All Fixed, hoping to recoup expenses

[hammerg26]

Given what you have said - mechanic’s fault. If the plugs were replaced and properly torqued, they should stay in.


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[1955moose]

Well their you go with not getting something in writing which no shop will do. Trying going into small claims court without a written guarantee, stating the spark plugs will stay put, on a Ford defective design is next to impossible. It's horrible, but true. Even punishing yourself and crawling in there your self and torquing to the proper 16-19 ft pound torque is no guarantee. It really sucks that a company can make such a blunder and legally get away with it, but they do, and have since 1997!

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[nycnftm]

Receipt

I did myself that I'm done spending money on this truck but first stop will be the guy who replaced the plugs with a 6 month warranty.

I can try to find a mobile mechanic to install the Car-Van inserts or the cheapy helicats.

Can I feasibly bring the truck the the dealer get an estimate on a full repair and go to small claims court?

There should be a warning under the hood stating, do not change the plugs or Ford should have fixed this 20 years ago.

 

[Bain64]

I blew a plug out of my 2004 4.6L Grand Marquis ~3 months after I changed the plugs. I tried the cheap helicats, just don't.... Not enough grip.. I found a local shop that did the repair with the CarVan kit for $80 out the door. I drove the 2.5 miles from my house to the shop on 7 cylinders (plug & COP removed/ejected, fuel injector unplugged) on advice of the mechanic.

 

[nycnftm]

I found a local shop that did the repair with the CarVan kit for $80 out the door.

Did you replace all 8?

 

[rjdelp7]

Always use Motorcraft plugs on the old modular V8's. Ford modified the threads, on replacement plugs. Always change them on a cold engine. Always make sure shop, has done one of these. If they haven't, move on. I had the dealer do mine($125), no issues, at 81K miles.

 

[hammerg26]

I chose dealer too for plugs. Just not worth the risk for me.


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[1955moose]

My Ford dealer wants $500.00. What a difference a different part of the country makes. By the way guys not to be nit picky, but the cheaper thread inserts are called heli coils, not heli cats. Hell cats were I believe a 2 nd world war air plane fighter group. Also yes on the Motorcraft sparkplugs. Had a thread problem years back on my fleet of Harley Davidson twin cam bikes. The fancier plugs that the service guy before me bought, 12 of them, we're useless. They wouldn't even thread in. From that day on I only bought my plugs direct from The Harley dealer here in San Francisco. Harley at least had the sense back in 2000-2006 to put enough threads in their cylinder heads. Still blows my mind how a machinist designed a cylinder head, and cast it with half the necessary threads. On top of that, it never got corrected till 2004 for the F150, and 2005 for the Expedition, both the new 3 valve motors. That design started a whole new group of issues but you all know that nightmare!

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[nycnftm]

Just called, my local dealer wants $980 for 8 spark plugs and 8 coil packs. (Atlanta) I called another dealer asking how much to fix one that blew out. They said they use heli-coils and I'm looking at $650 if there is nothing is stuck or fell into ___. The person on the phone said she spoke to two techs, one didn't want to do it and the other said he would try. Wow, whata mess Ford!

 

[CertusExpo]

Wouldn't it be more cost effective in the long run to get aftermarket heads?

 

[hammerg26]

Just called, my local dealer wants $980 for 8 spark plugs and 8 coil packs. (Atlanta) I called another dealer asking how much to fix one that blew out. They said they use heli-coils and I'm looking at $650 if there is nothing is stuck or fell into ___. The person on the phone said she spoke to two techs, one didn't want to do it and the other said he would try. Wow, whata mess Ford!

Where in ATL are you?


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[1955moose]

First off, you don't need to change all 8 coils. If that's a dealership they know that. Unless your engine got soaked and all eight shorted out, very unlikely, just the ones throwing a misfire code get changed. The wire boot that goes from coil to plug ain't a bad idea, and of course the plugs. A nut sert is a stronger thread insert than a Heli coil insert. Sounds like you might want to shop for another shop.

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[Trainmaster]

As usual, Moose is on target. You don't need eight coils. You may need one. The stripped head is easily fixed. Ford recommends a "Time-Sert" kit to fix it and every Ford dealer has the kit. The repair, when done properly works perfectly.

http://www.timesert.com/html/triton_repair.html

By looking for "mobile mechanics," "guys working on the side in their driveways," and other shady bargains you are looking for problems. Most of these guys don't know what a torque wrench is or how to use one to properly install these plugs. They're certain to dick up the thread insert and further goober the stripped head.

Bite the bullet, bring the thing to Ford and get the job done correctly and guaranteed for a year. The truck's nearly 24 years old. If you want it to continue running reliably, you'll have to open the bank and have the work done correctly.

 

[nycnftm]

I now believe it would be more cost effictive to junk it. Lol I need it to haul merchandise about twice a month. last month when it was in the shop I rented a brand new van with 200 miles on it for $75 including gas for the day. $75 a day rental takes a long time to add up to 2500 I just spent on it

 

[1955moose]

Not only that but if your business is legit, it comes off your taxes as a business expense along with the fuel. You might consider donating it to one of the many great causes. Here in California we get a $1000.00 check from the buy back program, or up to $4000.00 deduction from taxes if donated.

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