Bottom line is the design should not have been torque-sensitive in the first place, or should have had inserts from the factory. Heck, my 1970s Yamaha 650 had 'em, so it isn't rocket science.

Timeserts are good stuff. When I first learned about them my boss was using them on Harley Shovelheads.

He added a feature by pinning them. He used a fine cutting wheel to grind a half-circle notch in the rim, installed the insert, and drilled a hole for a short section of finishing nail into the head at the location of the notch. A bit of metal-filled epoxy in to hole, tap the nail section "pin" in place, and the insert was positively locked. I've neven seen any of the (many) repairs malfunction. if I have to do my Ford, I'll do them all and do it that way.

 

So-using your Logic-Harley should recieve just as much crap about plug threads as Ford is on this Board...
JL

 

So are you saying Ford quality should be same as Harley?

 

OMG no..then we'd be talking like we own Dodge trucks..
JL

 

While I have not yet experienced this problem the fact is, enough people have to make it a design flaw on Ford's part. There can be little excuse for an auto manufacturer that has been building motors for 100 years to allow the spark plugs to blow threads out of a head or work loose from vibration or detonation etc... All of these forces are well know in an IC engine. They can not blame it on the materials either as those design elements have been know for quite some time as well. It is careless design, engineering and testing and Ford needs to step up on behalf of their loyal customers. Just another reason why Toyota is overtaking them in the market. And I thought quality was job one!

Let's not blame the mechanic that tried to follow the Ford sanctioned service requirements by using a torque wrench. It really shouldn't matter if the torque is off +/- 10 - 20% due to variables in the field. All of these should be taken into account in a good engineering design with little effect on servicability of the product.

 

I guess taking your truck to the dealership to change out the plugs might be a better idea! That way if it happens again the dealership should guarantee their work...

 

i can't believe you'd even contemplate bringing your truck into a dealership for new spark plugs a good friend of mine works at the ford dealership near my apartment and you wouldn't believe some of the stories i've heard! he always has told me if i can do the job myself, it would be a helluva lot better than bringin it into the dealership. of course i, nor my friend, speak for all dealerships, its just word that goes around

 

and you say this because......................?

the plugs is not an easy job for people without a good selection of tools, mechanical aptitude and most of all PATIENCE.

plugs is one of the few jobs I'd let the dealer do.

 

I completely agree with you. When my dad was still working at this small shop we did my plugs on a Saturday.

I was going to have the dealer solder in a new license plate buld socket but they wanted $100 for the job. I said no thank you and left after having the oil changed. I am just going to wait until the summer and replace it myself. Since it is something I can do myself.

 

"OMG no..then we'd be talking like we own Dodge trucks.. "

Ha! Good one. If MY instrument cluster cost $830 (customer is NOT happy!) I'd want something to brag about out of the deal.

"So-using your Logic-Harley should recieve just as much crap about plug threads as Ford is on this Board... "

Motorcycle owners did not have an "automotive" expectation of reliability until very recently, unless they rode a BMW or a Gold Wing. The new generation of HD owners is far less likely to work on their own scooter and even less likely to vociferously complain about defects in their midlife crisis lifestyle accessory!

Long ago, before the crowd of wannabe biker HD Fanbois descended on the scene, bikers DID complain vocally about some of the Motor Company's goofy manufacturing decisions and lousy quality control!

We didn't get loud about plug threads (we just installed a lot of Heli-Coils) because really horrible stuff like the early electric starters and poor carburetion was more gripeworthy.
Pretty much any classic aftermarket mechanical mod is a reaction to an original component that stank.

A truck, on the other hand, is supposed to be tough, easy to field strip, and not have weaknesses in basic parts that its predecessors did not display.
If the maker is going to choose to bury a component that also goes into a delicate aluminum casting, they can choose to put an insert therein!

For what trucks cost nowadays there is no excuse for such cheesiness. It also builds customer resentment. If mine strip out I'll just yank the heads and put in Keenserts (I love those after using them on aircraft), but to the poor guy who has only one truck, isn't a mechanic, and hasn't much spare change, this is not cool.

"All of these should be taken into account in a good engineering design with little effect on servicability of the product."

When a bad choice is made, the choice to change is an option. Some companies bitterly resist (cruise control switch designs come to mind) until the problem gets bad enough to cause a backlash.

 

Argue it however you like-I still stand by my belief that it's poor maintenance or improper maintenance/installation that's causing this problem.
I own 5 modular powered vehicles,and ALL of them are over 100K miles(2 of them are over 200K miles),and none of them have ever had a sngle issue with plug threads or spark plugs. I also deal with a fleet of company trucks that are modular powered,and again..not a single issue. The thing yourself and everybody else out here in Internet land has to remember-one pissed of customer can post their experiences(whether they're wrong or right) on several forums and if you do a web search-their "problem" appears to be larger than it really is.
JL