OT- Ford Triton woes, plugs blew out Options

[carr914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) two different problems that can be related in some cases. But the 4.6s have been known to do it as well, however the 5.4s are notorious for it.

But it seems that the early 5.4s (97-99) blow out plugs more frequently. Model Year 2000-01 rarely have it. A Plug could break, but that would be rare and usually mechanic error

when they went to the 3 Valve Head, the Plug was much longer (see Rick's pic). These are the ones that break, as carbon builds up at the base & threads where the Plug comes through the head

[Steve]

It's all over the Internet and consumer reports. My Expedition plugs were never changed and still ejected from the motor. The dealer would not cover it with the extended warranty. We paid a mechanic to install a helicoil and traded it in for a used Toyota Sequoia. See my earlier post from 10 years ago. POS!!!! The Toyota now has 200k miles on it, with zero issues over the years.

[Maltese Falcon]

When I first heard about this problem on the F150 forums, I started having my plugs checked for proper torque once a year. I also have the plugs changed every 2 years. My original set of plugs were replaced at 30,000 miles, when I supercharged the engine. I think fresh plug changes help keep the gremlins away.
Marty

[ThePaintedMan]

Marty - love that suggestion. That's what I tell people when I work on 5.4s and even 4.6s. Spend the few bucks to change the plugs every 30-40k and torque the spark plugs to spec every year. And stay away from anti-seize, at least on these particular heads.

[914werke]

stay away from anti-seize, at least on these particular heads.

George, that suggestion is due to the propensity to spit out the plugs?
I was just getting back to finishing this project post all the holiday activities.

[ThePaintedMan]

Hey Rich,
Wow, glad you got that puppy out! My suggestion to stay away from anti-seize is basically an echo to Marty's thoughts. The goal is to keep the plugs from loosening up over time. Anti-seize would, in theory, exacerbate the problem - and spark plug torque values are "dry" torque values. That is, they were calculated without the use of lubricant in mind. Adding anti-seize, or even oil would theoretically increase the torque necessary to achieve the same "hold", if you know what I mean. That's why one should never apply oil or lubricant to lug nuts unless you're taking them OFF, not putting them back on.

You shouldn't need anti-seize anyway on aluminum heads if you change the plugs at the intervals we're talking about here - 30-40K miles.

[r_towle]

I think there are two issues here, one is plugs that blow out of the head, isolated to specific heads.
The other is the carbon build up on the inside part of the plug which makes it needed to actually break the plug and use that tool above to extract it.

Rich

[carr914]

I think there are two issues here, one is plugs that blow out of the head, isolated to specific heads.
The other is the carbon build up on the inside part of the plug which makes it needed to actually break the plug and use that tool above to extract it.

Rich

Yes

[ThePaintedMan]

Yes. The later three valve heads are the ones more prone to breaking off. What we we're talking about were best management practices for all modular Ford engines

[r_towle]

Yes. The later three valve heads are the ones more prone to breaking off. What we we're talking about were best management practices for all modular Ford engines

Sorry, the whole thing seems as stupid as when my son first told me about it.
I am a ford guy at heart, but damn.
There must be ten different manufacturers of aluminum heads for the SBC.
None of them have a stupid design flaw that makes you break a plug just to change it.

When I asked my son what happens to the pieces of broken plug that fall into the combustion chamber....the pieces you can't fish out, he shrugged.

Just a stupid design.
Rich

[914werke]

When I asked my son what happens to the pieces of broken plug that fall into the combustion chamber....the pieces you can't fish out, he shrugged. Just a stupid design. Rich

Im not going to disagree with you & I had the same question,
before I tore into this I did a fair amount of searching to answer that exact question. This is what I found:
Turns out the Lyle tool is supposed to be "gauged" to push the porcelain remnant down to a point where the extractor tool can get a bite on the shell, while not so far that the ground strap wont captures it.
Yes some small fragments may fall into the chamber but using a vacuum and compressed air you should be able to remove any significant bits.
Anything remaining will pass through the exhaust w/o damage.
I say supposed to because I recognized that even among Motocraft plugs (OE) of the same model, the shell design was slightly different.
Meaning that instead of stopping the porcelain at the ground strap it would push it in, to the point of breaking it (the strap).
Concerning.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) while the insulator material might powder in the combustion chamber, if any significant piece of that strap broke off & was unable to be removed....it might do some damage.