Eh, he said he'll wait till 100k and then pay a shop the ridiculous rate to do them for him. He only puts like 5k a year on the truck. Probably will sell it and buy something else well before 100k.

 

Hope his plugs never fails and forces him to change them..

 

If it ain't broke...don't fix it!

 

Guys I tried using the impact gun like others. Got first two out no problem. But on the third one it broke. So be careful it is not 100%.

 

I have a 1999 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer Edition with a 5.4L engine.

This model precedes the head design that most of this discussion has revolved around but my situation is similar.

One of the spark plugs was so tight that the metal sheared between the threads and the nut so now the nut spins freely on the plug but it will not come out. The rest of the plug is intact. Is there a way to remove this plug without removing the head? All of the discussions and youtube videos I've seen only deal with the plugs with the longer shield going down into the head.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Had the same issue with my 98 expedition. Spark plugs were firing intermittently and I had a shop install new motorcraft plugs in it and they mentioned a couple plugs would just spin and they couldn't remove them or offer any solutions. Took it to another shop that does more complicated jobs and knows their stuff... they took a look and gave me two options. One was to remove the heads which would almost equate to the same cost as just purchasing a used engine to swap in. Other option was for them to use a plug extractor tool that if successful would be able pull the plugs out at a minimal cost, however if it didn't work the chance of the plug breaking apart and me having to pull heads or swap motors was basically a 50/50. So I told them to try and extract it before giving up and getting a new engine all because of a spark plug! I anxiously waited to find out the results and they finally called me back and were able to extract the two plugs that had seized in place. They replaced all my plugs with the newer motorcraft platinum plugs and new coil packs. Call around to a couple shops and explain to them whats going on, you will be able to tell which ones are familiar with the problem and can work on it and which ones won't, otherwise you can always get the extractor yourself and attempt if you want to save some money.

 

So I have a quick question. If the plug breaks and part of the metal tip falls down into the cylinder, should I be worried or will that just pass through and out the exhaust?

 

The reason the spark plug breaks is the tolerance between the spark plug and the cylinder head on the 5.4l 3v is very tight. Carbon builds up and the bottom of the 2 piece spark plug jambs in the head. Leaving you with the top half of the park plug in your socket wrench.


To extract the bottom half that is still stuck in the head one needs an extractor that screws/grips the remaining stuck spark plug shell and pulls the broken bottom of the spark plug out of the cylinder head. There isn't anything that drops into the cylinder. (Well may be very small pieces of porcellin)


>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

 

Yes you should be worried and no it will not pass through unless you're one of the luckiest people alive. If something falls into the cylinder the best way to get it out is to tape a piece of vacuum hose to a vacuum. Stick the vacuum hose down into the cylinder and move it all around allowing the suction to clean out any debris. If you start with a cleaned out vacuum you can check it after to see if it sucked anything out.

 

Quick question, guys. I went to change the plugs in my 2006 5.4l 3v and was able to change 4 of the 8. The four I couldn't get out I could not get a grip on the plug. It felt as if something had built up in the plug chamber preventing the socket from seating around the plug. No grip at all on 3 and barely enough on one to tell that the socket was slipping as I turned it.

Any ideas on what this might be and how I might remedy it?

 

It may behove anyone that had this issue to know that there is a settlement through Ford and you should view Ford Motor Co. Spark Plug very very soon!

 

That is interesting for sure.


In part -
The settlements for that engine start for money spent on spark plug replacement over $300 and then it is only a percentage of the money spent over $300.


>>>>>>>>>>>Action

 

I have a 2007 Expedition with 125K+ miles on it. Every so often, it starts to run rough and the check engine light comes on. Invariably, it is a misfire from one of the plugs. When I pull it out, the top of the plug, is missing. It occurs in any cylinder randomly. I have used a variety of brands and styles of plugs, but it doesn't seem to matter which. Does anyone have any idea as to the cause of this ... and a preventative measure? Thanks