Truck specs:
2003 F-150, 4.6l, 2WD. 193K miles.

The usual ticking noise for weeks before the blow. (Thought it was an exhaust leak, or maybe a lifter.) Blew on the freeway under normal load at 65mph. COP broke.

Plug still in the hole, but pulls out. Didn't try to see if it'll screw in. The plug's porcelain center section spins freely in the outer metal case, and moves up and down in there about 1/32 to 1/16". Never saw a ground insulator do that before.

Need a few questions answered.
What is the proper 4.6l plug torque? 11, 15 or 28 ft lbs.? (may re-torque the others)
If it backed out enough to come free, is it worth trying to torque a new plug down?
Being the 3rd plug back, on the passenger side, will a Time-Sert tool set work back there, or is it too tight?
Is the 4.6l really less-prone than the 5.6? I read that from a long term member in here. I thought those heads were the same.

From the Time-Sert page:
++ TIME-SERT, problem FORD 1L2E heads use p/n 5553 ++
"If you are repairing a RF-1L2E or RF-2C5E head, this is a Romeo 2001 and up PI head. Due to a countersink problem with the head design, a special counterbore tool P/N 55518 is needed to give the hole clearance for the repair."

"If looking down from the passenger side it should be located just below the oil dip stick.
If looking down from the driver side it should be located further back near the firewall."

I looked at the pic, and read the directions. I could not locate this casting number. My dip stick is on the driver's side, not the passenger's....

I could use some help determining what heads I have. There was a sticker on the front of the driver's side head. It has this on it "6K 2L3" and the rest is unreadable.

Here are some pics of the hole and the engine compartment. Hopefully someone can tell me what I have so I can get the right kit, if needed?

Thanks guys....

 

By 2003 there where no more blown plug issues on either the 4.6 or 5.4 as an ongoing issue.
Likely your plug had come loose.
Your photos show a Windsor motor as far as I can tell..
To be sure, the valve covers had a different amount of hold down bolts between the two versions.
If you look at your VIN number, the 8th digit from the left is the engine code.
2= a V6
W= a Romeo 4.6.
6= a Windsor 4.6.
L= a 5.4.
The year of the motor is the 10th digit.
V= 97.
W= 98.
X= 99.
y= 2000.
1= 2001.
2= 2002.
Good luck.

 

Hi Bluegrass 7

8th digit is a W - so Romeo
10th is a 3, so a 2003 from the looks of the progression.

Well, if I can't screw it back in, then at least I know it's a Romeo I'm dealing with.

Thanks for helping me figure that part out.
Do you know the proper torque value for the plug?

 

Plug #6 is on the driver's side, you've got a blown #3.

Different camps on that one. I use 28#.

#3 is easy compared to #4.

BTW, I can see you've never had recall 05S28 performed. You might want to unplug that switch on the front of the brake master cylinder until the recall is done. It would be a real bite in the a$$ to fix this only to have your truck burn up the next day due to a preventable issue.

 

Thank you. I guess you can see I number my cylinders the old Chevy way..

 

Very strange, Bluegrass. You ID'd the engine as a Windsor. I read in another post that Windsors have the oil fill on the pass side, which mine does. Yet I have a "w" code in my VIN, 8th place. Engine has never been changed. 11 bolts on the valve cover are Romeo, right?

Seems there was some sort of oilf fill and dip stick location swap for '03?

 

Ford labels everything as if you are seated in the driver's seat facing forward.

For a V-engine, not transverse mounted: Start at right front, count to rear. Go to left front, continue counting.

For an inline engine, not transverse mounted: Start at right front, count to rear.

For a transverse mounted engine, mentally rotate the engine 90° CCW as viewed from above (or rotate your perceptive the opposite), then use the above scheme.

BTW, I do have a rental 5553 kit available, PM me if interested.

The Windsor/Romeo differences are something I've never gotten into. WTH Ford hasn't standardized the engines (maybe they have by now) between those plants after decades is beyond me.

