Ford-F150 -
Spark Plug Nightmare
Matt Eaton (76.18.201.161) - Sun Jan 11 19:27:33 2009
At 100k miles I decided to have my plugs changed. Apparently the 5.4l 3 valve engine takes some exocte and fragile plugs. There is a service bulletin describing a special procedure to reove and to expect the plugs to come apart during removal because they were enginerred wrong. It is possible to cost several thousand dollars to fix. Has anyone else encounted this.
Reply #1 Sherwin MacBurnie (142.167.25.10) - Wed Mar 25 17:15:27 2009
Yes My Truck is in the dealer having the plugs changed and the called me up and said That 90 % of the plugs break. It is a 04 150 and 5 years old. They should of had a recall by now this is bull ****. They say there is many codes coming up on the truck and they want to get the plugs changed before they go any further. What am I in For?
Reply #2 Karla (204.209.247.2) - Thu Apr 30 17:28:34 2009
You are in for a bill of about 1100!!! We just went through this problem this week and I am soooo ANGRY. We took the truck in for something completely different and the guy had been suggesting to get the plugs changed so we did...we got a call from the dealership saying they felt awful, but they broke the plugs and they had to work on it most of the day to get them out. My fear is that we are in for a bill like every time we change the plugs. The truck will be traded before I have to pay that kind of money again. This is such crap that Ford knows about this...someone should be speaking to a lawyer about a class action lawsuit or Ford should be having a recall...people who have encountered this need to start calling Ford Canada..I am.....I am in the market for a new vehicle and it won't be a Ford....
Reply #3 Maliq (24.32.135.193) - Sun Jun 7 22:09:59 2009
I just bought an 09' F150. A friend told me about this issue with ford Plugs. Does anyone know if this problem has been solved?
Reply #4 Tom Johnson (68.97.50.101) - Tue Jun 9 17:45:39 2009
Just picked my 04 F150 $37, 000 5.4 Lt pickup from the dealer after a spark plug change. 6 of 8 fell apart on removal and the bill was $600.00. This is a top of the line, to and from work truck with what appears to be a Ford defrect. Is there a recall or class action suit yet? There sure as heck should be! Ford should pay the bill. Mad as hell!!
Reply #5 Richard Lecuyer (142.217.189.67) - Tue Jun 23 03:17:01 2009
This is a true problem, i am presently trying to extract the remaining three plug on the left side, they all broke i will make a reclamation against ford they have missed the design i have a 07 limited Sport-Trac with all the equipment you can buy, i am driving a lot 175k in three year, the closest dealer is about 4 hour drive i just cant wait to listen there story in court, i still believe we can still change plug on our car, looking in my truck manual they call a plug change at 150K.even if i did use there TSB procedure to remove them they just snap, and it is not my lack of experience i am a licensed technician on ford product and past service manager at a ford dealer also i am changing this truck this month and it will be another Ford, but the plug is the only problem i hade with it, they should make a recall to there customer asap asking for the plug to be replaced and lubricated with high temp anti seize they should come with a better plug design, Champion plug have a thicker ground sleeve that should help resolve some expensive repair.
Reply #6 Randy (173.71.223.200) - Wed Jul 8 22:57:15 2009
I just changed my plugs on an 04 F140 FX4 after a little over 100, 000 miles. the 4 on the passenger side came out without any problems. all 4 on the drivers side broke off. I ordered the Lisle 65600 extractor tool and just finished removing the 4 broken plugs. The tool was worth the $70 spent for it.
Reply #7 Brian Pasquale (72.23.155.42) - Tue Jul 21 01:10:44 2009
I just started changing my spark plugs in my 04 f150 with the triton 5.4 liter and had 2 break I then had it towed to the ford dealer where I purchased it and they informed me that there is a problem with these plugs breaking but ford would do nothing to help me with it and I have to pay for labor time to have these removed I then contacted ford customer care and they told me there is nothing they could do to help assist with the cost of this repair but they did admitt to having this problem. Does anyone know if there is a class action lawsuit against ford for this defect? this should be a recall and they should cover all costs intailed on this repair.
Reply #8 jose (98.150.57.239) - Sun Jul 26 14:01:10 2009
Going through it right now same thing took in in for a regular service and now they are trying to stick me with the bill!...
Reply #9 Greg Phillips (174.42.225.147) - Sun Jul 26 17:39:32 2009
I just changed 7 of 8 plugs in my father's 2005 Ford F-150 5.4L. Every one of them were hard to turn and seemed to have seized inside. The pasenger side plug closest the the cab was very hard to get to and that one broke off. I almost had it completely done. Randy, do you feel the Lisle 65600 extractor tool will work in this tight spot? Does anyone know whether the valve cover can be removed to push out the broken plug?
