I recently purchased my 2008 XLT SuperCrew. I have read many threads regarding the dreaded broken spark plug. My truck is approaching 40,000 miles and i want to change these plugs asap if its necessary. My question is many of the post i read (including the information on Wikipedia) say that if your motor is manfactured after 10-9-2007 then you should not have an issue when removing the plugs. They claim Ford installed the 2009 style plugs after this date. Can anyone validate this?? Am i still going to have issues??

 

Brown plug boots=new heads. Black plug boots=old heads.

 

^^^ What he said.

 

When you say the plug boot, you are referring to the rubber boot which is around the plug itself? This is not visible just by popping the hood and looking correct?

 

It is the rubber tube that fits on the bottom of the COP and goes over the top of the spark plug. There is one on each plug. You should be able to see it by looking down in the spark plug hole.

 

Ok thanks for the info. So im guessing this manufacture date stuff I hear about must be somewhat true? I sure hope so. Had no idea about this issue until a week after i bought my truck!

 

Even if you have the 2 piece plug, it's just not that big of a deal any more. Most come out whole if done correctly and if one breaks, there is a special tool for removal. It was a lot more scary before lessons were learned. My dealer has great success with getting them out and a lot of memebers on here have done well doing their own.