I blew a spark plug today.. nice

The spark plug is completely stripped out. What now?

My question is what would a fix be and what about a current cost. I have found so many threads concerning this but I would like some more current info.

tshlance

 

It depends. You haven't provided enough information.

Are you going to take it to a dealer or a shop? You could spend $1500 for a new head or $150-300 for a professionally installed insert.

Do it yourself? Which engine? Which plug? Some are easy, some are a PITA.

 

Thanks for reply...

soory for lack of info... 2003 f-150 triton 5.4l..

I don't know if I should take to a shop or dealer. Most likely a shop. I also have a head gasket oil leak, so a head might be the way to go. Just don't know... thanks

If your looking under the hood it will be the left side and the 3rd cylinder from front.. I think

 

Yep #3 and #4 blow out the most for some reason. I just had #2 done on my CVPI for about $300 but it is far easier to get to than 3 or 4 on a truck. When I was talking to the shop they said they now just remove the fender to get to those back plugs. An independent shop that does them weekly would be a far better option than a dealer that may or may not see them every month and they will be cheaper. MY guess would be $500 since it is #3. My '97 spit that one about 5 years ago and it was $300 back then. Any good shop will give an estimate after looking at it for free or close to free.

 

So much for the 2003 with redesigned heads I guess. You know...the heads with twice as many threads to prevent blowing plugs.

 

I called around. One shop says they did some before but no longer fix stripped sparkplugs on a Ford Triton engine... he recommended calling the dealer so I did.

The local dealer said they have fixed many of these and the price would be $300 - $500... I asked how they fixed it and they said with a Heli-Coil.

Not the answer I wanted to hear.

My other option is to buy the time-sert kit and do it myself. I want to make sure that if I buy the kit, the tools will fit under the hood without removing the head. Also, what about metal shavings? I am digging for suggestions..

thanks

tshlance

 

I have a Timesert 5553 sitting on a garage shelf that needs to earn its keep. PM me if you're interested.

#3 is not bad, it's #4 that's the worst.

It's not hard to clean up after the repair. Shop vac with small adapter, compressed air with a long nozzle, and a few more techniques all work together.

 

Hey there, I have the same exact truck and engine as you and I blew out a plug yesterday. It was the plug furthest to the back on the driver's side. Not sure what # it is. My plug threads looked perfectly fine, it just backed out, so i just re torqued it to 28 foot pounds, installed a new coil pack, and it runs fine again.

It took me an hour to do the job myself in my garage, so before dumping money down the toilet, look again at the spark plug that blew out, and look to see if the threads are in fact damaged. If they look like threads on a new plug, try to reinstall it, and see if you can torque it with a torque wrench to 28 foot pounds.

 

How did you solve this?

 

I always wondered this on an 03 or any head that has the eight or so threads instead of 4-5. You would think it would slowly unscrew maybe half way or so then blow. That would leave you half of the threads still good?????...Just a thought.

 

you would think so, but after looking at the plug on mine that blew out, it was obvious that it just spun out in my case.

 

I wonder if anyone uses Blue lock-tite on the new plugs before torquing plugs to 28 ft lbs. It would hold the plug in and you could till get it out for the next plug change?

 

I've always thought the same thing. Just a dot of that stuff would do it. I'd be interisted in hearing others opinions.

 

I have thought of that also. I still use ant-seize and have to wonder if that is the best thing to do. Someone told me there is a coating on the plugs so you don't need it.....Like "what is the best oil"....nothing ever will conclude.

 

I'd like to know what the real cause was with these heads. Aluminum heads and spark plugs have been used for decades without issue in motorcycles, power equipment, outboard motors, etc... An engineer is at fault here. Maybe they used the wrong kind of aluminum, the clearances were not right when drilling and tapping those plug holes, the machining was wrong on the tapered fit, something? Under-torqued plugs (11 ft lbs.) coming loose and even properly torqued (28 ft lbs.) plugs coming loose. Something has been covered up here for such an issue to go on for so long and the continued costly inconvenience to the operator/owner. Not Ford's best day, and then that two piece fracturing disaster plug to follow in latter models. I think they may have hired a General Motors engineer for a while back then? I did here at one Ford dealership that all those engineers associated with the design and engineering of said problems were fired, I hope that's true!!!