I'm really not sure this will benefit anyone but after 10+ hours of performing a "tune up" on my truck I feel like ranting.

2006 F150 5.4 with 54k miles, original owner with nothing but synthetic oil and Shell gas in it so far.

After reading all the information on these forums I decided to give it a shot myself Hoping that if I got to it early I would be ok...BOY WAS I WRONG.

Followed the Ford TSB to the best of my understanding and STILL manged to break 6 of 8 plugs off. Every plug that broke left the ceramic and the sleeve behind. Only ones that came out were Driver side 2 and passenger side 4 (Thank GOD) I did the whole 1/8 to 1/4 turn on a Warm engine, soaked in Kroil for 15+ minutes to no avail.

Ordered the Lisle Tool from Amazon for $80 including next day shipping. What a great tool this turned out to be. I was able to successfully extract all 6 remaining sleeves with ceramic, HOWEVER there was some ceramic breakage and a few of the electrodes broke. Having no idea what else to do I purchased a detailer set for my shop vac and vacuumed out every hole. I also spun the engine over with all the spark plugs out hoping to blow any debris out of the holes. Visual inspection showed metal sleeves with quite a bit of carbon build up was well as rust.

After a few hiccups on re-assembly, the new Champion one piece plugs worked great and the motor seems to be purring like a kitten, no knock or evidence of debris left in the head. I found this job to be an absolute NIGHTMARE and having been a Ford fanboy my whole life I am extremely disappointed to have gone through this. I write this post if for no other reason than to make sure people know the ceramic and strap can/will break when using the lisle tool, most of the information out there says it won't. Keep at it and if I can offer any help please hit me up.

 

That was your problem. The TSB says to use carb cleaner, and it needs a lot more than a 15 minute soak.

 

Thanks for the feedback 2003 F150. However, in my opinion the whole soak idea is a gimmick. I'm no physics major, but if I metal sleeve is frozen in the head.....how exactly are you going to back it off 1/8 to 1/4 turn to allow the penetrate to get down there? My plugs broke as soon as turned them. Also depending on TSB some even refer to Kroil, I didn't have a build up of carbon, I had a build up of corrosion.,

 

Not that any of this matters or helps things since you broke 6 of 8. First, you followed an old and obsolete TSB. The latest one 08-7-6 replaced 08-1-9 which replaced 06-15-2 which replaced 06-5-9. That's where my trail of 5.4 3V spark plug extraction TSB's end.

In these most of them refer to using AeroKroil or equivalent. But as we and they found out, those earlier TSB's didn't work all that well. The latest one 08-7-6, surely improves your chances of getting plugs out without breaking, but it's not guaranteed.

Again, since this is after the fact, none of this helps. It's just FYI.

But turning the plugs 1/8 to 1/4 turn does open up a small gap that will allow the proper carb cleaner to penetrate from the spark plug well down into the cylinder. The process that occurs is called capillary action. Ford says a minimum of 15 minutes, that's really not enough time for the first time plugs are replaced, that time should be increased as the number of miles on the truck increase.

The TSB does work, but some of us choose to deviate a little thinking this penetrating solvent should be fine. Heck, I thought that also and broke 3 when I did it. Kroil isn't as good as I had hoped. But hey, that's just how things work sometimes.

FWIW, carbon build up on these plugs leaves a brownish colored deposit. Your plugs may have had this appearance which may be the reason you think it's corrosion.

Hopefully you applied the nickel based anti-sieze to the sleeve portion of your new plugs. This and following the TSB should make plug change number 2 go much easier. I did mine in about an hour, including the 15 minute soak time.

 

My dealer recommended the Fuel System treatment to break the carbon and crud loose from the underside. I saw that reported a few other times here as well. Its a $160 service so you can imagine my suspicion... but.... they got them out with no breakage.

 

Thanks for the info SVT. It does appear I followed an older TSB and I wish they would take the older ones down off the internet to alleviate confusion. I did use a thin coat of nickel anti seize this time so that should help. One side question, doesn't capillary action refer to the drawing UP of liquids in a small space? I guess hind sight is usually 20/20 so shame on me for missing the carb cleaner Hopefully these one piece Champion plugs (along with the anti seize) have cured the problem.

 

By the way - just because I have a 2003 doesn't mean I don't know about the 3V sparkplug issues.

 

I was waiting in the service lobby of my local Ford dealer a few weeks back and I overheard one of their service writers talking to a customer about a plug change on an '05 F-150 with the 5.4 engine. He indicated that they required the fuel system cleaning be done before they would do the plug change on the truck.

Not sure if this is a common tactic the dealers are now using, but I guess I can see their point in that it's probably a lot easier to sell the customer the fuel system cleaning than it is to sell them on an upcharge for extracting broken plugs.

 

It wasn't put to me as a "requirement" but more of a recommendation.

 

I bought the Tune Up Cleaner when getting the new plugs, as per the TSB. I was reading the instructions on the can and it gives the procedure for for using it to remove carbon deposits from inside the engine. They say to spray the cleaner into the throttle body while the engine is running, shut it down, wait for 5 minutes, then run the engine to clear all of the carbon out. This seems like it may be a good thing to do prior to trying to remove the plugs.

$9 vs $160 at the dealer and it likely does the same thing.

 

I am very on the fence about engine "cleaners" and "sea foam".

Now I am not gonna lie, the C4/C5 vets have a TSB on carbon removal and they even call for "sea foam" (Gm top engine cleaner) if I am not mistaken.

In fact I think it says 1/3 in the tank 1/3 through the PCV and 1/3 in the crank case.
Well it calls for "GM Top engine cleaner' but a few C4/C5 guys are using sea foam.
Now, I doubt that a truck that is "driven" (the C4/C5 says its a cure for a "lightly driven" engine with mild problems)

I think its 1/3 in the tank, then 1/3 in the PCV when its running, let it sit for a bit and then 1/3 in the crank case, let it burn it off then change oil.

There might be something to it, seeing as Ford wants a cleaning done, and GM has a cleaning TSB for the C4/C5 that involves cleaning carbon deposits.

Anyway, everyone has opinions, Like I have mine.
Might be something to this "engine cleaner" if Gm guys with $70,000 Cars and engines that cost more then my truck are using sea foam, even the dealer is using a cleaner.

 

It's all in the formulation. And how it's metered / applied.

I seriously doubt, like Ford's Motorvac, that GM's formulation and application procedure remotely resembles Seafoam and how it is casually used by some folks.

If the 'Vette guys wanna roll their own - not gonna stop them.

Also - normal carbon buildup in the CC is a bit different than where specifically this binding agent is present between sleeve and plug well cavity. To me that makes it more of a challenge to remove....

MGD

 

Well, to be honest. I don't know what to think about it.
Now dad has a fuel system cleaner machine, and I know the solution it uses is about $30-50 per can and it only does 3-4 cars.
I have seen results from it, but it takes hours and he charges about $125-$150 to do it.
Not that it has anything to do with plugs.

I just don;t know what to think about cleaners at the parts store. I get 93 at the pump, and I have had good luck so far not using anything in my tank and oil.

 

Plus one for the anti-seize. Those 3V motors are notorious for rattling those plugs to the point of stripping the threads out of the heads. That's a costly fix.

 

You need to do some reading. The antisieze goes on the shank of the plugs for the 3v's to keep carbon from building up and causing the 2 piece plug to separate. No antisieze on the threads as the plugs are nickle coated. Never heard of a 3v stripping the threads, just the 2v.