How hard is it to get my spark plugs out?

[07navi]

Ford does not recommend anti seize compound on the spark plug threads.

Here is some information about anti seize and spark plugs:
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepairPhotos/NGK_TB-0630111antisieze.pdf

It depends on who you talk to, I never used to use it but it does makes plug changes easier plus it changes your torque figures. Ford also recommended 14 foot pounds for a long time which is one reason people were blowing plugs out the top. Not going to get into a plug debate here.

 

[07navi]

Holy crap, yikes! ALUMINIUM......think; soft, like brass......be gentle my friend.....JE knows better then most....but I'm pretty sure he isn't suggesting cheater bars<LOL>!!

All in fun, I know you know this stuff or you wouldn't be casual about it.....

jeff

Breaker bars are fine, you can't leave them in there.

 

[07navi]

Wow! lots of great tips! I have the 5/8" gearwrench sparkplug socket that swivels, and has the magnet...I was thinking the plugs were metric though, so i'll probably just use a metric deep well and a piece of fuel line to pull them out.(and put them back too) Yeah the dealer wants like getting close to a grand for a 100,000 mile tune up..I can't even see spending that much to do something I can do myself and know it's done right. I really really appreciate all the excellent tips guys, you don't even know how much help you've been.

No need to fish around with a little hose, use one of my two solutions or get a dedicated plug socket with the rubber piece in it.

 

[Motorcity muscle]

Ford does not recommend anti seize compound on the spark plug threads.

Here is some information about anti seize and spark plugs:
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepairPhotos/NGK_TB-0630111antisieze.pdf

Only if the plug is silver color on the threads, black still needs it.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Ford does not recommend anti seize compound on the spark plug threads.

Here is some information about anti seize and spark plugs:
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepairPhotos/NGK_TB-0630111antisieze.pdf

Ford isn't changing my plugs 90K miles from now though. I always use just a smidge of AS so I'm not cringing when I try to break them loose down the road.

 

[07navi]

Only if the plug is silver color on the threads, black still needs it.

They can all use some on the threads but be careful, it will change you torque value due to being simi slippery.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

It depends on who you talk to, I never used to use it but it does makes plug changes easier plus it changes your torque figures. Ford also recommended 14 foot pounds for a long time which is one reason people were blowing plugs out the top. Not going to get into a plug debate here.

And please don’t ask what is the best oil filter to use.......

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Wow! lots of great tips! I have the 5/8" gearwrench sparkplug socket that swivels, and has the magnet...I was thinking the plugs were metric though, so i'll probably just use a metric deep well and a piece of fuel line to pull them out.(and put them back too) Yeah the dealer wants like getting close to a grand for a 100,000 mile tune up..I can't even see spending that much to do something I can do myself and know it's done right. I really really appreciate all the excellent tips guys, you don't even know how much help you've been.

What does the “grand” cost include?

 

[tgams]

What does the “grand” cost include?

Plugs, coils, air filter, fuel filter, belt, flush fluids, oil change.

 

[07navi]

And please don’t ask what is the best oil filter to use.......

Motorcraft or nothing

 

[07navi]

Plugs, coils, air filter, fuel filter, belt, flush fluids, oil change.

All easy to do yourself.

 

[TobyU]

You don’t need swivels or fancy contraptions all though I’m sure they help. All you need is a medium and a small extension for your socket set. Set the larger extension down the plug well first then click on the ratchet for the back two. If you need more clearance that’s what the little extension is for. I didn’t use any swivels for my 2007. You just have to unclip those two little vacuum lines to the right if you forego the swivel.....about 30 extra seconds lol.

Agree. I never use a swivel. It can be easier to let it tilt and break an insulator. I just use a 6 inch and two 3 inch extensions.

 

[ChrisRCNY]

I got the gearwrench socket/extension, and discovered that the magnet was too close to the open end. It wouldn't quite engage the hex on the spark plugs.

Cue large vise, and a bolt to push the magnet a little deeper... Worked great after that.

I also needed to make a debris scraper from a chunk of 3/4 copper pipe, with a tooth cut in one end. Fleet usage saw lots of silicone grease, and the broken chunks of plastic from the coil's harness in the bottom of the hole. Scraper broke the plastic up, and let me vacuum most of it up the pipe. The rest got stuck to the scraper by the excessive silicone grease.

Plugs were a bit of a bear in some cases, but came out fine.

 

[tgams]

I got the gearwrench socket/extension, and discovered that the magnet was too close to the open end. It wouldn't quite engage the hex on the spark plugs.

Cue large vise, and a bolt to push the magnet a little deeper... Worked great after that.

I also needed to make a debris scraper from a chunk of 3/4 copper pipe, with a tooth cut in one end. Fleet usage saw lots of silicone grease, and the broken chunks of plastic from the coil's harness in the bottom of the hole. Scraper broke the plastic up, and let me vacuum most of it up the pipe. The rest got stuck to the scraper by the excessive silicone grease.

Plugs were a bit of a bear in some cases, but came out fine.

Great tip about the use of copper tubing to scrape the crap out of the head and vacuum it all out..i'll definitely do that.

 

[07navi]

Great tip about the use of copper tubing to scrape the crap out of the head and vacuum it all out..i'll definitely do that.

Screwdriver works fine and just get a real spark plug socket with the rubber insert.

