It finally had to happen to me
After owning a 98 F150 (with the 4.6L)that lost a tranny @ 20000kms,I went out and bought a 2000 F150 with the 5.4L hoping that I would get a quality truck to hold onto for alot of years.
Well that 5.4L let me down @ 70000kms with a blown spark plug.
I cannot believe that I can buy 2 new trucks and have critical(expensive ) failures on both of them!!!
I am really frustrated with Ford and can honestly say that I might not buy one again.
So here I sit with no truck,and a big bill on the way.
If there is any good news it's that Ford has some sort of loyal ford drivers program where I should only have to pay a portion of the repair bill.
If Ford does not come thru with this(Service Rep says it won't be a problem) I can guarantee this will be my last Ford vehicle!!!



By the way how often does this problem re-occur ??? cause if I can't trust this truck once it's fixed I don't want to own it!!!

 

Truck is in the garage.Third plug from the front on the drivers side is blown out completely intact.
What is it with this particular cylinder anyway??
Well it sounds like Ford is gonna cover 75% of the bill so if I can get away with $1000 bill I'm gonna be happy!!
Now when it's fixed how long is it gonna be before the right side has a problem??
Anybody who's had the left side go is it only a matter of time before the right side goes too???
Really don't want to keep truck if it's gonna be a problem.
They are gonna check over the right side to see if there are any issues.
Need some opinions please.

 

Several questions........

On the blown plug truck,

1. Did the plug launch occur with the factory installed sparkplugs or had the factory installed plugs ever been changed? If so, by whom?

2. Before the plug launch, had you recently checked the sparkplugs to determine if they were ALL tight, including the one that launched?

3. What actual damage occurred? ....where the head threads stripped? ....any damage at all to sparkplug?

4. Exactly what did they do to fix the problem?

 

To answer your questions the plugs were the originals,never been changed or checked.At 70,000km's they are not due to be replaced till 100,000kms.
As far as the spark plug being damaged,it blew out in one complete piece but the head threads were toast.
So I now need a driver's side head,coil and spark plug(gaskets etc) to fix it up.
They are checking the passenger side head,plugs for any problems.
As of this afternoon the estimate is down to approx. $2000,of which the Service Rep still says I will only have to pay about $700.
The parts are on order and they say they might even be here by tomorrow.
If all goes well and they don't find anything else my truck might be on the road by Wednesday!!

 

I've seen a number of threads regarding this problem, but have never really taken notice as to which engines it seems to be happening to? Is it mainly 5.4L engines that are suffering this fate?

Sorry to hear it happen to you...hope the dealer can keep tapering down the $$$.

 

You should try to get a head for a 2003 as I understand they have more threads in the head for the spark plugs.

 

Just popped one myself this past weekend. I am PISSED, of course. I force threaded a new plug back in, had to get home as I was 150 miles out of town. Wonder how long that will last