Many thanks to the forum posts that aided me in this task. I wanted to join and post my story so as to possibly help others taking on this task in the future.

I followed the TSB loosely. By loosely, I mean that I didn't just soak the spark plugs 15 minutes, I soaked them for almost 2 days.

I put this task off for quite awhile, about 2 months. My Expedition was missing and running like crap, no codes. I decided to pull the plugs since we bought the vehicle when it had 103k on it and I had every reason to believe the plugs were never changed. The TSB said to use penetrating oil, and since I have several different kinds available to me I decided to experiment with some old cylinder heads to see which penetrating oil was best. I took 2 old VW heads with spark plugs still attached, turned the plugs out 1/4 turn, and applied the oil to see how fast/thorough it seeped through. I tried some homemade (1/2 and 1/2 kerosene, ATF), WD40, SeaFoam, and carb cleaner. SeaFoam was the best, followed by my homemade stuff. WD40 never seeped through, and carb cleaner evaporated too fast.

I pulled my cop's and put a little seafoam down each hole and let it sit for a day. Then, I turned the plugs 1/4 turn (they were REALLY tight) and put a little more seafoam in and let it sit for another day. I then turned the plugs occasionally throughout the next day until I got them out.

7 came out whole. 1 broke, but I think if I would have manipulated it more I could have removed it. If the jamb nut turns around the ceramic and the plug isn't broken yet but has cleared all the threads, you could probably wiggle it out with some long needlenose pliers. I had 2 other plugs do this same thing, and when I wiggled them I coerced them out without breakage.

I'm still wondering why I have to use nickel antiseize. I've spoken with a few people regarding this issue, and I don't see why copper wouldn't work for this task. I think I'll try it and see what happens. The reason being is that aluminum would melt before the heat limit is reached on copper antiseize, right? So why is nickel preferred?

I'm off to buy the removal tool. I have a pic of an old plug of mine next to a new plug, but for some reason I can't find how to upload it. I'll post more when I'm done with the job.

UPDATE: I bought the Lisle tool and pulled the stuck end of the plug. The tool worked wonderfully, I am very happy with it. The truck runs great, and as an added bonus the ticking that I attributed to the cam phaser seems to be reduced/eliminated. I'm not sure, as I just drove it 4 miles. It runs better, and that's what counts. Since I bought the tool, I'd probably rent it out to others that might be in need. Pmail me and we'll work it out...

 

It's not about heat rating or even conductivity; it's about compatibility of dissimilar metals. Some dissimilar metals when exposed to each other will oxidize, resulting in a degradation of the conductivity between the two.

 

Ford would not say to use nickel antiseize if there wasn't a reason for it. I work with chemicals/lubricants/sealants/solvents etc... every day as an aircraft mechanic and I can tell you from experience that tech data will not specifically say to use one thing over another just for fun.

And yes, copper is super conductive and since we are talking about spark plugs here... yeah you probably want to use what they say to use...