I just bought an 03 F150 about a month ago, I started the truck last week and it sounded like a shotgun when off and then the truk started missing. I pop the hood and realize that the one spark plug actually blew out of the head and cracked the COP. My initial reaction was that some idiot changed the plugs before me and forgot to tighten it down. I go get a new plug and COP and luckily I get it to thread right in. I snug it down and check the remaining 7 plugs to assure they aren't loose either. The truck ran great after. Well here I am about a week and 100 miles later sitting on the side of the interstate. Same thing happened. Same plug and all. Has anyone had this problem before? The truck only has 57k on it and when I googled it I found some kind of spark plug thread repair kit? Made by helicoil? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Yes, this is a common problem as those heads had only 4 threads holding the plugs in. You do not want to use the helicoil as it will not hold long term. You want to use a Timesert. There is a memebr on here that rents the kit, Galaxy. There is alao a company in California that specializes in the repair. Their recommendation is when installing plugs, do not use anti sieze and torque them to 28 ftlbs.

Do an Advanced Search entering "blow out" or "spark plug" and see if you don't get a lot of threads to read.

 

Mine is 2001 4.6 and has happened twice to me. The helicoil from what i learned on here does not hold up. All the knowledgeable guys on here say Time Sert is the only way to go. Look for a guy on here called Galaxy, he rents the tool repair kit, and has helped many. I am gonna buy my own kit as soon as i get the money. Good Luck

 

Thanks bluejay, I have a feeling this is going to cost me my first born child

 

No, it's not quite that bad. Second or third, mabe.

 

If you google "Ford sparkplug repair" you get some get info. Here is the repair company site that has a lot of good info on it.

http://www.blownoutsparkplug.com/

 

I thought they redesigned the head in 03?

 

Thanks bluejay, looks like they must have redesigned it in 04+.

 

The new head was a mid-03 model year change, and there have been instances of blowouts with the new 8 thread heads too.