Reply #10 kory (76.226.140.73) - Fri Jul 31 18:39:44 2009
hay everybody, it still stinks but thereis a solution to the breaking plug epidemic. theres a speicial tool made for it. It's not fun but it works. get it from snap on. first you have to gouge, scrap or do whatever it takes to get about a 1/4" of the ceramic out of the broken piece of plug down in the hole, yes it sucks but it can be done, the reason for this is you get a thread tap with the special tool kit and you have to tap out enough of the broken piece of plug in order to thread the special tool on and pull it out. The puller part of the tool is self explanitory once you see it. Don't even try to tap through the ceramic, all you'll do is get angry and waste time. Also, don't try to pull it with only an 1/8" of thread, you'll only get more angry and possibly lose some skin from your knuckle. About 4 or 5 threads worth, about a 1/4", will do the trick. It's not easy but it bets pulling the heads. Before I forget, make sure you keep blowing all the debries as you do the job. When your'e done, smill and say "that sucked" then forget about.
Reply #11 Bruce (71.240.123.217) - Thu Aug 13 13:28:19 2009
Just called Ford about having to pay a dealer $1100 to change my plugs. The dealer said that I was lucky, others had paid a lot more. Ford's comment is that "our policy is that the don't cover costs on parts that wear out." Their design is just bad. They now include a packet of anti-seize with each plug so they won't seize up.Ford owes F150 owners a lot of money to rectify their screw-up. They also need to acknowledge they they have created a monster. I have never bought foreign before. For sure I won't buy another Ford.
Reply #12 Joe G. (216.211.114.215) - Thu Aug 13 20:31:39 2009
Just attempted to replace plugs in my 04 F150 and gave up. Have been an auto service tech. for 25 yr.s and have never seen a more stupid design. My next vehicle will most definately be a Toyota or Nissan, I've had it with domestic crap and will advise anyone who asks to buy foreign. Am also an auto dealer for past 10 yr.s and have witnessed the self destruction of not only the domestic automobile but also anything that resembles ethical and responsible service.
Reply #13 Tom (74.202.191.66) - Fri Aug 14 17:46:12 2009
I took my 2004 F150 to a local mechanic to have the plugs changed. It took three days. Three of 8 plugs broke. He said he called ford and was told "Yes, we have had a little problem with these plugs". Sounds like slight is an understatement. He was able to borrow the extraction tool from the dealership here in town. He gave me a break and only charged me for 2 hours labor. It could have been much worse. With problems like this that seemingly go unaddressed it's hard to buy American sometimes.
Reply #14 EDGARV (147.238.8.10) - Thu Aug 20 14:21:54 2009
HI FELLAS, SORRY TO HEAR ALL THIS PROBLEMS WITH YOUR TRITON ENGINE. I HAVE A 2004 NISSAN PATHFINDER AND THE ONLY MONEY I SPENT IN THIS BEATIFUL SUV IS IN GAS AND THE REGULAR MAINTENACE SERVICE AT THE NISSAN DEALER. OH, I REPLACED THE BATTTERY THE LAS JANUARY, BUT NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS BABY.
Reply #15 sswens (98.17.147.215) - Sat Aug 22 21:10:52 2009
well this is a bad design and i am a mechanic who has always had fords... but today i was changing my spark plugs and you guessed it they broke lucky for me the local napa parts store had me covered with the lisle extraction tool the only on that i can see that does the job completly even pushing the ceramic that is left in the ground shield so you can use the left hand extractor this tool works as advertised, the snap on tool that i had for this was not complete and i could not even get the ceramic out of engine.. that is until i used the lisle 65600 tool if you are a professional mechanic or just a hobbyist i highly recomend this tool.. and on another note Champpion Spark plugs now maked a 1 piece design plug for the replacement of factory ones that will not break and can withstand the torque of taking them out with alot of carbon buildup.. i think ford could have done much better in there design here and if they want my business in the future they need to really get a handle on this one before its too late..
Reply #16 mr. ford (65.186.72.225) - Sun Aug 30 10:05:17 2009
Just found out the hard way on changing the plugs on my f150 5.4 .. 3 of 8 broke , , i was able to buy the extractor tool from snap on ..this is worth every penny. not happy about the issue but every car/truck has one bad thing about it.. I had a dodge 07 3500 that ate injectors like candy and dodge would not warrenty ant of it. had a toyota that would just shut down and leave you sitting for an hour before it would restart..so if its only a few plugs every 100000, i'll take my time and work through it.. this truck has been great .. with no other troubles..will put in th eone piece plug once i hear if it works or not.
