Well everyone, I just had my first spark plug blow-out on my X (51K miles) while the wife was driving . It's the middle plug on the passenger-side. You can tell by the coil pack being raised up. Had it towed to the dealer, the lady at the service counter got a little upset with me when I told her exactly what the problem is . She asked me how I knew, I told her it is a known "problem" I read about here while test driving the truck for a few days. She said it must NOT be a KNOWN "problem" because Ford has not told us (the dealership service department) about it. I said of course not, it would cost them too much money . I then told her I was simply concerned about it being fixed properly (for possible future extended warranty repairs), who they are going to try and blame this on, and who was going to pay for it. She proceeded to tell me my extended warranty does not cover spark plugs.......that's understood I told her......I'm concerned about the threads that may have came out of the head with the spark plug which IS covered!!!! Right now I just have a bad feeling about this one, I signed off on a $89.99 slip to have it looked at. If is covered I pay the extended warrenty $100.00 deductable, if not, I pay the $89.99 for them to tell me the plug blew out. The kicker, the X had a 2,000 mile zero cost to me used car dealership warranty which ran out 510 miles ago . Oh well, enough ranting . I'll keep ya's posted.

 

http://www.timesert.com/bigsert.html
I use these on Crown Vics when they blow out the plugs. They work great!

 

I spoke with the service manager yesterday; he states by sounds of it they will replace the head. Helicoil and/or insert are not an acceptable repair under my extended warranty. It has not even been looked at as of yet. Keep ya posted.

 

Dealer called today, 6-17,04, at about 4:00pm. They said they have to call Ford tomorrow to get approval for the repair since it will cost so much $. They indicated they are ordering a new head assembly. Anyone have any suggestions on new platinum spark plugs with possibly more threads and/or better quality to give them to install while they're in there working on it. I'm gonna try and work a deal with them, since they are going to have the coil packs off to check the others....I'll see f the can just change them while they're there if I supply them the plugs. Was thinking about the Bosch +4-tip platinums. Thanks all.

 

Don't do Bosch! I have had SO many problems with their plugs! They are junk. I even talked to a Bosch rep about them and he said he gets a lot of complaints. I know many other people around me having nothing but problems-it's not just me.

 

Update: Made a surprise visit to the dealer yesterday to see how the repair was going and to see if I could see the bad head . The mechanic had already left for the day. The engine was all apart with small piles of parts/bolts labeled. The engine itself was all covered with shop rags to keep everything clean & free from any foreign material during the overnight . The head itself was on the bench, middle spark plug hold had no threads left to speak of, only marks where they had been in the past . A couple of the other holes appeared to have surface rust on them . One plug also had rust towards the bottom, almost like there was water frequently sitting in the hole . They are going to replace all the plugs while they’re there since it has 51K on it . Service manager indicated everything else appeared to be in really good shape fine working order, and clean . He also indicated it the mechanic will start putting it back together tomorrow (Tuesday) . Hope all goes back together well, I have to admit we’re very anxious to get our X back…..hell…..we only had it for about 45 days before this happened.

 

The Auto-lite double platinum plugs appear to have a beefier thread pattern than the ford plugs or bosch (don't do bosch - I posted a thread on the v-10 forum on that nightmare!!!). They also work extremely well, noticable power increase and engine response.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

 

V10_X, I would not mind using another plug.....but....with the extended warranty they want me to use Motorcraft. I am using whatever they want; so they cover this & any future repairs.

 

I have scanned the forums for blown plugs, and it seems to be the OEM Ford plugs blowing out and plugs installed from the factory. I may have missed posts about other plugs, but seems to be only OEM plugs. Just my 2 cents. BTW, most warranties require parts that meet or exceed manufacturer recommendations, not OEM parts only. I understand and appreciate your position on the issue though - the path of least resistance.....

Jeff

 

Autolite and Motorcarft the same thing?

 

I dont think autolite and motorcraft are the same thing, the plug design is different. If they are the same thing its internal only. If they are, Ford is ripping everyone off big time, $9.50/plug motorcraft vs. $2.40/plug autolite.

 

What? You mean Ford doesn't RIP us off? I thought this was standard practice.

Big Mick

 

Hi all, got my X back Thursday the 24th. I was soooo glad!!!!!! Picked it up after the service department was closed. On the ride home all seemed fine, seemed alot quiter now after you reached cruising speed. Popped the hood when I got home to look things over. It was noted my bug shield was cracked, one of my new headlamps was loose, one side of one of the clips that holds the jack handles is broke, and deep gouges on the fan shaft. Now, the good side.....they stuck to their word....I only paid the $100.00 deductable. Not going to complain about the broken stuff, they did not charge me for the 9 other plugs and installing them. Figured; it has 51K on it and manual states to change at 60K, let them do it so they can't say I messed up the threads if another plug blows out.

I have a question.....my mpg is still hangin' around 9.2 per gallon. It has been this way since it was purchased. I did not buy it for good gas mileage but I read about other people getting 10-12 around town, I did get about 10.5 on a long highway trip. Shifts are normally between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm. It has headers with a borla exhaust system but stock intake. You think I need to open the intake up some to obtain a little better mpg? Thanx everyone.

 

It doesn't matter how many threads the plug has. The threads in the head are what fails.

I've been using the Bosch+4 plugs for about 20K and have not had a problem. The idle is smooth and no misfire or other malfunction.

 

I'm glad to here that. I bought these same plugs 4 months ago and still have'nt installed them. Reason being, other people posting bad results. Your post makes me glad that I didn't return them. I have 68,000mi. on my X and will one day install them.

Thanks.