If quality and customer satisfaction are Job #1 at Ford how about a recall for the spark plug problem. Call them ALL back and change them ALL OUT under warranty now!!! This ain't gonna happen. In fact when I talked to Ford Motor Customer Service the other day they were not aware of a widespread problem with spark plugs, and said they could not predict that I would have a problem and that they would NOT change the plugs out under warranty now. Of course it's not a widespread problem, the plugs aren't scheduled for replacement until 100,000 miles and how many 04, 05 and 06s have that kind of mileage now? I predict the crap is going to hit the fan when these 5.4 3Vs really start needing their spark plug replaced.
I've got 21,000 miles on my "05" FX4 but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend upwards of $500 for a plug change to prevent a problem caused by Ford's spark plug design and/or installation procedure.
One of 2 things will happen:, Ford steps up to the plate and fixes this screw up, or all those F150 owners whose spark plugs won't come out in one piece at 100,000 miles and have to dig deep down in their pockets to pay the bill will say this is the last F150 I'll ever buy.

 

This issue has been beaten to death. If Ford says they don't know nothin about it they are lying! They have a TSB out on it now! Do a search for the earlier threads. I changed my 2004 at 22K and they were fairly tight as the originals did not have anti-seize on the threads.

They were ok then. I did a replacement with Autolite HT1's two days ago. The ones I put in at 22K still looked good and came out by hand after breaking them loose. I now have 36K on the 2004. Put in the HT1's as they are a cooler plug than the original PZT2FF4 Motorcrafts. I will not pull them till after 50K and will decide then if they need replacing.

Some say why go to all that trouble? I say just insurance. I did a small write up on my earlier post on step by step to replace the plugs. It should take you maybe 1 to 1 1/2 hours the first time around if your careful. Remember, you have to blow the engine off to get any crap on the top from dropping into the cylinders when the plug is removed, then pull the wiring, COP's and then the plugs. Also moving the PCM and bracket out of the way on the passenger side firewall will gain you better access to the rear plugs.

BTW, the tips of my plugs were never cruded up, just discolored from the heat. I really think the TSB was issued so that the dealer techs would not break any more customers plugs off. They sure didn't bring it out for us.

 

I have the TSB in my hand, and have been changing automotive spark plugs since 1964, but that's not the point. What's Ford gonna do for me if one or more ground electrode shields stick in the head or the aluminum threads strip? Not a G.D. thing, so the plugs stay in. Later rather than sooner Ford may own up to the spark plug fiasco, so hang on to your receipts. If not, I'll dump the FX4 before the plugs need changing and let the next poor SOB worry about it.

 

I agree with you and can probably say Ford isn't gona do squat for you.

So the choice is spend the screw job $500 for them to do your plugs or do em yourself for just the cost of plugs alone. Also your choice to leave it for the next poor slob to worry about. I'll most likely keep my 2004 well past the 100K mark so I am not going to leave it up to Ford to rescue me, which they won't be doing. But I'll darn shure keep it in mind when I look for another truck in the future.

As for the TSB, if you do your plugs early enough most of it is overkill. As I said in my post I believe the TSB is to "Learn" the service techs on the plug change out to ensure their success ( and to probably try to cover Fords a** on this issue). If this continues I think Ford is gonna eat this one. Just gona take some time.

 

Not true because my mustang also has this problem. I just want to know why Ford has so many spark plug problems. First the blow out problem and now the plugs just won't come out.

 

I forgot the Mustang is in the mix too!

 

I would change anyone's plugs in my area for $50 + the cost of plugs.. but that would come with NO warrenty. LOL Who knows if I'll break one or not.

My gathering is it's a crap shoot. Unless some people are really that careless... which in some cases I doubt and some I don't. Who really knows.

According to the stats, mine should have snapped off, but mine all came out flawlessly. Some pics in my gallery of the plugs.

 

No, but it's like insurance. Not every truck will have spark plugs break, but they charge extra for all of them and that extra money goes into a fund. The ones that do get broken get paid for out of that "fund".

 

That is a smart move by the dealership to charge more $. That way their technicians get more experience changing the plugs without breaking them. Some F150 owners lost faith in some dealership charging them for mishaps caused by the stealerships’ technicians in upward of $2000, if the plugs break while they are servicing the truck.

