ive had a head off that had a helicoil put in it. it has way more threads then stock and looks like it will never blow again

 

Happened to my truck too in July of 2008. Its an 02 truck with 85k on the motor. Second plug back on the drivers side. I was going to fix it myself, but found a local shop where the guy has the Ford tool for the Timesert installation. Only charged me $166.00, so he did me good. I supplied the new coil-on-plug.

This problem, and my recurring leaking exhaust manifolds have me seriously doubting a Ford truck again, and this is my 6th.

 

I do want to thank everyone who posted about this problem. I think that it helped that I had alot of background information.thread insert helicoil

 

I had number 2 plug blow out, rather it was probably just hangin in from a repair before I bought it. I researched and went with the calvan 38900 repair tool and inserts, even bigger than the big sert, as a matter of fact if you have a big sert failure it will repair that. I'm a millwright by trade so working with tools is second nature , but I figure a competent DIY'er can handle it. all done with engine in the truck and did not remove the fuel rails even, took me two days on the weekend, as I ordered two extra inserts, the kit comes with six, and did the entire motor,, five thousand miles and counting, seems really good, they have no reported failures. the kit comes with long drill,and centering device, all just the right length, and long tap. so far so good, this is my first ford truck since about fifteen years ago, I sold my chevy after they took a bail out on the tax payers, so for now I'd rather fix a ford than buy a government motors vehicle.

 

I had #2 blow out on my 5.4 last week and had my shop install an insert and replace COP assembly and check all plug holes for damaged threads and replace all plugs. This came to a cost of $838.00 .
If you heare a ticking sound like an out of ajustment valve chances are a plug is loose and about to blow out. This ticking sound began about three weeks before the plug actually blew out. Ford has a TSB out on this issue TSB-05-22-08

 

i will recomend the CAL-VAN tool also. i got mine through mac,and its a great kit. stay away from the FIX-A-THRED kit.

 

According to my '97 factory service manual plugs are torqued at 9-20Nm OR 7-14 ft/lbs. I use a 3/8" drive torque wrench calibrated in inch/pounds because most ft/lbs wrenches aren't accurate at the lower range required. Using the inch/pound range I set my plug torque at 84-168 in/lbs. Remember to use the nickel based anti-seize!!!!

Bolts for the COP's are set at 5-7Nm or 44-62 in/lbs. Good idea to use any sort of anti-seize here too!

Draw them up slowly.

 

lets hear from someone with the timeserts that has had them for 30,000+mi. the good, the bad, or the ugly. My wifes truck just blew a plug last week and I NEED to get her truck back to her....soon....I want MY truck back...lol

And I seem to be having trouble finding other "repair/not replace" options. any help would be great.

thanks,
James

 

My '01 just blew the #2 plug on my way to work this morning. I just rolled 100k three weeks ago and so far this is the second spark plug issue I've had since then. I replaced the #4 COP and plug last week. Trying to figure out the best way to fix this on the cheap, Timesert, helicoil, or just going with larger threads. Totally losing my faith in Ford at this point, and I've been a lifelong Ford guy.

 

Update:
I bought a new plug and COP to replace the ones that were trashed when they were blown out. I swapped the number one cylinder plug and COP into the number two cylinder because I fully expect it to be ejected again and didn't want to waste the new parts like that. When I checked the plug I did not see ANY sign of aluminum shavings on the threads or anything that would indicate it stripped out the threads, so I started thinking maybe it was just loose and finally popped. So I tried installing the number one plug in the number two hole. At first it kept binding at half a turn which I know indicates crossthreading. I took some time and made many more attempts and finally felt that it was not crossthreading. I still think the threads might be damaged or partially missing so I didn't really torque it in very hard, I was worried that if they are partially damaged I could fully strip them out by overtorqueing them. So I put the new stuff in cylinder one and left cylinder two with the plug "installed" but no cap or plug boot. Fired the engine up and it ran fine except for the miss of not having the number two cylinder firing. Then I installed the COP and plugged everything in, fired it up again and no problem. I drove it from my garage to my parking space and no problem. I think one of two things here, either I was lucky and managed to muscle through a partially damaged first thread (possibly from the plug being ejected) and everything will be fine, or (and I believe most likely) once I get on the road and put the engine under some load and it warms up it's going to spit the plug again and destroy the COP. Either way I think once I have a little more money I will probably yank the head and install the Timeserts. Has anyone been able to reinstall a plug into a blown plug hole? How did it end up? Did it spit it back out, is it still kicking? I'm looking for some input, and fully expecting tomorrow's drive to work to tell me I have a MAJOR repair coming my way. Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their experience.

 

Update:
Well I made it to and from work today without the plug blowing out again. I did not at any time get into the throttle past grandma driving so it's still quite possible that it is weakly threaded. This weekend if I make it that long without blowing the plug I will put the truck under some solid load and see if the plug holds. If it does I will check the plug again and see if it is as tight as I can get it by hand without a ratchet. I think I will also replace the rest of my plugs because the number one plug that I moved to number two was completely black with carbon and soot so the rest of them are probably ready for a change. Except for that number two plug, I have no intention of ever removing that plug on purpose, at least until I have the Timesert kit. Anyone know how much that kit runs for an '01 F250 with the 5.4?

 

CplMac have you owned this truck since new---or what mileage was shown when you did purchase it?

 

I have owned this truck for 13 months, I bought it with 84k and passed the 100k mark a month ago.

Update:
It spit the number two plug on the way to work this morning as I suspected it would. I dropped it off at the shop after work and they have the Snap-On version of Fords anodized aluminum insert kit. The Ford dealer wanted $350 to do it (a much better price than I was expecting), the kit itself was $200, and the shop will do it for $150. I know the owner of the shop and he will do it right, but he will also not hesitate to charge me for it so I'm fully expecting that $150 to balloon somewhere closer to $250. I was torn between just buying the kit and doing it myself because then I could address the issue as it continues to arise, but I also wanted my truck back right away and it would take some time to have the kit shipped and I work during the week. I will update tomorrow when I get back from work with how the repairs went, and the bill. Turns out using the old coil and plug from the number one cylinder was a good decision.

 

Update:
Picked up the truck after work, the repairs appear to have been a success. The iinserts work like the timeserts, they have the lip on the top to positively seat and the cold rolled threads on the bottom to positively lock into the combustion chamber side when threaded through. As I suspected the bill ballooned, total bill was $235. Time will tell if the repairs were good, but with this style of insert I don't anticipate the plug blowing out again. My only concern is keeping an ear open for the sound of another plug working it's way out. Three out of eight plugs and coils in this motor are now less than two weeks old, and I'm considering changing the rest of them at this point.

 

CplMac I asked about previous ownership ect wondering if that might not be at the heart of your experiencing these one-at-a-time plug blow outs---possibly an overly enthusiastic plug changer over torqued them and/or failed to use anti-seize?

Your bad luck suggests it might be time inspect the not-yet-failed plug holes to see if they too have been damaged. If so having them done all at the same time would be time saved later on---perhaps your shop would give a package deal? That $235 is a VERY fair price even if they don't discount on volume!