I've got a '98 F150, 151k miles on it just blew a plug outta #5, was told by a factory ford mechanic, personal friend of mine, that it would take 6 hrs to do #5 due to it being so far, head needs to be removed, aswell as inner fender, to even access it for a timesert repair. I'm almost postive you get some sort of forwarning before it blows it, mine had been "ticking" for 2 weeks before it blew it out. With the spark plug issue aside, i've been told the 5.4 triton and transmission are bullet proof, only downside is the fuel economy. Trucks going down to the shop tomorrow, then to the local car dealership for a trade. Ford should have corrected the problem when it first started happening and they wouldnt have had this issue, the 5.4 tritons were blowing plugs out brand new out of the box and ford looked the other way. I'll buy a Chevy next time

 

I was just going to save you quite a bit money - S C R E W THAT!!

Buy a Chevy then - Why the hell didn't you get it looked at while it was ticking for two weeks bonehead.. Yeah go buy your Chevy- usually people don't buy trucks for there milage...

 

Yeah hes my friend haha, i'm not sure what you have to do, removal or not its going to the shop, and def not the dealership, they charge to much, the mechanics for the most part arent anything special, and quite frankly I hate dealing with them.

case in point - Friend has an '02 Subaru WRX, he had a question as to where he could find the fuel relay so we could take it off and compression check the car, we go to the dealership, to service and ask,they tell us that their parts dept. has their service manuals and arent open.... does that make any sense? I tell the guy "how the **** do you expect to work on anything without service manuals?!?"

 

haha, it really doesnt bother me that you wont help me "save money"... I think Ford makes an excellent truck, I've got a friend '97 F150, 165k miles on it, never been in the shop once for anything besides normal maintence, its luck of the draw i guess you could say oh well. I did educate myself on the spark plug problem until after it had gone out, therefore why would I check my plugs for a tick that to me sounded like valve tapping, or an exhaust leak?

 

Trade it in like you say your going to - tomorrow infact, with a blown plug , your going to loose your a$$ .

I think we have a TROL here , he/she doesn't make sense or is just very very stupid.

 

Where did you get me trading it in w/ a blown plug? I'm actually going to trade it in for a something thats more economical, if thats stupid, you're obviously not thinking correctly and need to put yourself in check. And now that you've brought this post way off-topic, take yourself outside, lay in the road, and pray you get run over.

Thanks for wasting my time, and just flat out making yourself look like an ***. Good Night.

 

LOL , No Problem..

 

wow, people get hostile in here...lol

I can say this on my part. I've always believed in fords, have owned 2 ford probes (gt of coarse) a 92 escort, 2002 focus, 2 rangers (1990 and 1999) a 99 expedition and now a 99 f150. My dad owns 3 fords as we speak, a 1996 f250, a 99 f350 7.3L and a 99 f150. And hes owned many other fords. I'm not gonna lie, this problem with the 5.4L heads and plugs blowing out is scary because its so costly and almost makes me want to get rid of my truck just to avoid it and get something newer or different but financially thats impossible right now. I maintain my truck as good if not better than most but something like this is unpredictable regardless of how good you keep up with things. If the only forewarning sign is the sound of a slight exhaust leak your chances of being able pinpoint it or even fix it in a timely manner are slim. Check your plugs on a regular lets say bi yearly basis and you should be fine. good luck

 

hmm ok. 4 posts on this site to tell us you would rather have a chevy. great, go buy a piece of **** that takes twice as much work.

 

Well #5 can be fixed for under $300 - I think it was $236 for #1 #2,5 and 6.

However, the dealership will not do this without head removal. You have to go to a shop and find a mechanic that will do it or do it yourself.

A few others and I guided Fordgirl (a user in this forum) how to go about locating one and it was successful.

It's a free world , say what you like, I will, I dislike bashing the manufacturer when they all have there own set of problems. It doesn't help the current situation and threatening to buy a product from another competitor, gets to me a bit..

 

whats a TROL

those prices aren't bad

 

Foreign matter

 

Have you ever owned a Chevy? I think not. #1 They are a good truck. #2 They are cheaper to fix then any of them out there. #3 They are easier to work on, I dont know if you've ever looked under the hood of one, but everything is more accessible then a Ford, I'm not knocking Ford's setup, I'm just stating facts. I've got plenty of room to speak as I own both a Ford and a Chevy, and jbrew is completly right, every manufacturer does stupid things, and every manufacturer has its own set of problems. Like I stated previously, with the spark plug issue aside, I've only heard good things about Fords, and quite frankly the spark plug issue isnt reason enough to say **** Ford completely. If anything the only manufacturer that I completely dislike all the way round is Dodge.

But anyways, I do appreciate the help, and apologize for jumping your case. Alot of us are/were in the same boat.

I'll post a pic of my truck asap, its nothin special, ext. cab sport side w/ mickey thompson tires, aftermarket rims, and duel flowmaster straight out the back. But it looks like your trucks have some cool stuff done to them? The next thing I want to do is put a K&N intake on it, I've got a K&N filter now..

 

I think your mechanic friend is a Chevy tech because #5 plug is the front one on the driver side. It can be done in a bout 1 hour. Izzy Eddie, Neal and I did Neal's #1, opposite side, in about an hour.

JMC

PS good luck with the Chevy.....

 

i totally agree with you, ford should have come up with a fix or a discount to have plugs changed by the dealer, or a discount at the dealer to do the repair. any service writer, after a few beers, will tell you this is a major problem.

for me my truck is just another tool i use for my business, when it lets me down it cost me money, when i think the manufacture knows there is a problem and ignores it, that pi$$es me off. Ford lost my business on my last purchase, i am considering a king ranch expedition for my wife but i have to tell you the spark plug thing can still get me pi$$ed off.