Well, it's time for the infamous 3V plug change on my F-150. I'm at just over 66K, I've got some leftover Christmas cash, and I want to get this out of the way.

My question is, does anyone know anywhere around the southwest (Southern AZ, NM, or West Texas) that does a good plug change for a fair price? I've been scouting local dealers and the first quote I got was $530 plus $110 per broken plug with no real assurances that they know their stuff. That's a little disappointing for a first response, so I'm hoping someone from around this area might have a little insight.

I'm in Las Cruces, NM, but I'm willing to drive a little ways to save a few hundred bucks and have it done by someone who knows what they're doing.

Before you ask, I'm a programmer... not a mechanic, so I'm definitely not comfortable doing it myself. It took me three days to wire a RECON light bar and some backup lights, so me trying to do a plug change would be like asking a blind man to pick out matching curtains.

Thanks for any information.

 

Do you feel like driving to San Diego?

http://www.brokensparkplug.com/

 

I just called around until I found someone I felt comfortable with. Price was certainly an issue, but above all I wanted to make sure they knew what they were doing. Before you commit to a shop, ask them how they do the change. If there is no mention of Fords TSB I would stop right there and continue your search. I found a local shop that goes by the TSB and has extensive experience changing the plugs in these 5.4's. They charge $304 flat rate with no extra for broken plugs. Going to have mine done in the next week or two. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Ok, I just called a place in El Paso who says they do it for $250 with parts and labor, but it's $139 per broken plug. He also told me that they can get the plugs out without any breakage 95% of the time because they soak them all day. Considering how big of a problem these plugs seem to be that sounds a little fishy to me, but I want to believe!

Does that sound plausible?

 

Just as an update, I called all the Ford dealers in El Paso and it seems like of all of them the guy at Shamaley Ford knew all the details of the problem, had prior experience with specific F-150's he shared with me, and made sure I knew all the ins and outs over the phone. He told me about the extraction tool they might have to use, and he said that they've only had to pull one head off due to a very high mileage vehicle. Their pricing is fair, $350 P+L plus $85 per broken plug with a maximum of four.

Guess I'll cross my fingers and give them a try.

 

If you want to come all the way up here, the dealer here gets $260 P&L with 2 free extractions - more extractions billed at actual clock time at 80 bucks an hour.

 

That sounds resonable.....my dealership quoted me I think $40 per plug if they broke any. I didn't even need to ask about the plugs getting stuck because service advisor told me about the plug issue as mine is a 06 5.4 3V, didn't break a single plug. If they were upfront about the issues with them getting stuck and what not it sounds to me like they know their stuff.

 

This was my experience as well. The local shop I talked to spoke with me for about 45 minutes about the plug issues with these model year 5.4's and their extensive experience with successfully changing them. This is what made me comfortable and convinced me to schedule an appointment with them to have the plugs changed. And the flat rate of $304 plus no extra for broken plugs was a nice deal also.

 

I'm lucky I guess. My buddy owns a shop right down the road. I bought the plugs ($60 MC SP-507's) and he only wanted to charge my $100. He had to buy the tool mid-job from the snap-on guy, so I insisted he take $200 labor.

Las Cruces, NM is a pretty well know 4x4 town. I'm sure there are plenty of talented mechanics around there.

BTW: I'm at 85k, and the plug change made a big difference!

 

fred what dealership did you use? i am also in michigan and would like to get mine done .

 

It takes more than talented mechanics. Several have gotten stung by good mechanics that jumped into the plug change. They need to be very familiar with the 2 piece plug and ity's problem potential.

 

Hmmm, 3 of mine broke and he was still done in 6-7 hours (while running his shop, and waiting on the tool). I printed the TSB for him, but come on.....it's not rocket science!

 

I've got a buddy who built a 4x4 rock crawler from scratch and he and his wife take it out in the arroyos all the time... when I talked to him about it he said if it were his own truck he would attempt the change himself, but he understands why I wouldn't. He also said he wouldn't want to do it to mine without knowing more about it because it's the only vehicle I own and he didn't want to leave me without if something went awry.