The engine seized in my 2005 Ranger with 14, 354 original miles on it. The Ford dealer that inspected it found water in the oil. Further inspection showed that one of the exhaust valves actually broke off, fell into the cylinder, then slammed upwards and cracked the water jacket (and bent the spark plug as well). The warranty on this truck was 3 year/36, 000 mi. when I bought it new off the lot as part of Ford's "Family Plan Promotion" in 2005. Three years expired at the end of August 2008. However, let me point out again that this engine only had 14, 354 miles on it when the valve broke.

I called Ford Customer Service to explain the issue. I only asked if they were willing to pay for half the repair cost of a new engine. The response was simply, "No, the warranty expired" we can not help you.

It seems that there is an obvious quality flaw in a valve/engine that fails with so few miles (and time) on it.