it seems I am the latest victim of the blown spark plug. The second one from the front on the drivers side blew. It's still in there but it broke the coil pack in half . It seems to be broken completely around the plug. I didn't look at it too closely , it's been a long *** day and this just tops it all off.

I guess I'll try to take a better look tomorrow.

What does a head cost from Ford ?

This happen to anyone else locally ? What's a repair like this cost ?

This sure p!sses me off, I was actually just about to switch from the TR6's to the IT-22's, so the tightness issue would have been a moot point next weekend. It of course would be nice if Ford would have designed the ***** right the first time. When the hell is Ford gonna pay attention to this and admit it's a problem instead of turning the other cheek ?

--wes

 

Wes, did you use anti-seize when you installed the TR6s?

 

Sal,

No, I didn't .

I read some pro's and cons on the issue and decided against it.

I just told myself that I would check them every few months and be certain they are tight. I was actually about to switch out to the Denso IT-22's next weekend to see if I could stop possible misfires on the top end.

This just plain sucks

--wes

The thing tht really sucks is I was

 

That definitely sucks ***. You still under warrenty, or do you have to eat this?

 

Wes that sucks

If your out of warrenty you could heli coil the biatch

I am thinking of heli coiling all 8 of mine when I do the cams this winter.

 

That blows...pardon the expression

This happened to me a while back.

Sal, (if your still following this)

some guy was talking about head inserts on fordtruckworld.com, have you ever heard anything about this? Heres what he had to say.
I emailed him to ask him what he was talking about but didn't get a reply. Seems like even if you used inserts where the plug had 8 threads of engagement in the insert, the insert itself would still only have 4 threads engaged in the head...

 

Well, I've been retired from my Ford Tech job for about two years now, so I may not know what "inserts" he's referring to, but I monitor all the Ford special service messages and have never heard of such a thing. I DO know that Ford specifically does not want techs to heli coil heads, there is a special service message on that subject. I guess it's just personal preference. The major downside to using a Heli coil, is that now the spark plug has to transmit heat through the steel helicoil to the aluminum head. That's going to throw off your plug heat range pretty good.

 

I have never used that. 23K and no problems. 4 sets of plugs.


Sal,

Do you think we shold be using anti-seize?

 

Sal say's not to use it but what does he know ?

Dan

 

Sorry to hear about this. It happened to me 2 days ago, the third from the front on passenger side. Anyway, it is under warranty so the dealer is taking care of it. I am afraid it is because of the 5lb pulley.

Did you check your plugs after you installed the new ones? I had mine on for only 2 weeks, and after this happened I checked the rest and a few were real loose. I guess from now on they need to be checked more often.

 

No, that would only make them more likley to loosen more, as a matter of fact, I think even Ford says not too.

 

I thought thats what he said. I guess he was looking to see if that was the problem!!

I wouldnt use it for sure!!

Change plugs every 7-10k for SURE!

 

I uses anti-seize every time with no issues.

True Heli-Coils are 18-8 stainless steel.

Don,
The solid inserts he is refering to are being used incorrectly if he has 8 threads of ingagement. He may have 8 threads on the plug to insert fit, but he still only has 4 threads on the insert to head fit. Solid inserts for the plugs are inferiror to a Heli-Coil wire type insert. Use the wire and you won't be sorry. I have done some testing on some junk modular heads. With a Heli-Coil properly installed I was able to torque the plug to failure without damaging the threads. That's right I twisted the plug off. I was able to unscrew the broken plug and insert a new one and repeated the process. I quit after breaking 4 plugs in the same hole. I do work as a Heli-Coil rep so of course I am only slightly bias on the brand. However Heli-Coil sells plug kits in both the solid style and wire style. Go with the wire. Side note. The wire inserts cannot be properly installed with the head on the motor. It will have to be removed.

If anyone that has had a plug failure wants to get rid of their bad heads I will be happy to buy them.

 

If your under warranty,you can get a new launching pad....err head.
I would go with an insert or helicoil,and like don said...all eight would be even better.
I heard about the heat transfer issue,but mine has no issues and cost 100.00 from an after hours svt tech.
Now i have one cylynder that will not be launching any plugs,and seven others that are ticking timebombs

 

hmm...What about using thread lock??