Mine last 90,000+ miles and looks with some kind of wear. The truck perform well before the change. As for durability i don't feel necesary to change earlier. My recomendation is to clean every 30,000 MI in order to not have problems with broken plugs.

 

I have 42k miles on my truck and i'm pretty sure the plugs are original. Should I pull them out, or just wait until I need to? Should I do it or let ford do it so they can pay for it if they screw it up?

Thanks

 

I have 1 broken plug in this moment

 

Chris -

I've probably read every thread and the TSB in detail. Sorry for using the word "snap" - I know where the separation is occurring. I could gig you for using the word "snap" in your reply after taking issue with my using it, but I won't (see your quote). FYI - Earlier in life I was an auto mechanic, I've changed many conventional style plugs, I have 25 years of experience as a mechanical engineer, and I've fully rebuilt engines, so while I haven't touched the plugs on my truck (and won't until ~100,000 or I sense a performance issue), I believe I fully understand the issue. I am sure that I don't have a clue on what the magic mileage is - my magic 8-ball doesn't seem to have a "Change Plugs Now" reading on it - but I'm sticking with the "it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. Someone may total my truck at 80,000 miles - who knows!

I have enjoyed seeing every opinion under the sun on this subject on this thread, but I am sure that no one on this forum (and maybe no one at Ford) knows if the corrosion keeps building up forever, or builds up to a maximum in 5,000 miles or 10,000 miles or 20, 30, 40, or 50,000 miles, or more. I'm also pretty sure no one on this forum knows if the corrosion comes and goes with weather conditions, brands of gas, styles of driving, etc. It could be that an owner should make a multi-hour high speed interstate run to burn off the build-up before trying a plug change, or it may be that that doesn't matter at all. From what I've seen there have been plugs successfully removed and plugs broken at every mileage reading recommended by "experts" on this forum. I also believe that if Ford's testing since discovering the issue revealed that there was a magic mileage number for mileage removal, it would be in a TSB. Hell, they called us in to get a butyl pad scraped off the truck - surely they'd share the magic mileage number.

The catch is, there isn't one.

 

Hi.

While I respect both your experience & opinions, I wonder why you'd not consider the verifiable fact that the gap on the 3V plugs increases to such an extent that the already-marginal Ford COP ignition has a difficult time firing them at extreme mileages. Regardless of all the other issues this plug has, this fact alone indicates a change would be prudent for best performance and economy.

I'll assume you've seen this, for example: https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=28

My point being - I don't think this situation can be compared to previous plug designs - just as this ignition system has shown great sensitivity to plug type.

I prefer to defer to the experts (one or two in particular here) who have acutally R&R'd hundreds of these new-design critters.

Also - don't personally subscribe to the "if it ain't broke..." mindset when it comes to preventative maintenance. Emphasis intended.

No offense intended.

Cheers
Bubba

 

Who verified your "facts"? Mike troyer may say something but that doesn't make it a "fact". All plugs wear down with mileage, Big deal. What makes you think the ignition is marginal?Who says it has shown great sensitivity to plug Design? I imagine alot of this crap has to do with people running tuners or other mods on their trucks. They may effect you ignition like you describe. I would not go so far as to say it is "facts" though.
I am inclined to agree with Lee.F.
Also if people are waiting for a recall on this I believe they will be waiting a long, long time, like probly forever.Thats not a fact but just my opinion.

 

All I gotta say, is you have a lot of remedial reading to do.

Every single item has been discussed, corroborated & confirmed here before - including one very knowledgeble fellow's personal investigation on the ignition system/plug interaction and systemic failures (and no, he's not a vendor).

Yep - plugs do wear - exactly - except it is a big deal, when the ignition system involved has a hard time getting out of it's own way in anything other than ideal conditions. And, a plug design that isn't (easily) regappable - and not meant to be in the first place - to compensate. Add coil heat soak, high humidity and it's a crapshoot.

You'll need to do your own searching, though - I'll be damned if I'm gonna spoon-feed a discourteous brat like you.

'Bye,

For Lee - I'd welcome any continued, courteous banter LOL!

