During my trip down to race at Eagles Canyon in Texas last weekend, I had an incident going from the track to the hotel in which the temperature gage on my 2005 Ford F250 5.4 gas engine suddenly pegged and the warning chimes came on. This happened within a mile of the track after the engine had started from cold. I stopped, opened the hood and checked things over - full of coolant, no leaks - did not seem hot. I waited a while, started and drove about another mile before it did it again. The gage had started normal and then went up and pegged. I guessed a bad temperature sensor or thermostat. I waited and drove the rest of the way, 10 miles, to the hotel without incident and the temperature normal. Everything was fine driving back to the track Sunday morning, with the gage reading normal. I hitched up the trailer after my electrical DNF and decided to see how things went. I was going to stop at a Ford dealer for a Monday morning check. Everything was fine for the first 12 miles to Sanger, and I decided to go on up to Gainesville, a bigger town with a dealer for sure. Everything remained fine, and I just continued on home. Temperature stayed normal and had no problems on the trip or around town Monday and Tuesday. I took the truck to the local dealer for a check yesterday, Wednesday. They said that the diagnosis was a sticking thermostat, which was one of my suspicions. They then said that the bill to fix it would be $615, as this involved putting in a new, improved water pipe under the intake manifold! Has anyone heard of this and does anyone know if Ford has any sort of implied, secret warranty covering this problem? I have had two other problems with this truck, a faulty fuel pump check valve (hard starting) and flaking vinyl on the instrument surround that I have the same question about.
- Frank C
Do a google search for a TSB and perhaps some note on the TSB about a "goodwill" warranty. Sometimes manufacturers will issue a note in the TSB about free repair for known problems even if vehicle is beyond warranty period to maintain goodwill.
Frank go here.....I'm the Admin at FTE for InternetBrands....if you have any issues registering let me know, we have a very good group there and they can help.
Ford Truck Thermostats - Secret Warranty?
