well.... if anyone is keeping count... chalk me down for a broke plug :-/ luckily able to use the tool the stealership's have to get the part out.... got aggervated so i'm just going to take the thing to the stealership and let them do the work.... goodbye Christmas money

 

Sorry to here about your luck.

I went to the dealer yesterday to schedule some warranty work and I asked the service advisor about the plugs. He said don't change them until 100k miles. I told him I'm aware of the plugs having the possibilty of breaking off. His responce was that it was a problem with the older body style trucks but not with the 04+. I tried to tell him he is completely wrong but he said "I own one of these trucks and I keep up on this kinda stuff and trust me there is no problem with the plugs breaking off with the 5.4 engine". By this time he was acting kind of arrogant so I just quit arguing with him. When I go back to get the other work done I'm going to see if I can talk to the service manager and get some better answers. All I wanted to know from them was the cost for the plug change and who would be responsible if any break and how many have they done. Except this time I'll bring the TSB in just incase they try to blow me off again.

 

It's so wierd how dealerships vary with regards to plug changes with the 5.4 3valve engines. Our dealership says they'll change them for just over $300 and they're responsible if they break the plugs.

 

If all dealers adopted your dealers approach to the plug issue on the 5.4 3vs
the world would be a much better place!.......

 

Yes it would be. Instead of excepting that there is a potential problem they just want ack like it doesn't exist. But I bet if one breaks they would be singing a different tune. Btw. they dealer I mentioned above only wanted $191 to change the plugs so I'm starting to think that the service advisor I talked to honestly is a dumbass and doesn't know of the problem. Heck I would be willing to spend the $300 if they cover the cost if any break. When I get mine changed I think I might just put the brisk plugs in the next day, so I can wash my hands of the whole issue and just change them out myself every 25k-30k miles.

 

He is obviously a ignorant ArseMonkey, who really has no clue! Don't you just love it when you know more about a product than a " Professional"......It's kinda funny, I ususally act stupid on these matters, it's fun to see, how much someone will bend ya over...........then just as they try to, you bend them over!.........

 

well my dealership only wants $150 to change the plugs (if i supply the plugs) bearing nothing goes wrong... i mean i guess its good they are aware of the problem... but dang... its such a HUGH risk.

 

Before you let some ARSECLOWN work on your truck, ask them some questions, What tech will be doing the job? How much experience does he have doing the plug change? Is he aware of the proper TSB procedure? Has he watched the TSB video? Is he gonna use AeroKroil penetrant? If they cannot answer any of these questions while looking at you in the eye.....you had better run outa that place with you hand covering your ****!........

 

well my grandpa is a retired ford mechanic (retired about 3 years ago) and the local for dealership calls him to come in and train some of the new mechanics on some of the equipment and he talked with one the guys that's been there along time and said the one thats still there has been doing alot of research on this. Said he found that if you do some "Induction Cleaning" process before you start the TSB procedure it helps eliminate some of the risk by blowing some of the carbon out. OF course nothing can eliminate ALL of the risk of breaking a plug but supposedly the induction cleaning along with the TSB procedure helps. Just after breaking that one plug myself... kinda scares me a little.

 

At my local dealership i asked how much to change plugs ..$199!!! Also i asked about the plugs breaking and he said they do and sometimes they take the threads out also. He also said that they weren't liable if that happened and i would have to pay for the damages!?!?!?! I thought that was a bunch of BS!

 

Every dealership i have called has told me i was responsible for damages if one broke...and thats 5 or 6 dealerships.

 

Let me get this straight...
Ford improved the heads' thread design in 2004....and instead of spark plugs popping out ...they break when changed....
IMHO Aluminum vs. Steel is the problem.
You'd think Ford would have engineers & metalurgists that knew their sh't!
No warranty...no customer service...
Do Toyotas have these problems?

 

man im lucky i got dealership friends i took it to my friend when i installed my supercharger to put in the plugs so i wouldnt have to deal with it if they broke off. best 100 bucks ive spent

 

Well I just talked to the service manager about the plugs. He said that they have not had a problem changing them on vehicles with fewer than 60k miles. I asked if they did break who would be responsible. He said they would negotiate with Ford to have them cover it and it would probably depend on mileage how much a person would have to pay then. I then asked about if it is still under warranty then what, he said I wouldn’t have to pay anything if they break. So guess what I'm at 32K and will make an appointment soon to get this done and they said $200 for the job. I think I might try to get this in writing when I get it done just be on the safe side.

 

Francis, Toyota's are the biggest piece of sh*t out there. I had a 05 Tacoma for 2 years and went back to ford.