MBB I am at a loss now!! Wish I was there to help ya. how much tap is left sticking out, can you get an easy out on it. Im just thinkin out loud. I have worked on alot of engines both street and racing applications and after looking at the prints on one of these triton motors I gotta tell ya it scares the life out of me with the overhead cams and phasers and degree calibrations.. if you absolutely cant get the tap out now I think you have to call it day and take your baby to the dealer for a head removal. But i would make sure I exhausted all my patience first.

 

Hate to tell u this but your 06 is no different than my 04 excpet your plugs may be of a different heat range and may have nickel anti-seize on the ground shield from the factory, the first change tothe heads is as I stated oct. of 07, my source of info. is from a couple of guys who work for ford and build these engines.

 

I think the last thing he needs right now is someone joking around about his misfortune. Also, a bad time for an expensive repair with Christmas a week away. And no, I don't need a Valium, YOU need to show a little compassion for a fellow Ford owner whose truck is down with a major problem.

 

Just did some reading of old posts...I was thinking of the old blowout/lack of enough thread problem on the pre-04 tritons. Looks like Ford traded one bad problem for another.

I agree with Cobra. This is a crap issue to have at a really bad time of year. I'd be livid.

 

Hey,Bite me. No one was talking to you anyway.

 

I totallyagree that is why my 04 is going away next year and I will be getting an 09 f-150. I beleive before it is over ford will be looking at a major law suit when more people get to the 100K mark and start having these problems, I am not an engineer but after a bit of research and looking at the plugs and the way they are installed there is no doubt in my mind it is a design flaw which ford can not afford to own up to IMO

 

Santa's watching

 

Hey MBB, I can't offer any advice, but I feel your pain. I love my truck, and it's been perfect so far. My '06 has 28,000 miles, and I feel like this plug issue is a ticking time bomb waiting to raise it's ugly head down the road. I, like most, am hoping that Ford comes up with a better procedure before my truck get to the point where it's time for a plug change. There should be several hundred thousand ahead of me . . .

Dale

 

Hey, I just got my letter saying Ford recognizes and plans to cover my fuel injectors up to 11years or 120k. Now, I know this isn't about fuel injectors, but if they can recognize and cover this, they should cover the design flaw and help compensate any major work needed IF these plugs don't come out. If they do come out, no money lost. If it's nothing like Ford alludes to then they would have nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks for the concern guy's. The comment about pulling the head was just blowing off steam.

Most people in my area can't get to the truck untill after the 1st!!!!
I don't trust the ford dealer in my town to pull the heads any more than I'd trust my 2 year old to do it.
There are other great shops that have done this job before that I will bring it to.

Since I have time to mess with it, would drilling a hole in the tap, and using a easy out be possible/good idea?

 

I think drilling the tap would be worth a try but you have to find a bit hard enough to drill into that very hard steel. You might put the other half of the broken tap in a vise and try drilling it to see if you make any progress. I doubt there is much that will touch it, including carbide. If you can make a bore in the other half, this might be the ticket to success. Best of luck as always.

I cannot believe how stuck that plug sleeve is. (I believe you; I'm just amazed at this whole mess). How did the plug look that actually came out? Did it show excess carbon on the electrode? Just wondering what made these seize so bad. For all the others reading this, I'm quite aware of the design. I changed mine at 110,000 several weeks ago. I'm just looking for the common denominator with MBBFord's truck and others that had this much trouble.

DMAC

 

I hate to say this but there is no way to drill into a broken tap, they are made of hardned steel, you could try to brake the tap but a 9 mm tap is pretty big.

The last option is to find a tap extractor it is used to remove broken taps, it has fingers that go around the broken tap down into the flutes of the tap, it might work but no guarantee.

The best way is to take the cylinder head off and bring it to a Tool & Die Shop who has an EDM Machine and burn it out.

Best of luck.
Ulf

 

I am wondering if the gas you use makes a difference. I know a couple of guys that had virtually no trouble had always run a branded fuel that contained a cleaner. Specifially Shell. I am running Shell or Texaco most of the time and occasionally Conoco. I used to think that gas was gas until I strated keeping a record of every fill up and found I get better mileage with certain brands. I just wonder if some fuels create less build-up.

 

JimTex,

That's precisely what I am wondering as well. I also used to believe that gas is gas and the cheaper the better. Where I really notice a difference is when riding my Harley. Cheap gas just does not work in it. I began paying more attention to what I put in the tank (and a little more money, too). I'm sure there are other potential factors but quality of gas may be a big consideration with the plugs seizing.

DMAC

 

I hade to be a buzzkill on the fuel thing, but I regularly use shell, Chevron, texaco with super(92octane). I had similar issues as mbbford. Maybe its the super unleaded!!??