FORD Engine nightmare
 

I have a 2006 Expedition with the 5.4 V8. Been missing a little when I got on it hard, so I took it into the shop I use most often for stuff I can't or won't do myself. I read the codes and asked them to check #3 cylinder coil and plug. They told me it needed all the plugs removed and replaced.

Every last plug broke on take out attempt. I have heard of this happening but not to all of them at the same time. The worst part is on one, the broken piece(s) went into the cylinder, and they later removed the intake to try and get it out, but no luck.

SO.. my next move is to have it towed from their shop to the Ford dealer, who's tech guys are pretty experienced with this mess. Should have gone there in the first place but hind sight is 20 20.

I know there was a class action suit about this stuff against Ford but seems like it never went anywhere.

That is going to be an expensive spark plug change. I remember when manufacturers started the 100,000 mile spark plug replacement. I figured then it would be like the "lifetime" transmission fluid. Pure BS.

The 5.4's have lots of issues..especially the 4 valve ones

The Ford family of motors is known for springing coolant leaks..especially from the right rear of the motor...Cracked intake manifolds & gaskets, freeze plugs, heater core, heater core fittings and hoses.

But that aside the 2 valve model 4.6L are known to go 270K miles

Would a new engine be almost as cheap ?

Was the vehicle ever in a flood?

First shop paying for the dealer?

A friend has a F350 Powerstroke. He needed a new head gasket. $7800. Required removing the body from the frame. 30 hours of labour. I thought only Audi designed this way.

You only have to take the front grille and bumper off on an Audi :)

Did he try asking Ford for some goodwill?

The plug changeover/repair isn't that expensive - compared to new/rebuilt engine.

My v10 e350 has 120,000 miles on it. I have never changed the plugs for fear of this. The triton series aluminum head motors had a tendency to do this...

Figured it was better to run on old plugs than risk an expensive repair...

Ford will generally want to pull the heads on the 5.4 to do even one plug per bank, so it's a virtual guarantee that they will take them both off for this job, even before we get to the fact that bits are in the cylinder... Some dealerships even want to sell you a new head(s).Definitely do the thread repair on EVERY one of them, even if the stub of the spark plug comes out good. At this point - do them all, make them all the same.

We have a buddy here in town who will do these with the head on (though probably not for 8 of 8 broken). He does them FOR the Ford dealership. They just send the vehicle over to him. Definitely a trick to it.

Also when removing plugs on these, his advice is roughly as follows..."Get the motor hotter than a drunk prom date, squirt around the plugs with your favorite break-free product. Let it sit over night and remove them when they're ice cold."

Obviously a bit late for that advice now.

angela

Ford had a TSB about these. Hard to tell if the shop followed that procedure.

The problem, as I understand it, is that the heads are too thin. So the plug threads stick down in the combustion chamber and get corroded to the point where they no longer can be removed without damaging the head.

As others have mentioned this is a very common problem, and there are shops out there that know how to deal with it. Best of luck to you.

From what I have heard it's the two piece spark plug that causes the breakage problem. That and the heads being aluminum causes carbon to build around and in the threads. As Laneco stated, get the engine hot then flood it with pb blaster or whatever Ford recommends.

Ford Spark Plugs...........
 

About 3 years ago I had a 2005 F150 w/the 4.6 engine. When it got close to 75,000 miles, it started to idle a bit rough. I suspected that it needed a plug change but rather than spending $100s of dollars on the repair, I decided to trade it in on a 2012 F150 w/the 5.0 v8. Love the new truck and was glad to let the Ford dealership deal with the old one!

The 4.6L V8's also have coil and plug issues. I have 115,000 on my 2007 Sport Trac with a 4.6l V8, and have had at least half of the coils replaced. Plus two warped manifolds - can't remember if it was the intake or exhaust manifolds - likely the intake.

When in top gear at highway speeds, a little acceleration causes a stumble -- that's a sure sign a coil or two is starting to misfire. Mine is doing the stumble - so it is time for another round of coils. :rolleyes:

I have always used the dealer for service on the truck - so I don't have to worry about the spark plug issue - if they break it, it's their issue, not mine.

-Z-man.

on some 4.6 's water will seep in under the coil fill with water and up into the coil spring.... use small amount of dielectric grease on the spark plug body and around the coil to eliminate migration of water....depends on how your coil is designed.

I can see an owner (but not a shop) breaking one or maybe two. After that, wouldn't anyone with half a brain pause and rethink this?????

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