Neither would I - I think it's nuts. I've always disliked Champion's in anything in the past, but Federal Mogul stepped up where Ford failed to do so. I give em credit and hope they do well.

On the flip side, -Ford spent the time and cash re-designing the heads for their 08 models. Hey Great!! Sooo..- What about 04 -07's??
The least they should have done is put a little more effort into a better plug design for prior models. What are they thinking?? All they had to do is fix the design (they don't need to recall), - just fix the stinkin plug and defiantly eat the cost IF they break. That's it.
Nope!- Dealerships charge the normal $250 or whatnot for a plug change + + + charge the consumer another $90 extra per broken plug. That's pretty bad.

 

People around here constantly rag on Fram for producing crummy filters - why would they prefer Autolite plugs? It's the same company.

 

Same company but different design and manufacturing team. They also make Prestone - last I looked, that was a quality product line.

DO NOTE that Autolite plugs and Motorcraft plugs are NOT identical. The Motorcrafts do come out of the same factory but are made to Ford specs.

To the OP - you have a lot of homework to do before trying to change plugs in your 05 5.4. Start reading some more threads.

 

i have a 97 4.6L and i ran bosch single plats for about 1,000 miles before i got a miss i went with autolite double plats *Figured hey ford owns autolite* 5,000 miles later i get a miss.... well i got fed up got Motorcraft plugs wires and coil packs.....15,000 miles later no miss. Common Jbrew im suprised im the frist one posting this... as the sticker under your hood states MOTORCRAFT PLUGS AND FILTER ONLY!

 

I went 65,000 on my OEM Motorcrafts and changed them only because I got nervous. They were still performing perfectly. I plan to put 100,000 on this set, and I'm 1/5 of the way.

 

i had 120,000 miles on my stock OEM plugs then i desided to change them not bc of a miss or anything just because of mileage....i shoulda just left them alone haha.

 

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I heard that only the dealer should do the spark plug change. Something about the carbon build up on the small amount of threading that hangs in the combustion chamber causing the threading on the head to strip out when removing the plugs, or breaking the plugs. Is this true?

 

Sorry for the double post.

 

Its true and then some, just got done doing mine

FWIW, I used the HT15

 

Same here - I used the 16's tho.

 

I guess I'll fo with motorcraft since they are recommended. No problems with my plugs now. They are original and have 64k on them. I should be good for another 36k, right?

 

So did you guys have problems doing them? How common is that? I heard there is some kind of penetrating foam that the dealer uses to spray into each spark plug cylinder and let it sit overnight to loosen up the carbon? Reason I'm asking so much is because the plugs are the next thing I want to do.

 

Ben, you need to read some more threads here. There is a Ford TSB which tells you exactly how to do the job.

 

From what I've heard, some guys have had problems and others haven't. This could be due to differences in the condition of the truck, or differences in the wrenching skills of the person. I believe guys are using PB blaster and letting it sit overnight to soak, and then attempting to turn them out VERY carefully, as soon as any resistance is felt, turn them in a little, spray more penetrating oil, and continue.

I think what you're referring to with the foam is sea-foam. I don't know much about it, nor am I sure if I'm a believer in it either. But yeah, it's supposed to clear carbon out of the chambers. I'm not even sure if this would help get your plugs out easier.

Personally, if I owned a truck affected by this problem, I'd just take it to a dealer that has experience dealing with this issue, and make sure that the mechanic doing mine has done tons of others in the past. I'd have the COPs replaced while I was at it too. If I recall correctly, most people are using nickel anti-seize compound on their spark plug threads on the 3-valve 5.4's (04-08).

 

The dealer I use has had good success with the plug removal. They follow the TSB. They did mine at 65,000 with no problem and said it could have gone to 100,000. I recommended them to another member with 133,000 on his 2004 and they came out with none breaking. Following the TSB can not be over emphasized, plus, I think it helps if you use gas with a good detergent. As far as Seafoam goes, I have no idea if it can reach up in the plug chamber to have much cleaning action on the plug shank or not. I just have a severe aversion to subjecting my engine to something like a Seafoam treatment.