 

[Gumbyalso]

I did mine in my '11 at 110K. Used a swivel. Took 45 minutes. Much of the bad stuff in the 5.4s had been fixed by '11 and there's a lot more room to get at the plugs. You don't have to move much. Too bad they don't make the 5.4 anymore. They quit making it when they finally had all the problems solved. I also have an '00 with a 5.4. I buy the plugs and let Ford replace them on the '00 because of the position of the back two cylinders. It has 320K on it now. The '11 has 180K. I also changed the plugs on my kid's 07 F-150 4.6. That was harder than the '11 Expedition. I would buy a swivel plug socket and go for it.

 

[TobyU]

I did mine in my '11 at 110K. Used a swivel. Took 45 minutes. Much of the bad stuff in the 5.4s had been fixed by '11 and there's a lot more room to get at the plugs. You don't have to move much. Too bad they don't make the 5.4 anymore. They quit making it when they finally had all the problems solved. I also have an '00 with a 5.4. I buy the plugs and let Ford replace them on the '00 because of the position of the back two cylinders. It has 320K on it now. The '11 has 180K. I also changed the plugs on my kid's 07 F-150 4.6. That was harder than the '11 Expedition. I would buy a swivel plug socket and go for it.

They might have made it easier to work on but they didn't make the engine better as far as longevity without repairs. I won't even own it 05 because of the three valve and the cam phasers. I just went out a year ago and bought a super clean low mileage 03 Navigator because I refuse to have the 3 valve and I don't want a 6-speed expensive transmission. I'm not even happy that The Navigators have the stupid over horsepower 32-valve engine. I've always preferred the standard 5.4 2v or 16 v if you will.

There are far more problems with the 3 valve plus you have the annoying plug sticking issue but then again they kind of just traded a plug sticking issue for a plug blowing out issue BUT the plugs blowing out was not nearly as common as the plugs breaking off when you try to remove the three valves on the two piece design.
But they took an engine that was bulletproof and we go 210 to 250,000 miles in almost every chassis they put it in and because of the push for fuel mileage and emissions and all that crap turned it into an engine that is having noises, cam phaser problems, timing chain problems as early as barely over a hundred thousand miles.
So I don't think they got the bugs worked out of the 5.4 at all. I think they overly complicated it and introduce more problems into the design.

 

[JExpedition07]

They might have made it easier to work on but they didn't make the engine better as far as longevity without repairs. I won't even own it 05 because of the three valve and the cam phasers. I just went out a year ago and bought a super clean low mileage 03 Navigator because I refuse to have the 3 valve and I don't want a 6-speed expensive transmission. I'm not even happy that The Navigators have the stupid over horsepower 32-valve engine. I've always preferred the standard 5.4 2v or 16 v if you will.

There are far more problems with the 3 valve plus you have the annoying plug sticking issue but then again they kind of just traded a plug sticking issue for a plug blowing out issue BUT the plugs blowing out was not nearly as common as the plugs breaking off when you try to remove the three valves on the two piece design.
But they took an engine that was bulletproof and we go 210 to 250,000 miles in almost every chassis they put it in and because of the push for fuel mileage and emissions and all that crap turned it into an engine that is having noises, cam phaser problems, timing chain problems as early as barely over a hundred thousand miles.
So I don't think they got the bugs worked out of the 5.4 at all. I think they overly complicated it and introduce more problems into the design.

2011 5.4 plugs don’t break and never will. No recent variety of 3-valve spark plugs sold by Ford for these engines for any model year break. Problem fixed years ago.

 

[TobyU]

2011 5.4 plugs don’t break and never will. No recent variety of 3-valve spark plugs sold by Ford for these engines for any model year break. Problem fixed years ago.

September of 2009 if I remember correctly but that's not the point. I They something that was perfectly perfected and needed no improvements in my opinion and cause an issue. No one out there would say that they did a great job on the three valve. They screwed up in more ways than one. Then they had to go back and fix their screw-ups.

The two-piece plug design and it breaking off in the head is a classic example why I tell people they should not believe so fully the engineers and the manufacturers who recommend thanks. This is precisely a situation that shows they really don't know what's going to happen in a couple of years. People talk about all the testing and research they do and all the torture test for hundreds of thousands of miles and Laboratories and even on the road... Well obviously they didn't figure that out now did they.
It took until it was an epidemic problem and a huge percentage of vehicles if not almost everyone that was having the plugs chains at the recommended change interval was having the plugs break off inside of the head. We had dealers pulling heads off of engines because of this. If that's not a design flaw I don't know what it is. Because some moron made a two piece plug that fits too closely into a cylindrical hole in the block with a terrible design with a torpedo tip on it to start will stick so badly that it breaks in half as you try to remove it.

I wouldn't have had to fix it years ago if they wouldn't have screwed it up in the first place.
Now don't get me started on the moron that allowed them to make the first gen 5.4 heads with only 3 and 1/2 threads in the head.

 

[jeff kushner]

Toby, I agree and I don't think that you are wrong...but I think you might be missing one aspect the enters into this.

The auto industry is now and has always been driven by change. Just like the fashion industry for example. There are an entire ranges of industries that rely on "change". Can you imagine if the same clothes were worn by the catwalk models two years in a row? That's why we see such outlandish outfits in the pictures. Thankfully the auto industry isn't quite that wild but they do...they change JUST to change and as you specifically note, not always with good results.

The industry IMHO feels the need to change to keep up with the other guys whos experimenting with different engine configurations etc and so on and so on.

Just another component into the "why".......2 piece plugs my ass. Just think, that Engineer got a Christmas bonus based off of coming up with that moneymaker for Ford.

You and I(meaning buys as a group), paid for it.



jeff