I think that is exactly what i'll do.

I went to take out plug #1 and it was tight. Tight to the point that i was afraid of snapping it off. I know plugs should not be that tight in anything.

 

Do you know of your EX's heads have been helicoiled? I spit three plugs before I had all my cylinders helicoiled.

 

Idk. It had dealer maintenance and service from the original dealer its entire life. 1 owner til i bought it a few mos ago

 

Aluminum inserts are a much better choice versus helicoil for correcting the plug ejection problem, just FYI. Also, proper torque and checking the plugs once a year will almost completely eliminate the plug spitting problem.

Stewart

 

[QUOTE=kennybob;17254694] ... Maybe even another $50 for plugs. ...[QUOTE]

You can get 10 Motorcraft SP479 spark plugs for $30 on ebay or RockAuto.

 

Well, I took the Excursion to a shop that was referred to me from a forum member that is local to me.

Diagnosis was #1 coil bad, and #8 coil intermittently bad. They advised to do all 10 plugs and boots and of course replace #1 and #8 coils.

Drove it home 50 miles last night and it is purring like a kitten.

Also, left rear caliper seemed to be sticking/dragging on occasion. 'slider' pin/bolt was in bad shape so they fixed that.

....and, when i dropped it off, as I was waiting for my ride to get home, a rear brake line blew when they went to pull it in the bay. Talk about good timing. Glad that didn't happen while i was out of town with the trailer tomorrow.

When I bought the Ex, i got under it and looked at the lines, they all looked good. Apparently there is an area in the lines that are prone to rusting near the rear axle...idk.

The original P0720 code for the output shaft speed sensor was not an issue at all as reported widely on the interwebz and on here. I have 2 spare OSS's just in case though.

As far as the shop goes, the owner is a Ford master tech...They are a high performance shop specializing in all things ford (and all other makes/models/types of course), especially turning street legal mustangs into drag strip monsters. They had a Dodge charger hellcat up on a lift with some DOT legal street slicks on it...not sure what they were doing to it.

They also are gearing change gurus so im gonna look into getting some gear work done when i decide to put bigger rims/tires on.

I feel warm and fuzzy about taking the EX to them and not a dealer where i was getting no good vibes from the 1/2 dozen dealers i talked to.

 

It's a great feeling when your Ex is running as it should... a feeling only rivaled by finding a good, competent independent garage who you can trust your Ex with if needed.

 

Timesert inserts are stainless steel.
They can supply aluminum if requested.

 

Took the truck on a little 400 mile "excursion" pulling the 5500 lb trailer last weekend and it's running smooth as butter. When stopped at a light and in gear, i have to look at the tach to see if it's still running.

Scored some of these as well locally. Couldn't pass up the deal. Unsure if i'll use them or not. These are not the ones i have, but the same.

Now i need to re-read the aluminum vs steel spacers debate....ugh

 

I'm probably reading this incorrectly, but I didn't suggest that Timeserts were only made in aluminum, if that's what you thought?

Stewart

 

You didn't mention Timesert and I was just adding some info.
I didn't know what the Timesert inserts were made of until I called them.
They normally supply all their inserts in stainless unless stated, but can supply them in aluminum upon request.
They didn't indicate which would be better, but any Timesert insert is probably better than a helicoil.
I guess my preference would be the stainless.

 

Yeah, hence why I was a tad confused. (Ok, confusing me is easily done, but that's beside the point)

Aluminum is better, and yeah, any Timesert insert (even the stainless steel) is better than a helicoil.

For aluminum heads, a person should get aluminum inserts. You want to stay with similar materials, aluminum inserts for aluminum heads, due to the heat expansion difference between dissimilar metals.

Way back when Ford was getting around to offering a different fix for this problem, instead of the "replace the head" action Ford had previously instructed their techs to take, Lock-N-Stitch became the only Ford recommended aluminum insert provider to fix this problem.

That was many, many years ago, and they used to advertise that on their website, but I just now checked and it looks like they are now only Ford approved.

Stewart

 

Well, i be damned. Drove truck today, came to a stop and it died. Re-fired, and OD light flashing again. Exact same symptoms as before. We've had a lot of rain this week and it has been sitting.

I'm thinking i'll just replace the other 8 coils myself. At least I'll know that i have 10 new coilds. The shop replaced #1 and #8 and that fixed the misfire(s) and has been running great since July and 6 roadtrips worth about 5000 miles.

 

I don't think your issue is going to be the coils.
The common thing that is occurring is it rains.
New or old parts, something is getting wet.
Did you try flooding the windshield with a garden hose?

 

...but, it has rained a lot this summer/fall since #1 and #8 was replaced and it has ran perfect. Truck sits in the same spot in the driveway. Catches the same amount of rain when it rains.

I get what you're saying but the truck sits in rain all the time. Replacing #1 and #8 didn't keep the truck from getting wet in the past 4 months.

I'll throw a garden hose on it and see what i can find. I am familiar with the 'bridging the gap' molding at the hood/firewall area.