Recently, the check engine light came on in my truck, ’04 crew cab 4x4 with a 5.4l. I bought it used and was not surprised to have a few problems. I took it to the dealership and they suggested replacing the spark plugs. They quoted me a price that I thought was outrageous, over $700. I politely told them no thanks.

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I did some research and spoke to a few other mechanics that talked me out of doing the work myself. Based on what I have learned, the spark plugs and their design are flawed. Each spark plug is two separate pieces and the lower half is made of a metal susceptible to corrosion. As time and mileage passes, the spark plug rusts and is almost impossible to remove. My mechanic friends have told me several horror stories about such a problem and even a few were the heads had to be replaced completely.

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To make a long story short, I headed back to the dealer and was prepared to pay for the “tune-up.” That is when things went from bad to worse. I got a call from the dealership detailing exactly what everyone else told me would happen, only worse. This week they are replacing the engine.


I know Ford sells/sold a lot of trucks with this motor design and mine cannot be the only problematic one. Has anyone else had trouble like this?

 

you left out the most important part why whats wrong with it ? how many miles on your ride

 

sorry, the truck has about 51,xxx. They pulled the plugs and atleast one was broke off in the head. They said it had done some damage to atleast one of the cylinders and that the heads were ruined. Even if they could patch that motor it would use oil and never be right.

I better make sure we are talkin about the same motor. The one I have uses long spark plugs and has a coil for every cylinder, The other mechanics call this the hemi-style. Those plugs are a two peices almost like a flare nut fitting. The plug with an extra long shank and threaded collar thats kind of pressed onto it. Is that what you got?

 

See the thread titled Who has changed their 3V 5.4 spark plugs? There is a link to pictures of the plugs and more discussion. This scares me!

 

Considering Ford's claim the plugs are good for 100K miles, I must wonder what caused the plugs to fail at 1/2 their expected life cycle. Secondly, I must wonder how removing the plug damaged the cylinder. I think I would be asking the service manager these questions before I make payment on this bill.