Its a sad sad day.

[Fla02LS]

Changing from the stock intake to the KKM intake makes a noticable difference in driving. You can feel the car get kinda sluggish when it gets hot. I floor the peddle every chance i get and after doing it for several years ya know what to expect from your car.

Remember this quote ??? I certainly do. Hmm...a guy who floors it every chance he can get and his engine blows. SHOCKING. Make sure to send the warranty people a copy of your threads here to show your stellar driving habits. This still may turn out in your favor, but is that 10 hp worth paying for a possible new engine ? Also, dude said HE just changed his oil, so that will be interesting to prove versus a dealer doing it. Alot of aftermarket warranties will screw you, i'd be careful.

 

[GrayGhost1]

You need to be extremely careful when you start spewing Magnuson Moss. For all intents and purposes it's a pipe dream. It is more intended to deal with things like spark plugs, filters, etc that do not increase factory performance levels. If you add a CAI, exhaust, chip, etc that increases the performance levels set from the factory, you have now modified said vehicle to a different level than as delivered and they CAN and WILL void your warranty and refuse claims if they so choose. You will lose that argument if you pursue it and Ford fights it.

Let's say you make a widget that is designed to hold 1 gallon of fluid. All of your engineering and testing is done based on this capacity. After extensive testing and research, you find that the unit is perfectly safe and operates as designed holding this 1 gallon of fluid so you take it to market and sell the crap out of it because it is truly a remarkable widget and everyone wants one! Then somebody comes along and discovers that with a little work, money, and innovation they can make it hold 2 gallons of fluid and it truly is a remarkable widget in this form! Everybody wants in on the bandwagon because they all know that a widget that holds 2 gallons of fluid is truly better than one that just holds 1 gallon! But low and behold the 2 gallon widgets start to fail! The materials used to manufacture the widget was never designed to hold 2 gallons of fluid. So they start sending the widgets back to you to be warrantied and replaced for free. Are you obligated and responsible for replacement? NO!!! You never designed the widget to hold 2 gallons of fluid nor did you ever manufacture one that way and deliver it!!

Long story short...(too late)...if you increase the performance output of your car, it is no longer "as delivered" and Ford (or any manufacturer) has the right (and rightfully so) to deny your claim.

Bottom line...you play you pay.

The issue is they, the "dealership", has to PROVE that the aftermarket part caused the warrantied item to fail. That is the bottom line. Now if you installed a cold air intake and the side mirror fell off they can not deny the warrany on the mirror because you have an aftermarket cold air intake on your car. One is not related to the other.

Your comment of "spewing the Magnuson Moss" is not relavent to this discussion. I merely posted it to have them understand their rights as a consumer. SEMA is a huge proponent of the act and has numerous political fire power to make sure that the stealership, I mean dealership, doesn't deny work for falsely based allegations.

I will agree though if items are installed and the car is abused because of it then this does NOT apply.

 

[Dutch]

This is a real good example for a point (I'm not trying to be an ass or anything by this):

ANY TIME you see an engine oil light come on, IMMEDIATELY pull over and kill it or kill it and drift to the side of the road. You could save yourself a lot of grief with some quick action.

As for your situation, I'm wondering what could have caused such a dramatic loss of oil pressure to cause such a catastrophic engine failure.

Yes, this is exactly right. It may not have made a difference in this situation and often by the time the oil light has come on it's already too late, but if that light ever comes on, you kill the engine immediately.

 

[SoonerLS]

Remember this quote ??? I certainly do. Hmm...a guy who floors it every chance he can get and his engine blows. SHOCKING. Make sure to send the warranty people a copy of your threads here to show your stellar driving habits. This still may turn out in your favor, but is that 10 hp worth paying for a possible new engine ? Also, dude said HE just changed his oil, so that will be interesting to prove versus a dealer doing it. Alot of aftermarket warranties will screw you, i'd be careful.

They have to prove that the intake contributed to the engine failure, which, honestly, seems like a long shot at best (from their perspective). Flooring the pedal every time he gets a chance is completely irrelevant, and 10 hp is a negligible amount--after all, the block and lower drivetrain in the LS are the same in all years, and the '03 and newer LSes have 30 more hp than the pre-'03s.

