My 2008 F150 4.6L truck blew the number 3 spark plug on the passenger side at 85k miles. The repair was completed and now the engine is making a loud ticking noise that seems to be coming from the same side. The engine runs great, I just had an oil change before the incident. The ticking will be steady and suddenly stop for a second and start again. The mechanic could could find nothing wrong. When they were doing the spark plug repair I also had them clean the injectors & intake, flush the coolant system and the transmission, replace the fuel filter. I am taking the truck to the dealer on Monday but have had bad experience with them in the past. No codes showed up. When I called the dealer they told me the plugs should have been chnaged at 60k but that is not what the manual says. Any ideas out there? The ticking is very annoying and I am afraid this will lead to more problems.

 

The only reliable insert is Timesert. 60k plug changes are for the 5.4 3 valve, but 4.6's have been known to foul out plugs before 100k.

 

Update to my post regarding spark plug blow out and engine ticking noise. 2008 Ford F150 4.6L engine with 85k miles. The spark plug repairs were done by an independent shop as I was out of town when this occured. Next I noted a loud ticking noise especially at idle. I took the truck to the dealer where I purchased it new in 2008. I also purchased a new 2009 SUV for my wife from the same dealer. I do not have the greatest relationship with this dealer service department due to some previous work I was not satisfied with. I completed the emailed survey on the last visit several months ago and they took offense at my remarks. I called the owner of the dealership, Bobby Jenkins, of Don Jenkins ***uay Varina Ford and told him about the spark plug blowout and suggested that he contact customers and tell them to get their spark plugs replaced at 60k instead of 100k to avoid the problems I am having. He told me he never heard of this issue and that he would not have a converstaion regarding conspiracies against Ford. I was astonished because I was nice during our converstaion and never mentioned anything about a conspiracy. I told him as a small town dealer he should take seriously customer complaints. He started shouting at me and I hung up. I called the service manager and told him we could no longer do business. He tells me the owner just left his office afetr telling him to stop all work on my truck and haul it out to the lot. They charged me $135.00 to get my truck back. I spent over $50k on two vehicles at that dealership and sent friends there who also purchased vehicles. I will do my best to make sure everyone I speak with in town knows my experience with Don Jenkins Ford of ***uay Varina, NC 919-552-2228

 

Say what? Plug blowout on the 4.6 with 8 thread heads is VERY rare.

You have no beef with Ford. Sounds like the independent shop butchered the repair.

 

Took the truck to another dealer in Cary NC. They pulled the head today and we inspected it together. The previous repair looked good. We found damage to two valves and the mechanic is sure that when the plug blew out pieces went into the number 3 cylinder and caused the damage. Makes sense because I was at highway speeds when the plug blew out and it sounded like the engine blew. The whole truck shook and most likely the spark plug parts shot past the valves and out the exhaust. A new head costs about $3500.00. A new engine costs about $5300.00 installed. I opted for the new engine. A terrible experience just because I was not informed to replace the plugs at 60,000 miles instead of the manual recommendation of 100,000.

 

Again, this is NOT necessary with the 2 valve engine with 8 threads. You had a VERY rare blowout. It's the older ones with 4 thread heads that spit them right and left, and the reason for the 60k recommendation ON THE 3 VALVE ENGINES is due to them sticking in the heads and breaking when removal is attempted.

The best way to prevent blowouts with both 4 and 8 thread heads is torque the plugs to 28 ft/lb.

 

There is one person on here that claims the 2008 4.6L engine has 8 threads on the spark plugs. Looked at my engine at the dealer as they now have removed the damaged engine and there are only 4 full threads in the head. The mechanic claims the early 2008 engines have the same problem as the 5.4L engines and the problem was corrected in the latter part of 2008 by adding more threads. My engine was late 2007 when the 2008 truicks first came out. $5,300.00 repairs because a spark plug blew out and Ford is just hoping this issue will die a natural death. Too bad the press has not taken some interest in this issue.

 

You are exactly right. However, Ford never gave me a chance to do that. The owners manual states the plugs should be replaced at 100k. I planned on getting a full tuneup at 90k but the plug blew out at 85k. Dealer just called me. Seems the intake manifold is also bad and will have to be replaced. He says its been leaking for some time. Another $471.00.

 

So sorry! Very rare for the 4.6 to blow plugs even with the older heads. Most of the blow out problems happen with the 5.4's. Sorry your dealer is a jerk!

 

I have never heard of 4 thread heads in a 4.6 any newer than the very first batch of 2004's off the line. The changeover in the engine plant was made sometime in spring 2003.

Maybe they had some left over and somehow one of the old engines found its way onto the line for your truck........

Even so, sorry it happened - the factory torque specs are too low.

 

I have a 02 f150 with the 4.6 and I have blown 2 plugs in the last 3 years. The mechanic at Ford said it is a common problem with the 5.4 and the 4.6 engines because of the aluminum heads

 

No, it's because of the 4 thread heads and insufficient torque specs.

 

My #4 plug just blew 2 days ago FWIW, '04 4.6L. I heard ticking sound before it went, l thought it was low on oil. (140K mi)