MY CRANKSHAFT SNAPPED INTO PIECES!!!!

[Jeff]

Two of them to be precise. Some history: Ten 10 days ago I started a new thread about my timing chain breaking at 103k miles ('97 XLT/SOHC) and whether this was a common experience in light of the tensioner service recall performed 9 months ago.

Well it took Ford until today to tear it apart and the diagnosis is a snapped crankshaft. On the date of injury, I pulled out of my driveway, drove 200 feet at 15 mph when it went "thunk" and I coasted to the side of the road. Had it towed to the dealer and received the news today.

Here is the history of the engine as most SOHC owners know: 5 recalls on the engine/smog not to mention other assorted problems and very expensive problems such as air blend door failure, 4 wheel drive engaging while going down the freeway. None of those repairs were covered by Ford even though they said each failure was rare and unusual. No customer assistance programs either. Anyway, the oil is changed every 5k with Mobil 1, goes in for 30k service, no hot rodding, everyday commuter and so forth.

Ford is telling me that I can look at the crankshaft tomorrow but they need it to send back to Ford along with the old engine. I can't have it but I can look at it for a limited time. Hmmm. I wonder what's up with that?

I need some help from my fellow members. Has this problem happened to anyone else? My argument is that this is a flawed part because engines are designed to wear, not break at 103k miles. I also have a feeling, and this is where I need some help, that perhaps the timing chain failed, placing additional stress on the crankshaft from hitting the pistons and something had to give. Ford says the chains didn't break but I haven't seen the engine. When I look at it, is there something I should be looking for?

If this isn't resolved at the dealer level, what is the next step?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mdrut]

I have been messing with engines all my life, I have NEVER seen a crank break.....
I would say it was a flaw in the casting, thats all it could be.
The ONLY thing the piston could have come in contact with is a valve. If this had happened, the valve would have knocked a hole in the top of the piston.
The Chain could NOT have caused the crank break.
UNREAL...........
I have pushed rods ALL THE WAY THROUGH the side of blocks before, without damage to the crank.
Good Luck...

 

[Jim F]

Go buy a cheap digital camera if you don't already have one and take some pictures of the crank when you're allowed to look at it for the limited time. I'm sure others on this site would be interested in seeing the pieces. Keep us informed.

 

[Dannyboy]

If it is going to cost you money, then that old engine is yours, and by law they have to give you the old parts. If not, then it is warranty that is another story. I would ask a lot of questions, possibly from different people to find out what they are going to do and record as much as you can. This won't be cheap, consider taking someone with you, especially if you have a buddy who is a lawyeror a guy with an empty briefcase and a suit sometimes will be enough

 

[CBoug76]

Here is one reason I am friends with a Ford Mechanic.
He tells us stories of all kind of things that they do at his shop/Dealership. Yes when something strange happens to an Engine, Corporate FORD wants to see what happen, this includes all the parts that go with it. Basically they will investigate what happen, hopefully so this won't happen again in the future.

I hope this clears some things up on that part of it.
You never did say if Ford was going to be footing the bill for the new Motor??

 

[SteveVB]

Take pictures

Definately take pictures- Film/digital it doesnt matter- take them of the crank the block everything- shoot a roll of 36 of everything. For your own use since the engine wont be avail.

I agree that Ford probably wants their failure engineers to go over the engine and see what happened. Keep it from happening again. I would hope they ask for the crank- if they didnt I would be a little worried.

Take pictures and see what they come up with- do not take a lawyer thats a BAD move at this point- your looking for information not a fight and a laywer makes everyone defensive.

Snapped cranks are rare thats for sure, and on a street engine they are usually casting flaws.

 

[Jeff]

I wanted to post an update:

Yesterday I finally got a chance to look at the broken crankshaft part and I've also had several conversations with the dealership that should make Ford just cringe with the BS that their service people spew in the name of customer service. I could go on for pages but here are the highlights.

The crank snapped about 1 1/2 inches behind the dampner. It broke right behind the key that supposedly turns the cam. The metal fractured at an angle and the shaft surface contains 4 distinctly different surface textures. I kept the part for future reference and I think the dealership regrets letting me have it.

