so where do we go from here. I used ford plugs, antisieze, and torqued to 15 lbs. How bad did I mess up?? Im thinking about going back into the belly of the beast and retorquing to 25 lbs.?? HELP!

Sprinter,
I share some of your confusion/pain. Forums are the greatest things since sliced bread and hard rubber tires - - BUT, they are this interesting mixture of fact and fiction, or truth and opinion. Lots of times, people are doing their very best to express the truth as they know it, but sometimes the grammar, punctuation, spelling and syntax are so atrocious as to make their statements difficult, if not impossible to accurately interpret.
Sooo, by the time you work your way thru some threads, you have lots of facts, and also some fiction. Opinions can be either of the two or somewhere in between.
To more directly respond to your concerns (and hopefully end my rant), I will make the following comment - - Based on what I've read off-site - - Motorcraft says to use anti-seize on all spark plugs going into aluminum heads. I'm fairly comfortable in believing that they know enough about their spark plugs to back up their statement.
Also, there are several articles written by professionals that indeed support the sort of charts shown earlier in this thread - - i.e. that lubricated threads require much lower applied torques than a "dry" thread to achieve a given axial pressure or tension.
In my opinion (there's that word again), your Motorcraft plugs installed with anti-seize at 15 lb.ft. should be just fine. Depending on which chart you choose, that 15 lb. ft. with a lubed thread may look like a 25 lb.ft. torque on a dry thread.
Like many of us, I'm not a mechanic by training - - But what I AM trying to do is get one of our forum members who is a certified aero mechanic, to research this subject and write a definitive article on it. I'm a firm believer that those guys are several notches above us shadetree types when it comes to wrenching.

Thanks man. I read it all too and just tried to pick and choose what I thought would be best. I guess im just going to keep an eye on things, and have a helicoil kit ready.

As a follow up for some of you, last year in March 2007 I replaced all my plugs. I used anti-seize and torqued to 14-15 ft/lbs. In April 2008 I pulled every coil and rechecked the torque with my torque wrench preset at 14 ft/lbs. Not a single plug was loose. I will continue to do this routine every year. The entire ordeal took maybe an hour tops. I've gotten really good at pulling #4 and #5. :)

Doug

hey, ive been following this post.
i to bought the helicoil kit - but havent used it.
although i did see it at harbor freight tools for 18.99

my question is what is the rite part # and price for the tmesert kit & also the same for the fulltorque kit.

i dont think i want to use the helicoil kit.

thanx for your help

To put a little more confusion on the anti-seize, are we putting it on the tapered seat or not?

Definitely Not just a small amount on the threads alone.

To the best of my knowledge the helicoil kit is a true insert (not a steel spiral).
It has been used with success. The full torque kit will run about $1000 (from the little I can find out about it). It's claim to fame is the aluminum insert, however the tools required make it look like a difficult repair. Timesert also has an aluminum insert ans is $600 cheaper and easier to complete. I'd go with the Timesert repair

hey,
i have another question if you guys dont mind.

im not sure that the use of a hi-temp rtv on the sav-a-thread helicoil thread repair kit is the rite one to use.
it seems more feasible that a red stud lock tight would be better.

i think i want to give this kit a shot, with over 200k if it doesn't work i will get a set of new heads and tear down the motor.

but in the mean time i would like some insight on what type of thread sealant would work better than the hi-temp rtv.

thanx

......................
Following Timesert homepage says otherwise:
++ TIME-SERT Frequently Asked Questions ++


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=500 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>2.</TD><TD>What materials are TIME-SERTs made of?</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD>TIME-SERT inserts are made from 12L14 carbon steel and 303 stainless steel.


Ken
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Yep! they still are, however they now also have the Aluminum inserts available, maybe to compete with Lock N Stitch
++ TIME-SERT SPARK PLUG Thread Repair System ++ aluminum spark plug inserts,aluminum sparkplug insert, spark plug inserts aluminum, aluminum inserts, spark plug inserts for aluminum, spark plug aluminum inserts, aluminum inserts for spark plug, alumi
M14x1.25 Standard 4412 and M14x1.25 deep hole kit 4412E

Also to be noted with the aluminum insert you can use a full thread for the spark plug

I have not seen my friends engine yet, but it looks as though you remove the head for this to be used?
http://www.timesert.com/images/spark...ordHandle3.jpg

Hi Predator - - That lower picture in your post looks like one from a TimeSert instruction sheet. Whatever it exactly is, it is indeed OFF of the engine I believe.

However, I replaced the threads in my 01 E450 in all ten cylinders with the Timesert inserts. Heads on the engine, and engine in the van. I think I'm safe in saying that if you can do them in a van chassis, everything else looks easy by comparison.

I'm impressed with the Timesert system, but would not recommend it as a "side of the road" repair.

I also recently used the helicoil kit (before knowing about this site). My experience with the kit was " It was a life saver". The kit worked great and I was glad that I was not pulling a head.
Two days later, the engine began to miss. This, of course, made me go back and inspect the recent repair. When I pulled the plug out, The plug was still holding true to torque, but the end of the plug actually looked as if someone had struck an arc with a welding rod on the bottom end of the plug. Naturally, I ruined the head getting the plug out due to a ball of "weld" on the side of the plug.

The helicoil worked great. I don't know what happened to make the plug go to hell like that... I called myself being super cautious and making sure to catch any shavings from the tap.

At this point, I've gotten sick at my stomach over the whole situation, and haven't removed the head yet. The replacement head is on the way and I'll soon be getting into that beast. I didn't ever here a noise at all suggesting something breaking in there, but as I tear it apart and inspect, I'll come back and post my findings. Hopefully I won't find a damaged piston or valves.

I sent him the part numbers for the Heli Coil kit from earlier in this post. Parts store said it is less than $40.00 for everything. I have not seen the parts yet. My question is, short of making a extension for the tap, how do you hold it that far down in the? I should state that he is not pulling the head to do the job. I figured I have tap sockets, or just make a extension for the tap, and tig it on.

For Jakflash
 

What an absolute bummer of an experience you had! Most of us that have done a lot of our own work over the years, can sure identify with the feeling of having the job just totally tank - - after thinking you did everything correctly!

There will be a lot of interest in your conclusions when you've had a chance to open things up and (hopefully) figure out what happened.

The ONLY thing that comes to mind is that there may have been a really poor heat transfer between the plug and insert, and then the insert and the head. Even if that theory "works," the question is why?

I do know this much: The final operation with the Timesert kit, involves a tool that "bells out" the lower portion of the steel insert. It is considerably expanded by this final operation, and along with the LokTite, is supposed to keep the insert from ever backing out, AND also effect maximum heat transfer.

Others who have successfully used the Helicoil system might have some useful comments to add.