I want to ask for your advise. I am at 88,000 miles and am getting ready to have the plugs changed on my 07 expedition. I am aware of the plug issues so I will have a dealer perform my tune up. The vehicle has a ford certified used warentee untill 100,000 miles so I fugured that I would have a dealer do the work. I have called around to try to get a understanding of how much they charge for the standard tune up and how much if a plug breaks. Here is what I have found:

Ford dealer A near my work. They charge 199.00 for the tune up and 99.00 per broken plug. They said they can have it done in a day regardless of how many break. They said even though the new vehicles get a revised plug mine still gets the old designed plug.

Ford Dealer B by home. They charge 549.00 to remove/replace the plugs, plus time and materials. They said it can take up to 3 days to remove the plugs, and that typical cost is 800.00 to 1,300.00 per tune up. They said that there is a redesigned plug that is one piece, so this won't happen again.

Ford Dealer C 30 minutes from home. They charge 324.00 to remove the plugs plus one hour per plug that breaks. They did not mention a redesigned plug at all, but they did not know how Dealer A could offer a tune up for that cheap, since the plugs are 18.00 each.

Independant non ford garage. I called a local garage that some some neighbors have had good luck with. They charge 324.00 for the tune up which will cover one broken plug. After that it is time and materials.


All of the places I called said that they have not had to do a head job to remove a broken plug. My questions are why is there such a difference in price from all of the ford dealers? How can Ford Dealer A charge 199.00, that seems really cheap (I have called them back three different times to make sure the price they gave me is correct). Is there a redesigned motorcraft plug? I asked one dealer if I brought in the champion plugs if they would install it. They said they would but there would be no warrente. And lastly what would you do? Thanks for your help. Kevin

 

I would not run a champion spark plug in my lawn Mower!!!! I would not run anything but Motorcraft and Autolite in your Expedition.


This problem with the plugs you are talking about. My 2002 Expedition uses the same spark plugs as your 2007, and i have never seen nor heard of a 2 piece spark plug could you elaborate a bit on that?

 

stay away from B that price looks way to much I was thinking the price should be about 300-400, stick with the ford plug. also ask the dealers what the hourly rate is my guess is that B has a varible hourly rate. if I were you I'd go to C

 

they don't have the same plug nor engine 3v vs 2v

 

I was thinking about using C.... the only problem is I need to check to see if they have a loaner car, where as if I use dealer A they could drop me off at work. I'm just wondering if dealer A is using high school kids and they are being supervise by a certified technician.

From what I know the two piece plugs are pressed together with the ceramic and electrode as one part and the threads and nut as the second part. Somebody chime in if I have this wrong. What is happening is that carbon is building up on the elctrode of these super long plugs and basically when you unscrew them the center portion remains in the head while the threads and nut come out. Again I could be wrong on the exact details of this but it is something close to this.

 

Hmm learn something new everyday!!! I used to be a technician at a dealership and i had never heard about this issue before but i just realized yours is an 07, and i havent worked at a dealership since 04.

 

yeah that is about right on the plugs, as far as updated plugs ford has changed the design for 08 and up to where the whole thing has threads, but it has updated heads also

 

see bold

the price difference is all about the bottom line...and how much business they recieve.

I'm betting the Dealership with the best price gets a ton of business. They have enough volume to lower their prices and still do decently.

 

I really am hoping that the 199.00 price is because of volume and not because they don't follow the tsb and just breakoff the plugs. We will see. I am going to have the tune up done on Thursday. I am crossing my fingers.

 

Ley us know how your tune up comes out.

 

You are having a vehicle serviced at a FORD dealer. They are performing routine maintenance (plug change). Because of a FORD design flaw, the dealer is passing on additional labor costs to you, the customer. Can anyone spell class action law suit?

 

That idea was tossed around on the Mark VIII boards for years and never got anywhere. The standard headlights on all the '93 through '96 would dim to the point of being totally ineffective at night and even worse in a heavy rain. The '96 Mark VIII with the LSC package came with HIDs and they are much better and I upgraded my lights when a pair became available for $500. The dealers last price that I have heard of is around $1000 each! All that ever happened with the head light issue was everyone waited for the NTHSB to force Ford to retro fit all early Marks with the HIDs. Needless to say we are still waiting. When I decide to give up my mark I'll probably part it out as just the head lights are worth almost as much as the car.

 

Unfortunately, Ford is not standing behind the design flaw. they have updated the heads, provided a TSB to improve the procedure and the lisle tool is also available to extract broken plugs.

It's my understanding that Ford has changed the plug design to be a one piece plug for all affected engines.

Tim

 

I know this plug issue has been beat to death (deservedly so), but since it is once again on top, I have a question that probably has been asked elsewhere------if you dont mind !

Can any of these thread sealants be used around the "nose" of the plug-----with care not to get any on the tips. I am thinking of the aluminum "slop in a can" that I use all the time for small engines, and large, with aluminum heads or on bolts that tend to clog up with rust etc. There is also a "copper" based sealant in a can, applied with a brush.