My crank snapped at 103k and I was told by the Service Manager and the supervisor that expected service life of their engines is 100k, maybe more with maintenance!!! I quickly countered that Ford Sales would love to hear them say that and that my owners manual lists 100k for the first scheduled service which is the identical mileage that Sales says I've got my money's worth.

One croonie said that he'd never heard of this happening in his 23 years and I replied that the NHTSA has more than a dozen complaints of this very problem. The manager said he'd heard of 25-30 problems across various Ford lines but nothing involving an Explorer.

They also said that I was outside the warranty. True enough but I responsed that as soon as the defect was discovered (broke down on the road), I immediately brought it to their attention. The warranty is a red herring because Ford does quite a bit of goodwill repairs through their Customer Diaglogue Program as shown through the Windstar head gaskets, Taurus and problems.

No relief from the dealership but the Zone Manager (Ford factory rep) is to call today. After that, it's certified letters and small claims.

I could go on and on about the lack of customer service or the very little care I've received. Bottom line for me so far: crank was defectively produced, Ford pretends that ignoring me make the problem go away, that have the crappiest customer service, they will spew BS on design life of an engine and expect the customer to believe it. The new president of Ford has publicly said they need to reestablish their customer base with their existing customers by reaching out to them. Ford of Orange hasn't received that message.

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Triton46]

I would advise letting as many people (sites, email, etc) know about this thread as possible. Then let Ford know. Remember what happened to the VW owner who was sued...

 

[Ray Lobato]

IF this is not a warrenty repair, DO NOT LET THEM TAKE YOUR ENGINE AWAY. IT BELONGS TO YOU AND NEED TO KEEP IT FOR FUTURE PLANS(possible legal issues).
You want every single part that came off that engine.
They can not do anything with it without your permission. You tell them that if they dont give you that engine back your lawyer will be getting in touch with them.

 

[Robert]

It might be interesting to walk into their showroom and tell the Sales staff that you were considering purchasing a new Explorer, but the Service Department talked you out of it when they told you that the expected service life on the engine is only 100K miles.

I agree with the others, get in touch with the service department as soon as possible and don't let them take anything from your engine. If they start pulling crap by saying they already sent the part off, or they can't return them to you or something along those lines, be quick to throw in the "My Lawyer" bit. If you have to pay for the repairs, it is your engine, unless the replacement engine comes with a core charge. If the price of their replacement engine is the same price that you could buy one through the parts department, your old engine is yours to keep. Especially keep the crankshaft and get all of the documentation you can regarding what can happen when the cam chain guides break. The more information you get up front, the better your chances are for getting Ford to foot part of the bill.

 

[CHAnderson]

Jeff any update

I had the same thing happen to my 97 Explorer where the crank broke just behind the harmonic balancer - . I never took to Ford cause I think their service stinks (especially here). Any way how did you make out in the end or is it not over yet.
Let me know

 

[go off road]

Jeff hey if they worked on your truck 9 months for the recall or the timeing chain then maybe the shop did it wrong and they need to make it right. Ford and the shop need to step up, Talk to the Ford rep, I think they will work something out.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

here is my opinion. talk to a lawyer, let them know what has happened. DON"T let them take your engine regardless of what bullshit they might throw at you. after 103K miles, the vehicle is wholey yours. if they want something to take to their engineers, tell them to take there bs lines along with pics and give that to their engineers to look at. you are facing a pretty good lawsuit from what you are stating in this thread ( in your favor ). if what you say is the whole truth as far as what has happened, at a minimum you can hold that direct dealership liable for whatever happens. at the very least you can take it to court, and get a nice settlement out of it to at least replace your engine and crankshaft. that is if, you plan on taking that route. but don't let them take your engine, let them take the pics. and don't leave the enigne in their hands or care. keep it with you, have a friend put it in his truck and take it home. but i stronlgy recommend you consult a lawyer if you don't want to end up footing the bill and problems. hell, i would even record all conversations you have with them and the sales and service department. go to radio shack, buy a mini-recorder and keep records of all conversations you have. it will take a lot of time and patience. but as long as you keep to these rules, you will benefit in the end. let them know you are going to roll over on this one. BUT MOST OF ALL>>>>>>> TALK TO A LAWYER!!!!!!

 

[Troll]

sorry

 

[CBoug76]

FYI Jeff has not been around since 01-26-2002 10:55 PM...........

 

[kevin mahoney]

Its a coverup!

