Next month it will be time for my 60k mile plug change however my truck is a 1998 so they've been in there a long time. I plan to have Ford do the change but I am worried about the head thread issue. What are the odds that there will be trouble either during or after the change?

Thanks!

 

Million dollar question.
I think having the dealer swap the plugs is your safest bet. At least they (should) torque the plugs correctly.

I've got a 97 and never had a problem.

If you do have a blow-out, you can repiar it without taking the heads off using a time-cert kit. It's not too expensive or difficult from what I gather.

 

Mine were changed after 7.5 years, no issues.

 

I changed my plugs myself about 6k miles ago, so far no problems. I am in no way a mechanic, this was the first actual engine work I have done to my truck. My truck has the 4.6L and I know theyre not known for blowouts like the 5.4's, what engine do you have???

 

i have a 98 4.6 and i had 172,000 miles on the original plugs. went to autozone cause i had a misfire and they told me the # 2 plug wasnt firing so i changer the plugwires and spark plugs. fixed the problem just fine. just to think they were the original wires and plugs, wierd. just remember to take a shop vac and suck up all the debries so that stuff dont go down the sparkplug hole.

 

Sounds like I have a good chance of no issues. I will go over my concerns with the service writer. When I called to get the estimate from Ford ($166) I asked about the issue and the guy did not lie and say he'd never heard of it or that it does not happen. He just said he thought it was more prevelent on the 5.4. Something about a heater hose, fitting or something leaking into one of the wells on the 5.4.

Of course we all know it happens on all the modulars from what 1997 until 2002?

 

That's what I gather as well.

 

My old truck I traded in last fall had the original plugs in it that were 6 years old and 96k miles on them I sure the dealer didn't bother to change them out as i never saw the truck make it to their used car lot so it must have gone to the auction it probable went there the way it was when I left the truck at the dealership driving off in my new one.

 

It's a fun one on these mod motors! Gimme a pushrod anyday...

Adrianspeeder

 

Mine in my '97 5.4 lasted 9 years and 130,000 miles. I paid to have them replaced, but wound up replacing the coils after the plugs were installed.
I paid to have it done because I didn't feel like messing with the fuel injection system. I installed the coils myself. Should have waited and installed the plugs too. Could have saved me some bucks.....big bucks.

 

Did mine at around 150k km's and everything was a ok. I did find alot of dirt in some holes so I was careful. Some were rusty too from washing engine and not blowing the holes out proper. Other than that. the plugs were still good. The changing of the driver side was harder, but with enough extensions and u joints you'll be cruising in no time. Use a little anti sieze on the threads and gap at .54 I believe. Patience and being careful play here. Numbers 7 and 8 cylinder are the toughest so beware.

 

Definitely reassuring to know that others have had their plugs in a long time and had no issues with the change.

Iggy do you mean it just would have saved you the labor on the plug install?
Did they really stick it to you? I called a couple Ford dealers and am going to go with $166.

Not really happy to pay that much but I am done wrenching. After 29 years of hobby cars one day....Bam! That's it! I am not spending another weekend laying under a vehicle with dirt flying into my eyes or exhausts buring my arms.

 

A local Firestone Auto Center charged me 600.00 to put new plugs in, flush the injectors, install new fuel filter and diagnostics. Tons of labor charges.
I knew the engine needed new plugs and I didn't want to tear into the fuel system to install them. Plus it was only running on 6 of 8 cylinders. I wanted a full diagnostic check to see what was wrong. Diagnostic only showed that it was misfiring on cyl.'s 3 and 5.
When I picked it up it was running OK. Not perfect, but OK. Before I got home it was misfiring again. Next morning it was back to running on 6 cylinders. I couldn't afford to let them look at it again. I knew it had to be the COP's and I also know what they co$t. That's when I decided to fix it myself. Turns out it wasn't all that hard.
The coils I bought off E-Bay are a no-name brand. I believe the company I bought from builds them for Motorcraft, they came marked with the Motorcraft part number but no brand name. Anyhow, the price was right and they work. I'm happy.

I'm 51 years old. Been turning wrenches since I was 13. I used to work on cars full time and built many drag race cars and engines too.
My back isn't in the best shape anymore and bending over fenders or crawling under hoods gets painful. Besides, these new vehicles are not easy to fix without a diagnostic tool, which I don't own.
But I know how you feel. There are some things I just don't want to do myself anymore. I'll pay the bucks and let someone else have all the fun.

 

I see what you mean by costing you some big bucks. At least you got it done without a second trip to the shop.

I am used to older muscle cars so the parts and labor costs on these newer vehicles are an eye opener

I bet a lot of those people driving high $$ cars and SUVs can really get reamed when the warranty is gone and its got to go to the shop.

I've heard of stuff like +$500 jobs just to get an alternator done. My old Chevy was like $50 bucks and 15 minutes to install it yourself.

 

If there's a local performance shop nearby, they may charge far less to change the plugs.

I got mine done for $150, including the plugs, at SoCalDiablo/Superior Automotive, a local performance shop.