Proving that the oil was just changed should be a trivial matter. Even if he didn't keep the receipts for the oil and filter, the oil can be analyzed, and a decent lab should be able to show that the oil was fresh (heck, even a barely passable lab should be able to do that).

 

[2001LS8Sport]

But it IS on the dealer to prove you caused the failure, it is NOT on you, the consumer to prove you did not.

And that is an argument you will lose 99.9% of the time. Believe me...there is no car out there that is modified more than the 03/04 Cobras. I would be willing to bet that it has had more vehicles with voided warranties than any other. We have been down this road more than you could possibly imagine. You will have to take Ford to court or arbitration to win this battle...and you WILL lose. Bottom line is you changed (increased) the performance of the vehicle from the way it was delivered. That's the end of the story. It's not like changing spark plugs or filters...it's changing factory performance levels! I don't know what is so hard to understand about this!

And by the way...SVT is now requiring dealers to check for ECM flashes or chip installation on all major drivetrain warranty claims. They can tell if the ECM was flashed by a hand held tuner. If it has...buh bye warranty claim!!

 

[whatsupadrian]

replacing an air filter with a cone shouldnt void a warranty, other then that and exhaust the car is stock.

do they prove the oil was changed by lab or do they require oil change work orders? what if the oil was changed myself and i cant prove it with workorders?

 

[beaups]

I've had 2 different ext. warranties in the past and BOTH required me to save oil receipts if I changed myself. If you don't have all of these you are probably screwed.

 

[whatsupadrian]

OK, my warranty was denied on the basis of the air filter and exhaust alone, the engine wasnt even torn down before they denied it. whats the next step i should take?

 

[HyeLifeLS]

By a used V8 and have it changed, if the warranty ain't gonna do anything about it of course.

 

[DLS8K]

Well 2001 lincoln LS8 60,000miles. Blown motor. I was on my way home from school today, drove the car 1 mile to the freeway, it was running fine, Get on the on ramp i can hear something comming from the engine. Trying to think what the problem is a light flashes on, the oil light. WTF i just changed my oil 3 weeks ago and i knew i wasnt leaking anything because my driveway is clean, something is definately wrong at this point 2 miles to offramp. Taking it real easy WTF the noise is getting really loud. The engine siezes i loose power steering, wait the engine started again??? puts over a few. Crunch, feels as though your driving on a gravel road and gravel is shooting up hitting the floor of the car. In the rear view mirror i see a cloud of black smoke come out the back of my car. Rolled to the side of the freeway and pulled over. I look under the car there is a mess of oil all over the place on the passenger side behind the wheel well. I look around and i have 2 nice size chunks of cast aluminum clinging to stuff. Had the car towed to the dealor, probably going to void my warranty because of the intake.

My guess is i lost oil pressure somehow and my engine got no oil and siezed and grinded the crap out of stuff and pushed a rod through the block.

Im almost certain i blew my motor, what are my options to get this fixed the cheapest?

I will not try to discredit you.......but how many quarts of oil did you add? Also, someone posted that you floor it with frequency........someone just had their A6 into the shop and they shot a rod through the block......similar to your problem and habits. I would still try to get it covered under the warranty you have, but if that doesn't work, find a used engine for it. Sucks to hear this happen to you.

 

[SoonerLS]

OK, my warranty was denied on the basis of the air filter and exhaust alone, the engine wasnt even torn down before they denied it. whats the next step i should take?

Talk to a lawyer. You need someone who can advise you based on the terms of the warranty, the law, and court system.

 

[beaups]

get a lawyer. you're very unlikely to get this resolved on your own.

 

[whatsupadrian]

I will not try to discredit you.......but how many quarts of oil did you add? Also, someone posted that you floor it with frequency........someone just had their A6 into the shop and they shot a rod through the block......similar to your problem and habits. I would still try to get it covered under the warranty you have, but if that doesn't work, find a used engine for it. Sucks to hear this happen to you.

