wilson ind
Well-known Member
Dealer and local garage is asking 200.00 dollars plus cost of spark plugs to change them . Is it really so difficult ? If they break a plug the charge is also much higher. Any one changed their own? Comments please.
- Thread starter wilson ind
- Start date
timcasbolt
Well-known Member
I just googled the title of your thread and found some VERY interesting information. I suggest you do the same.
Spencer Metheny
New User
Ok so there two piece spark plugs
The best way I have found to change them is the get the engine up to temp change one side then crank the engine and get it back of to temp then change the other side.
There is a tool at NAPA you can get that cost 100 dollars to get a broken plug out.
They normally brake to where you can use the tool to get them out but I?ve seen a few cases where we had to take heads off because the hex?s head broke and left the threads of the plug inside.
So I would go slow and pay attention and watch a few videos on Line if it is your first time
The best way I have found to change them is the get the engine up to temp change one side then crank the engine and get it back of to temp then change the other side.
There is a tool at NAPA you can get that cost 100 dollars to get a broken plug out.
They normally brake to where you can use the tool to get them out but I?ve seen a few cases where we had to take heads off because the hex?s head broke and left the threads of the plug inside.
So I would go slow and pay attention and watch a few videos on Line if it is your first time
it is also best to soak them with rust buster for a few days before--some guys have suggested to also break them loose with 1/8 turn to get the juice in to the carbon deposit--also a can or two of seafoam in the tank to dissolve the deposits---after all of this all 8 still broke off on my ford!
Mike(NEOhio)
Well-known Member
- Location
- Newbury, Ohio
I have a 99 in a pickup and had plugs out at least three times with no issues. The earlier ones have a conventional plug without the extra extension. The hard part is laying over the fenders and reaching to the back plugs, and removing the plumbing to get in there. I always use a torque wrench on them and ABSOLUTELY use anti-seize on the threads.
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
Yes that are devils no matter how you go about it... If they creek and pop as they are coming out life is good if they don't it turns to chit fast...
The trouble is the engines from around 2004 and up. The extraction tool looks like a loading die set for 30-06. DON'T try it yourself !!! If they break it they fix it. That tube on the bottom of the plug can get stuck. Ford changed the hole size one number and solved the later production engines problems. My 2004 Expedition had no trouble. I would HIGHLY recommended buy NGK Iridium plugs for it. Cost $8.oo ea. but are 100k plus. Also hand the guy a can of copper never sieze to install them.
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
never sieze is not the issue I have not used it on a spark plug in years and don't plan to... One drop of engine oil on the threads is all it needs...
NGK is probably the OEM manufacture... I use OEM only tho a Ford mechanic said they used Champion but chams come will issues I don't need either...
UncleTom
Well-known Member
I am one of them that changed trucks. I had an 08 f150 with 50,000 miles on it. I traded it for a Tundra. I love it. I got rid of the potential plug and cam phazer problem. It had warped rotors and needed tires and had always wanted a Tundra. It puts a smile on my face every time i drive it.
jimg.allentown
Well-known Member
Do you always have to use vulgar language? And do you think it is "cute" to misspell it to get by the filters? You need to clean up your language.
jimg.allentown
Well-known Member
The problem with these plugs is the design. The threads go past the threaded part of the head and allow combustion byproducts to build up and interfere with removal. They are also of a poor design that is prone to breakage. Best advice if you are going to try them yourself is do not force anything. If one starts to bind, turn it back in and work it back and forth a few times until it loosens up. Once you break one, you will probably be going to the dealer anyways.
Personally, I ALWAYS use a thread lubricant on spark plugs that go into an aluminum head. You have two different metals in contact with each other, and the plug is prone to binding or galling in the aluminum threads. I have on occasion seen the threads come out with the plug. Better safe than sorry.
Personally, I ALWAYS use a thread lubricant on spark plugs that go into an aluminum head. You have two different metals in contact with each other, and the plug is prone to binding or galling in the aluminum threads. I have on occasion seen the threads come out with the plug. Better safe than sorry.
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
never seize to prevent the deposits from sticking... Let us know how that works out fer ya...
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
OK I will give him his money back just to keep you happy...
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
After reading all of this, I'm certain that I will NOT be buying a Ford.
I worked for a dealership for 11 years. Let them do it. One of our mechanics was factory FOrd trained. He hated those things. When they broke off he would pull the engine and pull the head just to make sure he got all the junk outta there. This is what he said about them. "If ford was a reputable company they would have recalled every one of these and replaced the heads and cam phasers at their expense." He said the same things about the V10 motor problems.
timcasbolt
Well-known Member
The threads that are exposed to the combustion chamber are experiencing a 1400 degrees F explosion approximately 50 times a second on average. For the life of the engine. Any never seize in the chamber would be gone in one or two seconds.
