I like to start by saying thanks to all at this forum. I have been reading here as a guest for the last four weeks after I purchased a 2007 F150 lariat Screw 6.5 ft bed 4x4. It had 101,000 miles and a tick, but looked so well I got it. Well I took it to the local Ford dealer to see if they had any services records and to ask about the tick and a price on changing the spark plugs. Well they had not seen the truck after it roll off the lot. They said the ticking was normal and a plug change would be $475.00 the $50.00 per any that broke. I came here read some and order the Lisle 65600 tool, Nickel ant-seize some locking 3/8 extensions, SP515 Motorcraft plugs and some carb cleaner. I ran two bottles of Chevron TECHRON in one tank and two cans of Seafoam in the next tank. I got home Friday night and started pulling the COP and pouring the carb cleaner in. Well after removing the second COP I wanted to see if the first plug was hard to turn. It came loose like any other plug on any other truck I had done. It came out by hand after the first turn. The plug was a Autolite HT1. So I knew they had been changed, but I checked the gap and it was almost .060. I removed the next and it came out fine. At this point it was getting dark. I pulled the truck out and it was running a little rough. Today I remove all the plug (none broke) I know I was lucky. I did find the second plug on the driver side was so loose I didn’t need the ratchet to break it loose. It was black and smutty. This was my “normal tick” I put the SP515 in and the truck ran very bad. Rough idle and bad miss, I had read where some times the COP can go bad during a plug change so I got two and they did not help. I was cleaning my old plug to put them back in when I saw the smutty one was cracked. I went and purchased a new set of Autolite HT1 and installed them and now the truck runs great like it did before this hold day started What the heck. I had read where most say to use Motorcraft and I understood the thinking behind it. Do you think the ECU learns the plugs and if you change brands after that. It is then out of calibration? Well I have a Lisle 65600, some SP515 and two coil packs about $190.00 dollar in parts I don’t need now. I am not saying anyone should use the HT1 I am just tell what happen to me today and hope it may help someone later. Main thing is truck is running great and the tick is gone
Again thanks

 

I would not say that the ecm learns & likes certain plugs, but I would suspect....
You may have a couple of MC plugs that were not good (not an unusual thing)

and it is true (IMHO) that sometimes certain vehicles like certain part brands than others....

 

Good to hear you got it figured out.

I changed mine with SP 507's and got one that was bad. It was missing on cylinder one so I switched coil 1 and 2, still missing on cylinder one. Switched plug one and two and had a miss on cylinder two. The defective spark plug had a crack in the porcelain. I put the best out of the old plugs in until the new SP 507 came in and haven't had a problem since.

Probably a good idea to go and re-torque the plugs after a few hundred miles to make sure they're still tight after a few heat cycles.
I

 

Ok today putting way tools and cleaning up. I was about to throw away the SP515 and I got out my multimeter and had to set the scale to 20K ohms.
The Autolites HT1 measured between 4.69k and 4.73k all but the one that was cracked and it was 3.09k. I measured the Motorcraft SP515 and they are all over the place. From 10.9K to 19.6K. That 2 to 4 times the resistant. I wonder if this could be the problem?

 

Shouldn't of had to run the seafoam.....the techron already had done the job....running TO MUCH fuel system cleaner can pucker yer o2s and cause issues with cats later on....

 

"Sea Foam® is an EPA-registered product, and will not harm engine components, seals, gaskets, catalytic converters or oxygen sensors". I understand what you are saying, but I don't think 20oz per 28 gal of gas will hurt if people can suck 8 or 10 oz from the vacuum line. Any one have any idea why the motorcraft plug had a higher ohms reading and why their range was all over the place? I was hoping Bluejay may have a few ideas. I know he has a lot of testing with the sp507, wonder if he had any with the sp515
Thanks guys

 

it may be registered epa product but it contains naptha, kerosene, paint thinner, and others.....none of which help break down carbon like techron or regane will do....

 

Very true, the techron made the jod a lot easier then it would have been without it.

 

Let me know how much you want for the extraction tool. I am locally in your state! Need to do mine just havent bought the tool yet.

 

I sent you an e-mail. Let me know if that works and we can go from there.

Thanks

 

I also had a problem with my2007 F150. It was missing when on a load. I changed the fuel filter and ran sea foam in the tank but still did not fix it. I decided to change the plugs till I found out all the issues with this. After finding the price to do it I decided to try it. I also bought the leslie 65600 toll. I bought the Autolite HT1 plugs and got a deal for $8 each. I found that patience and carbon remover lubricant is the key. I sprayed the plugs with seafoam carbon remover lubricant and let set overnite. The next day broke them loose about 1/4 turn and sprayed a little more in. Let set overnite and the next day removed the plugs just like a normal plug change. No issues and none broken. I also have a leslie toll that is unused and going back to Amazon. It did smoke a little on the startup but stopped in about 1 minute and truck runs great now. Just take your time and don't overuse the lube and I also heard that in the later model trucks the plug cavity is a bit larger and does not have the breaking issue. I found a you tube video made by autolite that was very helpful. I also use seafoam in all my lawn equipment gas and they all seem to run better. I swear by the product and will continue to use it.

 

I also use seafoam in all my lawn equipment gas and they all seem to run better. I swear by the product and will continue to use it.

Good for you! Even charlatans need to eat.