Hello all from a newbie. I have still been experiencing some misfire problems since my engine carwash incident of 2 weeks ago :o. I bought my 2001 f150 4x4 Scab w/145K miles a month ago from a very nice honest private party w/near mint condition. They had the dealer change out the plugs 30K miles/4 years ago when they bought the truck.

In addition to the misfire situation I created with the engine wash, I was also concerned about the condition of the plugs/torque after reading about the dreaded plug blowout problem with the 97-03 5.4L engines. I also considered replacing the COPS and did some research online and decided I would save some money and "rebuild" the COPS with new boots and springs, ie., "don't fix it, if it's not broken".

I had noticed the #8 COP I removed a few weeks ago was filthy dirty, dry rotted and devoid of any dielectric grease. I figure the coil part either works or not, but the spring and boot is probably what tends to wear out over time. O'Reillys had all 8 borg warner boot/springs in stock for around $60 for the set. I also bought a set of the motorcraft platinum plugs ($3.50 ea), a PCV valve, a can of dielectic grease with a nifty spray nozzle, a can of CRC MAF cleaner, Sea foam deep creep, a new thermostat/o-ring (PO had just flushed the cooling system for me) and some B12 carb cleaner.

The tools were pretty basic stuff, 7,10 mm, 5/16, 5/8 plug wrench, 3/8 torque wrench, 12" section of fuel line for getting the new plugs to thread in and to put on the end of my compressor air blow tool,and a bunch of extensions, both wobble and normal, plus swivels and a set of ramps.

I liked the plug change write up I found in the how to section on this site and also the more detailed one I found at the "other" 150 site, http://www.f150forum.com/f72/97-03-v...-change-93389/

I was waiting for the temperature to warm up some when my good friend, Charlie, shows up and offered to help. Charlie is half my age, a great shade tree mechanic and he owns a 2000 f150 5.4L 4x4 Scab w/200K on the clock, although he told me he has only changed the air filter and added gas to it in the 60K miles he has owned his truck. Charlie is the reason I bought my truck, we have done some fun travel/adventure trips in his f150 and I really liked his F150.

I tried my best to stay out of Charlie's way and in less than 3 hours, he installed all the plugs (no antiseize), rebuilt my COPs with new boots/springs, cleaned the throttle body (nasty dirty), replaced the PCV valve, cleaned up the MAF, and a new thermostat.

Here is what we discovered: the old MC platinum plugs that were installed by the dealer for $400 were torqued at about 16 foot pounds, but the plugs showed rust/corrosion on both the threads and the ceramic part of all plugs. It looked like the dealer mechanic left the grease and dirt in the hole which we hosed out with compressed air and the fuel line extender and then a bunch of B12 cleaner. 2 of the 8 "pregapped" plugs were not gapped to the proper .54 gap so we gapped those correctly. We added a small amount of Sea foam Deep Creep on the new plug threads hoping to keep the future corrosion to a minimum. The 12"fuel line worked great to get the new plugs threaded and then a deep 5/8 socket to finish them with a torque of 22 lbs on my new cheap and uncalibrated torque wrench. We gave them an extra "bump" to lock the plug threads down, so probably actually around 25 ftlbs, but they felt very secure on that torque. Only the #5 COP had any grease on the boot, so I am guessing the dealer mechanic neglected to put any grease on the boots and the PO probably had a misfire and lubed up #5. We used most of the can of the dielectric grease and filled the entire boot/spring assembly with the spray lube (better water displacement) and then installed them on the old COPS prior to the reinstall of the COPS. Charlie removed the fuel rail on the driver's side of the engine as the #7 COP was too difficult to access without pulling it gently out of the way. The passenger side fuel rail stayed in place during the work and it was not necessary to move it in order to access the COPS or plugs. We did not have a 7mm swivel socket which some use to make the job even easier, just normal swivels.

The truck started up just fine and the idle is so smooth, you can barely feel any vibration on the steering wheel. No more CEL light, no leaks, no ticking sound from the engine (leaking plugs, vacuum lines, etc,), test drove great and accelerates way better according to my seat of pants meter . I now feel assured that I have fixed what the dealer mechanic neglected and my own self induced carwash misfire problem and feel I have done everything possible to help prevent future plug blowout problems.

After seeing what the plugs looked like after 30K miles, rusty, rounded off black somewhat fouled electrodes, I plan on doing my plugs every 30K miles in the future, as the 100K recommendation seems like way too long to be able to get the best performance, reliability, and peace of mind that the plugs are still torqued correctly.

Now that the truck is up to excellent oem standards, let the mods begin. Gotts mod first and I was pleased to see that someone else had already removed the silencer. I have always had good experience with the BG products and have been running the 44k fuel system cleaner in my fuel system. I am planning to change the oil now in case any crap got down into the plug holes and I have some BG 109 engine cleaner to run thru prior to dropping the oil. I would appreciate any feedback, other tips, things we did wrong or missed. For the next plug change I might try the NippoDenso performance plug some like. I have always used NGK plugs, but not sure if they make a good plug for the 5.4L?

I hope this helps others who might be a bit timid on doing this work. It is tight in there, but it is not rocket science stuff. I have always preferred doing things myself when I can and in this case I owe my good buddy Charlie for helping me get through this without incident. with

 

+22#ft of torque on spark plugs on a 2001 5.4L?? What is the 2001 Ford factory spec??

 

recommended spec now is 28-32 lbs/ft torque due to blowout issue

 

Recommended by Ford? I am trying to find a definite answer on this as I am most likely doing it this weekend. From what I saw it was around 14 ft/lb wasnt it? Now I read anywhere from 23 to 27 to what you stated. I just dont want to over tighten and strip it causing the same issue as a blow out.

 

Mine were no problem with 6 of 8 original plugs at 120,000 miles in a 2001 screw. I would start right off by pulling the intake, throttle body and drivers side fuel rail. Watch o-rings on the injectors and rail as well as the gaskets on the power connectors for the COPs and injectors. I ended Up giving everything a liberal helping of dielectric silicone, including the injector o-rings. I only ended up needing one ratchet swivel and a couple different length extensions. I used the "spark plug" socket with the little rubber grommet keeper inside to start the plugs. I found it better to start with this than the fuel hose because there was a better, more positive, feel to the plug when I was starting it.

I found a post from one of the multi-thousand post gurus that cited 28 ft/lbs as the correct torque for the plugs using nothing on the threads. I used the nickel plated Motorcrafts.

At the same time as this I also installed a modified Gott's modification. Before I ever had heard about this forum or the Gott's I had thought the limited entrance of the intake was retarded and had planned opening it up. I took a piece of 3" ABS and a union that consists of a thin rubber inner with a ridged aluminum wrap and 2 hose clamps. This union was sleeker and provided a better connection than the full rubber union with 2 hose clamps. It took a bit of work with a rasp to fit the 3" ABS through the factory opening in the wheel well. In the end I set it in the hole using a small hammer. Looks great and offers the maximum size air inlet.