 

I'm STILL having a hard time figuring out why the dealer is charging the customer when THEIR technician f's up and breaks a plug. At every dealership (all non-Ford) I've ever worked in, if the tech screws up and breaks something the service dept. eats it. They make enough...trust me. I'll definitely pay them to do mine, but if they break one, it'll be game-on as to who pays.

 

so whats the normal number of miles to change your plugs????
I have 46000 on my truck and never changed the plugs since I bought new.
Never really thought about changing my plugs, truck runs great. Hope im not screwed
thanx

 

Because it's a known issue that the plug design leaves them prone to breaking when trying to remove them. They aren't breaking because the tech did something wrong.

 

Hello All,

We have been warning *everyone* here for years about this.

Every single owner of ANY 3V engine - whether it's the 4.6 3V in the Mustang, the 5.4 3V in the F-150, or the 6.8 V10 in the SuperDuty, needs to change the plugs at NOT MORE THAN 30K mile intervals - period.

I suggest paying your dealership to do them, and if they do not follow the TSB or have problems, insist that they eat the *additional* labor if a plug actually breaks off.

Just today, we had an F-150 Online member's truck in here at our shop for a Roush supercharger install - this owner left his stock plugs in for 60K miles - and yes, we followed, as we always, do, the Ford TSB procedure for removing 3V spark plugs, including using the Aerokroil penetrant, the loosen & tighten maneuver, etc., etc - and still, 2 of the plugs broke off clean - meaning the porcelain split.

There are two separate potential problems - one is that you will pull off the extension, that extra-long end on the plug, and there is a special tool for that, and this tool makes it fairly easy to tap threads into that piece and pull it out.

However, the second problem, and the one we experienced today, is the problem of the plug literally breaking in half, the porcelain splitting. Now when *that* happens, all you can do is GENTLY chip that porcelain apart while using a vacuum cleaner to suck out all of the debris at the same time, and HOPE that it comes out without knocking the plug extension into the combustion chamber, as if *that* happens, now you're going to have to pull down the front & the top of the engine to pull off the cylinder head.

You can Moan at Ford all you want (and we don't like this either), but the reality is that these 3V plugs must be dealt with properly - and dealing with them properly is NOT leaving them in there for 100K miles, that only GUARANTEES that you WILL have a problem.

The design problem is Autolite's, by the way - not Ford's. Autolite designed the plug and holds the patent on it, and nobody else can even make that plug. And this is something that is not generally seen until you put some miles on them. We are also seeing a very few of these plugs fail internally, causing a miss in the engine, making people think it's the coil pack - sometimes coil packs do have problems, but we have verified the failure of several of the 3V spark plugs internally, causing engine misses.

Regardless of how you feel about it, there is only one proper way to give you the best chance of not having a problem - and that is, do a carbon removal treatment every 30K miles, and then have the plugs changed every 30K miles right after that carbon removal treatment - you want that plug as easy to get out as possible.

Also, Ford changed the heat range of the plug in these trucks - first they were a "2", then they changed to a "1" - and ALL the 3V 5.4 trucks should be changed to that "1" heat range plug - we use the "0" heat range if we have added significant power to the 3V engine, or if it is supercharged.

Whatever you do - do NOT just want and leave the plugs in there - if you are already at 50K or 60K miles, our advise is to have a carbon removal treatment done right now and have the spark plugs changed, making sure to use anti-seize - and then do this every 30K miles thereafter - not only is this the ONLY way to best protect yourself, but remember, there is NO SUCH THING as a 100K mile spark plug. The plugs we pulled today that had 60K miles on them had a gap of well over .100, when they should have a gap of only .042 - the reason for the huge gap was plug wear - that's right, the plug gap was increased by over .060 in 60K miles, and this was NOT a supercharged truck - though by tomorrow, it will be.

Just the facts, people - & I hope this helps!

 

Hey Mike, good post! A question though, what "carbon removal treatment" do you recommend. Are you talking about one of the DIY from Autozone, or something more professional?

 

Yes what kind of carbon removal treatment?

Truck just turned 26,000 miles and I'm debating on changing them now or later. Or if I'm going to let the dealer do it or not? I can't really afford the $400+ plug change the dealer wants to charge but At the same time I probably cannot afford the fee they will charge if I break them off myself and take it to them to fix.