1998 Ford E Series

Recalls

1 recall names the 1998 Ford E Series. Newest first.

• Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Diesel

  Dec 5, 2007NHTSA 07V5530001,176,000 vehicles

  On certain heavy duty trucks equipped with 7.3L diesel engines, the camshaft position sensor located on the engine of the vehicle may function intermittently, possibly resulting in an engine stall.

  Risk and remedy

  Risk

  In the event of an engine stall, a crash could result without warning.

  Remedy

  Dealers will inspect the sensor and replace it with an improved camshaft position sensor free of charge. the recall began on december 29, 2007. owners may contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.

  Full recall details →

Owner complaints

What owners report most

1. Tires7
2. Fuel system, gasoline1
3. Latches/locks/linkages1
4. Equipment1
5. Seats1
6. Service brakes, hydraulic1
7. Power train1

Latest complaints

• Jul 2, 2005MS
  Equipment

  I have not had an "incident" with my 1998 ford expedition, but I am scared senseless having read the many reports by owners who have. I have two daughters ages 3 and 7 who ride daily in our family vehichle. I am urging you to consider a mandatory recall on expeditions with similar cruise control systems to the 2000 models. please don't allow anyone else to suffer or die.

• Sep 6, 2004UT9,400 mi
  Tires › Tread/belt
  Tire tread separation of firestone steeltex radial R4S LT 225 75 R/16 ms load range e tubeless radial 2 steel ply tire. on 1999 winnebago minnie motorhome (ford V10 - e superduty series) with 9,400 miles. we limped the vehicle into nearest gas station with steel belt showing on tires. no…

  Tire tread separation of firestone steeltex radial R4S LT 225 75 R/16 ms load range e tubeless radial 2 steel ply tire. on 1999 winnebago minnie motorhome (ford V10 - e superduty series) with 9,400 miles. we limped the vehicle into nearest gas station with steel belt showing on tires. no apparent road damage to tire. the tread just separated from the tire. tires were checked at dealership two days prior to trip for proper air pressure and wear prior to leaving on trip. everything checked out fine. we are going to try and contact firestone directly regarding this matter and see if they will assist.*ak

• Apr 22, 2004SC71,000 mi
  Fuel system, gasoline
  I have a 1998 ford diesel van that I have just purchase about a couple of months ago. The former owner gave me a clue of a problem that I didn't pick on when I bought it. He said don't fill the tank full or the fuel will overflow. Well it does overflow full or not but worst with a full tank. Ford…

  I have a 1998 ford diesel van that I have just purchase about a couple of months ago. The former owner gave me a clue of a problem that I didn't pick on when I bought it. He said don't fill the tank full or the fuel will overflow. Well it does overflow full or not but worst with a full tank. Ford and the nhtsa had issued a recall for possible cracking of fuel tanks in van's like mine. The recall was for 1997 thru 2001 econoline_van's. I took it to a ford dealership in charleston sc but they refused to look at it and told me that no recall was ever made on my van. I called ford customer care and they said the same thing. But a recall was made on june 29, 2000. The fuel tank does not appear to leak while stopped even if the motor IS running and I have let it run for more than a hour. It leaks very bad while underway. The wiring harness that runs by the fuel tank and just underneath it IS full of diesel fuel. I open up the harness plastic cover and drain the fuel from it but it will fill up again as soon as I drive the van. Although I have tried to pin point the source of the leak I have not been able to do so. I clean the tank but the fuel will reappear with no visible source of leak. this has got me scared and since ford will not look at it unless I agree to pay for repairs and I am at lost as to what to do now. I feel that this problem IS just like all the other van's that they have already repaired or install insulators to protect the tank from cracking if it IS not leaking. I believe ford should look at the van and fixed at their expense if the tank IS indeed crack like I suspect. I found that a recall # 01v114000 was made on march 30, 2001 for possible fuel tank cracking in 1998 E350 van's. I also found that nhtsa had also issue a tsb #15113 for 1998 ford E350 vans for possible fuel fill valve sealing condition. I think recalls are more important anyway and can be verified.

