My 04 F350 V10 has 74,000 miles on the original spark plugs. Thinking of changing them in the next week or so. Should I go to the dealer for this service, or do it myself? Any special tools required? How tough is this job? Do these plugs break often? What is the best replacement spark plug?

 

1-use only Motorcraft sparkplugs!
2-no special tools needed just metric sockets and an extension and swivel
3-go here and read over his links, he is the only one who makes a fix that works and he backs it up
http://www.brokensparkplug.com/
4-use silver high temp antiseize on the new plugs and torque them to 15ftlbs! very important
5-remove plugs when engine is ice cold! doing so with engine hot can cause problems with stripping threads
6-install plugs with your hand first tomake sure its straight and not crossed and then finish with the torque wrench

 

i have 106k on my 2004 and changed plugs three times now with no problems. I always do it with the engine cold, i always use the antiseize and always torque them to 15ftlbs

 

Do not use too much antizeize or you could cause other problems . Loss of heat transfer or missfiring .Make sure to blow any debris out with compressed air before removing the plugs . New coil boots and dielectric compound are recommended . Make sure to torque them properly or you will blow one out shortly !

 

They may or may not break. There is a tool to remove the broken patt of the plug. The dealer woild charge you a small fortune for a v10 if they all break....ouch.

There are several threads on this forum regarding the plugs....Procrdures are also available via google

 

'04 plugs are not the breakage-prone ones. The newer ones are two-piece and very easy to break. '04's are a breeze, just make sure you have a piece of old fuel line to get the new ones started since they are so deep in the heads you can probably see them if you remove the oil drain plug. Other than that, not much to it.

 

Is that a 2 valve? No breaking problem there.

 

They wont break. and to back up what others have said, Motorcraft plugs only, and have lots of extensions and swivels ready. and a small (7mm i believe) wrench/socket for the coil pack hold down bolts

 

I looked over the shop personnel at my local dealer and figured having changed my share of plugs, id just do it myself. Its not too bad, maybe a little more time consuming than others. A lot of threads say to change boots too, i did, but the old ones didnt look too bad. My plugs were 5/8 if you go with the torque socket route.

 

Yep, sorry....i got confused. It is the 3 valve that has the breakage issues. Your 04 is easy....

 

My 99 V10 didn't require swivels etc. this truck was a breeze to change compared to my 5.4 f150. That one did require swivels and two or three extensions. Ahh!!!!!

I didn't have an air compressor but it is VERY important to blow out the spark plug holes before you remove the plugs!! As a work around I used "canned air" like you use on computers. I had a big can and it provided enough PSI to blow out all 10 plug holes. Just don't lose the straw

One more thing, do replace the coil boots and springs. Also inspect the coil bodies for cracks. If any are cracked, replace the cracked coils.

6 of my 10 original coils had some cracking in them. I replaced all 10, mostly because I got tired of chasing an intermittent miss.

Here is a pic of the cracked coil.



Thanks!

Jim

 

personaly i used a TQ setting of 22-24ft/lbs on my 03.. the only heads i'd use a rating lower then that is on the very early 3thread heads.

just be sure to use a actual torque wrench and dble check em about a month later.

 

I changed mine for the first time at 64K and used cheap Autolites (same as Motocraft) that I bought at Walmart, I used no anti seize and torqued them to 14 ft lbs that was 62K miles ago. I did check them when I replaced the boots a few years ago and all was fine. At the age of your truck I would change the plugs and install new boots with dialectic grease also check the coils for cracking. I also would use a shop vac with a small hose to clean out the plug holes after the plugs are removed and before installing the new ones, compressed air will blow stuff into the cylinder. #5 is the worst with #4 and #10 a close second.


Denny

 

Let us not talk about the 3 valve plug disaster ! A **** poor design . Fixed a few uf them , a nightmare ! The new ones have an NGK plug , small but old school . Looks like a Nissan plug from their newer 4 cyl trucks .

 

I have a 2004 with 78000 and have been scared to death about changing the plugs in it. I did not want to get myself into a nightmare. After reading this thread, I feel muuch better about changing them myself. Thanks!