 

I'd never argue that the gap doesn't change over time. I would say that since an occasional misfire would not be detrimental to the engine, preventive maintenance in this case is of limited value, and plugs could be changed once a misfire started occurring or when there were other obvious performance issues.

I believe (I don't know!) that Ford had to certify the engine as meeting emission standards for 100K miles, and I'm pretty sure that a misfire would cause failure to meet emission standards, so I'm betting the engineers at Ford have verified via extensive testing that the plugs, ignition system, and stock tune all are capable of going 100,000 before the plugs need changing. They are probably good for at least 10% to 15% OVER 100,000, in accordance with good design practice to allow for variations in engines and operating conditions. Yes, they'll have a bigger gap, but as long as the coil has the voltage to fire across it, who cares? It may also be that the original gap is smaller than it needs to be just to compensate for inevitable gap growth.

That doesn't mean some people won't have misfires earlier - it's like a lightbulb life, where the average has to pass but there will always be some early failures. That also doesn't mean that people with tuner chips won't need earlier replacement - Ford didn't design the engine to meet the demands of the tuners, and there's always a price to pay for increased power.

But my engine is stock, runs strong at 43,000 miles, gives me decent mileage that is unchanged from new, and shows no performance issues - it ain't broke, so I ain't fixin' it!

 

I have 53,000 on mine. Still runs smooth as silk, still getting great mpg. I have been running the Edge for the last 21,000. I am going for the 100,000 or until performance decreases.

 

I'm not touching the plugs til 100,000 or til I feel a performance decrease, I'm at 7500mi on my 2007 5.4, so I'm not stressed..........heck maybe by the time I need to put new plugs in FORD will have it's 6.2 twin force Boss out....& I'll just trade her in for that puppy............

 

I'm gonna follow what the manual states and have the dealer do it. They break it - they bought it.

 

Wow I didn't know we had sooooo many experts on 5.4 3v spark plugs
I can't get into specifics but the kind of gas you have in your area and your driving habits can affect plugs getting stuck.
And you ask why Ford doesn't recommend a mileage less then 100k? It's because of our good old EPA.

 

Your right, every single item has been discussed here, as far as confirmed and corroborated that is questionable. Some ham and egger shade tree mechanic saying something does not make it factual. Sorry if you have had problems but for every person that has had problems their are probably thousands that haven't.

A personal investigation does not equal a fact. My ignition works fine. Plug wires can be bad and lead to miss-firing also. The only thing you spoon feed is your EGO!
I am glad you and one very knowledgeable shade tree mechanics personal investigations are so much better than an automotive companies that have a staff of engineers testing these and developing them. If you think it is such a bad design and are going to whine about it then maybe you should just sell your junky marginal ignition, plug jamming ford and get you one of them goofy looking Chevrolet's or better yet send your money to Japan and get a tundra. I would buy a hundred fords before I would buy a Toyota, my grandpa didn't fight the Japanese so I could send them my money. As far as reading, I can read fine, I can also separate facts from opinion and I don't believe everything I read on message boards. Windbags and blowhards are a dime a dozen as can be readily seen from reading your post's.

 

Common sense would be IF YOU INSIST ON DOING IT YOURSELF., this, change them early, torque em back properly, anti seize the threads. Other than that, its all bs.Common sense says, unless you plan on trading or gambling, that to keep the problem from building up, free them up early huh?

 

I'd almost go along with that, if "early" meant before Ford ever starts the engine! For all anyone knows, deposits are built up and the plugs are in a bind at less than 100 miles, or less than 1,000 miles . . . . . .since I haven't heard of anyone changing them at that point and reporting no binding! All of the mileage recommendations by the "experts" on the board are snatched out of thin air, or seem to be based on the mileage they used to use to replace or re-gap conventional plugs, which has nothing to do with the issue. The only ones that have any sound basis are the ones that are doing it to cheat it into being covered under the warranty, and even that is not a technical basis.

Except the TSB says don't put anti-seize on the threads. The problem isn't the threads - it's below the threads. And maybe, just maybe, if the Ford instructions to put anti-seize on the nose doesn't work, the anti-seize on the threads could make it harder for your penetrating oil to get to the nose of the plugs.