Hey guys. Just need an opinion. I have an 06 f250 with the 5.4. It has 56000 miles. I want to be proactive and replace the spark plugs. My mechanic said dont bother yet but for peace of mind I really would like to do it. Should I purchase a broken plug remover or save my money and take a chance changing them without it. Just wondering if anyone has had trouble breaking any at this mileage. Also its going into the dealer for a trans flush. They said its extra for them to change the external filter. Should I bother with it. Im not sure if its ever been done. Just bought it last year. The previous owner passed away in 09 so I couldnt ask. The truck sat unused for several years.

 

Don't both with the plugs, there a major league paint in the butt and they shouldn't need it. Filters and fluids are cheap compared to a transmission job, besides you never know what the other guy did with the truck.

 

Despite these supposedly being a pain in the butt it has to be done sometime, the longer OEM plugs are left in place the more likely they are to suffer breakage. Mind you there's no guarantee they will or will not break at any mileage the likelihood later on is much higher.

Since you're motivated to do it now I say go ahead. There are two great YouTube videos about this here:

And:


Whether or not you need the special tool is your choice. If you have the luxury of no hurry to put your truck back on the road same day maybe leave the purchase for another day? Or buy the tool from Amazon or where ever allows a full return, use it only if necessary and return it if unused.

While many here don't recommend anti-seize on plug threads I use it, upping the plug torque to 21 ft/lbs and haven't had any issues on my 2V motors---one has just at 50K miles on plugs.

For your transmission questions visit that forum---plenty of specific and great info there. Mr Mark Kovolsky is our resident transmission guru, he being a former FoMoCo trans engineer---also ran his own repair shop for a while too.

 

Mark is usually found on the 6.8l V10 forums beings that he owns ones one.

I will say this: The Torqshift 5 spd transmission is probably one of the best I have ever seen.

 

Thank you guys very much for the input! Im kind of a pain when it comes to maintenance. At least thats what my wife says. I just tell her its because of boredom. There really isnt anything better than spending a Sunday in the garage with your son working on an engine! As long as everything goes as planned! I hope!

 

Let us know how this works out for you---photos and a short write up are always appreciated too.

As for the wife--wimmen folk just never do understand a man and his machine(s). Of course we've got a few gals here who do their own wrenching so they're excluded from that general comment.