Well its time. i have a 04 f150 5.4 v3 and have had the truck for about 3 years now. I was told they were changed by the original owner by the dealership it was bought at but after investigating and finaly reaching the owner he said no they havent been. i now have a truck with 210k with originals.. I have read up on the threads her but any last minute advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

 

I'd run a few tanks of techron through first

 

Two or three cans of Techron. Use a power wrench and have the Lisle tool on your work bench.

Just seems to me that it would be running like a dog if it had that many miles on the plugs, but maybe not.

 

call around - i have had dealers quote me price ranges from 250 to over 1k plus surcharge for broken plugs such as 10 per plug 100 max if all broke too 100 per plug.

if you do it yourself make sure you have access to a lesle tool.

 

IIRR, the o4's don't have the same issue with plugs breaking off as the 06's do (which I have) but here is what I did.......

Although I did follow the most recent TSB, I also relied on my experience back in the 1970’s when aluminum heads & intake manifolds were just entering the street scene and never-seize did not exist. Here are the exceptions to the TSB that I did…
1. I ran Lucas fuel injection cleaner, mixed at 3 times their recommendation in 1 full tank of gasoline. Purpose…if I was lucky, it would dissolve or loosen any carbon buildup (although many do a real fuel injection cleaning also- and it is probably a best practice to do if you have more than 45-50,000 miles on the plugs)
2. Although I am a fan of PB Blaster, I used a product called ChemSearch “Yield”. The issue I have with using carb cleaner is the lack of lubrication…..in the old days of removing steel plugs from aluminum heads, we use to mix up acetone & ATF…or of we needed more lubrication, kerosene & ATF, “Yield” provides this lubrication- much better IMHO than even PB Blaster.
3. Yes, I put anti-seize on the plug threads (I know the TSB says not to)
4. Of course…a lot of patience, I really doubt if I ever put more than 20-25 lbs of force during removal (purposefully)
The end result, only one plug even “squeaked” coming out (but it basically unscrewed like a regular plug- literally). Plug #4 was initially a little stubborn, but after the second try, then waiting about 30 minutes, it came out with very little effort…just kept wiggling the plugs (tightening/loosening) by 1/8th or even less of a turn- and they all came out without a single one breaking or any issue really. Another technique that can definitely be used is to loosen the plugs about 1/8 to ¼ of a turn, start the engine for about 1 minute- this allows the flame to travel up around the plug to burn off the carbon, let cool, then remove with the process I previously described- but IIRR the 04's have fewer threads on the plugs so I would not do this!

As far as using an air ratchet, I can understand the theory of “shocking” the carbon loose, but I have also seen and experienced in my younger days some real disasters.
Actual working time: 2 hours…..including washing my hands, total time was 5 hours.

 

the 04 3v most certainly does have the same issue with plugs breaking as the 06.. Best of luck let us know how it goes

 

Yeah 5 broke on my truck....the dealer bent me over on that one $$$$