Finally got around to 'deheading' my Escort. Suddenly started running on 3 cylinders and thankfully got myself home with it. This happened many months ago around the same time my rod bent. So I finally take it apart and to my horror find:






Ford decided it would be a good idea to use the shittiest, most fragile steel valve seats imaginable in this engine. Different expansion rates between the steel and the aluminum head cause it to slowly become unpressed from the head and then shatter against the valve. It broke apart in cylinder 4 on the intake valve and then the fragments got sucked in to the other 3 cylinders since the vacuum from the other 3 cylinders was going into cyl 4. This has happened to countless other escorts and it is estimated that there will be no Escorts left on the road in ~10 years with an original engine and valve seats due to this defect. Ford, I hate you, this is not the first time being a cheapass has caused your vehicles to suck and it wont be the last. Seriously how much did you save with these cheap valve seats, 2 dollars a freaking unit?

 

I swore off owning a Ford product when my brand new 79 F150 jumped out of park and into reverse destroying the opened drivers side door when it hit a gatepost... I filed a complaint with Ford and took it to a dealership where some of Ford's people were meeting with others besides myself with complaints. About half of them had the same complaint as I did so that substantiated my belief that there was a serious problem.. What pissed me off the most was when the dude I talked to said he had investigated over 50,000 of complaints about this problem and found them all to be driver error... I'd rather eat shit and die than have to lie to make a living.

 

I dont mind fords. but the excort not so much

 

15 year old econo car from a period when the American brands were at their worst...how could you expect better?

 

My 97 tbird was bulletproof

 

You got lucky.

 

I'm sure your Ford is better than my old 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix that needed all four window motors replaced...several times. Along with a host of other problems. <sigh>

Still love the look of that car though.