Oh yeah... *smacks head*

You get my point though, right?

(come to think of it, I never changed the plugs on the Mach I either...)

 

Good info Quintin.....I'll keep this in mind. I might do mine this weekend, I have a free set here waiting on me that I got with the Roush tune.

 

i was just in the dealer today having the trans fluid changed went over and talked to the mechanic that installed my supercharger i asked him about the plugs on the 3v he said to change the plugs when the heads are cool to cold i asked if there had been any problems with them breaking he said none at all and he had not heard of that happening i know that some
on here have had them break cant help but wonder if the engine was still hot? check out my gallery to see what a bad plug looks like when u use 104 octane booster roush says 91 octane no more no less

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=9331

 

Sorry man, something just came over me. I'm really a pretty quiet guy. Not bashing Ford, just wish they would step up to the plate and attempt to fix the problem.


jrbhc8

 

If you ran Ford Motor Company, and you had unlimited funds, how would you fix the problem on several million 5.4 3V engines in use around the world?

Just curious.

 

Here is a nice thread that Mike put some input into. Gives some nice info on when and how to remove the plugs.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=214810

 

Where can we get a plug removal tool? I only have 13K on my truck, so I figure its still relatively young, and can maybe get the plugs out and coat them with anti-seize before they really get locked in there.

 

The information about the plugs and tools is posted in this thread: Changing Spark Plugs. Anti-seize will help you get them unscrewed easier but it will do nothing to resolve the tips getting seized and breaking off in the head.

 

Decision time is rapidly approaching for me. I have 20,000 miles on my truck and have been trying to decide if I should change the plugs at 25,000 or just keep driving it. I intend to put about 75,000 on my truck and then trade it in. Things have a tendancy to change, so that might not come about. I may end up keeping this truck for the rest of my life. I quizzed the service rep at my dealer, and he said they had not done any plugs yet but they had heard of the problem and was waiting to see what Ford recommended. I checked at O'Rielly's recently, they do not even show a plug for this engine in their catalog yet. I will need to decide in a couple of months to do it or just keep driving. May be a good project for a nice spring Saturday. I can just see me messing up the threads on a head or something! All my engine building and mechanic work was on old 289s, 351s, FEs and 429s. I have never worked on aluminum heads. I am just a little leary but I hate the idea of someone else changing my plugs.

 

Umm... If you only plan on putting 75,000 miles or so on the truck why risk it? The plugs are rated for 100,000 miles. I wouldn't replace them unless the need arises. In my opinion it's not worth the risk. And if you do decide to do it, take it to a dealer. Any dealer worth a ***** would stand behind their work if they screwed something up.

 

I gotta change mine next week to some gapped HT0's. I'm thrilled about changeing the back passanger one, almost as much as I was taking my driver side valve cover off to drill out my drain hole for my vortech.

 

In an earlier thread, it was recommended to remove the electronics box from the firewall. I think it has 2 or 4 bolts, and removal makes it much easier to get to that back plug.

 

I'll be changing mine at 25k whether I decide to keep the truck or not. I'm not taking a chance on having one seized later on. I'll be checking them every 12k or so just to see if there are any problems.

 

I realize that you can not do a massive recall all at once, but if Ford would send maybe something out in the mail explaining the problem, and recomendations on how to fix it. Such as changing your plugs more regularly so you don't have problems later on. They should rewrite thier books to say that spark plugs need to be changed at a 25,000 mile interval instead of 100,000.


....I don't know, but, in a couple years when some of the trucks start to actually get a few miles on them, and the plugs are fouling out, maybe Ford wil come out with a response.



jrbhc8

 

The problem is the design of the plug, which was probably done by the plug manufacturer. I wonder if they could redesign the plug with a skinnier extension that would not hang up coming out of the hole.