• Aug 11, 2003MI18,500 mi
  Tires › Tread/belt

  The inside passenger side duel tire tread separated while driving at 55 mph.*ak consumer heard a noise from the tires and 15 minutes later the entire tread blew off the tire. It damaged the wiring, frame and body. This was not a recalled tire. Consumer no longer trust the remaining tires, ford or firestone. *ph *jb

• Jun 25, 2003VA
  Tires › Tread/belt
  I own a 1998 coachman motorhome, class c with steeltex radial R4S lt225/75r16 m/s tires on it. while traveling up I64 headed toward crozet, va. From my home in mechanicsville, va. I experienced tire problems. while driving along around 62 miles per hour I experienced a severe bumping which felt…

  I own a 1998 coachman motorhome, class c with steeltex radial R4S lt225/75r16 m/s tires on it. while traveling up I64 headed toward crozet, va. From my home in mechanicsville, va. I experienced tire problems. while driving along around 62 miles per hour I experienced a severe bumping which felt like a tire problem and after pulling over and inspecting the tires discovered that the right rear outside tire was the problem. after calling good sams road service and getting the tire changed the tire looked as if the tread had separated from the rest of the tire and was coming apart. these tires only had roughly 16,800 miles on them at the time. the spare had never been used and still had the sticker on it so I was able to continue on my trip. I sent an email to firestones web site and to this day haven't heard a word about the tires. these tires are load range 'e' tires and had 80 lbs. Of air in each because I check them before taking any trips. I've got another tire on the front of my rv that IS wearing odd also. normally when a tire IS under inflated it wears the outside treads down and if over inflated it wears the center tread or treads down. this tire IS wearing down on the second and fourth tread. isn't this odd? the first, third and fifth tread look okay. I'D hate to think more of these tires doing the same thing and possibly causing injury or damming the next time. we were fortunate this time. thank you. *nlm

• Nov 8, 2002OR
  Tires

  Tire size lt22575r16; these tires are used on a winnebego motorhome 1999. the inside rear of the wheel weld was damaged due to a tire capping off. the other tires are now starting to exemplify the same failure pattern. ts there was a loud noise. the consumer found that the inside rear tire had lost the cap. the dealer found that all of the tires were separating. scc

• Feb 15, 2002FL
  Tires › Tread/belt

  Without warning rear dual firestone (225/75r/16) tire tread started to separate, causing damage to propane gas line of the motor carrier and tail pipe framing under wheel well. Dot # vd11xd347ak.*ak *tt

• Dec 20, 2000GA
  Tires

  Firestone steeltex tires p225/75r16 dot vd1l1xd experienced blowouts, one occurred while it was raining, consumer states there was property damage. *slc

• Oct 26, 2000AL
  Tires › Tread/belt

  Tread separation (possibly due to lack of adhesion) and blowout, causing damage to right side of motorhome and exhaust pipe. two outside storage bins were damaged; mud flap torn loose; wheelwell trim torn loose; bin lights broken; exhaust pipe was bent at a 90 degree angle; fiberglass damage to one bin door. (Dot number: vd1l1xd367 tiresize: lt22575r16)

• Dec 14, 1999FL
  Power train

  Driver unable to read speedometer because steering wheel blocks view, location of indicator creates poor visibility. yh

• Sep 30, 1999CA
  Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch

  Door lock mechanism failed. yh

• Jul 30, 1999NJ
  Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components

  Disc brakes engaged without applying resulting in burning on several occasions. mjs

• Aug 21, 1998PA
  Seats

  Complaints that the passanger seat IS mounted to close to the dash. if the air bag would deploy the passanger would be injured seriously.

Defect investigations

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.

• Spark plug ejection from cylinder head

  DP05005Opened Sep 22, 2005Closed Jan 4, 2006
  On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton V-8 and V-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or…

  On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton V-8 and V-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi IS not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi IS aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it IS possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect IS very low.in view of the foregoing, it IS unlikely that nhtsa would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize nhtsa?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition IS denied.

Service bulletins

Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.

