Spark Plugs and Coil Packs - 2011 Expedition EL Limited

[Jozef Zoldos]

I plan on changing spark plug on the 5.4 Triton Engine. Car has 135K miles on it and it seems to be running fine. I plan on giving the vehicle to my kid after I overhaul common parts that fail. A couple of questions...

1/ Many Spark Plug options. Is Motorcraft SP509 the best option?

2/ Should I change coil packs at the same time. I have read opinions for yes and no.

3/ If you recommend changing Coil Packs, is Motorcraft best option or is cheaper option adequate?

 

[sjwelds]

1: motorcraft absolutely

2: no, but I would change the boots and the wire that carries the fire. You'll see when you take the coil out.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

(1) The Motorcraft plug is as good a choice as any provided they are changed when they need to be changed (and that is what I am running). If you tend to be slack about it, iridium is worth considering.

(2) Many here change them as if it's a maintenance item. It isn't. They do fail more often on these trucks than most vehicles, but considering the most common cause of failure for a COP is a bad plug, maybe that has more to do with people running plugs longer than they should (or maybe they're using ****** plugs).

(2a) Re the boots ... I inspect them and replace if they are showing visual signs of breaking down.

(3) Motorcraft aren't that expensive if you shop around. When I priced them out a couple years ago, they were less than half the price online vs the local dealer.

 

[Jozef Zoldos]

Thanks for the input!!

 

[TobyU]

1: motorcraft absolutely

2: no, but I would change the boots and the wire that carries the fire. You'll see when you take the coil out.

^^This^^

New motorcraft plugs from local parts store (too many counterfit/messed up/damaged in shipping one on ebay and amazon...

AND new boots.

You more than likely do not have any bad oem coils (COPs) at this mileage.

Later, when you get a miss and scan and see what cyl, you can replace that one or get a cheap 35.00 set on ebay and slap them in.

 

[762mm]

When I did mine lately, Rockauto had some Champion iridium plugs for dirt cheap, like $5 per plug. I gapped them accordingly and they run great in my 5.4L Triton.

My truck is at the same mileage as yours and coils + boots looked really good. The only thing I did is add dielectric grease in the boots and a tiny bit at the connector plug, to keep water & humidity out.

 

[Jozef Zoldos]

thanks again

 

[WiscoGus]

Before you perform the repairs, run a tank or two with injector cleaner first. One primary reason the plugs break off in the head is due to carbon buildup. The injector cleaner helps dissolve this buildup and the plugs come out easier

 

[JimmyM]

The 2011's don't have the plug breakage issue. My 2011 has threads all the way down the plug.

 

[lbv150]

You are 35,000 past the 100,000 plug change....