Reply #17 robert (75.119.152.39) - Sun Oct 4 12:36:52 2009
this is b s*** i thought i had a good truck and after trying to do the first tune-up i guess i opened a can of worms its ridiculuos to know that in america we cant buy our own cars i had ford dealer hit me with this mess right after the warranty expired great!!!this will be my last ford screw ford
Reply #18 Paul Thorne (96.253.107.69) - Mon Oct 5 23:28:11 2009
Well, I knew nothing about this problem until today. My wife has a 2005 Expedition with over 70K miles and I took it in for a tuneup. (I am fortunate that I have a trustworthy mechanic.)He called me and asked if I was having any issues requiring a tuneup. I said only that the gas mileage was declining. He told me about this spark plug problem. Naturally, I decided not to replace the plugs. Unbelievable! (I drive a Nisson. In 40k miles I haven't even had a hiccup.) I can't believe that Ford won't do anything about their blatant screw up. In reseaching the issue, I found this site and share the frustration that everyone has, however fortunately for now, I am not out of pocket yet for repairs. I am not looking forward to the repairs.I feel bad for you all that have been gauged. I am surprized that there isn't a class action concerning this.
Reply #19 keith (98.179.10.5) - Tue Oct 6 11:46:58 2009
I just changed my plugs on an 04 F150 after a little over 82, 000 miles. the 4 on the passenger side came out without any problems. #7 on the drivers side broke off. I ordered the Lisle 65600 extractor tool and just finished removing the broken plug. The tool was worth the $60 spent for it. Found Video on Youtube about a better plug and i suggest everyone to use these they are much more expensive but they say that the will not break, cause it is just a one piece instead of the two piece design of Motorcrafts plug. The only drawback is that they cost 21 freaking dollars but you wont have to worry about the plugs breaking. think about it i know i have too, on one hand it is worth it for the sure fact of not having to go through this again and on the other hand 21 x 8 is.... well you all can do the math... Craptastic
Reply #20 Keith (98.179.10.5) - Tue Oct 6 11:50:17 2009
Here is the youtube video about the champion plug
Reply #21 keith (98.179.10.5) - Tue Oct 6 11:53:03 2009
well that didn't work try again...
Reply #22 tony (174.20.45.133) - Tue Oct 13 14:44:59 2009
I see these post and it is horses**t! I had my plug blow the number #3 they wanted 600 to 800 to fix! What a joke got it heli colied for 50 bucks this shouldn, t happen. Its an 04 with a 4.6 it had 57, 000miles when that happened. later the number#8 coil pack went bad. at the same time the power sterring isnt workin properly havn, t figured this one out yet. And now the real kicker my transmission went needs to be rebuilt or replaced. it sits with 59, 260 miles right now. The mechanic could not belive this when he looked at it the truck is in great looking shape low miles and babied but is a lemon to put it nicley. There should be a class action law suit and if there is one i, m in. very dissapointed in ford. I feal for any one with these problems this shouldn, t happen.
Reply #23 tony (174.20.45.133) - Tue Oct 13 14:49:31 2009
Has anyone else had transmission problems with there ford. Its a automatic 4.6 4x4. driving down the road at 50 and lost the 4th gear. needs to be rebuit what a joke.
Reply #24 Mike walsh (166.137.135.30) - Fri Oct 16 19:33:12 2009
2003 f150 fx4 owner. Truck has 106, 000 miles. Love the truck , but just took it to local shop to get full tune up ( mileage stinks) and was advised not to touch plugs for these same reasons. Now I have to worry about a plug popping out driving down the road. I always preach buying American made but this is bull. Ford needs to get off their ass and do something and soon.
Reply #25 Bend me over ford owner (173.35.10.98) - Mon Oct 19 21:35:50 2009
Ford owner here in Canada and I'm experiencing the same problem. I'm very interested in starting a class action law suit against Ford Canada this Family this has got to be stopped. it's more like incest. Cause I've been gettin screwed every since purchasing the truck two years old! got a good deal, now I know why. LoL. Heres the thing new or used f150 owners are a liability to the road due to the power loss when these injectors and plugs misfire! I'm currently in the replacement stage of my plugs after seening numberious ford dealer ships and not one correcting the problem. I have no one to vent on regarding how i am going to solve this problem. the dealship says ford canda . ford Canada Says poor workmanship and they don't stand behind dealers! so where do we the customer stand left holding the bag of on our hands hoping some back yard macanic will figure out this mess!!! there isn't one other ford owner of the 04 -05 series happy when it comes to a spark plug repair! i mean one injector with service is over 544.87 cause i'm holding the bill now! if the is anyone out there ie LAWYER, MACHANIC etc lets get this moving the people have suffered long enough!!!!!!!!!! FOX-HAT FORD!
