History
2004 F150 5.4 L
113,000 miles (70% highway)
Original splugs.... slight stumble at 2000rpm under light throttle. Dealer told me it was the throttle body. I bought the BBK 80mm and installed it myself ...still stumbles.
Thought it was time to have the plugs changed....took it to a local shop I have been going to for years. I warned them these plugs were going to be tought to remove. No problem they told me.

At 3pm today they tell me I need to come pick my truck up. They replaced plug #1-6 but the #7 plug broke and they can not get the extracter tool and can not get it out.
The mechanic told me he spent 3.5 hrs replacing plugs #1-7. He then tells me he even tried vice grips and a screw driver on what was left in #7!
They then tell me the truck is not driveable and it is on me to tow it to another shop!!!!!!

I got it towed to the local Ford dealer and they will look at tomorrow.

My Questions:
Is it acceptable that a shop tells me they are done with my truck ...come get it and the tow is on me?

Any guess on what the original shop will charge me for replacing the #1-6 plugs?
Any guess what the dealer will charge me for extracting #7 and replacing 2 plugs?

Thanks
Had to vent.....I'll post an update thursday.
-Shawn

 

your local shop broke it and they should fix it, however based on their incompetence and desire to pawn it off on someone else you are better off having someone else complete the job. The ultimate outcome probably depends on what ford says its gonna cost to fix

 

I wouldn't pay them for it. They left you hanging when you trusted them to finish a job. Tell them to eat it.

 

Yeah they never completed the tasked work, therefore i don't think id be completing the deal by paying.

Id be whipping the plugs they fitted out, giving them them back as unused, as vehicle was un-drivable after fitting. they cant bill you for parts that way.

 

man that really sucks, this is why i changed mine at 20k and replaced them with 1 peice brisk plug so this cant happen. hope it works out for ya

 

You should take these to a dealer that know how to remove them. They should charge you about $80 to remove the broken one. Hopefully they did not mess anything up. Never take these to a local shop. They do not generally know about the TSB nor follow it.

 

As nasty as the spark plug issue has been, surprised you didn't go directly to Ford. Giving this job to an unsuspecting shop (they didn't have a true grasp of the problem) was a recipe for disaster. Unless a shop (other than Ford) have experience with these, I would steer clear. With that being said, the fact they handed you a nonworking truck and told you to tow it somewhere else should be the last time you deal with them.

Ford dealers do the same thing, if they break it they charge you labor, etc. Its a situation all around, but customers like you and I are on the wrong end of this, with no one taking responsibility for their work. Ford crapped on the dealers and the dealers crapped on us.

 

i totally agree if they told you to worry about it that means they washed there hands of the problem so i wouldn't pay them even if they are you local shop that you have gone to for years, sounds like bad customer service to me and that is there problem not yours, good luck though i take mine in next week to get my plugs replaced, hope that fix's the problem at 2000 rpm min does the same thing...

 

Picked up from the dealer yesterday....they said it took 2 hours to remove the broken plug ....nothing fell into the engine. Sweet!
Hit for $201! Oh well.......truck runs like it did when I first bought it!

Forman7.....the hesitation at 2000 rpms is totaly gone!
-Shawn

 

Glad you got it fixed! If you don't have to pay the first shop, you are way ahead. If you do, pay them anything, deduct the $200 first. They got an education and there is no need for you to pay for it.

 

well that makes me feel better i am hopefully taking mine in soon, but idk for sure if i should wait till i get back from my hunting trip or not, would hate to have something go wrong and not be able to take my truck hunting...

 

Never take your truck to an incompetent Local shop that knows nothing about the TSB or removal tools!....

 

So is it safe to say that as long as the TSB and tools have been out, that the dealerships aren't pulling heads like they were when this thing started?

 

Yes, they are having a very high sucess rate now, and when one does break, they know much better how to extract it. I feel sorry for those that were the first to discover this sorry problem.

 

I remember sitting in Iraq pissed off that my truck was just delivered and I couldn't drive it. The stories of everyone else paying the $2500 made it a little easier.