sorry guys, my search didn't give me much info. i just talked to a local shop and although they said they can change the plugs on my 1999 E150 5.4, they will add a disclaimer and not cover plug blowouts. This was the first time i had heard of plug blowouts. i don't have the time to do my own plugs so i have to pay someone. should i just go to the dealer and have the "PROS" do the plugs. i've got 105K and i can feel the power loss. i need new plugs and i want my power back. and also, what can ya'll tell me about this "plug blowout" problem? sounds scarey.
thanks for putting up with another plug questions.

 

It is usually caused by improperly toquing the plugs. Too loose and they vibrate out, too tight and it may pull the threads out of the aluminum heads. Sounds like you either need a new mechanic, or just have the dealer do it. Ford gives a 1 yr warranty on all repairs that they do.

 

I disagree. The pre-04 5.4 head has only 4 threads to hold in the plug - under engineered design. It has become a common item for a Lightening to blow a plug.
Many of the plugs are blowing on stock engines that have the orrigional plugs at well under the recomended 100K sevice cycle. My local dealer started blown plug repair by changing the head @ $2k+, now they use QuickSert at less than $150 (service mgr. is a friend and this is a major headache for him).

 

It is an engineering flaw. I replaced my sparkplugs when I supercharged my truck a few months ago and properly torqued them to Ford's spec. Recently a friend with a 1999 Lightning had 2 plugs blow out within about 2 weeks of each other...one on driver's side and one on passenger side. Went back and checked mine and sure enough 5 out of 8 were loose enough to remove by hand. He purchased Time Fastener Co's Big-Cert Triton kit (sad they actually make a kit just for our trucks... ) and after removing the blower and lower intake (not what we planned to do just another inept individual got into this truck before we did) and got to work on the heads. It's a really trick little kit...comes with 5 inserts (about $8 ea. if you want buy 3 more to do all the cylinders) and all the taps and reamers to do the job. They say no other tools are required but if you don't have an air wrench handy plan on spending a few days. Don't have to remove the heads just coat the end of the reamer with grease and it will catch damn near all the chips. Takes about 10-15 minutes per cylinder. After we put his truck back together I'm going to purchase the inserts and we'll "fix" my truck before anything pops. $256 kit but I think the peace of mind is worth it.

 

2000 BLK 54, we have had quite the discussaion on the V10 Fourm about this very issue. As I understand Ford has had this spark plug blowing problem ever since they introduced the Trition series of engines and that has been a while ago. Moreover, my Ford Dealer states that Ford has yet to address the issue as a problem. That gives you some comfort doesn't it? 3 of my friends have the V10 in their trucks 2-99 and 1-2000 year model Super Duty pick ups. It is a very expensive repair in those trucks.

 

Yup...and it seems the order of severity of the problem goes 4.6-5.4-6.8....V-10's having the most occurences. Just not enough threads...if you pulled the plugs out of a 302 you'd see almost the exact same plug design...difference is that they are going into a cast iron head. Called SVT about the issue and they said it was addressed in the 2003 and up 2V heads. You can go to a dealership and they'll carry 2 types of plugs that fit our trucks...AGSF-xxx or AWSF-xxx....the latter being the fully threaded plug for the newer heads. Of course you'll have to tell them what you need...they are usually clueless. If this insert thing works out for my friend's truck I'll be doing the same for mine...not that I've blown a plug yet...but it probably will happen and $70 is cheap insurance.

 

I will be curious to learn of your friends and your experiences in doing the inserts. Should not be that big of a deal if only you could get to the plug holes in question. The Ford Engineers that designed these heads should have their backsides booted! (:

 

To put it in a single word....tedious. Not difficult after you remove enough parts to make all of the holes accessible...but very time consuming. Having to clean and regrease the reamer is the longest part though. We used an air ratchet to make matters a little quicker but it still took about 6 or 7 cleanings to get finished with one. The kit is pretty much fool proof. You can't cut too far with any tool. Just be sure to flush the small hex nut in the bit holder before driving the insert... We cranked the truck over quite a bit after we put it back together to blow out the remaining chips....there are quite a few and we killed his battery in the process. Put in the plugs and hooked up the COPs and fired it up...and it runs rough with a miss we couldn't find....probably one of the COP's we got as free replacements from a friend. He's going to hook up my DTC scanner and see if there is a pending code he can pull....so hopefully I'll have a finished review tonight...

 

Very interesting! Thanks for the update. Hope he finds what the miss is all about.

 

Do not for one minute think that they will honor the warranty. Our heap of junk poped a plug two weeks ago and Ford will not honor the parts and labor warranty, even though it has been 7 months and 10,000 miles since the DEALER replaced the plugs.

I am tired of fighting them so I bought the insert kit to fix it myself. Then it will go back on the car trailer and hauled to the next GM dealer as a trade. I do not trust it to not pop another in the 50 mile drive.

I am sick of no power, no plugs and no dealer support.
I may be hating the GM in a while but right now it looks like gold compared to the Ford.

 

Blackeye,

I sure can relate to your feelings. Not sure GM would be any better, but, having said that I recently replaced a Ford pickup with a new 04 Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew Cab. I still have the E450 Ford motorhome Chassis with the spark plug blowing V!0. I love the performance of the V10, but living under the stress of wondering when it is going to happen to you makes me pretty nervous. Good luck with your repairs.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, Blackeye. Yes, there are some problems with the spark plugs on these Triton engines, but overall, it is a small percentage of the trucks out there. There are millions of them out there that have had no problems, many with well over 100,000 miles on them. It will seem like alot of them when reading here bacause, many of our members find this place because they have problems and need answers. For every plug blowout that you read about here, there are many, many trucks that have no problems.

 

I just blew out a plug on my F350 also, just to let you know there is an inhairent defect in the triton heads, there is only 4 threds holding in the spark plugs in. It statrs out sounding like a ticking noise or an exhaust leak the dealers are told, to tell you it is normal to have the noise and a lose of power, SSM 16403 is the tech. bullitin on this matter, Mine stated at 20K miles a lose of power and a ticking noise it I was told it was normal and that it would not afect long term reliabilty of the engine. They lied and I blew out a plug, Ford is aware of the problem but is refusing to fix it due to the cost to Ford. Remember ther is strenth in numbers if iterested in a civil action lawsuit against Ford to replace the heads it is a win win situation.

 

I Have 148000 On My Expy And It Just Started To Tick When I Step On The Gas I Hope It Does'nt Blow Out

 

the plug is held in place by coil pack, check the plug after removing coil pack, Good luck!