Is this the tool you are talking about?

Lisle Corporation

I just bought my truck a few months ago and I'm getting concerned with all this bad cases. Granted, my truck has only 45K miles on it but from the looks of it, the previous owner did little more than changing the oil. Since he is a second owner, he didn't know what the prior owner did and he only had it for a few 12 K before being forced to sell his extra car due to family planning.

I'm thinking of doing it just the heck of it for peace of mind. Is the tool to get the plugs are standard 17 sockets? This is my first Ford so all is brand new to me. I did all tune ups on my many Toyotas that I've owned.

TIA.

 

The tool uses standard sizes 3/4, 7/16 etc. It"s probably a good idea to get the OE plugs out asap. You might want to check with your local dealership to see what they offer. I've read some will cover and plugs that break under warranty (this is the way it should be). If you make a mistake on this job it could cost you in the thousands. It's quite a stessfull proceedure to say the least. Good luck and enjoy your new truck.

 

very interesting..... thanks

 

Just a quick update - I ran the truck a few miles yesterday after the complete change and it ran great(ran great before the change). Today started it up cold and noticed a miss at idle while it was warming up. Went a few miles to the dump and it missed on and off. On the way back the check engine light came on. I pulled it in the garage and pulled the code: PO307. OK miss in the #7 hole. Took off the cop and swapped it with #1. Erased the code. Drove it a little bit still had a miss and set the same code - PO307 and also this time PO316 (miss at start up). Was reluctant but pulled out the plug (wow it came out nice and easy and in one piece - sweet!). Plug looked fine of course so I switched it from #7 to #1 and put the cops back where they came from. Ran it, set another code - this time PO316 & PO301. Kind of glad to see that - I guess it's a defective plug. I know, I know I should have used Motocraft. Sorry I've used hundreds of champs without a problem, I guess I was due. Everything is good when it works, they're all sh#t when they don't! If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any. Gonna get a new plug next week and hopefully that'll fix it, could be worse.

 

LACityFD and Cofcmsc - First of all, luck has nothing to do with it. I have been working on cars and race cars for years and I have never had a problem removing steel spark plugs from aluminum heads. I have always changed them with the heads warm or hot and I have never had a problem with galling. In my opinion, the worst thing one could do with spark plugs of this nature is to try to change them with the heads cold. So if you say its 50% luck that I got all 8 out without breaking them, what does that have to say about me getting all 8 out of 2 trucks without breaking a single plug?

Unfortunately elrodalonzo the "do it when it's cold" method that the majority of people on this thread live by failed you. Personally I am more apt to try a method that people have use with 100% success than a method with less. By the way, when you remove the plugs when the heads are hot/warm, they don't squeak or bind up. They just come right out.

 

If that's the case I would tend to agree. As a matter of fact Lisle recommends you warm the plug up with a hair dryer or similar tool before extracting the broken part. I guess it would have saved me alot of grief if I'd have done it that way. You can't soak the plugs for long if you have to pull them hot? Maybe that's not as important as it's made out to be. As I stated I think my soak was too late most of the plugs were already broken. They probably wouldn't have turned so hard if they were hot. I'm very relieved that job is done and behind me now. Hopefully the next person to give it a shot will do it hot and post their results here. Maybe you can get the trend going the right way if it works. We all want to do it the easier way. Thanks for the info.

 

Elrodalonzo sorry to hear that your plug change turned into a bigger job. That said I know it is extremely gratifying to know that you have it behind you. OK calling the job 50% luck is wrong, the most important components of successful completion are one good information and two the individual turning the wrench, but it is one of those jobs that you have to hold your mouth the right way. When I did mine I used PBlaster started the job after the truck cooled down for about 20 min. I broke #2 freaked out I did not know about the tool then came to FTE got the right information, figured out the fix with the tool. Took what I learned on bank one over to bank two and still broke #6. Guy down the street borrowed my tool after he broke #7 following TSB. I think he did it warm not hot. So, I agree with PSPW Heat helps, so does a little mechanical acumen, just don’t forget to hold your mouth right and have the lisle tool on hand.

 

Elrodolanzo- Quick question RE you missfire.: Did you replace the boots too? The Champs and the MCs have a different profile on the porcelain and the boot takes a "set" according the the old plug. I was advised that reusing the old boots, unless they are very new, can result in spark leaks and misfires.

 

Jim,
I had planned on changing the boots but it didn't work out. I ordered plugs, the Lisle tool and new boots all at the same time. When I went to put the new boots on (Prestolite), I wasn't happy with the way the new boots looked. They had a slight angle to them which the OE boots do not and they were a little smaller in diameter. The old boots were in really good shape, very pliable and still had signs of grease inside. They didn't show any serious sign of taking a set to the old plugs so I used them over again. I just bought this truck earlier this summer so I don't know the history of any maintenance. I had already determined the plug was to blame and I just got a new replacement in the mail today and installed it and am happy to report no more miss or engine codes. I don't care what brand you use on any parts, eventually you will get a defective part, it's part of the process. I got TWO!! defective rebuilt transmissions a couple of years ago and that was real nightmare. I'm just glad that this was a simple fix I was a little gunshy after the plug change. Life is good and I once again love my truck.

 

I'm just now starting my plug replacement. 2004 Supercrew, 5.4L, 96K miles, mostly highway and pretty easy driving. I've recently runs some injector cleaner but also just used seafoam. The seafoam did not smoke like I expected. Actually there was almost no noticeable smoke from the treatment. I hope this is a good sign.

One big question... I've seen many posts about checking the plug gap. My manual states the 5.4 3v spark plug gap is not to be changed. I bought the Autolite H1. Do I need to check the gap and to what setting?

I am using PB blaster but was thinking of dropping some mineral spirits in for breaking down the carbon and added lubrication.

 

what seems to be the best brand plug for the money to replace the factory plug?

 

and what is the lisle tool referred to in this thread?????

 

this is the lisle tool:
Amazon.com: Lisle (LIS65600) Broken Spark Plug Remover for Ford Triton 3 Valve Engines: Automotive

I think the only replacement for the factory plug is the champions(I don't know the number). I have read a lot of threads of guys saying the champions run great and others that swear only the motorcraft plugs runs good. Who knows. I do know the champions won't break, and that is a huge plus. I got new motorcraft in mine as I just let the dealer do it.

 

Thank God I broke down and bought the Lisle tool for this plug change. When I bought the truck a few years ago I thought I would avoid all the trials and tribulations of the plug change by cutting the time limit on the plugs down. I followed the TSB and changed the factory plugs at 28k without breaking a single plug. Now that I turned 90k and I have two road trips comming up, I though it would be best to change the plugs for a new set. I didn't anticipate any issues since I used the high temp nickle anti sieze. I ran a can of Seafoam through the last tank and followed the TSB. The only thing I did different this time was a warm engine instead of a cold engine.

I broke 6 of the 8 without even trying Lucky for me the Lisle tool worked flawlessly on all six. I had only 1 plug on each side that came out without the use of the extraction tool.

See the plugs below in the order that they came out

 

Peace is sea foam safe to use on 04 f150 ? Thinking bout using it. I usually use Lucas " tune up in a bottle " advice please.