I changed the Splitfires out to Motorcraft last weekend. Didn't have comp. air so I used shop vac to try and clean out around plugs. #4 was full of water down in the hole around plug. Truck was running fine with the Slitfires in. During the week it started missing, and CEL did flash and then stay on yesterday.

Today I started pulling plugs and checking them. All were fine but #4. The area around it was fine, but when I removed the plug it was covered in water, and obviously not firing.

Either A:I didn't get water out and it went down in cylinder(should've dried out by now I would think)
B:head gasket(but why all the sudden?)

I have the #4 plug out right now, hopefully it's drying out and will be ok, any comments or help would be appreciated.

 

Look at the heater hose directly above it... it's prone to leaking and causes a dead cylinder in #4 when it finally shorts out the plug/coil pack. I've had this happen to me, and a $2 screw-type hose clamp did the trick.

-Flea

 

that the return line on the a/c sweats and that it drips down ontop the heater hose which routes the water over the plug area....you can go to a local a/c supply house and buy a product called no sweat or simular that prevents condensation from forming on the line....you can also swab the outside of the plug boot at the location of the three rings,with delectric grease,to help prevent water from settling into the plug port...if you think that you may have a bad head run a compression check and compare the readings...the water on the end of the plug may only be from the water in the port than ran down it when you removed the plug..good luck

 

I'll check those, appreciate it.

I reinstalled the plug, and have been running it, doing fine so far. I let it get nice and hot to see if it would start missing, nothing yet.

 

I found a torx bit in my #3 plug cylinder, dont ask me how it got there, hell I dont know....but i changed the plugs the first time and it was no there, so within 45k miles it got there...LOL


At least it didnt drop into the cylinder!!! Oh shi+ that would suck.

5.4

 

Woahh, that would have sucked big time, talk about piston noise.

Those deep plug holes are dangerous i'm telling you.

 

YES THEY SURE ARE!!!

 

Ford has an updated/upgraded heater hose for the water getting into #4 spark plug hole.
If you go to any ford/mercury dealership, I"m sure theyll have them in stock.
They utilize a positive retention type/style clamp instead of the worm drive/screw clamp.
Piece of cake to R&R by yourselves.
I've yet to see a/c lines sweating anything into plug holes..........
(been doing this 28+ years at a dealership).
My .002

 

thats what she said