2001 Ford E350 Engine Problems

SPARK PLUG - I'M REALLY SHOCKED THIS HASN'T BEEN RECALLED! PURCHASED THIS 2001 FORD E-350 FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER WHO WAS A MECHANIC AND KEPT ALL SERVICE RECORDS OF THIS VEHICLE. IT IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. HAD THE VAN SERVICED AND LOOKED OVER BEFORE TAKING IT ON A LONGER TRIP. AT 2 AM AND ONLY AFTER 5 HOURS OF DRIVING (ALL HIGHWAY) WE HEARD A LOUD BANG FOLLOWED BY EVEN LOUDER RUMBLING AND INTENSE GAS SMELL. THIS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING AND THE VAN WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY. WE WERE ABLE TO EXIT THE HIGHWAY AND WAIT UNTIL THE MORNING. THE NEXT MORNING WE TOOK THE ENGINE APART AND FOUND THE SPARK PLUG COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT OF THE ENGINE. AFTER BUYING THE REPAIR KIT FROM THE PARTS STORE AND PUTTING IN A NEW SPARK PLUG WE WERE ABLE TO LIMP OUR WAY HOME. DUE TO THE FORCE CAUSED BY THE FIRST SPARK PLUG BEING SHOT OUT, THE ENGINE NOW SOUNDS LIKE SOME OTHER SPARK PLUGS ARE VERY LOOSE AND READY TO GO. NOT SURE THE TOTAL DAMAGE UNTIL IT CAN BE REPAIRED BY A MECHANIC.

NHTSA ID

11354066

Incident

Sep 7, 2020

Mileage

119,000 mi

MY 2001 FORD E350 SUPER DUTY VAN BLEW OUT A SPARK PLUG WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH AND COST ME $900 FOR DEALERSHIP TO REPAIR....WITH ONLY 117,000 MILES ON IT. FORD NEEDS TO DO A RECALL ON THIS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10917209

Incident

Oct 14, 2016

Mileage

117,000 mi

SPARK PLUG WAS EJECTED FROM ENGINE. NO ADVANCED WARNING OR UNUSUAL SOUNDS OF ANY KIND. ENGINE HAD BEEN RUNNING PERFECTLY AND RELIABLY UP UNTIL THIS EVENT.

NHTSA ID

10763386

Incident

Sep 13, 2015

Mileage

159,693 mi

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STARTED RUNNING ROUGH/MISSING LOST ENGINE POWER. HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED HOME REPLACED THE FUEL FILTER AND PUMP. STILL HAD PROBLEMS. TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO FINALLY ADVISED FUEL TANK LAMINATE WAS FLAKING. FOUND 4 OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. ONLINE FOUND THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN MULTIPLE YEARS/DIESEL TYPES FROM FORD. *TR

NHTSA ID

10456780

Incident

Apr 21, 2012

Mileage

143,000 mi

SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT OF 5.4L ENGINE CAUSING GAS FUMES IN PASSENGER AREA. *TR

NHTSA ID

10441215

Incident

Dec 8, 2011

Mileage

148,028 mi

I PARKED MY F 350 DIESEL IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE FOR THE NIGHT. NEXT MORNING ,BEFORE 6 A.M., I WOKE TO THE NOISES OUTSIDE:CRACKING, POPPING, AND EXPLOSIONS. THE FRONT OF MY TRUCK WAS ON FIRE. IT WAS COMING AROUND ALL SIDES OF THE HOOD AND AROUND THE FRONT WHEEL AREA,ALSO THROUGH THE DASH AND STEERING AREA. I CALLED THE FIRE DEPT. AND STARTED PUTTING THE FIRE OUT USING THE GARDEN HOSE. FOUR MORE EXPLOSIONS HAPPENED,AND TWO FRONT TIRES EXPLODED AS WELL. I FOUGHT THE FLAMES UNTIL FIRE TRUCKS SET UP AND TOOK OVER. THEY PUT IT OUT JUST IN TIME TO SAVE $ 4,000 CASH AND AMMO INSIDE THE CAB. *TR

NHTSA ID

10426450

Incident

Jun 25, 2011

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD E-350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THERE WAS A LOUD POPPING NOISE FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND NOTICED THAT A SPARK PLUG AND COIL PACK HAD COME OUT OF PLACE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY THE CONTACT. THE FAILURE OCCURRED AGAIN TWO WEEKS LATER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HIS GARAGE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THEY WOULD FILE A REPORT AND REPAIRED THE VEHICLE WITH A TEMPORARY FIX. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 167,350 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 167,422.

NHTSA ID

10365503

Incident

Nov 1, 2010

Mileage

167,350 mi

SPARK PLUG BLOW OUT ON FORD ENGINE FOR THE THIRD TIME DIFFERENT PLUG EACH TIME AND ALSO HAS HAPPENED OVER THE INTERVAL OF 80,000 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10356020

Incident

Sep 15, 2010

Mileage

193,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2001 FORD E350. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED OUTSIDE OF THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE WHEN HE HEARD AN LOUD EXPLOSION. THE VEHICLE HAD CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED. ONCE THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT A HOLE HAD BEEN BURNED IN THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE, RIGHT ABOVE THE MASTER CYLINDER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE REMAINED OUTSIDE OF THE CONTACT'S HOME AND WAS NOT DRIVABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 150,411.

