1999 Lightning, 20,000 miles,,,never abused, hot rodded or any abuse at all,driven by a 62 yr old man (my dad), this truck has been babied since day one, even still running on the factory Goodyear Eagles,, that are supposed to be shot at 15k, and they still have tread. Crusing along 40 mph and BAM, #7 Plug blowed out.
ANy of ya'll ever had this problem? Ext warranty expired last June so there is no warranty, any chance ford may help with repairs? Of course the Lightning has Aluminum heads so heli coil is really not an option. Where is a good place to buy a head? And how much should it cost to R&R the head? Located in Dallas Tx,, Any of ya'll reccomend anyone or place to do the repairs? Any help ya'll could provide would be very much APPRECIATED as funds for this repair are going to be a real problem if Ford wont step up to the plate. I have heard of this with the 5.4 in the Standard F-150, but never a Lightning 5.4. Any suggestions?

 

27 views and no responses? Surely this is not the first Lightning to blow a plug,,, or is it? Sure do need some help on this one guys.

 

There are several guys at www.nloc.net that have had this happen and can give you advice.If you find the right Ford rep,they might do something for you seeing the low miles.Good luck.

 

From what I hear its pretty common, I think Ford also has created a set of redesigned heads to cure the problem, this was one of the problems that Ford wanted to keep quiet and not do a recall on. If the truck has any mods at all, they wont cover it period!

Hopefullly since yours is low mileage and no mods, they would cover it, do some research at nloc.net and go in ARMED! raise a stink and dont back down!

Good luck!

 

I appreciate the info for sure. These boards are a great thing, anything you could ever wanna know is here somewhere, I feel like such a rookie with all the info here,, And actually i'm no rookie either LOL.Only wish i had sumtin to give back,,,, if any of ya'll wanna catch some Giant Lake Fork bass or are Looking for real estate in the area please Look me up and you will be taken care of..!! Will let ya'll know what the out come is with Ford for sure..

 

It happened to me and I don't even have a Lightning.

My (sold) 99 Ford Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor had that happen around 100,000 miles... I remember when I posted it at the Crown Vic boards all the thickheaded *bleep* said I don't know how to torque spark plugs...

 

I've heard of this problem on the 5.4 engines in general. It happened to a guy who was argueing with the Service Manager when I was at the dealership getting an oil change. Anyway from what I overheard, he (Ford service mgr.)admits this is an issue, but said that this was probably due to an improperly installed plug, which has been the findings of others they had seen.

Sorry, but that's all I have on the subject.

Good Luck!

 

Well believe it or not Ford Stepped up,, They said we would have to pay 25% of the New Head R&R. Thats not so bad I guess seeing as though the truck is 5 years old now,, The mileage and being such "Loyal" customers are the only things that saved us. Lets see my whole family had driven nothing but fords for at least 20 years,,, I guess thats loyal.. Now dad says he dosent know if he can trust it and is thinking of selling His Dream Toy.. I'm not sure what to tell him really,, I kinda think drive it and if it blows another one then we'll stick a heli coil in it and trade it off. Seems a dam shame to have such a awesome vehicle with a problem like this.. We tried for the latest model heads as possible, and the service manager said the 04's had 3 valves per cylinder so they wouldnt work.. Sure hope it holds up,, Needless to say they are going to change all the plugs and then we are going to give them some very serious TESTING and see if we can blow another one real soon while its all still fresh in their heads..!!! Appreciate all the help for sure,,, will let ya'll know how it goes..

 

Now they have gotten the head, but the mechanic says its the wrong head? Part number appears to be right i guess but no fit.!! Will she ever run again????

 

i have heard of it happening even on replacement tr6's
go with denso repalcement plugs. do them all while you are at it . it takes alot to replace the plugs i would hate to have to do it again soon because you stock #3 plug goes . i hope this helps

 

Dads Lightning is finally home once again, with 2 door dings though..! Runs great, and now the hassle of trying to get the dents fixed.!!!!!!!!! Why does it always have to be a hassle with Dealerships? of course they said "WHAT DENTS"? Truck didnt have a scratch on it,, Dam thing has never even been washed with soap and now this,, Supposedly they are going to fix it,, We'll see. Runs like a scalded dog like it always did so guess thats a good thing. Now if the 8 new motorcraft plugs they installed will just stay in there..!!!!

 

Sorry to hear they dinged the truck!

BTW....check this link about blown plugs!
http://www.nhtoc.com/forum/showthrea...&threadid=9350

 

This happened to my buddy's lightning. He's got intake, exhaust, appearnce mods and 20's and they covered him. You should be fine.

 

It all depends on the dealer, some are mod friendly, others arent!