Spark Plugs

[TA2Dsailor]

What spark plugs do yall recommend? Also how much have you guys paid to get them done? I just called a Ford service place and they said $540 parts and labor. Or 206 without plugs. Last time i checked plugs were not 334 bucks. I'll break the plugs myself before I pay that.

[88Racing]

That $ sounds high usually around $300-$400. Call around even if it's an hour drive away. But on the other hand is the carbon cleaning service being done also? You can do that part yourself just use sea foam or berrymans in the tank for a couple of fill ups.
Most are putting the stock kind back in and following the tsb to the letter. Some have tried aftermarket plugs and did have the best of luck. Brisk has the best aftermarket one out there but be aware a it's not a 100k plug like the stock ones. Stock plugs have the platinum tips and brisk doesn't. So brisk might be a 20-30k plug.

I just want to find 08.5 heads then I won't have to worry about it ever! Or as long as I own it.

Lars:2thumbs:

[Power Hungry]

If I remember correctly, stock Motorcraft plugs are like $12.00 to $14.00 each.

[88Racing]

If I remember correctly, stock Motorcraft plugs are like $12.00 to $14.00 each.

So you take that amount $96-$112 for eight of them.

There's a post called "Spark plug change" 04fx4 quoted the price of $490.
I don't know what the job rate is or the service rate so it's kind of hard to add the rest up for you. I have read up to $720 for a change! That's with no breakage.

My best advice, call around and get prices.

Lars:thumbs up yellow:

[04FX4]

If it was me doing this all over again, I would still go to the dealership, and have the motorcraft plugs installed. The dealership would probably be the best bet as they have done this a 1000 times. You can do it yourself as well but may not be worth the stress that may be involved...:shrug:

[dplummer87]

I heard the plugs on our trucks were a Pain...but are they really that bad :disbelief: I cant imagine paying $500 for it... ( never paid to change them on any of my vehicle but they were all older models cars)

[Jackpine]

I heard the plugs on our trucks were a Pain...but are they really that bad :disbelief: I cant imagine paying $500 for it... ( never paid to change them on any of my vehicle but they were all older models cars)

Have you looked at the TSB on changing the plugs? If not, here's a download: http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/jmcdo28/2009-01-02_155622_tsb08-07-06.pdf It's a whole heck of a lot more than just attacking the engine with a deep well socket.

From what I can determine, it takes GREAT patience, and your truck is sitting in the shop (taking up space that can't be used for anything else) for a long time. Plus, just getting at the rear passenger side plug seems a bit of a "trick" (at least the engine doesn't have to be removed like a certain GM product about 40 years ago).

I DO wish Motorcraft would simply redesign the things to be one-piece, but I guess that's too simple.

I used to change my own plugs too, but these, I'll pass on. Oh, and to answer TA2Dsailor's question, I plan to stick with Motorcraft plugs too.

- Jack

[88Racing]

Let me take a guess what that gm car was.

Maybe a vette?

My dad used to help one of former employers with his.

Let's see if I remember how it went.

1. Get the hoist hooked up to the motor.

2. Loosen up header collector flanges.

3. While your are under there loosen the motor mounts.

4. Raise it up until tranny hit the top of tunnel. Approx 6".

Presto you had acces to the plugs.

The ones I don't like are the transverse mounted v6 engines. The firewall side bites.
Lars

[dplummer87]

Have you looked at the TSB on changing the plugs? If not, here's a download: http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/jmcdo28/2009-01-02_155622_tsb08-07-06.pdf It's a whole heck of a lot more than just attacking the engine with a deep well socket.

- Jack

Holy HELL! :censored1::thumbsdwn::cursin::yikes2:

[88Racing]

Holy HELL! :censored1::thumbsdwn::cursin::yikes2:

Do you need to clean your pants out now or pick your jaw up off the floor or thankfully enough that you were sitting down?!

So is it worth that much?

Lars

[Jackpine]

Let me take a guess what that gm car was.

Maybe a vette?

My dad used to help one of former employers with his.

Let's see if I remember how it went.

1. Get the hoist hooked up to the motor.

2. Loosen up header collector flanges.

3. While your are under there loosen the motor mounts.

4. Raise it up until tranny hit the top of tunnel. Approx 6".

Presto you had acces to the plugs.

The ones I don't like are the transverse mounted v6 engines. The firewall side bites.
Lars

Dead on Lars! I doubt many of our younger members would believe that anyone could have designed such a thing! I still have trouble believing it myself. :crazy:

- Jack

[Dixie Design]

I was quoted upto $740 if all the plugs broke, about $450 if none of them did at the dealership here in town. A dealership up the road quoted me under $300, which I almost took advantage of, but it just wasn't a good time of the year for me so I tackled it myself. I printed out the TSB, followed it to a "T" and didn't break a single plug. Took me maybe 2 hours.

[Jackpine]

At my dealership in Tucson (Jim Click Ford), they say they don't have problems with the plugs either. I'm firmly convinced that people who do are trying to "rush" things a bit - which I suspect would be very easy to do.

Glad to hear you had such good success, Dixie! :thumbs up yellow:

- Jack

[88Racing]

Also not a lot of people mentioning this.

