Spark Plug holes with antifreeze in them (leaking t-connector)

[David Schaefer]

Discovered I had a problem under the hood of my 2102 Expedition EL Limited. The plug wells had pink fluid in them on the passenger side of the engine. :-( I mopped up the liquid in the 4 plug holes (wells?) with paper towels and a screwdriver to get in there deep. I was pretty sure the T-connector was the culprit since it was mostly wet in the front three holes.


I decided I didn't want to mess with the PIA firewall hose disconnect others have complained about, nor the expensive replacement hose and instead I went to Auto Zone and got a 3/4" T-Connector (Koehler Enterprises) Part# H 343 for about $5 and some hose clamps.







I had to cut that plastic Ford 3-way hose clamp mechanism with some nipper pliers and work them off gently around the hose, being careful not to damage the hose. I tried to remove the factory t-connector from the hose, but it broke all to easily in my hands. Probably why it was leaking, I think it got too brittle. So, I used channel lock pliers to squeeze and shatter the part of the connector still n each hose end and used needle nose pliers to remove the chunks. I was careful to always aim the hoses down so I could get all these little pieces out.

 

[David Schaefer]

I put three catch pans under the vehicle and used a piece of cardboard under the hoses before disconnecting it. This way, the spark plug wells would stay dry and I could capture what came out of the heater hoses. I expected more fluid to come out, but really, there was very little, maybe a cup or two?


Here’s the finished result. I think this will do just fine. I just hope the Y-connector lasts a lot longer!

 

[Robert Smith]

It looks like you didn’t a good job! I had the same repair of the T fittings done on my ‘08. I asked my mechanic to do the same thing you did but he is an authorized Ford mechanic so he said no. Good luck, I hope your fix lasts longer.


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[TobyU]

Authorized ford..my azz! I just had an old Town Car with a pinhole in the lower hose assembly from where it lays on the steering box and rubbed a soft spot in it.
The hose is a fortune!- for a radiator hose- like $80+.
I cut it and put a 5 inch piece of galvanized pipe into it. You can get plastic gray radiator hose menders but they WILL get old and disfigure themselves and pop off. My metal will not.
If Ford factory designs and repairs were so good, I wouldn't have to go behind them and fix stuff in the first place.

 

[Hoffy90]

Thanks for the write-up! I discovered I had this issue yesterday and quickly fixed it following this!

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[jeff kushner]

Gotta love a home-repair! Nice touch slipping the cardboard behind so we could clearly see what you did.

Nice job!!

jeff

 

[David Schaefer]

Gotta love a home-repair! Nice touch slipping the cardboard behind so we could clearly see what you did. Nice job!!
jeff

The cardboard was actually used to keep the anti-freeze out of the spark plug holes when I took it apart. But yes, they do add a nice background too

 

[Gary Waugh]

My 08 had the exact same failure but I couldn't find a T- piece of the correct size so ended up replacing the hoses and T-connector with the genuine ford part (cost ~$100) which was expensive for a leaking T-piece, but that was 4 years ago and never had an issue since!! Your repair looks well done.

 

[Swede252]

I just replaced my "T" fitting with a brass one from Lowes. Snipped off the plastic shrink clamps at the holes with wire cutters. Then with channel locks I squeezed the internals and cleaned out the hose ends with a shop vac. I did look into them with a light to be sure all the plastic was out and the bottom hose was quick released before hand. So a $5.00 solid brass T and 3 clamps was a $10.00 fix.

Here is the link to what I did.

2012 Ford Expedition leaky heater hose hack

Cheap (& better) fix to the problematic Ford heater hose unions on the 5.4L Triton motor

youtu.be

 

[Adieu]

Your coils and/or plugs will be fooked and you will develop a misfire sooner than later

 

[David Schaefer]

Your coils and/or plugs will be fooked and you will develop a misfire sooner than later

I suppose. It's been 2 years since I made that repair. No issues with coils or misfires yet. Crossing fingers.

 

[GITanker]

David, I had the same issue as you did back in 2019 and did the same steps you did (find a person on here who recorded what they did step by step) and got the 3/4 in T at Auto Zone for just a few dollars and 3 cramps for .50 cents each. I have put on over 47,000 miles on my 2014 Expedition since the fix with no leaks at ALL. Nice job.

 

[Trainmaster]

The local Ford dealer makes repairs to this the same way...

 

[Adieu]

Whoa seriously that held? And removing the spillage from the plug wells in a timely fashion saved the coils?

 

[Trainmaster]

I had no problem with the plugs or coils on mine and it had been leaking for several months. The coils are sealed and sometimes the o-rings keep the water out of the wells. Look under the hood now and then and sometimes you catch stuff like this before the truck starts behaving badly.

 

[David Schaefer]

Whoa seriously that held? And removing the spillage from the plug wells in a timely fashion saved the coils?

Yep, apparently for me and others. I used compressed air to dry it out real well, then evaporation did the rest next time I ran the engine.

 

[Motorcity muscle]

Nice repair, see the packaging says 1/2" is that correct size to fit the hoses? Need to do this to mine before it's a problem. Another person said 3/4".

 

[David Schaefer]

Nice repair, see the packaging says 1/2" is that correct size to fit the hoses? Need to do this to mine before it's a problem. Another person said 3/4".

Please re-look at the top of my post. 3/4" is clearly shown in that picture of this t-fitting. part# H 343. The hose clamps I used was 1/2 - 1 1/4 size.

 

[Motorcity muscle]

Thanks David, didn't see the first pkg picture on my phone. Looks like a straight forward fix.