I had the oil topped off to the full line on the dipstick, I check it almost every time i stop for petrol. Im sure my driving habbits caused a lot of wear on the motor and im kicking myself in the ass for it but still I actually do believe that this was caused by a malfunction in something completely unrelated.

 

[Cruznlife1]

I know someone from another forum, they are selling these motors absolutley complete. pre 03 motors 00-02, 3.9 COMPLETE with all accessories (pumps, alternators, etc...) these are BRAND NEW motors on a pallet he got from a factory somewhere, he was selling them for 1800. thats a brand new motor with brand new everything thats attached to it, accessories and all. PM me if you're seriously interested, and I can check to see if he has any more, I was SERIOUSLY considering buying one for my LSE just to have in the corner of the garage "just in case"

 

[SoonerLS]

I had the oil topped off to the full line on the dipstick, I check it almost every time i stop for petrol. Im sure my driving habbits caused a lot of wear on the motor and im kicking myself in the ass for it but still I actually do believe that this was caused by a malfunction in something completely unrelated.

Oh, now I see your problem--you should be using gasoline.

Assuming that your engine is properly maintained, there's no way your driving habits or the intake and exhaust could have caused this. All of the CAIs I've seen have all the same hook-ups of the factory plastic unit, simply exchanging baffled plastic for smoother metal. Even with both CAI and aftermarket exhaust and an XCal tune, you're going to be under the stock HP of an '03 or newer LS, and they manage to do quite well with the same block and bottom end.

Quik might have better info on this, but it's also worth noting that the S-Type R produces 400hp using essentially the same block...

 

[Dutch]

I will not try to discredit you.......but how many quarts of oil did you add? Also, someone posted that you floor it with frequency........someone just had their A6 into the shop and they shot a rod through the block......similar to your problem and habits. I would still try to get it covered under the warranty you have, but if that doesn't work, find a used engine for it. Sucks to hear this happen to you.

If flooring it was bad for the engine, the 383 in my Chrysler wouldn't be going strong after 293,000 miles. I've put 90k on myself, including probably 15 trips down the track, the usual college-age abuse, 130 mph, about 10 left-side engine mounts, etc.

I guess I know not to buy an Audi if flooring it will put a rod through the block...

And whatsupadrian, you should call a lawyer.

 

[beaups]

how do you like your charger? 14.5 w/the hemi??? Thought it'd be a little faster.

 

[DLS8K]

If flooring it was bad for the engine, the 383 in my Chrysler wouldn't be going strong after 293,000 miles. I've put 90k on myself, including probably 15 trips down the track, the usual college-age abuse, 130 mph, about 10 left-side engine mounts, etc.

I guess I know not to buy an Audi if flooring it will put a rod through the block...

And whatsupadrian, you should call a lawyer.

It should be noted that without being in the car with this young man, that it is hard to judge how he drives his car.......I was going by what he and another poster had said in a previous thread. The debate for whether it is good or not to floor your car constantly..........that isn't even much of a debate. Driving habits DO affect durability of the engine and components........that is all I am trying to get at.

And I wouldn't say you wouldn't buy an Audi just because one car shot a rod through the block.......if using that logic...you should sell your Lincoln since this young man shot a rod through his Lincoln. Sometimes these things just happen and sometimes they happen for a reason. It really doesn't matter which was the case for this person in question, it matters that he get his car fixed.

And one more thing........a chrysler?

 

[whatsupadrian]

I do admit i drive my car pretty hard when im having fun in it on the weekends . But i only hear of blowing motors in cars that always bounce off their rev limiters, high miles, overheating, 500+ HP vehicles... that sort of thing.

 

[whatsupadrian]

I know someone from another forum, they are selling these motors absolutley complete. pre 03 motors 00-02, 3.9 COMPLETE with all accessories (pumps, alternators, etc...) these are BRAND NEW motors on a pallet he got from a factory somewhere, he was selling them for 1800. thats a brand new motor with brand new everything thats attached to it, accessories and all. PM me if you're seriously interested, and I can check to see if he has any more, I was SERIOUSLY considering buying one for my LSE just to have in the corner of the garage "just in case"

I might be very interested in those motors but i need to wait to see if the warranty denies me again.