Hey guys,

I have a 2003 f-350 5.4 engine and I want to replace the plugs and I heard that some have a bit of a issue where the plugs seperate and get stuck. A friend said its only certain ones that do it like the triton and mine should be good. Is that true? What series has the issue and also what plugs are good for replacement?

Thanks!

 

That was an issue for the 04-08 3V engines.

Yours doesn't have that issue. Just make sure you properly torque the plugs to prevent a future blow out.

 

Do you know how many ft lbs the spark plugs need to be torqued to?

 

I run mine to 22-23 ft/lbs plus use a dab of nickel-based anti-seize on the threads, nothing but Motorcraft plugs BTW.

Factory calls for 7-15 ft/lbs torque but that's been shown to cause loose plugs sometime soon after installation.

Here's some interesting reading: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ead-heads.html and: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ed-torque.html

HTH

 

I just changed mine. It's a 01 f250 5.4
Get a compressor and blow the **** out of the engine
Driver side is a pain as fuel rail needs removing. Passenger side pull the cop's off and a breeze
I take a shop vac with a brake bleeder hose and vacuum each cylinder out

Good idea to get a package of the little rubbers that attach to fuel rail They get brittle and it's a ****ty deal driving down the road and smelling fuel in the cab.
Other then that for my truck if u can change a tire. It's easy.
Takes about an hr and 6-8 beers!

 

Gary I question that you can do this on only 6-8 beers but whatever you say .

The 3V motors have the issue with the tip of the plug breaking off below the plug nut and staying inside the cylinder. Supposedly if you'll pull these plugs out with an impact wrench it will greatly reduce the chance of this happening, however if it does break one off inevitably it will be on the back cylinders. I've had good luck with the extractor kit, seems to be well thought out.

I've also had issue with the older 2V motors blowing the porcelain out of the plug. This is just more of an annoyance than anything, the plug will usually come out without much drama. I have heard about threads coming out/blowing out on the early versions of these motors but haven't experienced this issue myself.

Just to echo what the others are saying here make sure you blow the holes out before you start unscrewing anything and vacuum off the top of the motor if it's dirty, the orientation of the plug holes are vulnerable to crap falling into the cylinders for sure. Also sometimes it's helpful to spray some carb cleaner inside the hole and work the plug back and forth to allow the cleaner to seep into the threads and soften up any carbon that might be on the tip of the plug.

I'd say because of the design these plugs experience a lot more heat soak than the old school setups that were more or less hanging out in the air and there are unique problems because of this regardless of 2V or 3V.

 

No compressor.
Reverse shop vac?

 

I did the plugs in my 06 f250 5.4 today. 3 were stubborn. I took the 8 coil screws out first then ran the engine until it reached operating temp. Cut it off, pull the coils, blow out the holes and start taking them out. On the stubborn ones I worked them out carefully to a 1/4 -1/2 turn. Spray the kroil and leave it alone. Came back about 30 minutes later and they were still stiff but would turn. Pulled them out and sure enough, the build-up on the end was kroil soaked.
Replaced them with the champion 1 piece plugs after putting the anti-seize on them.