until November 2001 that I realized the noise was more than just normal engine noise. The motor blew up.

I called Ford's Customer-No-Service to describe what my hometown mechanic diagnosed as a blown engine due to the bearings. Naturally, Ford took my information including the milage on the truck and instructed me to have the truck diagnosed by an "Authorized Ford Dealership" before any decision would be made with regard to Ford's responsibility to me for this damaged engine. I complied with Ford's request.

The truck was towed, at a cost to me, to a Ford Authorized dealership where the timing cover was removed for inspection of the gasket. That dealership determined that the gasket was positioned properly, that coolant had gotten into the spark plugs and that there were no "drip lines" which would have indicated a head gasket leak. This again cost me more money.

Ford's "Zone Rep" determined that due to the following reasons, Ford would "unfortunately, be unable to assist" me in any of the costs of replacing the engine ($3000.oo)because...

( 1 ) The engine had over 100,000 miles on it- Ford's idea of a long life for one of their engines
[my argument was that if the motor was not damaged before the recall procedure at 60,000 miles, then the damage must have come only AFTER the recall procedure, or in other words over the last 50,000 miles on that cover gasket]

( 2 ) I was not a "Loyal Ford Customer" as in I had not chosen [did I not have the RIGHT to "chose"] Ford dealerships to maintain my vehicle, but, instead chose to have my hometown mechanic (at a substantially less expensive fee)service my truck

( 3 ) My problem was an isolated problem or in other words the engine failure I experienced was unusual in Ford's experience.
[This is a blatant lie as I have physical possession of a "Dealership Only Critical Information Supplement #1" dated four months AFTER my recall was performed which clearly states that [engine failures have ocurred despite the recall procedure being done] which gave rise to the new and improved instructions sent by Ford, known as the aforementioned Critical Information Suppplement #1]

The end result of this situation is that I now have a two ton lawn ornament in my yard that isn't worth the pavement its parked on while Ford is designing more efficient cup holders for its 2004 and 2005 models.

I've researched everything I could find concerning Ford and the particular problem my engine suffered and have pieced together that the previous timing cover gasket, in its defective state, was allowed to get into the oil which in turn clogged the oil pump immediately following the recall in January 2000...this was 50,000 miles ago. This explains the intermittent low oil pressure readings and the return to "normal" after the following oil change.

The Critical Supplement #1 which Ford issued three months after my procedure was completed indicated that debris from the sanding materials used to remove the old gasket was known to have contaminated the oil and or pan due to insufficient recall instructions issued months earlier. The coolant in the plugs seems to be the result of a leak from the timing cover, presumably from the defective gasket in the first place, since no drip lines were found anywhere on the motor itself.

Ford has my money and now I have a better understanding of why Americans can't afford to buy American. Ford needs to realize that before their customers are "Loyal", Ford needs to exemplify a bit of "Loyalty" to their customers.

The Nation Highway and Traffic Safety Administration had one dozen similar complaints listed under that recall number at last look a few months ago. However, Ford has the NHTSA so busy with the Ford Focus, the NHTSA doesn't have the manpower to research the timing cover gasket situation. We all know how long it was before FORD took care of the mid-90s Taurus head gasket problems...I thought the days of the Pinto where FORD neglected their customers were over.

Mr. Bill Ford...its not to late to earn a Ford customer or two by making right this situation. You have the power to at least maintain your market share, maybe even help it grow...we have the power to reduce it --- one car at a time.

Quality has been a bit questionable at best these past few years-how about we make Customer Service #1 in its place?

DC
Whitney Point, New York

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