2000 F150 Triton 5.4L #&*@!! = $$$$$$$

[ToaDisco]

I changed the plugs in my 97 Chevy 5.7 at 125,000 for the first time..no problems at all..Came right out with no penetrating oil. And to be honest, they didn't even look like the needed changed. Ford has a massive problem with this issue as much as people want to deny it. I see it over and over again.

I really wouldn't describe it as a "massive" problem, as I have 9 other cylinders running with the poorly designed threads, and with 167,000 on the engine I can only guarantee the plugs have been changed once.(I bought it used with a little over 100K on it and the plugs looked like they had been there awhile:ashamed

95% of the plug spitting problems could be avoided simply by torquing the plugs to spec and putting a dab of anti-seize on the plug threads. I guess thats the risk we have to take when we buy a used vehicle. To many idiots out there who can't properly maintain a vehicle.

Regardless, Ford dropped the ball on the issue, plain and simple.

 

[timswi]

lol, thats almost comical. if this is the absolutely very first issue, please explain how this is doing good. there is no valid reason to change plugs routinely in any modern engine at 30k, doesnt matter who does it or why, waste of money. since you have determined this has nothing to do with ford, where does the burden lie and why? what brand of plug do you use and how are they superior? how would anti seize help with carbon build up below the threads? OP if i were you, i would speak to the service mgr, not the advisor, personally and make sure he has the best most experienced tech at least take a look and offer guidance, but he likely wouldnt want the job as it is a real spanking if the head or heads have to come off. good luck and very sorry to hear of your trouble

Well, A guy I work with has a Dodge Hemi..he has to change 16 platinum plugs every 30k as well...That is insane, but that is the manufacturers recommendation..Ergo..GM for me.

 

[Scooby074]

I really wouldn't describe it as a "massive" problem, as I have 9 other cylinders running with the poorly designed threads, and with 167,000 on the engine I can only guarantee the plugs have been changed once.(I bought it used with a little over 100K on it and the plugs looked like they had been there awhile:ashamed

95% of the plug spitting problems could be avoided simply by torquing the plugs to spec and putting a dab of anti-seize on the plug threads. I guess thats the risk we have to take when we buy a used vehicle. To many idiots out there who can't properly maintain a vehicle.

Regardless, Ford dropped the ball on the issue, plain and simple.

as you may be aware there is 2 issues here, 1, lack of threads on the plug causing the plugs to strip and blow if over torqued. (your issue)

2. which is the issue the OP has, that the plug electrode shield will get fouled in the head, causing it to separate from the plug body.

THe timesert fix for the stripped plug holes is a good fix as youve witnessed.

Just to clarify for the OP:thumbsup:

timswi: i changed mine at 100000 kms. No problems. But i followed the TSB. They did seem to bind in the bores but i didnt force it. Might not be a "massive" problem but its definitely significant. Following the proper procedure helps alot,

 

[timswi]

Degrees of problem...It's a significant issue on the Ford 5.4's.

 

[roamrdb]

Well, A guy I work with has a Dodge Hemi..he has to change 16 platinum plugs every 30k as well...That is insane, but that is the manufacturers recommendation..Ergo..GM for me.

its my understanding the reason for that is they came with copper core plugs, the platinums are supposed to extend the interval to 100k. its common to see plugs last 100k now. very different to change plugs because mfg wants me to than to change plugs so they dont seize. it would be very interesting to me to inspect these at 30k. till your post and i did some research, i didnt know any oem is using anything other than plats now. i see a lot of standard aftermarket plugs in the 50k range with minimal wear. there would be very very few cases for 30k replacement. point taken, thanks.

 

[Diamondpilot]

lol, thats almost comical. if this is the absolutely very first issue, please explain how this is doing good. there is no valid reason to change plugs routinely in any modern engine at 30k, doesnt matter who does it or why, waste of money. since you have determined this has nothing to do with ford, where does the burden lie and why? what brand of plug do you use and how are they superior? OP if i were you, i would speak to the service mgr, not the advisor, personally and make sure he has the best most experienced tech at least take a look and offer guidance, but he likely wouldnt want the job as it is a real spanking if the head or heads have to come off. good luck and very sorry to hear of your trouble

All I am saying is the truck is 11 years old. If this is the first major issue, which it probably will not since they have tools to take care of this at the Ford dealers, he has done good. He mentioned the plugs were changed once before so if there is a issue its probably with that installer. No anti-seize and over torqued. Spark plugs only require 7 FT LB, about what most men can do with a screw driver. I know I always over tighten them and I am sure most everyone else does also.

Use a torque wrench and anti-seize and this would probably be prevented.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well, A guy I work with has a Dodge Hemi..he has to change 16 platinum plugs every 30k as well...That is insane, but that is the manufacturers recommendation..Ergo..GM for me.

Good luck with that!:laughing:

Chris

 

[2kpsd]

I'm just going to add my .02 cents to this as well - please take it for what it is worth.

Autolite's are junk. Period. When you go to replace the plugs - please, please, please, installed factory OEM Motorcraft plugs. I see too many problems with autolite's in the ford engines. They just don't get along well. I see failure after failure with them.

In reference to the TSB mentioned earlier in this thread about the spark plugs breaking off in the heads - that is really only for the 04+ 5.4 engines with the 3 valve. Granted it is what is happening in your case - but it is not common in the pre-2004 2 valve motors. As mentioned, usually they blow out of the cylinder and then the repair is to use a heli-coil kit.

I think your best bet is the dealer. They should be able to extract the plug, get the remaining ones out, without having to pull the head off. At least, if they have any decent techs, this should be an easy job for them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Dargo]

Degrees of problem...It's a significant issue on the Ford 5.4's.

I can't say that I agree. I buy a lot of equipment off of IronPlanet. I've not bought any pickup truck from them, but they sell lots of them. I don't know if this will come up or not since I'm logged in there for today's auctions, but here is a typical 5.4 Ford gasser 2002 Ford F-150 Ext Cab Pickup in Texas, United States (IronPlanet Item #248495) If it comes up, you'll see that it has over 250k miles on it. That seems very common for trucks there. Here's another one with the "terrible" 6.0 liter diesel in it and it has over 300k on the clock 2005 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew Cab 4x4 Pickup in Texas, United States (IronPlanet Item #248411)

There are always exceptions to the rules, but I've seen many fleet companies beat the living snot out of their Ford pickups and get hundreds of thousands of off road and hard miles on them. BTW, that is part of the reason that the F series pickup has been the best selling pickup for 35 years in a row now; first, they sell a lot of fleet trucks to companies and second, GM breaks up their trucks between Chevy and GMC (even though GMC really doesn't do that much volume). Either way, the fleet buyers wouldn't keep buying the F series pickups if they were really bad. Trust me, they don't care if it says Ford, Chevy, or Dodge on the grill, they just want a good price and good reports from their field crews about the performance of what they have.

Finally, if you buy your vehicles based on the manufacturer's recommendation for spark plug change intervals, you'd be the first person I've ever heard of who makes their buying decision based on such.

 

[dodge man]

I own two Hemi vehicles a Chrysler 300C and a Dodge truck. You do have to change the plugs often, but I was thinking it was 40,000 miles. I let them go to 45,000 miles and they looked brand new. It was easy to change them, but it took 2-3 hours just because there are so many, 16 of them. But it sure puts a smile on your face when you here that engine breathing through a K&N open element air filter at full throttle with the tach at 5000 rpm.

Good luck with the Ford. I'd have them put platimum plugs in and never touch them again.