NHTSA ID

10351697

Incident

Aug 22, 2010

Mileage

150,411 mi

WE HAVE A 2001 FORD E-350 VAN WITH LESS THAN 80,000 MILES. A SPARK PLUG HAS EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE, STRIPPING THE BLOCK. OF COURSE, GASOLINE SPEWS FROM THE OPEN CYLINDER, AND THE SPARK PLUG IS STILL SENDING OUT A SPARK. A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT, ONE THAT I READ IS COMMONPLACE, FROM THE WEBSITE : HTTP://WWW.FORDPROBLEMS.COM/SPARK-PLUG-EJECTED-FROM-ENGINE.SHTML. *TR

NHTSA ID

10320055

Incident

Mar 12, 2010

Mileage

79,500 mi

SPARK PLUG BLEW OUT OF TRITON V10 ENGINE ALMOST CAUSING A FIRE. TRUCK ONLY HAS 14,000 MILES ON IT. VERY COSTLY REPAIR AND COULD HAVE CAUSED A FIRE OR INJURIES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10297366

Incident

Dec 24, 2009

Mileage

14,000 mi

NORMAL USE .FORD E-350 5.4 2001.SUDDEN FAILURE OF RIGHT NO.2 CYLINDER .SPARKPLUG EJECTED. COIL-OVER DAMAGED.;REPAIR BY COIL INSERT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10291302

Incident

Nov 5, 2009

Mileage

149,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD E-350. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD LOUD SOUNDS COMING FROM THE ENGINE. HE PULLED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND DISCOVERED THAT THE THIRD SPARK PLUG BLEW OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A MECHANIC AND THEY RE-THREADED THE CYLINDER HEAD. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 134,701 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 133,345. UPDATED 09/25/08 *BF UPDATED 09/25/08

NHTSA ID

10237836

Incident

Jul 31, 2008

Mileage

133,345 mi

TWICE WITHIN THE PAST TWO YEARS I HAVE BEEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, AT REASONABLY LOW SPEEDS, AND A SPARK PLUG HAS BLOWN COMPLETELY OUT OF MY ENGINE ,WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING . TWICE I HAVE HAD TO BRING IT BACK TO THE DEALER . HE NOW TELLS ME ,AND THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY CONFIRMED IT ,THAT THE HEADS FOR THE 5.4 LITRE ENGINE WERE NOT MILLED PROPERLY (ONLY 4 THREADS FOR EACH SPARK PLUG, CAUSING THE PLUG TO STRIP AND COME OUT OF THE ENGINE) AND THAT THIS IS AN ENORMOUS PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE . THE LAST REPAIR COST OVER $4,000 BUT SINCE THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN OCCURRING OUTSIDE OF THE 36,000 MILE WARRANTY THAT FORD PROVIDES, FORD HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT AND IN FACT, IT HAS GENERATED MUCH BUSINESS FOR THE DEALERSHIPS. BOTH THE DEALER AND THE WARRANTY COMPANY CONFIRMED THIS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10219853

Incident

Feb 15, 2008

Mileage

89,000 mi

OUR FAMILY WAS RIDING IN OUR 2001 FORD E-350 SUPER DUTY 15-PASSENGER VAN POWERED BY FORDS 5.4L V8 255 HP ON I-80 EASTBOUND NEAR MILESBURG, PA THIS PAST SATURDAY AFTERNOON (JULY 7,2007) AND ONE OF THE SPARK PLUGS BLEW OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD. I AM AWAITING REPAIRS EVEN NOW. I HAVE NOTICED OUR GOVERNMENT'S RELUCTANCE TO ISSUE A RECALL ON WHAT APPEARS TO BE A RECURRING PROBLEM FOR '97-04 FORD ENGINES WITH THE ALUMINUM HEADS. THE REPAIRS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE! PLEASE HELP! THANKS, DAVID LIPSY *TR

NHTSA ID

10196033

Incident

Jul 7, 2007

Mileage

113,000 mi

SPARK PLUG BLOWN OUT X3, EACH TIME A DIFFERENT PLUG, DATE LISTED BELOW IS THE LATEST. *JB

NHTSA ID

10161946

Incident

Jul 10, 2006

Mileage

100,000 mi

AT SLOW SPEED (LESS THATN 30 MPH) TRAVELLING DOWN HILL AT IDLE, ENGINE HAS STALLED 5 TIMES IN THE 6500 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. POWER STEERING AND BRAKES ARE LOST.THE ENGINE STARTS UP IMMEDIATELY WITH THE KEY. *AK

NHTSA ID

746566

Incident

Apr 1, 2001