"Don't try to replace spark plugs!" 2008 Why not?

[EMTPJ]

So please pardon the Noobish question here... Is this issue something that plagues all the 3rd gen's? Want to know if my '11 Expy is prone to this too! If it is, I should probabaly start saving my pennies for the dealer to do it!

 

[smokeater]

I believe all the Expys made after sept. 08 are one piece plugs....

 

[Robert Gift]

... Is this issue something that plagues all the 3rd gen's? Want to know if my '11 Expy is prone to this too! If it is, I should probabaly start saving my pennies for the dealer to do it!

I plan to do it myself rather than pay a dealer $370 to replace 8 sparkplugs + extra $50 to $99 extraction charge for every plug that breaks off in the cylinder head.
The correct spark plug has a much longer threaded shaft (see my attempt at illustration, above) and does not have the metal tube ground electrode which is prone to breaking off.
Hopefully the longer-threaded sparkplug hole will be strong enough - An Expedition drove into an I-70 rest area where I was sleeping with a sparkplug blown out of the engine.

 

[01yellerCobra]

FWIW I swapped the plugs in our 2006 Mustang GT which uses the same two piece plugs. At the time the car had about 50K miles on it. I think the main trick is to warm the engine up first. I know it goes against everything I've learned about aluminum heads, but it worked. I put some seafoam in through the vacuum line for the brake booster, let it sit, then burned it off per the instructions. With the engine warm I pulled all the COPs and sprayed some PB Blaster in the spark plug holes. After it sat for a bit I turned each plug about a 1/4 turn and sprayed more PB Blaster. I let it sit about a half hour and then was able to remove all 8 plugs. I had a couple scares, but they all came out in one piece. After that I let the motor cool down and put the new plugs in with anti-sieze.

 

[ptmares]

I got all 8 spark plugs out with out any problems. I used a 12 volt cordless impact wrench for removal. The engine was at operating temps. Took less than an hour to remove them. I did put motorcraft carb cleaner in the spark plug wells a week before removal. I drove it around with the cleaner in there.

 

[GaryH2]

If the dealership breaks it, do we get charged more?

I had my Expy changed a little while ago at the dealer and they broke two plugs - no extra charge - plus they had the tools to get the broken plug out in the end.

One piece of advice that they gave me is don't wait until 100K to change the plugs since they get all that crud and corrosion around them. You should swap them around 75k.

 

[propdock]

I have an 07 and followed all the info and used a torque wrench and still broke 6 of the 8. Lucky I had ordered a removal tool off the internet that worked perfect. I used the champion 1 piece plugs and they now have 20,000 mi on them with no problem. Took about 5 hrs to do the job. I thought the 08 with brown boots was a new design that did not break.

 

[Franklie]

5.4 3 V video on spark plug replacement

I found a You tube vid about a 5.4 spark plug replacement. The guy is knowledgeable. Watch it. Sure lowered my apprehension . He did not break any spark plugs

Ford 5.4 Liter 3 Valve Spark Plug Removal - YouTube

http://youtu.be/iIQevez-DG0

 

[thebrakeman]

I have an '06 Mountaineer with 3-valve 4.6L. I knew about the plug issue, and was glad the previous owner had already done the job at around 65,000 (said he didn't break any).

I came on this site, as my dad recently purchased an '07 Expedition EL. I wanted to check here to see when these started using the new design head/plug, was sometime in 2008 MY. Bummer. Dad's Expy is at 87,000, so I'll recommend he does the job ASAP.

fyi,
I had a misfire a year ago (on Mounty), confirmed with scangage. After swapping coilpacks (no change), I swapped 2 plugs, which confirmed the plug was the issue. It also confirmed that the previous owner had put in the new 1-pc Champions. Replaced only that plug, since the other 7 were only about 10,000 miles old. No issues since.

 

[EastTexan]

I changed mine at 100k with no problems, brown boot coils. Does anyone have any pictures of a broken plug? Mine had zero carbon build up, looked brand new except for wear on the electrode.

 

[thomas]

i need some help find a lift so i can get 35's at a good price and what are some good mud tires

 

[01yellerCobra]

i need some help find a lift so i can get 35's at a good price and what are some good mud tires

I'm going to guess that you clicked on the wrong thread.

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[FisherPete]

My 99 5.4 spit plugs twice. I believe the issue was that there were only 3 turns on the thread holding the plugs into the aluminum head and the dealer didn't pay close enough attention to the requirement of specific torque settings. Later models of the 5.4 have 8 thread turns holding the plug in to the aluminum head, so they are less likely to blow, but still must be properly seated and torqued or they could cause problems.

I'm only 8K in to the life of my '12, so I haven't had to deal with it on this one yet. But you can be sure that whether I do it myself or have a dealer or shop do it, I'm going to grill them to ensure they have done MANY before and fully understand the need to use the torque wrench!

 

[01yellerCobra]

I replaced the plugs yesterday. It wasn't too bad. Took me about 1.5 hours. And I was moving slow because I was tired from working on a Topkick earlier. After seeing the plugs at 52k I wouldn't want to wait any longer to replace them anyway. They were pretty wore out already.



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[jasonlmarsh]

ugh, I'm not looking forward to that at all. For all I know, mine have 107k miles on them... Any idea if Autozone has the plug removal tool in their loaner tool program?

 

[01yellerCobra]

I haven't asked. I've been lucky. I've done two sets of these style plugs and they both came out in one piece. I think the trick is to make sure the engine is warm. I pulled the coils on the passenger side, broke the plugs loose, then sprayed PB Blaster into the holes. I did the same on the driver side. Once the driver side was soaking I went back to the passenger side. Number 3 was giving me a bit of a hard time, so I went slow. The rest of them came out by hand.

 

[jasonlmarsh]

yea I've seen a few posts and videos and they all seem to say do it on a warm/hot engine. I also read somewhere that a cordless impact driver helps too.

 

[ptmares]

I removed all 8 with out any breaking using a 1/4" dewalt cordless impact. I took an hour. I did put about a 1/2 teaspoon of MC carb cleaner in the spark plugs wells. I let that soak for a week while I continued to drive.

A week later, with a hot engine, I removed cop's and went at it with the cordless. Was scary until all eight came out.

I bought the removal tool from amazon for $65 I think. That was the cheapest I found. Didn't use it though.

 

[jasonlmarsh]

Yea I think it may have been your post I read about the 1/4 cordless. I have the same one, any trouble getting to the back plugs?

 

[ptmares]

Yeah, the two back plugs on each side were a pain. I ended up using a couple of long extensions. It didn't really work that well. All I was able to do was crack the plug loose with the impact, and than removed it by hand with the extension on it. The others I zipped completely out with the impact.

It was also hard to torque the back ones to spec when re-installed.

Let me know if you have any other questions.