Holy cow I'm about to have a heart attack just thinking about that. Just one of those things for me I guess haha

 

trust me buddy me too but theres only so much you can do without taking the head off..

 

Oh yeah I know. Glad everything worked out for ya

 

So I got the courage to change plugs on my 06 SCREW w/65k miles on it (original plugs). Followed the TSB to the letter and broke 3 out of the 7 I removed. Didn't want to fart with it anymore so I took it to the local dealer (Atchley Ford) and had them finish it. Cost of the labor was $295 and I think it was worth every penny. The plugs I removed didn't seem too bad. Did notice that the carb cleaner didn't "wick" down the threads, that may have been the problem...don't know. Anyway it wasn't as big a deal as I thought it might have been - just happy it's done!

 

good for you, and yes that does sound like a good deal.. considering i didnt have the money for the labor and tow to the ford (about 20 minutes) i figured i might as well get the tool and learn to use it myself.. Plus ive got the insurance that comes from working on your own truck and not letting someone else touch it.. waht was your engine temp when you started puuling plugs?

 

I had the same thing happen while removing one of the 4 broken plugs today in my 2004. The groundstrap broke in two places.

What did you use to vacuum the cylinder to remove the broken piece?

JRR
2004 F150 Supercrew 4WD
2008 F150 Supercrew 4WD

 

I used a 2 straws taped together then a homemade adapter to fit into the vacuum hose.. It had pretty good suction. I didnt want to use a hose because it was to flexible and couldnt feel what i was doing down in the cylinder.

 

That's what I was going to try also. I just wasn't sure there would be enough suction for a metal piece that large. I was also planning to vacuum all of the cylinders that had broken plugs just in case any porcelain pieces escaped . . .

As a side note - the plug that the groundstrap broke in two places was the first one I removed and the only one that I followed the instructions and turned the pusher all the way until it made contact with the tool body. The rest I turned down about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way which left plenty of room for the extractor to thread into. It also may have been a coincidence or maybe I turned it down too fast. I was much more cautious with the remaining ones.

The Lisle tool is easy to use, even for non-mechanics, and well worth the investment given the alternatives (Ford dealer). I got all 4 broken plugs out in about 90 minutes.

JRR
2004 F150 Supercrew 4WD
2008 F150 Supercrew 4WD

 

I followed the TSB to the letter...engine cold. In theory if the engine was worm the head would expand making the plugs tighter...
* A do 99% of my own mechanics because I can trust myself and know it's done with care and done right, but in this case (knowing the service manager) I was at the point where I didn't feel comfortable.

 

Yes thats true however dealers around here have been getting the engines extremely hot just before they pull the plugs and the plugs just slide right out, i saw it being done 2 days after i finished mine. I guess the carbon is probably softer when its hot