So I put this off way to long and my truck had developed a mis fire under heavy load. So I bought the motorcraft plugs and cop's from global on ebay. I want to thank everyone on here for all the insight on how to do this the proper way. I had one plug break and after a few attempts the leslie tool pulled it out. Only took me a few hours in all and I had dreaded it for weeks. But once I fired up the truck and stomped on it, it was all worth it. Looking forward to my next project on the truck, and to being part of the 200,000 mile club some day

 

One broken plug after 152k sounds pretty dang good to me -- it could have easily been much more of a booger......

 

why did you wait so long>?!!

 

The truck ran great and so I never gave it much thought. Then when it started to miss I did some research and found out how far behind I was on spark plug maintenance. I do all the other stuff, oil changes, fuel filter, air filter, diff fluid etc.... just forgot about the plugs. I feel very lucky to have got 7 out problem free and the threads still looking like new. I also put in the Gotts mod this evening, using a piece of PVC I ground into an oval shape. This forum has been a wealth of information, thanks again.

 

One broken with that many miles. That is great! I bet that is a much happier engine.

 

What did you use to loosen them up?

 

i bet the engine was hot, or at least warm, correct?

 

I blew out the area with compressed air and sprayed alittle PB blaster in a funnel and let it drip down around the plugs. this let me put just alittle on them as I didn't really want any more than needed. Let them sit while I did some other things, maybe 20-30 minutes and then took my time breaking them loose.


Yep, I let it cool down some (changed the fuel filter while I waited) and then while it was still warm but not hot (it was never going to get to cool with it being 95 degrees outside) I started the process. They made a terrible noise while they were coming out. But I just kept loosening a hair then tightening until they felt like they wanted to back out without taking the threads with them. The new ones with alittle antiseize on the threads went in smooth.

 

Yup thats the key to not breaking plugs, the engine has to be at least warm, and dont let it cool down.

 

nice work man. I think I am having the same problem with my truck I have 117K miles on it, and it is missing terribly under a heavy load. Normal light acceleration isnt bad though. Were you throwing a CEL, or any codes? Which plugs did you put in it? How long did you let the PB blaster sit?

 

very lucky I will say.

 

Yeah before if I was running around 45mph and stomped on the accelerator it would spit and sputter until I let off and I would have to ease into it. Never through any codes and ran flawless as long as I didn't punch it. But after replacing plugs and coils it runs great under load, just has a vibration in the front now. I'm looking into doing ball joints, tie rod end and upper control arm for my next project. For plugs I used the OEM motorcraft plugs from advanced auto and bought coils from global on ebay. The PB was on them for about 25 minutes, but more important is having the engine warm (not hot). I drove around in town then came home and let it cool some, sprayed the PB on them and then 25 minutes or so later started to see how they felt. I used a short handle ratchet to keep from applying to much pressure and forcing them loose. They made alot of screeching noises coming out but the threads stayed in tact.

 

That sounds exactly like what my truck is doing. I planned to replace with OE plugs as well. How much were the OE plugs from Advanced auto?

 

All motorcraft plugs were on sale for around $6.99 ea. the week I bought them regularly $7.99 so no big deal.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web..._1360654717___

Then I bought the coils (which come with boots) from Global automotive on ebay. $115
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-I...ht_3187wt_1167

And I was lucky enough to borrow the lisle tool from a friend, but I think they are around $50. So total I would have spent around $230, a far cry from the $700-$800 quotes I got from the Ford dealer. And they would have charged more for any broken plugs. One dealer I called said they just remove the heads and go at the plugs from behind, for $1200. It was at that point I lost all faith in the stealer ship and decided I was going to do it myself.

I'm looking into redoing the front end now with new ball joints, control arm tie rod ends. Again this forum has invaluable information on what I want to achieve and I'll be buying the MOOG parts from rockauto.com.

 

It's Lisle, not Leslie.