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The timeserts seem like a decent alternative to head replacement. I hope the head is still salvagable to use the timeserts. I searched the site and this is a pretty common problem it seems. I wish I had caught this... as I did here the ticking, but delayed it until I was back home with tools/garage ect... I am kicking my self now. I am hoping I can do the repair without taking the heads off... I think I read that it was possible, just have to clean up all the metal shavings ect...
Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming. I could use the encouragement.
Thomas
there's no shame in heli-coils, none at all. Aluminum heads have come standard with heli-coils from the factory for a gazillion years in Europe. Especially the high compression hot rod Italian jobs. And I bet I've seen them in high horsepower, high rpm motorcycle heads since 10-thumbed mechanics were invented, one extra turn on the breaker bar and viola', it's time for a heli-coil. I'd jam my head into a boiling bucket of 30 weight before I paid Ford $3300 for a replacement head, especially since it was a design error. Yea, yea, we all need to check the torque, dielectric grease, yada yada. But there's lots of heads, aluminum and cast iron that don't have plugs being flung outward. The #1 cyl should be an esay fix, we used to coat the thread chaser with bearing grease to pick up any errant threads before we screwed in the steel threads. Good luck with your project, it should be a 3 beer day at most.
All of this has got thinking I really need to check the torque on my plugs. I have an 02 and i know that they are supposed to be better than the older heads, but I bought it used and have no idea what has been don in the past. What size plug socket do I need to use and what torque setting do I need to set the wrench to? StevenG
DMP437, if you were talking of my comment about the 2002 being better, then here is what I have head. In 2001 they revised the heads to the "PI" configuration. This added a few HPs and increased the number of threads that hold the plugs in. I believe it went from 4 to 8 or a number very close. There are still cases of blown plugs in the Pi heads, but i have not seen reports of as many. StevenG
Interesting, there have been a number of posts in the past about the improvements as a result of the new PI heads and I thought that the effective date was in the 2001 model year. StevenG
I am hoping so, I wasn't looking foward to pulling the heads in the parking lot!
Can any one else confirm this?
Sure - just install the kit - do not remove the head. Why do you think they say, "Make sure the valves are closed"? If the head was off, why make sure the valves are closed.
Like I said, take your time, get all your ducks in a row...and just do it.
Yea, It makes sense now, My brain wasnt functioning and was overwhelmed with information.
I've got another question...Will it hurn anything driving back with a dead cylinder? I need to get my truck from the dealer to the dorm lot, which is about 5 at the most. Other than some noise, will it hurn anything?
I doubt it will hurt anything - if you REALLY want to play it safe, disconnect the fuel injector for that cylinder - that way, it's not spraying gas into the cylinder, and you're not getting it sprayed out the sparkplug hole into the engnie compartment (that can be very smelly)
Ok I have a 2000 V10 and am not nearly as inclined mechincally as many of you here. What should I check for on my V10 to make sure this doesnt happen?
Welcome aboard, SCHRADE.
How many miles on the engine? It may be time to change them now. Just do a search here for "Changing Plugs". That will give you many hours of reading pleasure.