pulling out from eating dinner and there came a terrible noise from under the hood. blew a plug out of the hole!!! So i know this is kind of typical. Whats the fix? also do i go ahead as prevention and do all 10 cyl? 2001 ex v10 4x4. also is ther a write up on doing the fix? i tried to search but i guess i'm a loser.

 

Search "timesert kit" thats what ive read and have got myself ready to do oneday..

 

so is it the time sert 5553 kit? for $400 i dont want to order the wrong thing.

 

I did all ten of mine. But I took my engine out. Much easier to get too all the other stuff I replaced while I was at it. And yes I use the time sert kit and had to by extra inserts at $27 a piece. Holler if you have any questions.

 

it was dark yesterday when this happened. I went out this morning and looked it over. the plugs threads are intact and no signs of metal shavings or pieces of the aluminum threads. I dont have a borescope but i looked as good as i could with a mirror and couldnt see damage. just as an "i couldnt be that lucky" i tried to put the plug back in and it threaded right in. i torqued it to 11 ft lbs. i have to go get a coil this morning but .....Is it possible it just backed out or am i wishful thinking? i have only had this ex for 3 months so i dont really know the history. I am going to get 10 new plugs and replace them all today. has anyone had this happen and not have to repair the threads?

 

I'm thinking that it backed out because whoever did the plugs the last time didn't tighten things down the way they should have. I say if it goes in there nice and snug with no wiggle room, ride it out and check it again after a few hundred miles.

I'm not sure, but I think Motorcraft released some spark plugs that were slightly longer for this very reason. (The old threads were too short) Don't hold me to that, but just compare the two if you're going to do all 10 plugs.

 

What year is your Ex?

 

mine is a 2001 but it does not have the romeo 1l2e head. it is an rf 1c5e head. just got home with 10 new plugs. they were out of motorcraft so she gave me irridums for the same price. My luck is usually not very good but Im hoping that it didnt kill the threads. i really dont have an extra $400 for the time sert.

 

i did not get that lucky. hole was stripped. ordered my time sert kit today

 

wow those go in a deep hole! it must be a bear to get them timserts in there with the engine in the truck, can you take the front clip off to make it easier?

 

mine is the third from the front passenger side so it is just barley under the cowl. im gonna just do the one. the rest had goos contact and what seemed to be full threads. one thing though all my plugs were only finger tight or less. some only were in by 1 or 2 threads. I would suggest those of you that can check yours.

 

I glued my inserts in with really high temp loctite
http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/pdf/907ts.pdf

I used the red. Watch the you tube video on time sert too. Make sure you suck out the chips that go in the hole.

 

These threads scare me.

 

I just got this in December. Im am very good about maintenance and up keep just hadnt gotten to the plugs yet.. After seeing how lose the other plugs were (all were finger tight or less) I think that was the cause or at least added to the threads stripping out. I will let you know how the fix goes. It is the third from the front on the passenger side so it is not too bad to get to.

 

I have done several time-sert inserts on 5.4 v8's and v-10's. The worst part for me was the cost of the kit.

They have instructions online. study them well beforehand.

A few things:

make sure that you completely fill the flutes on the reamer and the tap with grease. This catches all of the chips in the flutes. Change the grease often. The flutes fill fast.


Don't allow the reamer or the tap to bang into each other or anything else. The edges are sharp, but brittle.

Use a shotgun bore brush and vacuum to clean out any dirt in the hole before reaming. The dirt can chip and dull the reamer edges.

When reaming, you will get tired of the reaming by hand very quickly. There are many turns of the handle. make sure you keep the reamer centered and straight while turning the handle.

If you get really tired of reaming like this, then I found CAREFUL use of a 1/2" air ratchet to work great, reduce fatigue, and speed it up by a factor of 10. Just enough air pressure to get it to turn, one hand on the handle and one on the ratchet head to guide it. DON't use a impact wrench!!!!

The insert has a small metal bar impressed on the treads. It permanently locks the insert in after it is seated by using a expander bar included in the kit. No locktite needed.

For those that don't know, The insert is put in after threading, and then expanded by swaging to form fit the hole. It gets locked in really well and no gas leaks.