I am helping a relative with her 2007 F-150. I has developed the low load jerking/misfire that seems to indicate plugs and/or coils. It has 107,000 miles on it, and as far as she knows has never had them changed, so it's time anyway.

I've read a ton on this issue, and I think I'm prepared to do this, but I still have two questions that I can't seem to find an answer to:

1. The TSB (and most everyone else) says to loosen the plugs 1/8th or so of a turn before adding any carb cleaner or penetrating oil. Won't this break the plug right away? Seems like it makes more sense to put some Kroil or similar in there and let it work overnight before turning it at all.

2. Are the SP-515 plugs one piece? I read a lot about the Champions, but I've personally had some bad luck in the past with Champions, and read a lot about others who have. But then I read that the SP-515s are still two piece. Why wouldn't Motorcraft produce a one piece plug to eliminate this issue in the future?

 

Break them lose while its hot is what I've been told.

 

Hre's what I did......
When I decided it was time to change the plugs (2006 Mark LT 4x2, 5.4, 35,000 miles) with the Motorcraft SP 515’s. Although I knew about the carbon build-up/plug removal issue, I decided not to change the plugs until there was a replacement plug that I was comfortable with…meaning I knew it was a good quality plug in terms of component design and construction. Although I did follow the most recent TSB, I also relied on my experience back in the 1970’s when aluminum heads & intake manifolds were just entering the street scene and never-seize did not exist. Here are the exceptions to the TSB that I did…
1. I ran Lucas fuel injection cleaner, mixed at 3 times their recommendation in 1 full tank of gasoline. Purpose…if I was lucky, it would dissolve or loosen any carbon buildup (although many do a real fuel injection cleaning also- and it is probably a best practice to do if you have more than 45-50,000 miles on the plugs)
2. Although I am a fan of PB Blaster, I used a product called ChemSearch “Yield”. The issue I have with using carb cleaner is the lack of lubrication…..in the old days of removing steel plugs from aluminum heads, we use to mix up acetone & ATF…or of we needed more lubrication, kerosene & ATF, “Yield” provides this lubrication- much better IMHO than even PB Blaster.
3. Yes, I put anti-seize on the plug threads (I know the TSB says not to)
4. Of course…a lot of patience, I really doubt if I ever put more than 20-25 lbs of force during removal (purposefully).......and yes, I cracked each plug by a "hair" and then sprayed the penetration oil
The end result, only one plug even “squeaked” coming out (but it basically unscrewed like a regular plug- literally). Plug #4 was initially a little stubborn, but after the second try, then waiting about 30 minutes, it came out with very little effort…just kept wiggling the plugs (tightening/loosening) by 1/8th or even less of a turn- and they all came out without a single one breaking or any issue really. Another technique that can definitely be used is to loosen the plugs about 1/8 to ¼ of a turn, start the engine for about 1 minute- this allows the flame to travel up around the plug to burn off the carbon, let cool, then remove with the process I previously described.
As far as using an air ratchet, I can understand the theory of “shocking” the carbon loose, but I have also seen and experienced in my younger days some real disasters.
Actual working time: 2 hours…..including washing my hands, total time was 5 hours.
FYI- Why I choose Motorcraft.
In the 1970’s I ran (like many) Champion’s in just about everything (even had the gold palladiums), but stopped in the early 1980’s when they changed their copper-core design and the resulting quality problems that IMHO still exist today. Since then I have run Splitfire (non-platinum) in my old world (1960’s) cars, Bosch in my late 1990’s vehicles (both because the cylinder head design really prefers these types of plugs), but I really had hesitation because of the construction/component quality of the non-Motorcraft plugs and really questioned the durability in this application about the Motorcraft SP508 or SP 509’s which are single platinum. Given the types of loads and burn/flame promulgation rates in the chambers, I really had doubts about the style of the plug with single platinum having the ability to “survive” as long as they engineers said. What do ya know…the SP 515’s are double platinum.

 

Thanks for the info Beechkid, I did put some of that Lucas in there, though not as much as you. I'm also going to do a couple of Seafoam treatments as well, through the vacuum system, to try to dissolve the carbon. I've done that before with pretty good results.

