Sounds like a better idea to wait and see what solution Ford comes up with. Especially for us "low mile" guys. I have only 17,000mi on my '04, don't think I am willing to pull them early and risk breakage.

I've only got 15,000 miles on my 04, Im going to let Ford do them when it comes time.

what about tring a dent puller,put it down into the pice,thread it into the end of it and use the weight to slowely extrat it.using some wd-40 at the same time.

on another note,would it be benificial to pull plugs at a early age and try to do something to keep them from getting so bad.maybe coat them with something?

also,if you add a cap full of transmission fluid to the intake once in a while is will clean the carbin deposits off.

id think there a few things that can be done to prevent this.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Good luck FF... keep us posted. There are a lot of people with their finger on this pulse hoping that, when it does come time to maintain, that we don't fall into the 'broken' category.

I dont see how using penetrating oil will help anything. Its not the threads that are creaking.. it's that 1 inch insert below the threads that's rusted up.

I bought a spark plug too for my truck.. I was planning on changing mine.. I have 31k miles on my truck.. I pulled the driver's side front just out of curiosity... It was rusted up bad... Creaked and moaned all the way out..

As for changing the rest... I'm scared..

Kroil is the best penetrating oil I've seen. We use it a lot here at the plant. If you let it soak long enough, it will make its way all the way to the cylinder. Loosen the plug just a little and let them soak. Just a thought.

Also, if you figure aluminum expands more than steel when hot, I would take the plugs out when the heads are hot. Maybe just a little more clearance if your lucky.

Me too! I'm not about to risk it. If they break it it's 1000x more likely they'll cover the repair than if I were to break it myself.

so whats the problem with the plug or the head ?

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

FF sorry to hear the news. I planned to change the plugs out at 50k as I have 42k on it now. Hopefully there will be some solutions to this problem by then. It seems like the thing the best option out there now is to soak it for a couple of days and do the work while the heads are still warm. Either way knowing my luck I will end up busting one :rolleyes: .

I was wondering, has anyone ever tried sucking up some Seafoam into the intake manifold through the vacuum hose for the brake booster before changing their plugs? I used it on a 97f150 I had a few times to decarbon things. I changed plugs at 97K miles and they looked as good as new. That pickup always ran like a top. I was just thinking that maybe this treatment would help clean up those ****ty/ rusty plugs a bit and make them a bit easier to get out. It sure never hurt my engine, I know that for a fact. I would also pour a little in the gas tank. I might try this when I get ready to change my plugs...

I changed mine at 25,776K

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...691-140146.jpg

bad plug video but none of them broke off :thumbsup:

What penetrating oil is the best? I see a couple of folks have mentioned Kroil. How about PB Blaster or Deep Creep. These two seem to work for me better than Kroil on my '73 Corvette and the '83 Shelby Charger.
BTW I am not going to change my '05's plugs until Ford gives out its response to the problem. Ford can be sloooow as per the cruise control issue on the '90's vehicles.
Roger

The reason I purchased a new f150 was I just put $3000 into my old 2001 Crew w/4.6 due to a spark plug, I was that schmuck, sorry to hear that someone else is going through the same BS. Good Luck.

Luke

Thanks Quintin just playing Devils advocate here....figured we could talk about it here all we want, but until you guys are well aware of the problem it could not be solved...and on a side note, thanks for the fuel pressure gauge help a while back, ill hafta dig up that thread and show what i did...

Either of you have any examples of these "Stupid Ass Comments" you are mentioning here?

:wave:

For us low mileage guys, wouldn't it make sense to pull the plugs and coat them with antiseize compound?

IMO it’s a good idea to get them out early just to take a look-see and reinstall with anti-seize. You might even have a couple of bad plugs that need replacing. I had three plugs that were spinning within themselves so I ended up replacing all eight to be safe.

What are the chances that penetrating oil will get past the threads and into the siezing area?? I just cant see it getting past the threads and seal, lets not forget, this seal/threads holds engine compression(air...around 200psi worth), so the chance of liquid getting through is very slim. Im just approaching this from a logical standpoint. Now if this penetrating oil goes places even air cant penetrate, than damn, Ive just never seen it.

I think anything pertaining to a subject other than replacing spark plugs fits in well for that. The title of this thread was "Mark another one on the wall for a sparkplug broke off in a head." Not:
Yes, that's true, but it don't in any shape or form pertain to the subject of this thread, now does it? That doesn't help the starter of this thread one bit, does it? You aren't the only one:
Y'alls little spat amongst other posts started to shove this thread (and that other huge spark plug thread) off course. This ain't about whether or not to mess with your spark plugs at 10K miles or 100K miles. We know there's a problem, and I was hoping that as a community of truck owners, from people who've changed their plugs with no problems and people who've had problems, we can find temporary solutions for those of us who are worried about spark plugs breaking off in the head at any mileage when serviced, for those who plan on keeping their trucks for a while and don't want to run into any nasty surprises when they decide to change their own plugs at higher miles.

Let's make this a thread full of good information, not silly flame wars because your opinion doesn't align with that of another member, or vice versa.

Once they are changed the first time does the problem cease to occur? If that is the case I might have the dealership replace my plugs just to have them worry about it. Sorry about your problems FF...but like you said at least you'll get more power out of it. :thumbsup:


On a side note...about the dealerships...I'm kind of stuck.

When I bought my truck the dealership gave me oil changes, tire rotations and a power train warranty for the life of the truck. The catch is all my maintenance has to be done there. So I have to pay them for the 30k, 45k,etc maintenance plans. Normally I say goodbye to the dealership once the warranty is up but with the lifetime motor warranty they might just have me....

