2005 Plug NIGHTMARE!!
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 467
Likes: 1
From: Where the war is...
No way would I let a dealer or anybody else do my plugs. I don't believe in waiting 100k to change plugs or waiting until they exhibit signs of failure or degradation. I replaced them at around 80k, well ahead of the interval. It took me 12 hrs on a weekend but I took my time, used plenty of pb blaster solvent, and got them out. Doing them yourself means you get to replace the plugs with anti-sieze on the threads and you can torque them down in the block to the exact required factory torque. I can sleep better at night knowing the job was done right if I do it myself; my family rides in our Expy daily, I can't afford repairs that leave them stranded. Can't help it, before I went SPECWAR, I started life as a BT in the USN, and being deployed all the time required me to do all the maintenance on the vehicles way ahead of time. Anyway, I say, if you can do replace plugs yourself, give it a try, understanding that not everybody has the tools, means, or know-how, but there are always friends or people out there that can be willing to help. The older I got, the less I learned trust dealerships to do repairs correctly for the things I couldn't do myself, so I've just learned to do it all myself and bought enough tools to fill a garage during the process. Check some of the other posts on the site about plug replacement, there must be hundreds, that's what I did and the knowledge I gained here helped me replace them correctly.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 40,035
Likes: 1,523
From: Maine, Virginia
No offence taken Tim. I agree with your thoughts.
Thank you for the link cbradford. this does not look like the cab would need to be removed to use it. I did file a complaint with Ford, and the initial response is that the vehicle is out of warranty. I will continue to pursue, although I have little faith they will do anything.
Some good new though, from reading the sight, I learned that I could clean and maintenance the rear wiper pivot. I did this today. It took less than 30 minutes to remove dissassemble, clean, lube and reassemble. It works like brand new. And the dealer said I needed a new one and it would cost me about $200 to replace it.
I need a new dealer.
Thank you guy's, this site is great.
Eric.
Thank you for the link cbradford. this does not look like the cab would need to be removed to use it. I did file a complaint with Ford, and the initial response is that the vehicle is out of warranty. I will continue to pursue, although I have little faith they will do anything.
Some good new though, from reading the sight, I learned that I could clean and maintenance the rear wiper pivot. I did this today. It took less than 30 minutes to remove dissassemble, clean, lube and reassemble. It works like brand new. And the dealer said I needed a new one and it would cost me about $200 to replace it.
I need a new dealer.
Thank you guy's, this site is great.
Eric.
Tim
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,899
Likes: 29
From: Raleigh USA
70F100, where can you get the Lisle tool? I agree, I think I got taken. What I don't understand is why the Ford TSB says to perform the plug change with the engine hot. In Bold, no less.
Tseekins, I was performing the plug change early due to the known issue. I thought by taking them out now, I might save the hassle, but I was too late. By the way, the plugs are $12 each from AutoZone, and I don't even know what they cost me at the dealer. For what it's worth, at 73k, the plugs looked pretty bad, most of the electrode was gone, and the gap was considerably wider than tolerance. Further, there is no way to change the gap on these plugs due to there design.
I too am a do it yourselfer, and perform 80% of the maintenance myself, including plug changes, O2 sensors, brakes, oil changes, etc. In fact I am changing the serp belt on my Taurus today.
My thought still stands, this design is horrible, and why Ford didn't take action in March 2006 when the TSB was initialy written is beyond me. They should have notified us, or at least had the dealer offer the change far sooner. Had they done this it would have saved me about $1200.
Eric.
Tseekins, I was performing the plug change early due to the known issue. I thought by taking them out now, I might save the hassle, but I was too late. By the way, the plugs are $12 each from AutoZone, and I don't even know what they cost me at the dealer. For what it's worth, at 73k, the plugs looked pretty bad, most of the electrode was gone, and the gap was considerably wider than tolerance. Further, there is no way to change the gap on these plugs due to there design.
I too am a do it yourselfer, and perform 80% of the maintenance myself, including plug changes, O2 sensors, brakes, oil changes, etc. In fact I am changing the serp belt on my Taurus today.
My thought still stands, this design is horrible, and why Ford didn't take action in March 2006 when the TSB was initialy written is beyond me. They should have notified us, or at least had the dealer offer the change far sooner. Had they done this it would have saved me about $1200.
Eric.
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