You can do it it is possible. However if the dealer will do it for 200 let them do it. I did mine and broke a few off. My fil had the tool from Napa to remove broken plugs you will get them out but it will take a half hour for each broken one.
I broke mine loose about an eighth turn, sprayed an once of diesel down the hole and let them sit overnight. The first couple came right out, I broke the next few, you have to take your time and rock them back and forth to remove vthe deposited carbon. I bet I could do it again and have no broken plugs.
I broke mine loose about an eighth turn, sprayed an once of diesel down the hole and let them sit overnight. The first couple came right out, I broke the next few, you have to take your time and rock them back and forth to remove vthe deposited carbon. I bet I could do it again and have no broken plugs.
I did mine on my 99 F150,, after I took the coils off, I blew the plug area out with compressed air, plugs came out no problem at all, the two on the driver side in the rear you need to re move the fuel injector line or rail to access the plugs. none of mine broke, was a waste though because 2 years later the frame on the truck broke!
I did mine on my 99 F150,, after I took the coils off, I blew the plug area out with compressed air, plugs came out no problem at all, the two on the driver side in the rear you need to re move the fuel injector line or rail to access the plugs. none of mine broke, was a waste though because 2 years later the frame on the truck broke!
$200.00 seems reasonable. The first time on my 2004 3v f150 is cost me $350.00 with a throttle body cleaning, and none broke. Something was up though, these Motorcraft plugs only lasted 37k. And they broke two coils.The second time I had to have my truck over a weekend and one of them failed Friday evening. I've got muscular dystrophy and can't use my hands well so I got the carpenter I had hired to come over and change the plugs. He provided the muscle and I provided the instruction. He is pretty handy with wrenches and he got it done in 90 minutes having never seen that engine before. They're just not that bad if you're limber and none break.
I don't know if the suv is different firewall than the pickup as far as plug access but I just got done doing the number 6 coil on my 1999 navigator which is the rear passenger side coil. I would have paid somebody $200 to come to my house and change that one rotten sob and been happy to watch them crawl up in the engine compartment and try to get their hand a foot back on the engine with 2 inches of clearance for my hand to fit in. I think it would be faster to pull the engine than to try to change them all in there. What a miserable sob that engine is. Ford got me on that one but it won't happen again. Their engineering is so fubar it's unbelievable.
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
Whatever was wrong with the Ford in-line 6 cylinder engines? The 223, the 240, and the 300? Simple and easy to work on. A complete tune-up, points, condensor, and plugs could be done in 30 minutes or less. Oil and filter changes could be done without even getting under the truck.
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
new & improved Ford! there new Ecoboost you just plug a new engine in when they need repairing....
For those that have them and change their own oil..
Remove the oil filter FIRST is you don't all the oil will not drain out and you will overfill the crankcase even tho it checks low...
Remove the drain plug and let it drain for at least 15 min...
Blackhole49
Well-known Member
- Location
- White Lake MI
Yea, and you did it (tune up) every 10,000 miles instead of once in 200,000 miles.
Clarence Slydell
Member
I don't doubt that a bit. Mainly because it was the 2004 and newer engines that had the problem being discussed.
i have a mechanic friend that swears at those things. a couple other ford engines with the timing chains on the back of the engine seems like a bad idea too. he swears at those too.
used to be a Ford guy. but having had trouble with the last one we had i've not owned one since (26 years). haven't heard much good otherwise and working for a ford supplier not impressed on that side either. but i wounldn't buy a GM either... they've done nothing to fix the problems that lead to the so called "bail-out"... i predicted then they would fail again and i think its heading that way...
used to be a Ford guy. but having had trouble with the last one we had i've not owned one since (26 years). haven't heard much good otherwise and working for a ford supplier not impressed on that side either. but i wounldn't buy a GM either... they've done nothing to fix the problems that lead to the so called "bail-out"... i predicted then they would fail again and i think its heading that way...
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
But it could be done in 30 minutes or less, for a cost of about $10.
o not attempt to remove spark plugs on hot/warm engine & use nickel-anti-seize on this specific extension area of spark plug, and on & on.I said that because by now most are old enough to have had the updated plugs put in them, with a lower chance of breakage. Having said that they are still a junk design and have oil pump problems and cam phaser problems. If you are a mechanic and read the service bulletins there is nothing hard about working on the engine. Frustrating, yes, hard, no. The trucks themselves are pretty solid, the engines, not unless you spend some serious money on the timing components and oil pump. The 5.4 could have been a world class engine, but through obvious cost cutting in the aforementioned parts they are a world class joke.
Similar threads
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.
Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy