are the 04+ 5.4l engines still problematic with spark plugs
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 6,509
Likes: 6
From: Georgia on my mind...
There's two removal kits to use, depending on what manner the plug breaks off in the cylinder head.
If it breaks off with only the ground shield in the cylinder head, then yeah, the $150-something removal kit works. Mac, Snap-on, Matco all sell the same kit for this removal which I really like, 'cause their tap is like four times longer than a standard tap so it's easy to grab hold to and thread the ground shield for removal. This tool set works very well.
If it breaks off with the porcelain stuck in the ground shield, well, now you have some more serious problems. Ford released a tool that uses hardened pins that are loctited into the center of the porcelain with a threaded rod that's supposed to pull the porcelain. Then once the porcelain is out, you use the ground shield removal tool. The loctite/threaded rod garbage sucks. I followed the directions step by step by step and it didn't work; it works best IMO by setting up the threaded rods and loctite, allowing it to cure overnight, then running the engine until it gets blistering hot before attempting to pull the porcelain (Uncle Henry says to do this with the engine at room temp). I'm not aware of anyone in the aftermarket offering this kit, and it's very expensive - the entire setup is about $500, and the hardened removal pins (which can only be used once) come in a set of eight for about $110 a set.
If it breaks off with only the ground shield in the cylinder head, then yeah, the $150-something removal kit works. Mac, Snap-on, Matco all sell the same kit for this removal which I really like, 'cause their tap is like four times longer than a standard tap so it's easy to grab hold to and thread the ground shield for removal. This tool set works very well.
If it breaks off with the porcelain stuck in the ground shield, well, now you have some more serious problems. Ford released a tool that uses hardened pins that are loctited into the center of the porcelain with a threaded rod that's supposed to pull the porcelain. Then once the porcelain is out, you use the ground shield removal tool. The loctite/threaded rod garbage sucks. I followed the directions step by step by step and it didn't work; it works best IMO by setting up the threaded rods and loctite, allowing it to cure overnight, then running the engine until it gets blistering hot before attempting to pull the porcelain (Uncle Henry says to do this with the engine at room temp). I'm not aware of anyone in the aftermarket offering this kit, and it's very expensive - the entire setup is about $500, and the hardened removal pins (which can only be used once) come in a set of eight for about $110 a set.
Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Albertville, AL
Ok if anyone is intrested. And if not oh well.
I just looked it up on the ford technician site..
Product Details for OTCR303-1203
SPARK PLUG SLEEVE REMOVER
OTCR303-1203
OTC
SPARK PLUG SLEEVE REMOVER
(FORMERLY: OTC303-1203) SEE TSB 08-1-09
$146.02
I just looked it up on the ford technician site..
Product Details for OTCR303-1203
SPARK PLUG SLEEVE REMOVER
OTCR303-1203
OTC
SPARK PLUG SLEEVE REMOVER
(FORMERLY: OTC303-1203) SEE TSB 08-1-09
$146.02