Shop used borescope and sees nothing obvious.
Assumes now, that lower plug sleeve separated as the missing plug and coil got ejected and due to extreme heat, part of sleeve became welded to head preventing new plug seating.
And extraction tool ineffective.
Suggested resolution...pull the head

 

This is B@#$S@#t, also known as "El Toro Po Po" around these parts.


The Ford TSB on broken spark plug removal describes three separate types plug breakage on these engines. One happens to be where the long electrode (wire with platinum tip) comes out of the porcelain inside the extended snout. The recommended procedure for that failure is to epoxy a wire to the porcelain left inside the sleeve, let it dry, and pull the porcelain out of the sleeve. ((( ie: leaving behind exactly what is described as still being in there )), then use the extraction tool (Lisle Tool), to remove the sleeve. ///We like pictures. See below. ///


It so happens, I sorta skip that step and just force the extraction part of the tool down to the bottom of its threads - crushing the porcelain out the end of the broken plug and into the cylinder - and removing the sleeve all in one fell swoop! Then blow the junk out of the cylinder with exhaust valve open, or just crank it up.


The point being: If the plug sleeve is what's still in there (and in my opinion - that's the problem), it should NOT call for removing the head if the guys know what they are doing. I would recommend getting another opinion - OR - at least finding out if this shop has 'actually' done plug jobs on these '04 - 07' 5.4Ls.

 

This is their story today via email:
😏
Used plug extraction tool and it will thread all the way down into the cylinder hole. Still cannot get a new spark plug to go down in
the hole. There has to be some kind of slight damage down in the spark plug hole after the threads that is keeping the spark plug
from going down in the cylinder head properly.
A spark plug was removed from another cylinder (some other plugs found only hand tight) and a bore scope was used to look down
into both cylinder holes. Comparison led to discovery of the lower spark plug metal 'sheath' being broken off at the bottom of the
cylinder hole. The extraction tool will not reach and remove the stuck portion of the plug. Removal of the cylinder head is required to
try and remove the portion of the plug that is stuck in cylinder hole.

 

That clears things up a lot.


I've NEVER seen a case where the plug snout breaks off anywhere other than at the junction of the threaded part and the snout. The hole in the head is designed such that that snout CANNOT be pushed into the cylinder. I have seen (and read about on this forum) cases where the extraction tool (reverse thread extractor portion) has trouble "grabbing" onto the portion remaining in the head. That is the step I was talking about --- driving that part of the extractor ALL THE WAY DOWN to the FULL EXTENT of its travel. Use an impact wrench. It cannot push the plug snout inside the cylinder.


But at that point - if it will not remove what's left. The Only option would be to remove the head and get it from the other side.


PITA