Hi all, this is my first post. Thanks for the forum...maybe someone can shed some light on my problem. I just spit a 2nd plug within 1300 miles, with only 47k miles on my 02 F350. I am waiting for a call back from Ford for the total bill. Last time it happened, I was in tow, with 3 kids, 100 degree temp in Gorman, CA. It sucked, to say the least, and they billed me $600 (labor, coil, and plug). Fair price? Does anyone have a suggestion on how to prevent this from happening again? Can I request something of Ford while they are in the motor? I love my truck, but I must admit that I am always going to be leary of driving it wondering when I might break down again. Any replies would be greatly appreciated!

 

Same plug!?

 

have all the plugs ever been changed before spitting one

 

Did you replace the plugs yourself? Was the correct plug used, torqued and installed properly under the correct condtions? (seen plugs changed while engine was hot). I try to do all the repair work myself so i know the job is done right.

 

Update. No replys as of yet bummer. I told Ford to do the work, 485.00 to fix and they said they would check the others and retorqe them as well. My 4x4 was not working either and they said vehicle that they have to charge me another 125.00 to diagnose that problem WTF. I think I am on the way to being out a bunch of money. Is this fair do you think?

 

not the same plug

 

Bought it used and since owning it I have not changed them.

 

Im afraid of doing work myself because im such a newb to motors, I just dont want to make my problems worse uknow, I think in the future I'm going to have to man up though because I cant afford this. I just dont know anyone around me for know how advice which would make me jmuch more confident. If anyone here is in the Eugene OR area I would be happy to help you fix your stuff to just learn off you. Just a thought for mind.

I cant believe they are going to charge me another 125.00 fee to diagnose the 4x4, is that normal?

 

I wouldn't let them charge you for the 4x4 diagnosis. We can help you with that for FREE. It's fairly easy to diagnose. Call them now to cancel that inspection!

 

Thanks so much for that, I took your advice and canceled,this service adviser I can tell is annoyed with me, hope they dont short cut my other work. I'm in no hurry with the 4x4 so I will start with some forum searches. Thanks again

This site is so much help I can't begin to tell you. I wish I would have looked here long ago.

 

You can do the plugs. All you need is lots of patience and a set of typical hand tools. Which plugs ejected; meaning which cylinders? Since you have had the ejection, there is poll under the 5.4L/4.6L Forum that you can add your V-10 to the list. I'd like to know the specifics of when it happened if you don't mind. Was the ejection during normal driving conditions?

 

CMJENKINS - I'm in Vancouver, WA and just went through this myself. My 2003 F350 blew a plug two blocks from my house (luckily) under normal driving/non towing conditions. It has 69000 miles - I've only put on about 5K myself. The plugs had been changed by the previous owner (except #10 which was still the stock plug) and not installed correctly. I repaired the blown plug myself with a $26 spark plug repair kit in about 2 hours (being very cautious to do it correctly). I decided to replace all ten plugs and found two other plugs were loose and would have been the next victims had I not changed them out. The rest were barely torqued down. The V10 runs super smooth now and fuel mileage has increased a bit. The previous owner installed some cheapo Champion plugs, did not gap them properly (only .040" gap) and did not use any anti-seize. I'll check the torque myself before we hook the Toy Hauler for the next trip.

I guess the moral of the story is - it's not difficult to install the inserts to fix the blown plug hole and certainly not terribly expensive. With some caution you shouldn't have to worry about those plugs on a trip.

 

After this fix I,m going to take this great advice and do just as you say.
Ford said the tech would re-torque them down but that will not give me piece of mind. Who is to say that will even be done for sure. I'll have to research how to properly GAP a plug and what the proper steps are to removing, anti-seizing and reinstalling them.

Thank you again for taking the time to post, this site is truly a blessing to me, I'd be lost without it.

 

Try to get them to replace the head with the later model with more threads.

 

That would be great, but It's not under warranty. There should be a total recall, the *******s...