...and now the options are 2:
replace the head - 12 mths warranty - $4917!!!
replace the motor entirely - 36 mths warranty - $7995.00!!

Truck is 02 350 crew cab long bed, mileage is 74k, construction use primarily.

So, can anyone here tell me what other options I may have? Towne Ford in Redwood City CA says heli-coils won't work in aluminium heads - is that right?

I also did a quick search and found a replacement crate motor for $4000. How hard is it to swap out a motor in this truck?

Colm
~or should I just jbweld the plug back in and trade it in against a new one...

~~sorry that my first post here is a bummer (for me) but thanks for the other info I've already picked up here. Wish I'd found y'all awhile ago...

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Colm.

There is a fix, however, that works just fine - Look Here.

When someone says something like that, especially a Ford dealer, it makes you want to knock a lung loose.

Check it out. Here's a list of Distributors.

And welcome to FTE

 

Thank you!!! :-) I owe you a beer or three. Awesome fix.

And now, the hard part: I have'nt worked on motors since I rallyed FIATs in Ireland in the 70s. Is this a job best left to a local mechanic?

Colm

And welcome to FTE
and thanks for the welcome mat; mine is out for you if ya make it to this neck of the woods...

 

Talked with Erin down in lala land at Thread Works; she's shipping the kit this afternoon. $350 inc. 2 day air. Now to find a mechanic...

Thanks again for all the info...
Colm
~know any good wrenchers in Nth CA?

 

How bad is it for the motor if I drive it home from the dealer? It's about 5 miles or so...
Should I try to pack the plug back in? or just leave it and drive slow and easy...

Colm

 

Do a search for Timesert. there are two very goo companies that make kits to fix this problem and although they aren't cheap they are very good quality fixes and I have never heard of one of these failing, they do run in that $400-$500 range but that beats a $2500 head. This is somewhat of a commen problem on 99-01' modular motors.
Do a search under the V10 forum and you should find a pelethera of threads on what the best way to fix the problem is. Good luck if you can't find anything I can embleish if needed.

 

Sorry i didn't read the entire post and see that you already ordered one of these kits, my bad!

 

Have it towed to where you want it.
2 reasons
1) gas is still being injected to the cylinder(you could disconnect the injector )
2) you don't want to have dirt and debris being sucked into the cylinder and scoring the cylinder wall

Rich

 

thank you both for the info. You've all been a great help.

Colm
Really great site. :-)

 

Colm

Sorry to hear of the plug blow out

Two things cause this in my professional opinion:

Too loose a set of plugs or over torqued at one time (most likely original install at factory build up)

Too loose may or may not have been first or later install. The steel plugs and aluminum head expand and contract at different rates and every time the motor goes from cold to hot to cold again the natural physics is to loosen the plug ever so slightly. This decreases the tight interference fit and allows any moisture (plain old condensation) to get in and start corrosion. Add to this fact that the two metals cause another form of corrosion because they are "dissimilar" metals. This corrosion is caused be "galvanic action" or electrolysis. Less of a problem with newer motors because the factory changed to a plated plug with nickle or zinc coating. The original plugs were raw steel threads and seat. There is a point where the loose plug allows so much corrosion that the top threads erode and eventually the cylinder pressure is enough to finish the job.

Over torque causes a mechanical failure because the steel plug threads are much stronger then the aluminum ones. The head threads actually distort and micro crack at their base.... this will speed up the loosening process and the same failure sequence will set up.

I always start of assuming the plugs were too loose from the factory. My logic being most mechanics and assembly line folks are taught to not torque to max specification. Assuming the engineers say for that diameter hole and thread pitch and count that 168 inch pounds is max (14 foot pounds) then the assembly line would have all the pre set torque tools set to 80% of max. As a production week goes by not every worker on every shift is a competent or concerned fellow or gal. They get lazy and the tools do not get progressively more torque, they do the opposite, they get worn and progressively looser by design. So if the preset torque was 80%, and not reset at the beginning of every shift, then it is highly probable that near the end of the shift some motors were assembled with 75% or 60% torque on the plugs.

On every aluminum and steel motor I have owned after experiencing my first plug blow I now remove, inspect and professionally install each plug to 90% using a two stage process and a very very light coat of anti seize on the threads and mating cone face.

OH before I forget... your dealer or mechanic contact that just uses hand tight, does not have some bionic Borg like arm that is checked against a calibration standard.. so he is a failure as a mechanic and should not be near anything you own except to wash and wax your baby and then only under close supervision.

BTW thanks for coming here and having a good attitude..crap happens and getting it fixed is the goal...you would not believe how many unfortunate owners have had this problem and got a anti FoMoCo attitude... this is not a Ford only issue as ALL aluminum heads in every internal combustion motor I know about have spit the occasional plug.

 

Very informative post. Thanks for the info. I am intending to pull all of the plugs and replace them and I will be doubly vigilant about the torqueing and lubeing part of the process. I don't need to do this again - I hope!

Colm

 

Good post overall.

One point though... While I do agree with this statement, Ford Triton motors have a particular propensity to blow a plug out.

 

Ford Triton motors are installed around the world with about 3 million or more V8 and V10s in service. Multiply that by the number of plug holes and you can get a feel for the enormity of the issue. Assuming 3 million V8s you have 24 million plug holes and you know in the manufacturing process some of them are not concentric or have machine induced damaged threads, then the assembly probability of error, and any subsequent change of the plugs can have improper torque...

Industry standards for most mechanical failure are between 2 and 3 % for any or all failures... the singular plug blow is certainly catastrophic for the particular owner but as an average against all plug holes (or individule cylinder heads) in service is a very rare thing to happen

Do not believe Chevy, Dodge, Nissan or any other manufacture is immune It may not be plug blow out but there is a measurable amount of intake manifold bolts stripped out on one major manufactures motors that I know of and it is the exact same Dynamic.

BTW assuming 24 million plug holes in service the 3% equals 720,000 plug failures per year before a manufacture decides the failure rate is too high and makes an engineering change (actually this math is false because th3e 3% is against an "assembly" in this case a 4 or 5 hole aluminum cylinder head) But you get the idea that we are talking very big numbers here.

Some how I doubt we have had 720 thousand plug blow outs in V10 motors for the entire life of the design let alone in one year

 

Colm --

Here is a link right here at FTE of a plug change and pics: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=458496

Hope this helps!

WELL SAID!!!

biz

_______________________________
2003 F250 SD SC 142" XLT FX4 V10 Auto 4x4 3.73s

 

Thanks for that link,, I have 3 fords with the Aluminum heads, 2- 5.4L & 1 6.8