Took my 97 4.6 to the dealer to do some other things and replace the original spark plugs. Seems they could not get the number 4 plug out, and they didnt want to break the head. Coming from the dealer this kind of worried me. Any suggestions or things they might not have done that I can to get this thing loose?

 

I changed the plugs on my 97 4.6L last year. The #2 and #4 plugs were very hard to get out. In my case, the factory plugs had rusted and corroded to the point there wasn't much left for the socket to grab onto. There was also a lot of debris caked in around the plug. I had to break up the debris with a screw driver then used compressed air to blow it out. They eventually came out.

It seems the factory plugs are only platinum on the electrodes and not well protected from corrosion on the outside. I replaced them with a set of Bosch plugs that were completely plated in platinum. Hopefully, this will mitigate corrosion.

 

Let,s see...
You took it in to have a tune up...
They go to take out the plug and obiviously stripped the plug off and now can't get a bite on it...
They do this day in day out and should now a truck of that age would have issue's and should have applied some sort of rust buster or such...
They should be the ones to suck up the expense of pulling the head and getting that plug out...
Period

 

I WOULD INSIST THAT DEALER REMOVE PLUG. EVEN IF IT INVOLVED THEM PULLING HEAD. GLOW PLUGS WENT BAD ON A POWER STROKE OF MINE, DEALER CALLED ME AND SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO PULL HEAD TO GET THEM OUT, THEY STRIPPED HEAD OF GLOW PLUGS, AND QUOTED ME A PRICE. I TOLD THEM THEY WERE NOT STRIPPED WHEN I BROUGHT TRUCK IN AND REFUSED TO PAY THE FOR THE EXTRA EXPENSE. ALSO TOLD THEM I EXPECTED THE TRUCK BACK AT THEN END OF THE DAY. THE TRUCK WAS REPAIRED BY THAT DAY AND AT THE PRICE I ORIGINALY HAD BEEN QUOTED AND AGREED TO PAY. THEY WORK ON THE FLAT RATE SYSTEM, MOST OF THE TIME THEY CAN COMPLETE JOB IN THE TIME SPECIFIED, MANY TIMES LESS. THIS TIME THEY JUST WOULD NOT MAKE AS MUCH MONEY, IF ANY AT ALL.
I WOULD SPEAK WITH SERVICE MGR., GEN. MGR, & OWNER.
AND IF THAT FAILED TRY THE PENETRATING OIL, PB BLASTER IS A GOOD ONE. GOOD LUCK.

 

Thanks for the responses. Which plug is the number 4? Will it be obvious to a novice like myself if the plug is indeed stripped?

 

Passenger rear

 

If pulling the plug damages the head then put a time-sert in it. My #3 plug blew and I put time-serts in all eight holes. Glad I did it.

 

Any threads on how to do this? I'm not quite sure what a time-sert is.

 

I time sert is a thread insert that you can use if the threads are damaged when you get the plug out. It won't help you actually get the plug out though, which is currnetly your big problem.

As far as the dealer eating the cost of head removal you guys are nuts. The only way they should eat it is if they messed it up using improper techniques, or untrained people (or warranty, that the dealer doesn't even pay anyway). In my state if you cannot provide the services for the price quoted you can always put it back together and give the customer back their car.

The yelling diesel story sounds tough, but did they really pull the head, have the plugs drilled, and reinstall it by the end of the day all for the price of the tune up? I doubt it. They gave it one more try and got them out (or did they?). You got what you paid for and nothing more.

It sounds to me like the dealer did ok. Rather than getting wild and breaking thing off and THEN calling to tell you, they tried to communicate first.

Personally, I would warm up the engine completely. I would blow out the hole with compressed air as suggested. Add a significant quantity of your favortie penetrating oil to the hole and let it sit for a day. Then use a good quality plug socket with ratchet and turn it as hard as you need to to get it out.

 

I'll go along with adaycj , warm the motor up after soaking the plugs with WD-40 and use a 6-point socket .