Jeffs gone, they got him! Damn global corporations and their coverups.

: Picture the cigar smoking man :

 

[WTF_in_NYC]

Jeff
I'ld like to know the outcome of your situation with the crankshaft. I have a 1998 exp sport with approx 74k and I keep my vehicle maintence regularly and now my mechanic told me the reason why truck wouldn't start was due to a crack in my crankshaft. Now I'm a female and never in my life heard of that but he explain to me just what it was. I found this message board , and post a message and someone replied to me with a link to you, and your situation. Are there any recalls, or any action suits. This is ridiculous, Of course I am no longer under warranty. So I guess I'm just ass out.....What can I do ??

 

[Jeff]

They didn't get me!

What happened is absolutely nothing.

I made complaints to the BBB and of course the dealer responded that it did everything it was supposed too.

The Ford Customer Service hotline was a joke. Lots of sympathy but at the end of the day all they did was pass along the information to the engineers. Despite the increasing number of complaints to the NHTSA, Ford has never responded.

The dealer said that they'd arrange for a meeting between myself and the Zone Manager to discuss my situation. The only discussion I had is when the same crappy Service Manager called to see that he'd spoken to her on my behalf and that she wasn't interested in helping. He sort of became speechless when I said that he was the last person to explain my case to the ZM because he himself never had my best interest at heart. He also refused to give me her name or number because he "wasn't authorized" to do so.

I eventually paid for the new engine out of my own pocket. I also spoke with a number of metal experts who all agreed that something was certainly wrong but that it would take $2k or more for them to examine the part, write a report and then appear in Small Claims with me. Quite frankly it wasn't worth the hassle and in a sense Ford won but in another way they are still losing.

At every given opportunity I simply tell anyone I know that has a Ford product to never go to Ford of Orange because they have, in my opinion, the worst customer service I've seen, employees that have stolen item from my car, a gas tank that went in with 3/4 tank of gas and none when it left and are only interested in taking your money. I have been to another Ford dealer and I've been too happy to tell them how poorly Ford of Orange treats customers.

Last week a co-worker bought a new Toyota Sequoia. He wanted a 3d seat SUV for his wife and 3 kids that was similar to the size of an Explorer/Expedition. Solely because of my X and how Ford treated a long time customer, he went with Toyota. I wish I had too.

I absolutely believe in the power of the spoken word and I continue to relay my experience to those I come in contact with. I travel quite a bit and talk with quite a few people. The word is spreading...

Get a great meal/service in a restaurant and you'll tell a couple of people. Have a bad experience and you'll tell 10 people and those 10 will tell others.

WTF, from my experience your best argument is the low mileage. According to the deceitful Service Manager at Ford of Orange (see how I worked that in there?), the dealer and ZM have discretion to help you if you have 70-75k miles even if you're out of the warranty. As the mileage increases the discretion shifts more to the ZM but in no event will the ZM help above 100k, no matter how meritorious your case.

Please don't let them try and blow you off with the out-of-warranty argument. They have their pet arguments and yours needs to be something else. On a contractual basis they are absolutely correct but you need to argue that your snapped crank is a latent manufacturing defect. It's not design defect because if it was, cranks would be snapping everywhere. It's a manufacturing defect because if the part was made correctly, they shouldn't break at low mileage. On a side note, both JD Powers and the national Ford Customer Service said that cranks should be maintenance free over the life of the engine if it's properly maintained.

To all those who lament my not posting often (thanks to both of you) I lurk all the time. Right now I'm figuring out how to deal with my broken blend door assembly. Grrrrr. Double grrrrr. I've also been spending time at the Toyota site pricing a new Tundra.

 

[Nate1]

I give Ford three years to get their customer service act together BIG TIME. If not, they can kiss their company's ass goodbye. It seems their customer service SUCKS everywhere but at national customer assistance, where they usually give you sympathy. Ford dealerships suck so bad, I'm so pissed at mine. Apparently my cam tensioner is going and it isnt under warranty... REALLY?! It's a freaking '99 Sport SOHC. 43.5k miles. What happened to 00M12, huh Ford? I'm sick of their crap. I'm either finding a new dealership, or buying a chebby next time.
-----Nate

 

[IAmTodd]

Atleast ch*vy still uses good 'ole OHV like my X