02 F150 5.4. Am I the only one who hasn't blown a plug?
 

I’m sure this has been covered at some time, but after searching I wasn’t able to find specifically what I am looking for.
With 110k trouble free miles and original plugs I’m leaning toward a winter project of replacing them. However, I’ve heard nothing but horror stories about this and I’m on the fence about if I should change out plugs that are working fine and risk breaking one or more, not to mention all the other problems that seem to come from changing the plugs. My question is, if they’re working fine would it be prudent to change them anyway or just "keep on truckin" until there is a problem which makes it necessary. It's a nice truck and I guess eventually it will have to be done, and my thought is that I don't need the truck much in the winter and I can choose when to do battle.
My local Ford dealer wants $350 for a change out, but that is only if there are no problems. Also, they say they will not warranty the change.
I’m not a pro, but fairly proficient as a mechanic so I don’t have a big problem taking on the job, but not if it isn’t necessary.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Darrel
NE Michigan

I've done the plugs on my 97 twice now.. It's got 252,000 miles on it. First change was at around 65,000 miles because I just wanted to when I bought it used in 2001.

Well, I ran those plugs until I changed them again not long ago. No misses or noticeable power loss during that time either..

After I replaced those plugs, I did notice that it ran a bit better and got about 1 mpg better mileage.. Maybe my imagination, but that's just what I feel.. :)

Both times took me about 4 hours with some beer breaks in there too...

I needed to use all of my socket extensions, universals and a universal on the plug socket too!

The hardest to get to is #4, but the next hardest is #7 trying to get the little screw off of the damn COP!

Anyway, I'm sure others have done it faster and have a solution for #7, but I don't... (I did NOT pull the fuel rails either).

I didn't use any anti seize or grease and everything looked fine boot wise and it's still running smooth.

I'll look forward to the next plug change when it has around 350,000 miles on it! :)

Good luck!

Mitch

An 02 5.4 has a standard one piece that shouldn't break. The 04-08 5.4 3-v has that problem.

Just a straight forward plug change but do not use antisieze and torque them to 28 foot lbs.

Sent from my iPhone using IB AutoGroup

Same as everyone says pretty simple. Just tough to get to the back 2. Did mine with a buddy in a parking lot at college. Have yet to blow a plug.. (knock on wood)

I did mine at 119k miles. It took a while. I did pull the fuel rail on the passenger side which is very easy to do. I did not need the plug socket I bought that had a built in universal. They are just hard to get to. It's not complicated to change them out. And as someone else said, the breaking problem is on the 3V motors starting in 2004.

So go for it!

You should be fine with a small socket at getting the coils off without taking the fuel rail off. I did not have to take mine off just the air filter assm. I was going to remove the fuel rails but its not needed and was one extra step to the process. I took my time and got them done in about 2hrs. Like Bluejay said, 28lbs and no antisieze!

As mentioned, your truck does not have a breaking problem, it has a blowing problem. In addition, there is no amount of preventative maintenance you can do to prevent a blow out; that comes from thread failure. All you can do is install them properly as discussed on many threads in here. The moral of the story is treat your truck right and change the plugs. Do not alter your normal way of life in constant fear of having one blow.

Also keep in mind when you see discussion after discussion after discussion on these forums about blown plugs, it skews the numbers. Of all the 2002 F150 owners in the world, how many do you figure are on these forums complaining about blown plugs...maybe 2-5% just as a stupid guess. Even if you add in an additional (I'll go crazy) 10% of blown victims that don't post on forums, you're still looking at only 15% worse case of trucks having this issue. Sorry, as bad as this probelm is, 15% of trucks on the road means the odds are in your favor!

I suspect the problem of blown plugs is much less than 15%. I bought a new 2000 F150 5.4. I put 105k on it before selling it to a friend. He had a dealer change the plugs and ran it up to 170k before he sold it to a neighbor and no plug has blown. My current 02 has 129k on it with no blown plugs. So, for me it has been 2 out of 2 with no blown plugs, Knock on Wood!

The factory manual does state to torque the plugs to 8 ft. lbs. and that is the problem I suspect. We have learned the hard way to torque them much more.

Just turned 309,000 on the 98, no problem there, except I attempted to use Autolites way back when and made it only 40 miles before the misfires came, - like Domino's. That's the only plug problem.

It depends which factory manual you read lol.

I'll check the 96-99 F150 manual since it's right here, - From Ford Service,

The 99 5.4L is 10-20 Nm (84-180 lb/in) or 7'- 15' lbs.

Funny thing, - in 99 there was a recall on plug torque. Said they were over torqued at the factory. Now I've never seen a copy of that Recall, - heard about here and there.

Anyway, I've never had one pop. Knock Knock..

Thanks for all the responses and help. It's full blown winter now and time is becoming more available to tackle the job.
Two last questions. Should the engine be warm or cold when I remove the old plugs? Any problem with using air tools or should this just be done using a breaker bar and socket?
I just need to buy a set of plugs then commit myself one day. Hopefully, no problems will arise.
Thanks again everybody.

Cold engine, and I'd use a conventional ratchet and socket.

Thanks, GLC. I'll post the results when I get it done.
Deke

After you've done them a few time there real easy. First time is kinda tough..