Buy a toothpaste size tube of dielectric grease and not those little vial size ones. The only reason I add this is that those cop boots need to have a generous coating on them to help seal out the moisture.

When coating the shanks of the plugs a light coating of the tsb's antiseaze is prefered from the bottom of the threads to just before the end of the shank. Do not apply around electrode area. The tsb is quite straight forward.

Lars

[svt2205]

What spark plugs do yall recommend? Also how much have you guys paid to get them done? I just called a Ford service place and they said $540 parts and labor. Or 206 without plugs. Last time i checked plugs were not 334 bucks. I'll break the plugs myself before I pay that.

I just did mine last weekend. Not a fun experience at all. Even following the TSB you still have a good chance for broken plugs. I had 3. Make sure you buy an extraction tool and there are a few different one's. I have the Matco tool, but if you visit their website you'll find 2 different ones. One that just removes the metal tube and another that has a item to push the porcelin down so the extraction tap can get into the tube. If I had to do this again, I'd buy that one vs the basic tool I bought. Add to this you will need to buy a spark plug socket so you can remove the plugs. And you'll need to track down some Motorcraft carburetor tuneup or cleaner. The TSB, 08-7-6 spells it out very well. If you've not seen them broken, there are 3 different ways they break. If you'res break like the 3rd photo, you'll need to find a way to get the center electrode out before you can work on the porcelin. http://www.brokensparkplug.com/ Two of my three broke this way. Find a set of very long reach, like 11 inch or so needle nose pliers. The off the shelf long reach pliers wont even reach. Trust me on this one.

I bought my plugs thru rockauto, MOTORCRAFT Part # SP507 {#PZT14F}
and they were only 7.32 before applying the discount.

While your dealer may be expensive, there is a certain amount of peace of mind that you're paying for. And if you do it yourself and you can't get the dam things out. How much do you think it will cost you to get the truck towed and repaired? I'd put money on it being far more then their initial bill.

Good luck whatever way you go

[TA2Dsailor]

After reading what everyone has said I think I'll suck it up and pay to have it done. There goes my uniform money :cry-blow: Thanks to all that replied. :2thumbs:

[Jackpine]

Henry - please don't think my comment on broken plugs caused by "rushing" was aimed at everyone. It's also clear that some plugs are just too carbon fouled to get out in one piece. You certainly seem to know what you're doing - and, you're braver than I am.

I'm curious, what kind of driving do you do? Is it mostly city, mixture of city and highway or mostly highway? I've been trying to get a feel of the effect of this on plug breakage. My gut feeling is that highway driving should cause the least carbon buildup and would give less plug breakage.

Bluejay, over on f150Online swears by Techron as a carbon buildup preventive. Personally, I've never thought much of gas additives, but maybe in this case....

I wonder too if the anti-seize around the plug nose will stop future breakage? We'll have to wait a while to find that out, won't we?

- Jack

[88Racing]

Just from some informational gathering. It seems more people break plugs due the lack of the tsb knowledge, using the wrong fluids(solvents), get impatient and or wrong tools.

Lars

[svt2205]

No need to worry about it Jack. I'm not.

I can only offer opinion based on what I experienced. Right, wrong or indifferent, it surely wasn't a pleasant experience. To top it off, since I changed the plugs. I now have the smell of gas coming into the cab of my truck. To make this so much more fun, there are no visual signs of gas leaking from any place.

I did get it to stop for a week after cleaning up the top of the engine with simple green and a hose. Plus I cleaned up each of the evap lines and put a light layer of thin oil on their orings to improve the sealing. But that wonderful stink of gas has returned.

What he heck would cause this sort of thing?

Oh well. Maybe changing my plugs wasn't a smart choice afterall....

[88Racing]

Did you fully check the fuel rails? Maybe you might need some new o-rings? The old ones could have flat spots or cracks.
At the shop we always get a complete set for each injector when we change them. Or did you wiggle a injector?

Just some brain storming.

Lars

[white eagle]

Just checked and mine get done Thursday for 325.00:throwup:

[Jason M]

Started it myself. TSB to the letter. Started on drivers side. Broke the very first one, Ididn't rush it. The local dealer broke 2 more, one on the drivers side and one on the side I didn't touch. $100 tow plus $1100 for plug change, removal of broken plugs, and a bonus $20 oil change. Yay for me!

[white eagle]

the techs broke nearly all of my plugs final cost 512.00 :yikes2:
400.00 in labor alone:notallthere:

[Jackpine]

This is just weird! Some people/places get them all out without breaking any, others ..., well you all know the story! There's got to be some common thread in here that explains why some break and others don't.

I used to think maybe changing them earlier, say at 50,000 miles was insurance against breaking, but that doesn't seem to hold up. Then, I thought maybe people were a bit impatient, and that caused the problems. But, again, too many people have said they were super careful! I have to believe at least some of them were.

I still think that since carbon buildup is the cause, perhaps trucks that are driven mostly on the highway are more apt to have the plugs come out in one piece. And, if this is the case, then more frequent changing of plugs in trucks driven mostly in the city would seem to be a good idea.

Be nice to know anyway. You seem to save a lot of money and time if they come out without breaking.

- Jack

[cj3511]

No broken plugs, just coil and boot go south. New coil 8 boots, plugs, trans flush and oil change $1100.:(

Jim