Spark Plug Replacement on 2011 5.4 Triton V8

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AnarchyOutlaw

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I have a 2011 Expedition with a 5.4 Triton V8 that has about 156,000 miles on it, and I know it's past due to replace the spark plugs.

The problem is I've heard all these horror stories about the spark plugs breaking when you go to remove them. I took it to Firestone, and they won't touch it. I've also heard the Ford dealer won't guarantee the plugs won't break, and they won't even give me an estimate.

I've also heard that this issue got resolved by the 2011 model year, but I'm still skeptical.

My solution is to pull the entire head before attempting to remove the plugs so that if they break, pieces won't fall into the cylinders. That would be a lot of work and a lot of time down.

Does anyone have any experience with this, and advice about what I should do about it?
 

twodollars

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My wife's 2013 5.4 was at 95k when I pulled the plugs. This was about 6 months ago, I warmed the engine first
No issues for me, was pretty straight forward. Little lube on the new plugs to make it easier next time.
 

kookatheman

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You need to do absolutely nothing at all.

All the horror stories that you hear about breaking spark plugs apply to the pre-2009 models. The breaking spark plugs were a result of the 2 piece spark plug design that Ford used in the 4.6 and 5.4, 6.8 engines from 1997–2008.

Ford changed to a one piece spark plug for Expedition MY2009 onwards.

I was able to change the spark plugs on mine 2011 with 194K without any trouble whatsoever.

Just make sure that you use the correct design Motorcraft sparkplugs. I'm not promoting them, just that aftermarket plugs don't seem to do quite as well in the 5.4 based on the experience of other members in this forum. I can't speak to that as I used Motorcraft from the get go. They were not that much more expensive than any other good quality sparkplug.

Spark Plugs are not what you need to worry about. The timing chain tensioners, VVT solenoids and cam phasers are what you need to keep an eye and ear out for, particularly if your engine oil hasn't been regularly changed.
 

Vdubnick

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mid 2008 is when it was sorted, mine is a 2008 and had the updated plugs
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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As others have said, this problem was solved by 2011. I had a few plugs on my 2011 that were really, really frozen in there. I still managed to get them out without breaking anything. I used some nickel antiseize on the replacements and those came out much easier than the originals.
 
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