If the threads and collar were coated with anti-sieze this would not be happening. Are the 4.6L plugs the same? This reminds me of my glowplugs on my 96 Powerstroke. Same problem. :rolleyes:

OK.....but my post was a direct response to this post....which you failed to mention.


The hysterical response of some people about what may or may not be a problem with these plugs, is used as a way to incite emotions, and offers little in the way of constructive dialog.

The sky is not falling.

:wave:

I took this board too seriously, so that's why I blew off in a couple of my responses; sorry for the clutter guys.

To contribute further to this discussion, has anyone taken a pic of view of the spark plug, in place in the motor? What I'm getting at is, how much of the thread portion of the plugs goes in? I have to assume by responses given thus far that there's no way to grab the remaining portion that's still in the head.

Short question... Has anyone replaced the plugs with more than 40k miles and NOT had a problem?
Of course I am only asking about the new 5.4 3-valve.
Chris

Wow, this is beginning to be an issue. Since, Ford recommends 100k replacement I'll be honest and probably wait. Maybe in the next two years there will be a recall or the dealerships will have the tool some have spoken of. I am on the fence though, I generally would change at 30 - 50k just for grins, I'm at 38k now, with a little over a year on my truck. So this thread has me thinking of what to do.

Why are they rusted though? Since, the seal is above the sleeved part wouldn't they be part of the lubrication from the engine. But never mind I guess oil doesn't/isn't supposed to get past the rings. It just seems like maybe seafoam would help or a quick addition of some diesel fuel would also help....hhhhmmmmm.


edit: given that we are such a small small slice of F150 owners and a few have had problems. I hope this is something ford is working on. Is this plug design in the GT mustangs too???

Yes, all the 3V engines use the same design spark plug. So this won't be a problem that Ford can ignore for long.

Quintin,
You had mentioned earlier that Kroil was used after breaking loose 1/4 turn overnight. Have you had great success with this method? Maybe it's the oil, but my plug (just did one) did not really get better after soaking overnight with WD40. This was also on a luke-warm motor. Should I try this other oil or maybe soak longer? Thanks.

Did those comeout hard they sure don't look very bad in the photo???

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...691-140146.jpg They came out fairly hard at first with some initial creaking and popping sounds. Seems like they were torque a little tight too. I didn’t soak them with any kind of penetrating oil first and did it on a cold engine. I can see how good penetrating oil could soak its way down to the sleeve if you break the plug loose first, but if it’s froze in already, that ¼ turn to loosen it might snap it. Three of my plugs were spinning within themselves; check out the video clip

Man those plugs look like a nightmare waiting to happen. Has anyone coated them with antisieze to see if makes removal easier the second go around?

I used PB Blaster on a semi-warm engine at work and they practically fell out after breaking 'em loose. I haven't tried Kroil yet though.

Anyone who changed their plugs on the last go round of this thread pulled them for an inspection?

I just turned 8k on my 5.4 and was thinking about pulling the plugs at 10, but only if the antisieze/dielectric grease solution did any good. If not I'll join the 'leave them in til 100k' crowd.

If you've put any miles on these things after pulling them let us know, along with what you coated them with.

*patiently awaits either a recall or a new tool to come out*

I've got 4500 miles on my truck now...from reading all this I might actually wait until the 100k. Hell by then I will want a turbo/blower and will have to pull that stuff apart anyways.

Quintin, any ETA on a possible solution?

Kool Aid........the only reason I said that was because I remember the first few post people made about this happening. People began to freak out, which they have good reason to, and a lot of other people were making fun of them worrying about it saying things like "the sky is falling".....That's why I said what I said, I'm sorry if I offended anyone, I was only trying to stick up for the people that were worried about this, including ME. :thumbsup:

And those plugs in that pic look horrible. Do you do a lot of short trip driving JP? I just can't see why they are actually rusting up like that, you'd think with any distance of driving would burn the water off that is rusting those up. I'm going to lubricate my new ones with some HHS-2000 and take one out in 5,000 miles after installation and see if that stuff works. We have it at work, it is made by Wurth and comes in a spray can. It is some neat stuff, it comes out thin and dries into a high temp, high pressure grease. Here is the specs from their webpage if anyone is interested.

HHS-2000
Lubricant, resistant to high pressures and with high adhesive strength. Penetrates into tightest areas easily. Sets into a high temperature grease. Ideal for hinges, latches. Optimim penetration into the treated parts. Immediate evaporation of the solvent, resulting directly in a high adhesive force between lubricant and metal.

Synthetic lubricant
Adheres strongly to metal
Temperature resistant from -31°F to +392°F
Silicone free
Starts as penentrant, sets into clear grease
Long lasting lubricant
Resistant to water, salt, most acids & alkalines - PH neutral
Will not harm plastics or rubber

Not that I'm aware of. I've e-mailed some people in higher places and I'm waiting on replies from them.

I completed the plug change on my 2004 FX4 5 months ago. My plugs came out a little rusted, but nothing special. All of them came out with some creaking & popping (cold engine).

I used the 5.4L 3V specific tool with a metal pipe extention to get it to break free. You will need to remove the air box & computer for access.

I'll be chaning my plugs every 30K to avoid any problems. :thumbsup:

Then u got ppl like my dad who get rid of their vehicles before the warranty expires.

I know this thread is old, but I don't follow this forum much. Is there any word on a fix? Or a new type sparkplug to solve the problem? Quintin?