HELP!!! Bad spark plug ignition coil??

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JUST4FUN

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sounds like a sparkplug blow out
 

Thermo

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DR3W, you blew out a spark plug. Did you change your plugs about 5,000 miles ago? You can attempt to thread the plug back in, but eventually it is going to blow out again. TRUST ME. Now, with this being said, I can save you a lot of money. I have the Timesert Kit and all that you would have to do is pay for the postage to get the kit out to you and back and the new sleeve ($12 plus S&H).

As for doing the sleeve bit. You have 2 choices when it comes to this. You can: 1) do the single plug, keep the head installed on the engine and just make sure to pack the tools in the kit well with grease when cutting the aluminum in the head, or 2) pull the heads off of the engine, do all of the plugs at the same time and not have to worry about this ever happening again in the future. The second way is more work, but at the same time, it gives you a sense of security knowing that you now have 6 threads holding a plug in place, not 3 like Ford put into the head. Removing the heads would also give you a chance to do some porting and polishing to get some more horses out of the engine. I did a mild port/polish on my truck for around $30 and a few hours of my time. You can pull the heads, insert the new sleeves on all 8 plugs, and do a mild port/polish in a weekend. Granted, all that you are going to do is this. If you skip the porting/polishing, plan on about 16-18 hours of wrenching to do all the work necessary. I chose option 2 as I wanted the peace of mind to not have to worry about it again. It is the more expensive route, but the peace of mind is wonderful.
 

sgtowing

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If you can be without the truck, I like Thermo's option #2. I know my luck and it would take me more than a weekenf

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
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DR3W

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Yeah, this is the second one i've blown... Is there a way i can just fix one real quick to hold for a few weeks then do a big fix/install later? Just doing whats most cost effective cuz my family is down a car at the moment.

I think the spark plugs were done a lil over 5,000 miles ago. Around there.

p.s. Im 17 and just starting to do all this on my own, this car was my moms/family car. Lol Just letting you all know.
 

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Yeah, this is the second one i've blown... Is there a way i can just fix one real quick to hold for a few weeks then do a big fix/install later? Just doing whats most cost effective cuz my family is down a car at the moment.

I think the spark plugs were done a lil over 5,000 miles ago. Around there.

p.s. Im 17 and just starting to do all this on my own, this car was my moms/family car. Lol Just letting you all know.

it comes quickly. Im 18 and the stuff ive done to the 2 trucks i have owned amazes my dad. Everytime I tell him when I'm about to do to something he says "maybe you better let a mechanic do that". Just have faith in yourself. Get together and organize a good socket set and get on it.

-DO it right or do it twice!
 
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DR3W

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Yeah man! haha Gunna replace coil and pluf for now, hopefully tomorrow. But within the next few weeks im gunna take it to my good friend's performance engine shop to fix the threads.

Hey Thermo, should i replace all 8 threads or just the bad one? And how do i get the sleeves? Thanks man.
 

Thermo

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Baker, the coil problem is pretty much limited to the 5.4L engines from 97-03. In 04 they went to the new plug design and corrected the engineering flaw. Granted, that opened up a new can of worms.

DR3W, as for doing 1 plug or all 8, that is a judgement call. Like I said, for peace of mind, I did all 8. But, some may find taking the chance of doing all 8 with the heads installed on the truck is too risky as you are potentially putting metal shavings inside of the cylinder if you don't take extreme precautions. A single cylinder the chances are pretty low. But, after 8, the chances are significantly higher. This is where time with a tygon hose and a vacuum sucking out the inside of the cylinder is going to be key.

To pull the heads, you are looking at about $400 in parts ($200 top end rebuild kit for the new valve seals, head gaskets, intake gaskets, etc, $100 for 8 sleeves, and $100 for head bolts) and about 16-18 hours of wrenching (have to pull the front cover off of the engine to access the timing chains). But, having access to a shop like you do, that should make things easier.

As for places to buy the sleeves from, check out http://www.timesert.com/html/distributor.html for the list of distributors and you can look on that site to read up and gain some information about what you will be doing.
 

Thermo

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DR3W, you will find that having some pneumatics (specifically an air ratchet) will make using the kit much quicker and easier. Working back near the #4 plug is very tight and having the air ratchet do all the work for you is a big saver. Just don't use the air ratchet when cutting the threads. You WILL!!!!! mess something up. That needs to be done by hand. But, cutting out the threads is tons easier with the air.

If you need any info, let me know. I've been around the block on this one.
 

BakerEdition

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Thermo Thanks again for the info...I just had plugs put in about 4 to 5k ago...do allot of freeway driving with it....guess I got something to look forward to hey?
 
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DR3W

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Just put in a new plug and coil and it runs for now... Just crossing my fingers until its 100% fixed. Does the plug slowly loosen up and then blow out or is it one random boom?

But heck, almost should get new heads!! Lol But should i keep the head on and work on it or take the whole thing off?

Because i definitally wana to the sleeves before new years...

Thanks alot Thermo!!!
 

Thermo

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Baker, if you are worried about it, then I would recommend putting a wrench on the plugs. If you are going to have an issue, it will be on either #3 or #4. Hardly any other plug blows out. Not saying it can't happen, but those two seem to account for about 99% of the problems. So, your call.

DR3W, in my case, the plug just let go from what I could tell on the second time it failed. The first time the plug probably loosened up as I had threads left after it let go.

As for whether to do it with the heads on or off, that is a judgement call. Do you feel comfortable that you can get all the aluminum shavings out of the cylinders following the work? If yes, then leave the heads on. If not, then pulling the heads is about your only option.
 
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DR3W

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OKay, gunna probably dp that once my dad gets back to work. My mom gets her new car. And all that jazz, cuz i dont wana blow through coils! haha They were 50 bucks at auto zone for a duralast one.
 

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god I hate engine work, never had to do any on a truck i've owned but i know it'll come soon enough with this truck. Scares the Sh*t out of me that im going to F something up working on it myself... same goes with trannys
 

Thermo

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Expeditionary, this motor isn't too bad other than the spark plugs. Then that is another story in itself. I have also found that doing the e-fan conversion makes working on the engine tons easier. You have about 9" of space between the engine and the radiator. So, you can fit all sorts of stuff in there. I tend to use this newly created space to stick my feet in when working on the engine. I sit on top of the radiator, stick my feet down in front of the engine and work from there. So much easier to get to everything that way. Just one more reason to do the e-fan conversion. But then, this is coming from a guy that has pulled the entire top half of his engine off.
 
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