Consumer Affairs Reports - Do what I did, as suggested by Consumer Affairs: file complaints with the BBB, the NHTSA, and with Ford. If you're up to it, complain to your local media - newspaper, TV, radio - about this well known problem that Ford is ignoring!
See also: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/ford_spark_plug_fire.html http://www.blownoutsparkplug.com/index.htm http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/F-150/2004/investigations.shtml
This is the second time now and it was the same plug. It was repaired by a very reputable mechanic and he used the insert instead of the helicoil. Still blew out at 55 mph with out any rawhiding of the truck.
Update from Mar 17, 2011: FIXED YET AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH INSERT. MAYBE THIS WILL DO THE JOB
Just before Christmas eve, and boom goes the engine.doing 75 on rt 80 with 40 miles to go to get home,I limped home. The plugs have been in for 75000 miles so Ford cant say they were installed wrong but they can say the problem was fixed after 2004. I replaced it with the Cal-van kit and it fixed that issue but I here a death knock on the lower end right in that area ,probably rod bearing and probably caused by bthe compression relief when the plug busted out like a scud missile,thanks ford.
Update from Feb 22, 2011: Well its not the lower bearing and that sucks because its a wrist pin, great, cant fix that by pulling oil pan, running it till it blows and buying a Chevy.. The kit I used worked great, I also bought the scope for looking inside the piston chamber when I did the work.. 384.00 total and 45 mins of my time that I will never get back,,,THANKS AGAIN FORD!! PS,As soon as it goes I'll have a kit for sale to replace the poor workmanship of Ford engineers great NO THREAD IN HEAD FOR PLUG problem
this is the second time this has happened to my truck in less than 2 months! this is bullshit! I am sure that the ford motor company would like to keep their reputation of ford trucks being built ford tough, and I'm starting to think they are wrong!!! RECALL THIS TRUCK!!!
spark plug shot out of head 30 miles from home. stripped threads due to weak aluminum head. no forewarning or preventative measures to keep this from happening. definitely a fire risk, good thing I was 1/4 mile away from a repair shop. this should be a ford recall as it appears to be a known reoccurring problem.
I can't wait to talk to the ISO about this lack of quality .Is Job One to Screw America? This is a lack of control in the material div.Come on Ford .70,000 miles is not what I would call a life time . and When they say 100,000 miles before a tune up . Why would I check the plugs to see if they were tight.
This happened to us twice on a move across the county. I can't believe the amount of info on this. Three different Ford dealers knew all about this problem, but Ford refuses to accept responsibility. We are done the Ford and trying to get the word out to the rest of the world. Even though this issue appears to be well known on line, we didn't know about it until it happened to us. Ford must be spending a lot of money to keep this quiet,
This happened to us twice on a move across the county. I can't believe the amount of info on this. Three different Ford dealers knew all about this problem, but Ford refuses to accept responsibility. We are done the Ford and trying to get the word out to the rest of the world. Even though this issue appears to be well known on line, we didn't know about it until it happened to us. Ford must be spending a lot of money to keep this quiet,
I spent ALL DAY in front of an auto parts place borrowing tools and trying to put a spark plug back in that blew out of my 5.4L Triton v8. The temp. was in the upper 30's and the wind was blowing about 15 mph. Sure would have been nice if Ford had the balls to take responsibility for this defective design and issued a recall to fix the problem. It has to be a defect considering the huge number of complaints there are for exactly the same problem.
3 spark plug blew out of head and ruined coil when it exited the head. Ford dealer stated it was a known problem but Ford wouldn't issue a recall. Found website named blownoutsparkplug.com and flew their tech out to where the vehicle was and it was repaired where it sat. The owners of this niche business are Ric and Dave Mahlmeister based out of Southern California. It took Dave a little over 2 hours to fix the head, replace spark plugs and inspect all spark plug threads. The fix is guaranteed. Cost for this fix is 800.00 plus airfare and expenses if overnight stay is involved. This figure includes up to 2 thread replacement inserts, new spark plugs and new coil. I highly recommend this website in lieu of paying Ford 4K to pull the engine and replace the head, which is what is recommended by Ford.
Blew spark plug from cylinder head. Out of truck for awhile. Did internet search. Lots of similar complaints. Problem has even spawned businesses to address the repairs. That tells me alot. I asked a 25-year Ford tech about it. He admitted to the problem. Ford doesn't admit to anything.
I have an 02 F-150 with the 5.4L V8 (modular) and have blown 2 spark plugs out of the motor. This is a problem that Ford has recognized and actually approved a company's product to use (www.fulltorque.com) for repairing the problem, but will not recall as a defect. I have spent $2200 in parts and labor (doing the absolute minimum) and I can hear another spark plug about to go. This has been a real pain in the ass.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This is the second time now and it was the same plug. It was repaired by a very reputable mechanic and he used the insert instead of the helicoil. Still blew out at 55 mph with out any rawhiding of the truck.
Update from Mar 17, 2011: FIXED YET AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH INSERT. MAYBE THIS WILL DO THE JOB
- tsc240, Ridgeland, MS, US