2006 F150 Spark Plugs. Done!

[jeffk14]

I don't know how many of you have a 2004 thru 2008 F150 with the 5.4 V8, but let me tell ya, the spark plugs on these trucks are no joke! People have had all kinds of horror stories when trying to change out these plugs. The thing is, these trucks use a two-piece plug and the lower ground sleeve on the plug is just crimped onto the threaded portion and the plugs break off in the head when removal is attempted. Some folks have shelled out as much as $2200 for a plug change when they went in to the dealer and were later told that the head(s) would have to be pulled after the plugs broke off.

I'm an aircraft mechanic with nearly 30 years experience and I thought that I would be the guy who could remove these plugs without breaking them. WRONG! I broke 5 out of 8 and I was inventing cuss words before the ordeal was over. That was after reading (all 3 revisions of) the TSB from Ford numerous times.

There's a special $80 tool kit to remove the broken plugs. I ended up getting it AFTER I broke 5 plugs off. Looooong story short, after a day-and-a-half, I'm finally done and the truck runs like new. If anybody in the south Metro Atlanta area has questions about this issue (nightmare), just PM me & I can probably save you a ton of grief.

No, I don't sell the tool kit. It's made by the Lisle Tool Company (P/N 65600) and it's available all over the net. It is NOT a "plug and play" tool set though. Even with the kit, you can get yourself in all kinds of misery if you make a wrong move. I'm just offering to share my experiences and help someone else avoid any unnecessary trouble.

As a side note, even though these plugs are supposed to be good for 100K miles, mine were 70% gone with only 73K miles on the clock. The ground straps and electrode tips were eroded to the point to where I had about a .070" gap instead of the specified .045". It's no wonder my truck was running like crap.

 

[RIDDLE]

I had a buddy that went through this very same thing. He called me because I mechanically inclined and he had gotten himself in a mess. Long story short, I don't answer his phone calls anymore!(Joke) Man it was the biggest pain in the butt I have ever seen. I feel for you brother!

 

[jeffk14]

I had a buddy that went through this very same thing. He called me because I mechanically inclined and he had gotten himself in a mess. Long story short, I don't answer his phone calls anymore!(Joke) Man it was the biggest pain in the butt I have ever seen. I feel for you brother!

I'm just glad it's done! These plugs are supposed to be good for 100K miles but mine were toast after 73K. Through extreme care, patience and almost surgical procedures, I was able to get all FIVE of the broken plugs out, but it was an ordeal. When the new plugs are installed, application of a special anti-seize compound is supposed to prevent problems in the future. We'll see. Evidently, the plugs were installed dry at the factory. This, combined with the faulty design of the plugs/cylinder heads has created this headache.

 

[Shovelhead]

Man...I'm really feeling like I made a big mistake by not sticking with MoPar. Between falling windows, and plugs breaking off I think the deck is stacked.. Is Ford doing recalls for either of theses well documented mechanical flaws? I'm seriously considering trading this thing in before I have problems.

 

[jeffk14]

Just to reiterate, this problem applies to the 2004 thru 2008 model years only. HERE IS THE LINK to the latest revision of the TSB issued by Ford.

The "Rotunda" brand tool referenced in the Ford TSB is $220 and in my opinion, inferior to the Lisle tool (P/N 65600) that can be had for as little as $65 online.

The Lisle kit uses a slightly different method of extraction that does not involve the use of a tap, so there's less of a chance of introducing metal chips into the cylinder.

You can still get in a bind with the Lisle tool though. Porcelain chips can fall down into the cylinder or the tip of the extraction tool can break off in the head if extreme care is not used. I was able to achieve 100% success with the Lisle kit by taking my time and proceeding with caution. I also used a long, narrow piece of vinyl tubing adapted to my Shop Vac to thoroughly vacuum out the spark plug wells between every step of the extraction process.

Here is a picture of some of the plugs that I kept as examples of what to expect when attempting removal. The top plug is intact and came out in one piece. I had 3 that came out O.K.

The center plug kept all the porcelain intact, but the lower sleeve/shield broke off, requiring only the extraction step to be used with the Lisle tools. I only had 1 break in this manner. If a plug is gonna break, this is the preferred situation to have to deal with.

The bottom plug is the worst way for them to break. Naturally, I had 4 break in this manner. When this happens, the remaining porcelain that's lodged in the shield/sleeve has to be pressed/driven down deep into the shield/sleeve to provide room for the extractor tool to bite into the shield/sleeve. When this is required, extreme care has to be used to get the porcelain pressed down far enough but not too far and the extraction tool has to be engaged just enough to insure positive extraction, but not so much as to wring the tip of the extractor off. There's an awful lot of "working by feel" that's involved with this process.

If anyone wants to tackle this job, just shoot me a PM and I'll be glad to answer your questions.

 

[Shovelhead]

OK I'm about to dump this 2007 F150 before I have issues but have a question...
I have 35K on this truck so I get to 80K and need plugs. Take it to my local
Ford stealer for a tune up including a plug change. The mechanic racks up 4-6
broken plugs. Will the stealer cover this? Or better yet will the TSB cover it before
hand? How about the dropped windows??? A recall??

 

[jeffk14]

OK I'm about to dump this 2007 F150 before I have issues but have a question...
I have 35K on this truck so I get to 80K and need plugs. Take it to my local
Ford stealer for a tune up including a plug change. The mechanic racks up 4-6
broken plugs. Will the stealer cover this? Or better yet will the TSB cover it before
hand? How about the dropped windows??? A recall??

Don't know about the windows. As for the plugs, the price varies wildly from dealer to dealer and no, Ford does not cover it. A typical example that I've been reading is that the dealer will charge 3 labor hours for the plug change (about $300) and then around an additional $90 labor per broken plug. I didn't want to do this, because to me, that leaves the dealer techs NO incentive to be careful and NOT break a plug. If they break all 8 (and it happens) you could be looking at over a grand just in labor for a spark plug change!

I've also read a few horror stories where the customer was told that the heads would have to be pulled at a cost of around $2200! YMMV. Call around. You may find a dealer who will do it for less.

I decided to do it on my own. I'm only out $68 for the plugs, plus $80 for the tool kit. I could have gotten the tool a little cheaper online, but I was over-confident and when I ended up breaking plugs, I had to get my tool kit locally. Now that it's done, it's a non-issue for me. I put anti-seize on the new plugs, so they should never get stuck again and if they do, I've got the tool kit.

 

[no clever name]

Wow, $2200 from the dealer or a day and a half out of your life to change plugs. I'm surprised there hasn't been a class action on that one.

I thought changing the back two plugs on my 01 grand cherokee was hard.

 

[Ken Ford]

I will do it for $135 plus parts. Don't forget to change the boots as well or you will repeat most of the labor soon.

 

[anthony]

The lisle tool mentioned above is the tool !!!!!!! I work at a dealer and that is what we use. Also ford says to do the job cold after soaking plugs in zc-23. do the other try diong them hot they come out alot easier