Ford E250
Thread Starter
|
Trailering
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 2
From: Northern Nevada
Ford E250
Hey all,
just bought an 01 e250, 140k miles, with the 5.4, sure enough it spit a spark plug a couple days after I bought it. did some searching around and am not sure if there is going to be enough room in the van to do the time sert and wondering if I am going to have to pull the engine to do it? does anyone on here have any experience with this? I have watched tons of videos on it being done on f-series trucks but very limited info on this being done on e-series vans. thanks in advance!
just bought an 01 e250, 140k miles, with the 5.4, sure enough it spit a spark plug a couple days after I bought it. did some searching around and am not sure if there is going to be enough room in the van to do the time sert and wondering if I am going to have to pull the engine to do it? does anyone on here have any experience with this? I have watched tons of videos on it being done on f-series trucks but very limited info on this being done on e-series vans. thanks in advance!
Tuned
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 282
Likes: 1
My 2000 E150 did it at 150k miles. No need to remove the engine but it is tight. I do all my work on my vehicles except when the learning curve doesn't justify the cost. I took it to an local mechanic and did it for less than $200 ($150?). The cost of the tooling and risk of messing the head on something I may not do ever again (hopefully) was not worth it.
Thread Starter
|
Trailering
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 2
From: Northern Nevada
just called a local shop, guy sounds like he knows what hes talking about and said he would charge me $300 to time sert the one cylinder and change all the other spark plugs! think im gonna go ahead and do that lol
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 3,087
Likes: 24
From: Central Florida
Give it to him. Give him cash. Wait.
Truck good. Everybody happy happy happy.
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
|
Trailering
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 2
From: Northern Nevada
Dude at the shop said the spark plug chipped the head on its way out... not sure if he’s just yankin my chain or what. Also said he found two other stripped plugs. Said he borescoped the cylinders that has the issues and said the cylinder walls were scored up. Basically told me it needs an engine ... yay
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
Tuned
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 282
Likes: 1
Dude at the shop said the spark plug chipped the head on its way out... not sure if he’s just yankin my chain or what. Also said he found two other stripped plugs. Said he borescoped the cylinders that has the issues and said the cylinder walls were scored up. Basically told me it needs an engine ... yay
Tuned
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 282
Likes: 1
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,033
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
It has the PI "performance improved" heads, the 97-99 are lucky not to have those, started in 2000, they have 3 threads on the plugs, not sure what genius thought that was acceptable especially since aluminum is known to seize to the steel plugs, it is so common there is a nice thread repair insert, not a helicoil. As for claiming chipped, how, did he break the insert off in it and is now claiming the damage was done by the plug extraction, removal of the plug just removed the threads, not pieces of head.
Thread Starter
|
Trailering
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 2
From: Northern Nevada
he said the cylinder that I pulled the spark plug from (cyl 2) is damaged more than just stripped threads and that a time sert will not fix it and would still have blow by.
he then said on cyl 3 that the intake manifold gasket was leaking coolant into the spark plug tube, and showed me a video of everything.
and then on cyl 8 someone else tried to time sert or possibly heli coil that spark plug hole and that they screwed it up. I usually don't take anything to shops and work on it myself but this was something I felt I should take to someone who has done it before. and him showing me proof of his diag (the video) I trust him.
I think my next step is just get a hold of a used engine. pull the heads and send them to my local machine shop and have them cleaned, pressure tested, and then should I have them time sert all the spark plug holes for preventative maintenance, or just make sure the spark plug threads are good and clean and install new motorcraft plugs and overtorque them? I heard over torque them to 5 ft-lbs over factory torque spec. just scares me as they are aluminum heads....
thanks to everyone who has chimed in to help me.
he then said on cyl 3 that the intake manifold gasket was leaking coolant into the spark plug tube, and showed me a video of everything.
and then on cyl 8 someone else tried to time sert or possibly heli coil that spark plug hole and that they screwed it up. I usually don't take anything to shops and work on it myself but this was something I felt I should take to someone who has done it before. and him showing me proof of his diag (the video) I trust him.
I think my next step is just get a hold of a used engine. pull the heads and send them to my local machine shop and have them cleaned, pressure tested, and then should I have them time sert all the spark plug holes for preventative maintenance, or just make sure the spark plug threads are good and clean and install new motorcraft plugs and overtorque them? I heard over torque them to 5 ft-lbs over factory torque spec. just scares me as they are aluminum heads....
thanks to everyone who has chimed in to help me.
Thread Starter
|
Trailering
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 2
From: Northern Nevada
it ran okay, had a miss for sure. I bought it like that trusting the guy that sold it to me saying it needed a couple ignition coils. not knowing that these engines had this problem I bought it. next day I fired it up and it sounded like it had a small exhaust leak. drove it, sound got louder til it finally popped and then I thought maybe since it had been sitting it might have blown out the exhaust manifold gasket or the manifold itself. did some research and found out that It did indeed pop a spark plug. lol so now I'm in too deep to this thing already, might as well put an engine in it .