2008 exped 5.4l , 70,000 , do i need spark plugs?
 

i was at the dealer. we only have 70k on the expedition but live in southern california. my wife drives it only to work, three days a week. we do not drive a lot on it. normal stuff.

we do not tow either. it is 2wd.

dealer tells me we were supposed to change the spark plugs at 60k because we are in an extreme driving area. isnt that more the driver than the area?

also, told me i needed to get some throttle header service done and my transmission fluid replaced. which is sealed and the owner manual says do it at 100k.

but the spark plugs are 525. another ford dealer said 680. then i read about everyones issues about spark plugs breaking during removal and you have to pay more to get them out.

should i negotiate before i go in and make sure they cover any issues? any suggestions from anyone in southern california, inland empire are?

am i being ripped off?

thanks

Well after reading the post I'd say your not going to tackle any of this yourself. I'd also say you actually drive this vehicle like most others, looks like about 14,000 miles per year give or take. The link below should help you. Read it, learn what for advises, figure out your driving habits. I would say, Southern Cal to AZ to TX to FL and GA would be in my book heavy service use areas. Your running in 90 degree heat most of the year and heat breaks down fluids and lowers lubricity. 525 bucks for plugs doesn't seem bad being you are in Cali and nothing is cheap there. I've knocked them out on my old 5.4 in less than two hours but I don't think your a DIY guy. So figure 100 bucks an hour for labor and whatever plugs are, 5 or 6 bucks each?

I highly advise doing the trans every 30K miles, I did this on my company expedition and will do it on my personal one. The trans is not "sealed" it's check plug is simply located on the side and does not include a dipstick.


http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pub.../08frdmg3e.pdf


Cliffs:

Change trans fluid.
Flush brakes if you haven't yet.
Flush rear diff
Check coolant life
Change plugs only if unit is running poorly.

In February, my local Ford dealership charged me $19.16 each for the sparkplugs they replaced on my 2005 Expedition. :-hair

Well first off, you have a 2008, depending on when yours was built, you may not have the spark plug issue. Ford changed the heads and the plugs in 2008 to address the issue. Where I live the dealership charges $399 to replace the plugs and that includes labor to remove broken plugs. If you are a DIY guys there are plenty of threads on ways to handle these plugs. They are expensive plugs, figure $16 to $20 each depending on your dealer. If you are comfortable removing a coil pack, do so and look at the boot (the part inside the head, connecting to the plug) if it is brown you have the new neads and plugs and should not have issues with plugs breaking off. If the boot is black you have the older style heads and plugs.

hopefully they gave you some lube to go with that bill. I just logged into my fleet account and checked our pricing, just a hair under 10 bucks each.

I'd be interested to see what they are charging him per plug. Plus he should be changing his fuel filter too since CARB requires it to keep your emissions warranty in tact.

Brown spark plug boots you are ok, black, you have the old head/plug design.

I have a 2008 Nav with the old style heads. I was gonna risk doing the spark plugs myself, but decided against it. The dealer charged me around $425 to change them, including a 10% off coupon the sent me. I changed the coil packs myself as they are extremely easy to change (went with the Accel aftermarket coil packs) and the truck is 100% better than it was. Next up is the transmission fluid change. May do that myself as well as I am fairly handy. I'd check around different dealers (Ford and Lincoln) and get the best price.

Mark it's a easy job, I would say check around and find a 6R80 deep pan while you are at it that way you can get one that has a few extra quarts of capacity and also a quick drain plug. This makes changes much easier and you'll not mind doing them every 25K miles.

montecarlo21, great idea, thanks.

I know this thread is a couple years old, but I didn't see anything more recent on a search. I just had a 60K mile service done on my 2008 Limited. I asked to have the spark plugs changed in addition to the other service because I am in a high rust area and don't think they'll get them out at 100K. The total bill came to $613.49. The breakdown is $45.39 for oil change, $164.19 for transmission service, $311.59 for spark plugs ($19.16 each for the plugs), $0 for multi-point inspection and $53.99 to replace 4 rusted lug nuts ($6.90 each plus $26.39 labor). BTW we have replaced all or most of the lug nuts on the truck over the last couple of years, 4 to 6 at a time due to rust. Also now getting a lot of rust just above the running board below the passenger front door, paint peeling off in sheets. Driver side seems fine. Dealer advises not covered under corrosion extended warranty.