Ford Trucks- wow this is dumb

[joey_schel]

So I've been driving my Dad's truck while he's away on vacation; '05 F-150, 5.4L triton etc etc, and lately its been running funny. You get on the gas and around 3-4000 rpm the motor hesitates and kind of stutters. Then after doing this a couple times the check engine light comes on. I got the code read and it was a cylinder misfire on #4. I decided maybe plugs should be done, they're long overdue (he's not too great with maintenance), and i attempt to take one of the plugs out.
First off, the plugs are a 9/16" socket! Then, i do some research and almost everyone who has attempted to do plugs on the 3V triton motor results in the plug breaking into 2 pieces, requiring that the porcelain piece be broken off, and a special extractor is then needed to retrieve the rest of the plug!
Special Extractor: http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/pa ... 0_alt.html
Oh, and the "special" plugs for this motor are worth 14-15 dollars each!
ALSO, through research i learned that there are a ton of cases where the 4.6 and 5.4 motors had a spark plug BLOW OUT of the cylinder head and the threads were totally shittered. How does Ford get away with this?

As you can probably guess, i've decided to not even touch the plugs anymore at the moment in fear of screwing it all up. Other than this I really enjoy driving this truck, but I think i'll stay away from buying any ford with this motor. Ever.

Joseph

 

[Oregon350Cutlass]

Its a ford..enough said! Just playin,thats sounds like alot of headache for a new vehicle.

 

[beermonkey9417]

http://www.youtube.com/user/richpin06a# ... oHGYhDK_lA

 

[megaladon6]

there are 2 causes of this. i forget the exact issue, but it causes water to drip onto the rear plugs, rusting them in place. usually on the rear pass side.
the other (main) issue is an improper head design causing a hot spot on the plugs. this warps everything enough to completely seize the threads, and sometimes it cracks the head causing the blow out.

 

[megaladon6]

oh yeah, before doing plugs, swap the coil to another plug and see if the misfire moves. this happens alot on the fords.

 

[1evilregal]

the casting was actually too thin in the plug bosses... I've heard they've fixed the problem over the last couple years....

makes me glad that I have a newer 4.6 in mine...... :wink:

 

[joey_schel]

there are 2 causes of this. i forget the exact issue, but it causes water to drip onto the rear plugs, rusting them in place. usually on the rear pass side.

I think this was on the earlier ones (99-04), believe it was one of the crossovers or a heater core hose that often leaked coolant into the spark plug holes.

I did switch the coils from 1-4 and 4-1 and reset the codes. It hasnt come back yet but still hesitates on acceleration

 

[megaladon6]

one thing for anyone with an OBD2 car to look into is this http://www.scangauge.com/ it'll scan all codes and display most PIDs. it's not a true diagnostic computer, but it does a good job and it's a hell of a lot cheaper.
especially for misfires as you can put 4 cylinders on the screen and watch for the misfire.

 

[redneckracer305]

my work van is a 99 e250 and that thing throws a check engine light as soon as it rains, and misfires ;ike crazy. it still doin it after i think the boss had them replace all the plugs an i believe the coil packs, ive just learned to deal with it and stay away from steep grades. if it were my personal vehicle i would be pissed though, but its more of minor inconvience.

 

[Ribbedroof]

Never ever pull the plugs out of a Ford Mod motor when it's warm. Surefire way to pull the threads out of the head. Remove from a cold engine only....and yeah, there isn't much thread on the early ones.