I'll be the first to admit that I do have a biased opinion, since whenever a fix is implimented, I'll be there on the front lines to make heads or tails of it.

I do think that Ford will not be able to ignore this concern, since it effects their bread and butter vehicle line. A fix is coming, it's just a matter of when and what.

 

Why is it so hard to believe that plugs last 100,000 miles?

These aren't carburated engines, and the fuel is really clean, compared to '70's fuel.

I've read reports that you can't can't commit suicide with the exhaust from many new engines, they burn so clean.

The last ford truck I had went almost 80,000 on the plugs, and it ran as good as the day I got it.

And it isn't like 100k plugs are something new, that just started this year.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

Being one in the engineering end of things in the automotive industry.... no way something like this should have been missed during testing of these 3v engines before they went to market.... unless they were rushed to market and the problem was already known but a "wait and see" attitude was taken.

Shorter and shorter turn around on all facets of design... this is the result.

Whether it's a tolerance issue or a dissimilar metal issue... there's still no way something like this should have been missed.

Just my $.02

 

The 3-valve engine has been in service, on the road, since 2002

 

Wrong, they went into production late 2002. The initial motors went to Australia for some '03 car production but the 2004 F-150's were the first to come with the 5.4L here... you see, I've been on the design end of some of the parts for these things... my company produces parts for them. We're not responsible for the heads or plug design though.

This is not the first, nor the last time things have probably been rushed to market with what may have been a known problem though. Not saying that this was.... but I know what kind of testing we do on our parts and I find it hard to believe this wasn't known ahead of time.

 

Windsor-area production of the 5.4-litre 3-valve Triton Ô V-8 began at nearby Essex Engine Plant (EEP) in November 2002

The roots of 3-valve production go back to November 2002 when the first shipment of Canadian-made Triton Ô V-8s were exported to Australia to power the Ford Falcon sedan.



Production of the new 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton V-8 began in August 2002 for the new Ford Falcon, sold in Australia.

 

so let me ponder...is there any way to pull an injector and fog the cylinder (like that marine fogger to winterize boat engines) to lubricate the plug? does the plug immediately seize ordo you get a turn or two before it binds up? this really brings me me down.i really don,t want to keep this truck for other reeasons but can't afford to get rid of it, so i want to get some kewl stuff for it so i might like it, but this really depresses me as i drive around thinking that i will be at 100k before blue oval boys come up with something to save their butts. or like some one posted ,they just might screw us...done it before.
On another note...what would happen if you take a truck in to get the tires balanced and the dealer screwed up your rim or ripped a bead on a tire...? who would be responsible? Who is responsible when they leave the gasket on at an oil change ,and you take off spewing your new oil on the ground as your motor locks up from no oil? Who is responsible when they strip out the oil plug? Or ,like it was stated earlier, break off a wheel stud?OK i will pay for the stud or plugs , but ain't payin' for no stinkin heads, when they were good when i drove in. BUT REALLY THERE IS ALOT OF BRAINPOWER HERE,LET'S USE IT AND FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE FORD DOES!!!

 

I guess there's no way to argue with a Zen Google master even if you had some hand in the design of parts for the things.... Check your press releases... they contradict themselves on the production startup...

Any idea how long it takes a motor to make it into a production vehicle after the initial "production" startup?

If there were production motors actually on the road in Australia in '02, there weren't very many of them.

But, after all that I fail to see how your attempted pissing match over when the first one actually left a showroom has anything to do with the fact that this should have been caught in testing prior to production.

 

just my 2 cents.....(as others have mentioned)....

Ford makes engine and documents repair/maintenance procedures for Ford Dealers.....

Ford Dealers repair/maintain F-150's by following these detailed procedures...

If the procedures are followed to the T by the Dealership and spark plugs break then the dispute is between Ford and the Dealership, the F-150 owner is out of the equation....

The argument is whether the Tech. followed the right procedure....

The Dealership should try and recoupe the cost of the service from Ford and not from their customer. The Dealership should not put the customer in the middle of the problem. The Dealership should not be lazy and force the customer to take the time and money to call Ford to try and recoup the cost of the head service. If a Dealership won't take care of the customer for this type of service they should not provide F-150 spark plug replacement services at all....

 

I'm new here but I've been reading a while and this spark plug issue is urking me. I went down to my local Florida Ford dealer and asked to speak with the GM and he also brought out the lead service tech. This is what they said.

According to a Ford rep, the average plug replacement on the 3v triton is $540.00, if the rubber sleeves need to be replaced at the bottom of the coils then the bill goes up to $680.00 ( $7 sleeve/ 8 sleeves + $50/ hr to do it ) according to rep, in recent cases carbon buildup has caused issue where the spark plug has come into contact with aluminum heads. This build up may cause breakage of spark plug in the head/ causing the heads to be removed at owners expense. Ford offers no retribution or excuse for this problem as told by (friendly) Rep. There is a possible preventative maint (not gaurunteed) of decarbonizing the engine at recommended 20,000 mile intervals at a labor cost of $110.00. Ford will not cover this expense or take responsibilty if this does not fix the plug issue. This is just what I got out of it, but sh%$@!!!!


306 Eleanor

 

Geez this thread made me feel like i could take plugs out and apply some anti seize on then put it on to be peace of mind..

COuld I ?? thats problem..argh...

YOMAN!

 

I had my oil changed at my dealer last night and asked the sevice manager what he knew about the spark plug issue and he played it dumb. I told him what I had been reading about it and he said they had not experienced the problem, knew nothing about it. I did't think to ask if they had changed plugs in a three valve. I should have.

 

preventive maintenance

I just finished changing mine out at 25,776K took a couple of hours. Plugs cost $66.88 and a specialty plug socket cost $24.71 those prices include shipping. I’ll post a more detailed account later this afternoon with some very interesting pics.

I’m not a certified mechanic nor am I an engineer but my lowly butt says these plugs ain’t coming out at 100K at least not the conventional way. If you haven’t done preventive maintenance on your spark plugs yet, you had better not wait

 

Mmmmm,

After reading what I consider the "mother" of all threads, it is very apparent that we need to not ignore this potential problem. It sounds like every 25K, the plugs need pulled and replaced/cleaned. I guess I am one of the few people on the forum that will drive my truck until it dies. Therefore, I need to be mindful of this particular maintainance. Hopefully, mother Ford will indeed come up with a fix for this problem, but it sounds as if most dealers are "ignoring" that there is a problem. Some suggested a decent "fix" for this problem, but I am not sure how much time that will get you. Finally, this plug design is a joke. How many years have plugs NOT been breaking off? DON'T fix it if it is not broken. Catch it early = no problems.

 

I have never removed plugs from this type of engine. How do you remove the coil packs? Are there any tricks to removing/installing plugs in the aluminum heads? I have not done much engine work since my hot rod days on the 60s and 70s engines. But, I really do not want entrust this to some dork at the dealer.