I figured I would post this because through my searching I didn't find what I needed. I decided it was time to change my plugs at 72000 miles. I should have done it at 50000 but I had other things in the way. Every plug that I pulled was at .059". The little red clips on the coil pack connector are a joke. If I change them again I will try to clean the connector before trying to take these off. They must get pretty brittle with the engine heat. I ended up breaking two of the red clips at the tab. The red clip stayed in place locking the black connector on. So I was able to push the red clip out with an o ring pick. The black connector on the rear drivers side I broke the retaining clip as well. The red clip isn't real important as that is just a backup to keep the coil pack connector locked. Kind of like the release handle under the hood after you pull the handle in the cab. It isn't necessary but here for insurance.

Well back to the actual black connector that I broke.
This connector cannot be broken because it will not stay on the coil pack without zip ties or wire. That wasn't going to be how I was leaving my $20,000 dollar truck.
So I went to the dealer and pickup up the coil pack connector pigtail. This comes with everything needed to splice the new connector onto the engine harness. You would have to cut the broken connector off and splice. I wasn't going to do this either. First of all on my 2011 there are only two of the three pins that have wiring. The pigtail comes with three wires (one for each pin), so there would be an extra wire hanging out.

The pigtail pet number is Ford # 9U2Z-14S411-EA

I replaced the outer black portion only. To do this you remove the white part from the inside of the connector. I used a small screwdriver or an o ring pick to work it off. It snaps into place. You also need to remove the black part on the wire entry side. I used a utility knife blade to pry this off. Just insert the blade into the gap there and work on each side to remove. I had to do one side and stick my pick into the gap I created so that it wouldn't snap back into place when I did the other side. Now once you have those two loose you can use a pick from the inside of the connectors and push up on the connector retainer. This is fairly obvious and if you lift it a little the wire easily pulls out. Do the same thing on the truck connector that is broken but make sure you remember which side the wires go to on the truck side. Now I have a new connector with no splices in my wiring. And I know it took less time for me to do it this way than it would have to cut and splice the wires and I am an electrician so I like wiring. But a splice is bad news.

I gapped the new plugs to .045"

 

Next time, carefully pop open the red locking tab. Then push in on the connector. This will crush the rubber plug inside and relieve the pressure on the lock. Once you have done this push down on the primary lock and it should pop right open.

 

I didn't think of that. The red part is a joke though.

 

Great info!

What plugs did you use?

Did you do the coils too??

My mechanic is saying just buy plugs and coils to start with. I wasn't even aware of the connector issue.
I have the same year 5.0 as you. I appreciate any part numbers.

 

I did not change the coil packs. I didn't look at the plug part numbers. I bought motorcraft plugs from my Ford dealer. I would buy electrical contact cleaner and spray each connector first. Other than the connectors being somewhat of a pain the plug change is very easy on the 5.0L.

 

No reason to change coils unless they are causing a miss.

 

On the 5.0, are the lower coil boots a replaceable item like on the EB?

 

My coil packs looked to be in great condition so I left them alone and re-installed them. Like said before there is really no need to replace them unless they are causing problems. You won't break them by removing them and re-installing.

 

Bought plugs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/192051683825...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And Coils: http://www.ebay.com/itm/262770346097...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Getting changed next week. I'll let you guys know how the cheap coils work out.
SP548 looks to be the latest plug number. Great price on eBay! Maybe I don't need coils but they aren't that expensive and I'd rather do everything at once. I'll keep the old ones. Looks like only one is bad.

 

Ok, just got everything changed yesterday. My buddy owns a shop just blocks from my work. He picked the truck up at 3pm and was back at 3:55pm! I ask what was wrong?? He said "nothing, all done". He charged me $20 labor and I had to force him to take that!! My buddy Tim is too damn good to me!!
So, for $182.09 it's running like a top again! Just ran to Cleveland this morning (2 hour round-trip) with no issues. I ran it extra hard too! No check engine light! They scanned all systems and the report came back clean. I'm just miles away from 70k. Ford sure made these plugs easier to change than my old 5.4.

Next on the agenda: transmission fluid flush.