Hi fellas,
It's been about 70K miles since a full plug change, so I need some sound advise about plug torque and anti-seize. I've got a new set of Motorcraft platinum plugs and a set of coils with boots about to go on it Thursday.
I hate to drag up this old topic, but I'm looking for what is the commonly agreed upon torque for spark plugs in an '02 4.6 engine. The last time I desperately needed this information, I forgot to write it down for reference. That was 7 years ago when I did my own Ford Triton-Time Sert installation, and it served me well. No plug launching since then.
That repair was needed because a Ford master tech who I paid to do my plug change 4K miles prior to plug ejection must have made a mistake. In 2007 when I did the head repair I remember reading (here I think) that the torque Ford specified (in '02) was inadequate, and I remember exceeding that spec by several pounds as suggested when I removed and re-installed the set after the repair.
I've also seen some debate about the use of anti-seize on plugs for these heads. Most search results I've been able to finds are very dated, so I figure time has proven what works after all these years.
So with all of that said, what torque specs are best for plugs in these heads, and what about the use of anti-seize.
Thank you in advance.

 

28 ft-lb, no anti-seize.

 

Wow! I didn't think those '02 heads could stand that much plug torque. I've seen older topics that suggested 7-11, some saying 14-15, even as high as 21.

 

I don't have the 2002 specs but I have the 2000 and 2003 ones. For 2000 it's 7-14 ft. lbs. (80-177 in. lbs) and for 2003 it's 7-1/2 ft. lbs. (89 in. lbs.) So I imagine anywhere from 7-14 ft. lbs. will be okay. When I did my 1997 and 2001 I went with 13 ft. lbs. and had no issues.

 

It is my belief that the Ford specs are woefully inadequate and are a contributor to the blown plug issue.

Yes, the heads can handle the level of torque (and much more) that I gave. I've done dozens of Tritons from that era with those non-PI heads over the last 10 years and have never had a plug blow after the higher torque was used. I've found a good number of plugs that were previously installed at a dealership, presumably torqued to the factory recommendation, that were already loose and a blowout probably wasn't very far off in that engine's future.