 

Update.

I cleaned up the OLD plug. The threads on it looked good enough for a test. All I wanted to do is see if it backed out a ways before blowing out. Since the center electrode and porcelain insulator spun freely within the ground casing, I imagined that the casing could have spun free most of the way before coming out.

I painted the threads and seating surface black with a Sharpie, and ran it in the hole. It got stiff. Pulled it out and saw that the black had come off some of the threads and the seating chamfer. Did it again.

Results:
It took only TWO turns to seat the plug. Sounds like at least 4 threads are toast, meaning, Time Sert. Going to try to find a shop that uses it, since I have a jacked-up left arm (tendonitis) and a recovering blown disc in my neck. I used to build engines up til '97. Not sure I could even work that reamer back in that hole now....

Anyone know of a good shop in Manteca, CA? Time to research....

 

FT/LBS for torque on spark plugs??????
NO WONDER YOU GUYS are blowing spark plugs.
I've never HAD spark plug issues from the get go.
I tighten my plugs just a little more than hand tight.....probably in/lbs.
Aluminum threads can't take that kind of load - you'll blow the threads right out.

 

The factory torque spec for a 97 4.6 is 80-178 lb-in. Some quick division (by 12) turns that into 6.6-14.8 lb-ft.

I can guarantee that your "Armstrong torque wrench" is far from calibrated. Insufficient torque is one of the most common causes of blow-out.

 

Just to be clear, I did say it looked like a Windsor from the photo.
Then gave you a way to be sure.
My Windsor looks the same as in the photo because I cannot see the cover bolt locations and count.
Would you accept my apology?
And yes, Ford cylinder numbering has been passenger side front #1 since at least 1932 on the first 85 hp Flat Head V8s.
Making your blown plug #3
Good luck.

 

Sorry, Bluegrass. I didn't mean for it to sound like a complaint at all. I guess I worded things the wrong way. I appreciate your help and info. I was sounding things out out loud. Please accept my apology... It's been a stressful weekend on way too many fronts.

 

Went to drive the 5 miles to the shop this afternoon. Here are some observations.

Our 2003 F-150 has 3.55 gears in it....

Started fine. Rough and loud.
Rolled out of the drive way and tried getting some speed on the neighborhood street. Sluggish.
Didn't want to idle at the stop 2 blocks away. Put it in neutral to let it breath a bit at 1300 rpm. Made the turn and had to pull over - it wouldn't move well at all. Neutral and a breather again. Got under way. 2 more blocks to the next turn. Engine warming up...

Once I got onto the main street, I found it will run fairly well at 1500 rpm, in 3rd, no overdrive. This was good enough for 34 mph. Steady, though rough. Engine temp warmed up to normal and stayed there. Good oil. I'm guessing the intake pulses averaged out enough for the other 7 cylinders to get a good gulp. Played that game all the way to the shop.

They do Time Serts there. Asked me to bring Motorcraft plugs, as they won't touch Autolite (which is what was in there for 80K and finally separated insulators from bodies). I happily ran out and got the plugs and a COP unit. Shop has excellent reviews and won city awards the last 9 years running. I feel good about this one.

Note about RPM. Generally, in a normally operating cylinder, there is some pressure acting on the piston. With the plug out, the piston only comes down by the rod yanking on it from below. I wondered about what was happening to the piston with each cycle, and decided to keep engine RPMs high enough to give me reasonable speed, but low enough to keep the piston happy. That's how I came to settle on 34 mph at 1500 rpm. It just felt right. (I could hear the other 7 hitting beautifully... can't wait to get 'er back.)

Anyway, thanks to all of you for helping out with answers and getting me up to speed so quickly. You're a fine bunch of guys.

 

Time Sert has been in since Monday, and new plugs, too. Runs just fine. Paid $309 for the TS installation and they installed my plugs for me for another $50.

 

I just had the same thing happen. Blown #3 plug. Anyone know of somewhere in savannah ga that does the timesert repair?