• 10042864Ford: the blower motor on some vehicles are operating either incorrectly or not operating or just functioning on one speed.
• 10023943Some 1997-2008 vehicles equipped with a 4.6L 2V, 5.4L 2V, or 6.8L 2V engine--spark plug thread repair procedure--not covered under new vehicle limited warranty. This includes F-53 motorhome chassis. Updated 2/23/10.
• 10018745Wds cop kit diagnostic tip - coil on plug (cop) ignition systems - engine misfire or rough running.
• 10014666Intermittent rough idle - non-commanded egr (exhaust gas recirculation valve) flow.
• 10014275A driveline clunk or bump when starting from a stop.
• 10014086General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures.
• 10012941Diagnostic trouble code b1876, b1880, b1915 and/or b1920 in the ecs module - vehicles equipped with aftermarket high current devices.
• 10011162Engine misfire or running - coil on plug (cop) ignition systems - wds cop kit diagnostic tips. To include various 2005 models. * ar this article 04161 supersedes tsb 03-14-04.
• 10008580Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock.
• 10008552Rear leaf spring noise.
• 10008304Engine-gear driven synchronizers-incorrect installation-camshaft position synchronizer (cmp) installation tool correct application.
• 10008279New service part - number 5 needle bearing and race kit - 4r70w transmission - service tip.
• 10008195Air bag lamp illuminated.
• 10008169Broken exhaust manifold studs.
• 10008155Diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) b1876, b1880, b1915 and/or b1920 airbag electronic crash sensor (ecs) module on vehicles equipped with aftermarket high current devices.
• 10005089Oil leak at high pressure pump fittings and/or plug. This includes super duty f-series. Oasis.
• 10004908Clicking/popping noise from upper steering column area when turning. 2004 e series and explorer sport trac also included.
• 10004889Some dedicated CNG vehicles may exhibit various driveability conditions due to a loss of injector performance, resulting from fuel quality. Loss of power at heavy load, diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) for lean fuel, rough idle, hard start, plugged catalytic converter and no start condition.
• 10004884No turbine shaft speed (tss) displayed using ngs or wds.
• 10004862Some 7.3L diesel turbocharger pedestals may leak oil around the exhaust back pressure actuator (ebp). This article supersedes tsb 03-21-51 dated 10/30/2003.
• 10004861High pressure oil pump leak on vehicles equipped with 7.3L diesel engine.
• 10004856External oil leak diagnosis for 7.3L dit engines. Various models including 2003 super duty f series.
• 100048507.3L powerstroke diesel engine with engine serial number 661894 through 1311240 may exhibit a knock noise above the normal sound of the diesel combustion. This bulletin also replaces 01146.
• 10004032Leak oil around the exhaust backpressure actuator (ebp) - 7.3L diesel turbocharger pedestals.
• 10004029Dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) rough idle or no start when cold vehicles equipped with dedicated 4.6L or 5.4L CNG engine only.
• 10004027Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips.
• 100040237.3L diesel high pressure oil pump leak.
• 10003750Turbo pedestal seal oil leak around the exhaust back pressure (ebp) actuator. 2003 super duty f series included.
• 10003744Engine misfire or rough running condition with coil on plug (cop) ignition systems may be more accurately diagnosed using the optional worldwide diagnostic system (wds) coil on plug (cop) kit. 2003 super duty f series included.
• 10002780Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illumination with diagnostic trouble codes p0442, p0455, p0456, p0457, p1442 or check fuel cap lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code p0457.
• 10002768Bi-fuel lpg vehicles (with coolant lock off) may exhibit a no start condition.
• 10002767Vehicles without the coolant lock-off may exhibit a no start condition.
• 10002766Compressed natural gas (CNG). Rough idle or no start when cold. Vehicles equipped with CNG bi-fuel engine only.
• 10002627Repeated blown fuses for rear in vehicle circuits with inoperative rear brake or tail lamps.
• 10002517On some dedicated CNG vehicles, a possible fuel leak may occur at the fuel fill valve. Revised service parts.
• 10001895Possible fuel leak may occur at the fuel fill valve, on some dedicated CNG vehicles.
• 10000592Incorrectly installed gear driven camshaft position (cmp) sensor synchronizer assemblies causing surge, lost of power, malfunction indicator lamp on and diagnostic trouble codes p1336, p1309 and p0340.
• 6092187Some vehicles without front brake dust shields may exhibit premature wear of the front wheel bearings due to damaged inner wheel bearing seals.
• 6092152Some vehicles equipped with engines produced by windsor engine plant may exhibit an engine knock at initial cold startup.
• 6092031Some customers may comment on a clunk felt / heard in the steering wheel.

Every Ford E Series model year

Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.