I just had the truck cleaned up really nice for probably the last time before winter and was gonna upload some pics and today goin to school it blew a *******in plug out of the head. I was drivin to school... all was fine, stopped to let the oncoming traffic pass, hit the gas to turn in and I just heard a loud ugly noise. Pulled over, shut it off, got out, saw no fluids or anything down below, was lookin at the plugs and thought it looked funny and sure enough once the tow truck got it to the shop we looked at it and that's what it was. The truck does have 163,xxx on it but it was runnin great prior to this. There was always a small tick since I've had it, which now kinda leads me to believe that it was the spark plug the whole time cause we could never find out exactly what it was. Ugh I hope I get lucky and it just backed itself out and not literally blew out, only time will tell

 

You might be interested in a long thread on this topic on the f150online V8 engines section. Lots of people have had the problem. The "fix of choice" for most of those seems to be the Time-Sert Triton inserts.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/v8...t-problem.html

 

I've done the timesert fix and its really not hard. I have the kit. User Galaxy rents it. Google timesert plug and there is some videos on utube of the repair. its really not hard to do at all just follow the instruction to a t and its a breeze..

 

Okay thanks guys it's actually at the shop right now so he's gonna be takin care of it. But do you think that could've been what that ticking was the whole time? Cause we thought it was the manifold leak, but we could never find it exactly. And when I would listen for it I could hear it just as loud from the top end as it was when I would stick my head under the wheel well. Like I said I'm hopin it just walked itself out and didn't strip the threads... just a hope lol

 

I'm expecting to try the Time-sert fix this week, waiting on a toolkit from Galaxy now. I didn't have a blowout but found and removed older Helicoil type inserts in two cylinders while trying to fix a miss. The Time-sert Ford Triton kit is supposed to fix this situation too, even though the plug hole I'm starting with is a little larger than stock. bv

 

That could have been the noise. If it does have thread damage, I suggest you ask the shop how they plan to fix it. If you get it fixed with a Helicoil or similar type, it may come back out again. Also, check all the other plugs and make sure they're tight.

 

I just hope the engine doesn't need to be torn down or anything else needs fixing

 

If the timesert is used its an easy permanent fix. Other repairs fail. Ticking is generally a warning sign. I'm half deaf so I never really heard the tick although thinking back I did hear a tick awhile ago with the truck running next to my house that amplified it..

 

Yeah the tick was there since I got it at 142k and like I said we could never figure out what it was so we never worried about it. But now thinkin back on it, it's def a possibility that it was that

 

update... got the truck back today and the mechanic used the HeliCoil repair. he also changed the rest of the plugs and insulator boots (dry rotted), and the COP for the blown out plug. truck starts better (didn't start bad before either), and definitely runs smoother and better. and the tick is GONE! now we know what it was but i'm glad she's fixed and back on the road

 

I hate to tell you this but the Helicoil is not a good permanent fix. They have a high rate of re-blowout. As mentioned in an above post, the Timesert or similar insert is a permanent fix. Maybe you will be lucky and it lasts a long time. I hope so.

 

yeah i know. i'm hoping the same thing. i'm just hoping that it's done right as expected... cause a lot of ppl that i've read of having a re-blowout was because they were never put in exactly correct... so i hope my luck is good... we'll only find out lol

 

Time sert is the only way to go.....hopefully when the mechanic did the rest of the plugs he torqued them to 28 ft lbs or you might visit him for more blow outs.....

 

Yes me too. I asked a lot of question lol and he was confident that I would like the job and like I said... the truck does run better now so I hope it lasts

 

And I've also read posts of people that have had good success with the helicoil so I can only hope that I have the same luck