I was going to suggest going the route of a used engine. I'd put new plugs in it before installing it. Will be much easier to do without breaking the porcelain while it's out of the truck and since these are 100K plugs you'll be good to go after that. And yes, that carbon buildup is surprising. Are you using a good synthetic oil? Changing it regularly? Running the engine to high RPM occasionally to "burn off" buildup?

 

I think it will be difficult to prove that the dealer is liable. Good luck with everything. I hope it works out.

 

The carbon buildup is a symptom of the problem, not something else to worry about. Scored cylinder bores permit oil into the cylinder which causes those deposits. The other three cylinders looked good on the head photo he posted earlier.

 

I was thinking about this earlier. If I remember right, the 5.0L engine uses cast iron sleeves. Why couldn't they replace the sleeve instead of the entire block?

 

That is a good idea on the plugs. One of the disappointing things about this whole thing, is that I had the truck serviced every 5-6 thousand miles through the offending dealers Quick Lane, it was at this Quick lane where the initial tune up was done at 98,000 , the truck was on or about 111,000 when it failed.

 

That is an excellent point Tom, wish I had thought about that earlier ! If it was bad oil or low on oil as I think the service director suggested, then the other 3 cylinders would be in the same shape right ! Makes sense to me !

 

Are the sleeves cast in place like LS motors? It seems to me the 4.0 in Toyotas used a cast in sleeve and it wasn't possible to replace due to the fact the old sleeve would have to be machined out and there wouldn't be enough material left to support a new sleeve. I don't know if this is the case with the 5.0.

 

Interesting. Wouldn't surprise me, I know next to nothing about sleeved engines. I Googled it shortly after posting and found a company that sells sleeves for different engines.

Darton Sleeves

Further Googling implies that it's possible:

How to Strengthen a Coyote Block for Big-Horsepower Applications

 

I went and saw the service director this morning, he is holding firm on his position which he clarified for me. He is saying that there is no way the porcelain entered the chamber during the tune up as, after 13,000 miles, the pounding it would have received would have disintegrated it. He is saying that some other as yet undetermined engine part has worn out, causing a misfire, which then ejected the spark plug. He says the porcelain was probably sitting in the spark plug well and got sucked in when the plug was ejected. ( as you can read in my initial posting, this is what the Ford Tech hotline was saying too). I think it is going to come down to my expert versus their expert, and I am pretty much screwed ! All part of life's rich tapestry !

 

Misfire causing plug ejection? I've read a lot over the years about plug ejection, and I've never heard of a misfire causing such a thing.

I don't get it. I can almost always understand the other side in something like this, but not here. It's pretty clear cut to me...one way or another the plug ejection is the fault of the tech who installed the freaking plug. Chicken or egg at that point, it doesn't matter when exactly the porcelain entered the cylinder. This is their fault, and I'm really surprised they're fighting you on this. This is what they pay insurance for.

 

The spark plug holes in the head look like the plug was crossthreaded. If that is the case, it could easily cause a blow out.
Which cylinder was it?

 

#4 the one hardest to reach and work on !

 

One of the sticking points is the 13,000 miles, if it had happened 2 miles down the road after the tune up,it would probably be a lot different !

The service managers initial reaction when I first contacted him is that it was probably a faulty spark plug. Do you yhink there is any merit in filing a warranty claim against Motorcraft ? They may do a more thorough invest and come up with a cause. I am beginning to think that the piece of porcelain is a red herring.