so Ive gotten all the coils replace in my 99 5.4 but the fuel rail is in the way of the retaining bolt for #7? ( third one from front to back on the drivers side)....do I have to remove the rail? I cant remember how i did the plugs when I had my 03

 

Take out the two bolts holding the fuel rail.

Carefully pry it up off of the injectors. Some of the injectors might stay in it. Gas will spill.

Getting it back on can be tricky, just take your time and make sure you don't damage the o-rings.

Motorcraft plugs in there I hope, torqued to 28 foot pounds with no anti-seize.

 

yeah just pop up the fuel rail then its fairly easy to get at..

 

awesome thanx guys! and yes motorcraft plugs! but MSD coils that im getting flak over haha

 

I didn't take off the fuel rail when I changed mine I just used 1/4 drive socket wrench and a swivel and worked around it. It can be done but its definatly not the easiest route.

 

ya i didnt have a swivel... wish i did that rail is a pain in the @$$ to put back on! but i just had to use the right language and have the wind and my tounge in the right position or direction to get it back on....good thing my daughter was inside haha thanx again guys

 

I always remove the rail. Thing is, you have to lay down rags before doing so. Residual fuel can and has shorted new coils out after start.

Also, once the rail is repositioned, you twist the injectors from one side to the other for proper seat.

Always grease up the coils as well, or chances are, they won't last long.

 

haha i put rags down for other reasons but good to know!

 

I had #7 miss fire in May, the coil was wet from several days of continous rain that found its way there.

I loosened the rail bolt, short of lifting or breaking the O-ring seals. It gave more wiggle room.

Still a pain.

 

well I got it, took the rail off....but now theres a kind of whistling happening while im on the throttle and then fades away after letting off, does it until about 70 km/hr...

 

This what I am worried about... causing damage that the dealer would have to fix.

I am doing my plugs right now: 2003 5.4. Today went great, but now I am stopped at cylinders 7 and 8. Fuel rail in the way! I am scared to death about trying to remove this. (I've never done that before).

Going to Sears tomorrow morning to buy 1/4" drive set to see if I can work around it.

Best move right now is to do nothing, sleep on it, then proceed slowly. I am really worried about this whole fuel rail issue!

Detail:

Motorcraft Plugs
No anti-sieze, torque 28 Ft Lbs, Small dab of Dielectic on Boot
Compressed air (with extension hose) to clean-out plug well
Air hose used to start new plug by hand


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If you are going to Sears anyway, get yourself the 7MM swivel socket 1/4" drive....works great !

 

I have played this game before and it is a true test of your patience on 7 and 8 or any of the plugs on the rear of that motor .... In my experience the swivle,patient determination and a 7mm are the way to go if youu dont want to pull the fuel rail..... take your time and be patient.... If I was able to do it then anyone can lol
I have a special spark plug socket for this job as well.It is a tight fit in those holes so I used a lathe to take about .070 off of the spark plug socket's diameter to make life easier when pulling it out of the "well" after tightening ... I am fortunate in the fact that my neighbor is a retired machinist and great mechanic so I have acces to a lot of good info and tools
I have read about guys using a short peice of hose to start the plugs into the threads so as to NOT crossthread or damage the threads in the head dont forget the dielectric grease for the coils and springs as well
Also the 5.4 has a known problem of puking plugs out of the head
I played that game too
I bought the kit from a parts store to repair it on the vehicle and that was 50000 miles ago so that way is the best (IMO)if anyone has that issue......
the dealer wants $500.00 per hole "IF" they can fix it otherwise they say they have to lift the cab off of the truck to get the head off and then it is $4500.00 just to replace one head but hey for another 1100 they will throw in another one woo hoo
wow kinda I got off on a tangent there

 

Plugs are done!

Thx for the responses.

Yeah, I bought the 7mm swivel, and alot of other 1/4 drive stuff. With the 7mm swivel I had tons of room to work with. It was actually quite simple (a good nights rest really helped too).

I also purchased a telescoping magnet, and I actually used that to remove the COP bolt during disassembly, and replace during assembly.

The biggest problem with my situation was the amount of dirt in and around the plug wells. Previous owner must have lived on a dirt road.

Btw, truck runs GREAT!

PICs:

1. This is the amount of dirt on the floor after plugs were done (this is probably half, other half blew away when I started engine).
2. All 8 plugs removed.
3. close-up of plugs from two most forward cylinders. A slight build up. The other cylinders didn't have this.
[IMG][/IMG]