 

Here is my experience:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-changing.html
Good luck!

 

Thanks TMS. I guess it works, but I still can't understand how turning the plug 1/4 turn before doing anything else doesn't break the plug before you even have the chance to put the carb cleaner in there. But I guess it does, since pretty much every variation of this process does it.

 

My guess is it allows the carb cleaner to wick past the taper seal between the plug and the head to soften any carbon below. I surmise the separation doesn't begin until the plug is backed out further and the carbon begins to bunch up and lock the lower portion of the plug in the head when you try to remove it the dry, non-TSB way.

 

That makes sense. Thanks.

 

I have an '07 5.4 and have changed the plugs twice (208,000+ miles) and have not broken any.
Here's how I do it:
First, I run a can of Seafoam in each of the last three full tanks of fuel before the change.
Then, on the morning of the change, I don't drive the truck so it will be dead cold. I get everything out of the way and pull all eight coils and clean out the spark plug wells.
Now the work begins, I crack all eight plugs, 1/8 turn or less, then I fill the plug well about 1/2 full of Kroil and let it sit for two hours (that's the hard part, waiting). After the wait, I try turning the plug, gently at first. Once I've turned the plug a couple of turns, it's safe to unscrew like normal.
If I hear any squeaks or feel any strong resistance to turning, I stop and tighten the plug and back it out again. Usually this only takes a couple of times for the plug to ease up and come on out.
Once all eight plugs are out, I reinstall the computer so I can spin the engine. This is to clear out the Kroil that dropped into the cylinder when I removed the plug.
After that, I put nickle based anti-seize on the plug barrel and threads and install.
It'll smoke bad for a few minutes until the Kroil that remained in the cylinders burns off.
That's what's worked for me.

 

Thanks Mike, Yesterday I pulled the air cleaner and tube off. Pulled the front driver's side coil out and tried to crack the plug. I used a torque wrench and 30 lbs didn't budge it. I got brave and ran it up to 45, still didn't budge.

So I put it back together and I'm going to run a couple cans of Seafoam before I do it too. There's no real rush. I wanted to do a Seafoam treatment through a vacuum port to start with. The brake line goes back under the firewall though and I wasn't sure whether that was a good source to run it through. There is a port on the air cleaner, right behind, airflow wise, what I assume is a MAF sensor. It's capped, so I thought that might be a good spot, but it doesn't seem to be pulling any vacuum. Can you do a Seafoam treatment on these engines?

 

Do not turn 1/4 turn - that will likely break the plug.
Turn it as little as possible - just enough to open the seal so solvent can wick down. After soaking, turn it a little more and let it soak. If you can get the solvent in without snapping the plug then you will be able to remove it intact.

Although this advice is sound, I think even 1/4 turn may be okay. There was a thread years ago that actually measured the torque necessary to break the stock plugs. I searched for it but could not find it. If someone can find the old post I am referring to, please post a link.

I did find one of my old MC plugs so I just tested it. I clamped the nose and applied torque. At about 30 ft-lbs the thread region broke free from the nose. To keep it spinning required ~20 ft-lbs. I turned it 360 degrees and it still took ~ 20 ft-lbs.

The nose is attached as it is crimped in place. It takes a higher torque for the original crimp to slip. Then once it is slipping it only becomes separated by the threads pulling away from it (which I was not simulating in my test). So I think the real concern is not "breaking", but turning it too many times so that the thread regions draws away from the stuck nose.

So my suggestion is to apply as much torque as is necessary to cause the threaded region to turn a little, soak it, and then don't apply anymore that 15 ft-lbs to work it out. Squeaking while under high torque is normal as it means there is motion, no squeaking under low torque is fine as it means that the nose is spinning freely as the solvent has done its job. No squeaking under high torque means that the nose is stuck and you are drawing the threaded region away from the nose.

 

What is the answer?

 

X2, Just crack the plug, like I said 1/8 turn or less. You just want to break the seal so the penetrating oil can soak in.

 

http://www.phila.gov/fleet/Warranty%...-06%20FORD.pdf

 

For those interested here is the TSB.
http://www.phila.gov/fleet/Warranty%...-06%20FORD.pdf