I dunno whether they're redesigned or not. I haven't compared the two side by side yet. I'll get 'em done this weekend at the latest, hopefully tomorrow if I'm not too busy at work.

 

Take your time Thanks RUSS

 

Exactly - you may not even notice if a different alloy was used,unless the patina was obvious.

I doubt there is much leeway in terms of reducing the diameter of that sleeve - which would probably let more crud into the gap anyway.

The only way out of this is the use of a non-reactive metal (in contact with the aluminum head), as my previous post suggested. Or real frequent plug inspections/changes.

Did you guys see Mike Troyer's reply over in the Chip forum? JP gave him the heads-up, bless him . Looks like plug install torque is still a player after all.

Good luck Quentin and thanks for being the pioneer. Hat's off to you.

Cheers
Grog

 

What are your thoughts on plug torque? You saw what Mike said to do in the other thread but the actual plug torque is 25 foot lbs. (# supplied by Quintin) and a torque wrench will probably fit everywhere except for good ole #4

 

Hi John;

Yeah, it's just me getting a little confused, is all.

Mike's torque install procedure ( 1/8 turn past hand-tight & a little anti-sieze) is the same as for pre-2003 half-threaded plugs... and the torque figures for those are like 12-14 ft-lbs max. So, if you use the same procedure, you will not be approaching the 25 ft-lb figure these new ones seem to be spec'd for.

As well, Mike mentioned the robotic over-torque issue as being a possible culprit in these new heads too, whereas I was initially discounting torque as a factor here, as it seemed sleeve/block corrosion/seizure was causing the breakage.

See why I'm confused? Easily done.

It's the diligence of guys like you, Quintin and others that will end up finding the cure.

Cheers
Grog

 

Isn't this the same head that's in the Lincoln Navigator? Any bulletins or known problems on that lump?

 

Hey Ronnie:

keep an eye out for a silver screw in the STL area...that would be me...

 

I just finished swapping mine out a couple hours ago. I'm still at work, I'll get some pictures up when I get home.

First off, I gotta apologize to y'all, 'cause I may have spread some wrong information. The PZT2FE F4s are the same plug that is currently in them. At first glance side by side, they appear to be identical. Ford is strange about spark plug numbers, often updating them several times a year with no apparent reason. So I may have caused some unnecessary confusion, and for that, I'm sorry.

But onto the nitty gritty. I think the '04 5.4 3V plugs are easier to do than any previous 4.6 or 5.4 F150/Expedition. The only really bad one is #4, because heater hoses and part of the engine harness that goes to the PCM runs over/by it. I'm not sure about the 25 ft/lbs spec. I tried torquing them to that, but it seemed like an awful lot of umph for something going into aluminum like a spark plug. I applied Permatex anti seize (the silver stuff), a dab or two on the threads of the plug, and a dab on the insert portion that extends past the plug. Tightened 'em down by hand, and gave about 1/8 to 1/4 turn more and called it good.

Removal of the old plugs was interesting. They all creaked and popped and snapped and made all kinds of scary noises, and this was only at 28K miles. I'd hate to even think of trying to pull them at 100K. Also, like the goober I am, I buggered up the threads in the valve cover that holds the coil on on #6, the thread pitch is 5mmX.8 if anyone needs to get a tap or die if they screw theirs up.

I'll also give a brief rundown of the tools I used when I get home and how I used 'em...as far as how long it took, I didn't have anything else to do, and this is my ride home, so I worked on it with conviction non stop, took me about an hour.

 

If 25 ft-lbs is too much and maybe not the right # are we talking about 12-14 ft-lbs then?

 

How did the old plugs look? Any rust or carbon build-up?

 

On the right, top from bottom is 1-4, left is 5-8. No abnormal wear on the electrode, no fouling noted, just rust around the insert past the threads. The residue on 1 and 6 are where I put dielectric grease on them when I pulled those to inspect a few days ago. You can't tell by the flash, but I broke the insulator on #4 during removal.

 

That sounds about right. I had my torque wrench set to 24 ft/lbs and it just seemed like an awful lot of German torque to put on a spark plug, especially one going into an aluminum head. Honestly though, I don't know how you'd get in there to torque #4 and maybe #3, not without removing/repositioning some wiring and heater hoses.

 

THANKS for all of the input ya did there Quint ,Wright know I only have 9100 mls.Im tempted too try it

 

Nice write-up, Quintin.

Was there any noticeable difference in performance when you drove it home with the new plugs? You mentioned no abnormal wear or fouling, so didn't know if there would be any difference.

 

3/8" drive stuff: Two ratchets would be nice, a shorty to get to #4 after breaking it loose with the long one. Flex head is a definite plus, again when working on #4 and #8. Extensions, I'd recommend a long one (18-20" or so) to get a good grip on 1, 2, 5, and 6, and 3" and 6" ones for all the others, trust me, they will be in there tight. The impact swivel joint was kind of an experiment for #4 that didn't quite pan out. I broke #4 loose first by following the A/C lines to the accumulator, dropping the socket and a 3" extension into the plug well for #4 with the longer flex head ratchet, pulling the ratchet after it breaks loose and sticking the swivel on top of it, then going in through the top with the longest extension I had to spin the plug loose. This is where I broke the insulator for #4.

1/4" drive stuff: 3/8 stuff is too unwieldy to me to get in there to the 7mm bolts retaining the coils. I used a 1/4" drive 7mm flex socket (both the chrome one and an impact that has less flex, not pictured) and a long (16-18" IIRC) extension to get to the coil pack bolts. I used the deep well 1/4" drive 7mm pictured with the stubby 1/4" drive ratchet to take the bolt out for #8, since it has a pretty sharp angle preventing one from getting onto it with a flex socket easily.

The spark plug socket: I bought one from $nap-on, only mine is magnetic, not tapered as that one is. I like the magnetic feature of it, enough retension to keep the socket from running off, but not so much as to stick the socket to the plug when you pull your extension out of the plug well. It does not have a rubber boot to protect the insulator or anything, so tread carefully with this socket. It is held to tight tolerances, fits tight on all my worn out extensions.

Do you need all this stuff to do plugs on a 5.4 3V? Of course not. Since I do this kinda stuff day in and day out, I buy lots of tools, expensive ones, for the average joe in his driveway with basic hand tools, plug swapping in one of these motors isn't a big deal. Just listing stuff that made it easier for me.