Reply #26 JH (74.241.20.162) - Tue Oct 20 16:13:11 2009
2004 F150 FX4 Crew Cab.....truck at dealer 4 days so far. 5 plugs broke off and there was one on each head that their tool wouldn't extract due to how it broke. Both heads had to be removed.....$2, 000+ Who would by a vehicle where it costs $2, 000 to change the spark plugs????
Reply #27 JR DILLARD (68.210.117.211) - Fri Oct 30 16:22:47 2009
I also have had issues with the plugs and dealers are saying there should have been a notice sent to say to change them at 60, 000. Did not get one... I am following up with the NC Lemon Law and lawyers to see if anything is being done.If you want to join in let me know.
Reply #28 JR DILLARD (72.146.134.96) - Mon Nov 2 19:51:50 2009
Lemon Law will not cover the 2004 F150 due to the age of the vehicle - will have to pursue other way. I am willing to contact someone to help with a class action to at least have Ford perform a one time tune up to get rid of these defective plugs. Then also those that have had the work done to get reimbursed.. if other are interested let me know. Faulty design and bad choice for Ford to install them as new equipment.
Reply #29 Amanda Garrison (24.18.39.45) - Fri Nov 6 00:55:11 2009
2005 Ford F-150, current cost of repairs due to faulty injectors and then spark plug issue is $5000. Took pickup to family mechanic after blowing black smoke and engine faltering, extended warranty covered the injector problem, but wouldn't pay for pulling the head when the pieces of spark plug fell in and tech couldn't fish them out, cost us $1800 between two trips to replace spark plugs. Family mechanic screwed up cam timing and burned two valves, ford dealership charged us $3200 for machining, rewiring, and general taking apart engine and putting back together. Will never buy another ford. Love our pickup, but hate the cost of keeping it running. Currently headed back to the shop because the ignition would not release the key, and now won't start.
Reply #30 Kenny Davis (75.254.186.219) - Fri Nov 6 11:50:12 2009
I have never owed any vehicle except Ford. I am 54 years old and have been a mechanic or in the service industry since I was 15. I have never been so angry as I am right now. 3 out of 8 came apart and broke off. I ordered the 65600 tool and I am in the process of removing the rest of the plugs. I can't believe that Ford did not notify it's customers about this problem and that they will not help in the repair. I am proceding with a lawyer to see if a class action suit is fesible and will post my findings. Let me know if anyone else has started a lawsuit.
Reply #31 Travis (65.182.91.133) - Sun Nov 8 23:30:11 2009
Just changed my plugs today. not a single one broke. but they were the tightest plugs ive ever messed with. i feel sorry for you guys
Reply #32 ED (209.33.118.109) - Fri Nov 13 17:43:55 2009
I own an independent repair facility in Kingwood, Texas. We are seeing quite a few of these spark plug issues in the three valve engines. Simply a horrible design!! If the plugs are changed at 60k or sooner we have not had a problem with the removal. Generally if the vehicle has over 100k you can expect at least one to break. Get a copy of Ford's technical service bulletin mentioned above and follow it. Make sure the engine is not hot, lossen the plug about a quarter of a turn and then put any brand of top engine cleaner in spark plug hole and let is sit over night, then good luck! The extracting tool can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Champion has apparently solved this problem, I cannot believe Motorcraft still makes the poorly designed plugs.
Reply #33 ED (209.33.118.109) - Fri Nov 13 18:25:02 2009
I own an independent repair facility in Kingwood, Texas. We are seeing quite a few of these spark plug issues in the three valve engines. Simply a horrible design!! If the plugs are changed at 60k or sooner we have not had a problem with the removal. Generally if the vehicle has over 100k you can expect at least one to break. Get a copy of Ford's technical service bulletin mentioned above and follow it. Make sure the engine is not hot, lossen the plug about a quarter of a turn and then put any brand of top engine cleaner in spark plug hole and let is sit over night, then good luck! The extracting tool can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Champion has apparently solved this problem, I cannot believe Motorcraft still makes the poorly designed plugs.
Reply #34 fordfan (63.138.71.2) - Fri Nov 20 15:13:54 2009
After reading this I got going on my 2005 5.4 F150. I have about 63, 000 on it. I printed the service bulletin and went at it. They came out squeakin and creakin but without breaking. Put the Champions in. Note the SB says to coat the long shank of the plug between the thread and the trode with anti seize...which I did. If you got one of these engines I would get on with it sooner not later.
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