Hello all you Ford enthusiasts, I just recently purchased a Ford Expedition 97 for a very low price . The vehicle is tagged and ready to hit the road with minor problems it needed a new battery which i recently purchased and when i finally turned it on it seems to sound like it could have something worse going on , The old owner told me it could be a spark plug or a hose , i dont thinks it either of those can anyone help me out and identify the noise ?I hope its nothing serious..

here a link to a recording i did when i turned on the engine
https://youtu.be/sFkn3zbUc7k

 

Blown spark plug. Hope you got it cheap.

 

I got it for a very low price , He had told me it may have been a spark plug, Do you think just replacing the plugs will help me get this vehicle back on the road?

 

It's more than just "a spark plug", it's the spark plug hole that's the problem. In 97 the 2-valve heads have only 3 threads in the spark plug holes which has resulted in countless spark plugs being blown out and the threads being stripped.

 

So i take just replacing the spark plug wont fix my problem

 

Not likely, I suspect the spark plug hole has to be repaired. I also suspect the owner knew this which is why he dumped it cheap.

 

Look at the coils and you will probably see one dancing or out of place, that will identify the cylinder. If it's near the front of the engine it's not terribly difficult job. If near the back under the cowl it becomes more difficult as there is less room to work in. You can buy a repair kit that has what you need to repair the threads. You will probably need a new plug and coil. I keep the repair kit in my truck after having the plug blow while away from home.

 

Now there's some real unadulterated paranoia for you!

 

Well not so much as it might seem. I own the kit, this is my only truck with this engine, I only drive this on long distance road trips, and it stores as easily here as at home.
My one plug that blew was 6 hrs from home. Fortunately my brother was driving it and had to do the repair. I figured since I already have the stuff I might as well keep it where it could be used.

 

As Alloro said, your engine has experienced the common Spark Plug Ejection problem. The "steam engine" noise in your video is something I know all too well as of recent. There are quite a few different options for repairing this, all of which require drilling and tapping new threads in the cylinder head, then putting in an insert. The most notable is the TimeSert kit. Cylinder #3 (passenger side, 3rd back) seems to be the most common location for failure.

I have to agree with 2Trux. We all know the motto of the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared. Gotta admit that 2Trux has got some major cajones and mighty impressive skills for doing said repair on the side of the road. When the mystery repair insert on my #3 cylinder (where it fails the most) came out on the plug, I had no idea what to do. After a couple days to cool off, I measured the threads on the insert and applied a some previous owner demographic data to find a solution. Add in a talented neighbor who was an ex Ford mechanic and he got me back up to full in about 30 minutes. Turns out the original repair insert came from Oreilly Auto Parts. The kit I got was identical, so all it took was some loctite and my neighbor cranking it in place. Best $46 I ever spent, $16 for the kit and $30 for my neighbor to do the job for me

Check for loose coils. I have a feeling it is #3 that is the issue. The culprit's coil will be bouncing around.