I changed at a very similar mileage - 40,000 on an '05. Followed the TSB to the letter except for letting the penetrating oil work for longer than suggested. When all was done and I started the truck, the white smoke was thick and last for a minute or so. The truck seemed to run smooth through the entire time. I was very happy to get the plugs out without any breaking. I plan to do it again at 70,000 even though I installed the anit-seize. Russ

 

A tip: prior to installing the new plugs,spin the motor with starter. This will blow out any fluids in the cylinder. This will eliminate the"hydrolock" problem.

 

I changed my plugs a couple of weeks ago on my '04 Lariat SCrew. My truck has 63K and I had no major issues since I followed the TSB instructions. I used Liquid Wrench penetrating oil. BE SURE AND BLOW OUT THE CAVITY PRIOR TO SPRAYING THE OIL--LOT'S OF DIRT AND DEBRIS IN THOSE RECESSES. I did remove the PCM and it's bracket to get to the back plugs on the passenger side. My dealer wanted $360 for the plug change! Yikes!

 

One question in regards to the TSB stating to NOT put anti-seize on the spark plug threads....Why? I've always put anti-seize on the spark plug threads and never had an issue. I'm assuming its to minimize the risk of the plug backing out over time? Most people and tech manuals will say to put anti-seize on the plug threads (Haynes, etc).

 

I looked into the "plug issue" myself as I have an 05 but I never found anyone with an 05 or later model that had problems with the plugs breaking. Thus I figured it was a problem isolated to the 04 model trucks.
Can anyone offer evidence that is contrary to this?

 

Just check with your ford dealer and he will tell you that there has been no change to the heads from 04 to date it is exactly the same engine and same heads and same plugs with the only change being 06 and up they are using a cooler plug.

 

and they are using anti-sieze on the newer trucks. once the problem was identified, they decided that was the fix...time will tell.

 

Here's a link to a related thread on this forum from back in 2005 (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...ugs-5-4-a.html). It discusses the fact that Ford recommends the 1F plug as the latest replacement plug in the event spark knock is detected. Note, however, that the TSB mentioned in that thread has been superceded by TSB 06-3-3. This TSB also designates the 1F plug as the correct replacement ("If no engine damage is found, be sure the latest level spark plugs are installed."). In this case, the phrase "latest level spark plugs" refers to the 1F plug. There is also some discussion (see posts #5 and #7 at this thread(click here for link)) that the 1F plugs have a slightly smaller diameter ground electrode shield and are, therefore, less likely to sieze in the head.

I don't know why motorcraft.com still lists the 2F plugs as the latest service plug. As mentioned, the 5.4L 3V engine hasn't changed from 04 to 07, yet the recommended service plug has. It doesn't seem to make sense to switch to a cooler plug for the 06 and 07 models yet ignore the identical engine in the 04s and 05s. (In fact, the switch to using the 1F plugs at the factory was actually made in mid-2005, so some 05 models have the 2F plugs while the others have the 1F. Talk about confusing! )

That being said, I wouldn't worry at all about using the 2F plugs in my truck as long as everything was running fine. In my case, however, I can occasionally hear a small amount of pinging when my engine is under load, so switching to the 1F plug may help.

 

If and when you switch mic the ground electrode and let us know if it is in fact smaller in dia. which I guess would be a plus in itself???? Thanx