Victory over the 5.4 Triton spark plugs!!

[Winger Ed.]

I've got a 2006, F-250, 6 speed manual, with 59,000 miles on its 3 valve 5.4 Triton V-8.
It developed a miss under acceleration below 1,500 rpm. All wisdom pointed to a bad coil and/or spark plug.

They say to change the plugs & coils around 60-100,000 miles.
Since mine is almost 15 years old,
I figured I'd just change all of 'em now instead of trying to figure out which one was bad.

I got the new OEM plugs and a set of Edelbrock coils that go on top of each plug. I'm all set,,,,,, and it was only $400.
Since the last engine I did much serious work on had breaker points and a 2 bbl carb,
I read up on this project, and watched a few youtube videos.

Then thought, 'Oh no,,,, the horror stories abound about the plugs on these things'.
They don't look like any spark plug I ever saw, and are prone to breaking off inside the Alum. head.

People talked of it costing $1,500 at the dealer if only one or two broke.
Others talked of spending well over $3,000 after a chunk of one fell into the cylinder and a head had to be pulled.

After spending a day of research, I jumped in, and opened the hood.
"oh no,,,, its hard to see the engine in there, and the back two plugs look like they're under the driver's seat.

The first 7--- cool, no issues, they came out like I'm used to plugs coming out.
The last one,,,,, that looks like its under the driver's seat,,,, broke off.

I was thinking,,,,, no,,,, I'm not going to pull the engine and take off a cylinder head.
More research, and ordering the $150. special tool set to remove the bottom end that is WAY! down in there....
Now its time for more research watching real mechanics pull several of them.

I did it! A textbook broken plug extraction!
Put it back together, and the old truck has a new lease on life. It runs like a thief!

VICTORY!!!!! over the dreaded plug removal on a 5.4 Triton!

After I get down off the dinner table doing a happy dance,,,,
I think I'll treat myself to a bowl of ice cream, AND a popsicle.
Then go out tomorrow and buy myself TWO pounds of 748!

The new generation replacement plugs are one piece instead of 3 and don't break off.
So, if anyone wants a Lisle 5.4 broken plug remover tool, I'll make ya real deal on one.

[bikerbeans]

I don't want the plug remover but I would take the 3/4 ton off your hands. Your lucky you don't have the V10 Triton, you have to remove the bed to get the last 2 plugs.

BB

[abunaitoo]

I don't work on fords, but know people how have them.
Not sure if yours has those long neck plugs or not.
I did help a friend work on his.
Three broken plugs.
The tool works well, but it's a tight squeeze in some places.
I strongly suggest to them, that they take the plugs out once a year.
Bead blast all the carbon off, lube well, and hope for the best.
If there is lots of carbon, it might be burning oil.
Need to pull the plugs more often.........
or sell it.
It's a bad design.
Haven't heard of anyone having problems with the newer style of plugs.268943

[tomme boy]

Bead blasting plugs is a HUGE NO NO!! DO NOT EVER DO THIS! The media gets stuck up in the recesses of the insullater and will drop out into your engine while running. Its like dropping sand right down the intake.

There was talk of a class action law suite against Ford for this design. You might want to check into it.

My best friend owns a repair shop. They quote $4500 to do these plugs. They have been burned by everyone of them breaking off on a couple engines.

[Remmy4477]

5.4, the worst engine made in my opinion.
Had a beautiful 01 F250, one month after paying it off, POPPED a plug. Ford wanted $5000 to repair. Nope sold it as junk and moved on..
Still makes me sick thinking about that one!

[DougGuy]

I owned one 1982 ford truck. it was a *** and one was enough..

[10-x]

Had F-150, first year with this engine, rode better than a Lincoln. Took it in for tune up while under warranty, Ford dealer broke off #1 and #8( back 2) , had to remove heads to repair, cost me “0”. Traded it shortly after. Now days not such a big deal to remove broken plugs, friends have auto repair shop, IIRC they charge $ more for tune up on these engines and they neverseize the new plugs. Engine design is another case of where all mechanics/ techs should get to beat the engineers every Monday morning with rubber hoses, lol.

[blackriver]

Always use a good quality handheld impact to remove plugs on these motors. This will greatly reduce any possibility of breaking plugs.

[frkelly74]

We had a 2000 expedition with the 5.4 . Right after we bought it with 170000 miles on it it blew plug out of the block . It was the rearmost plug on the passenger side and I could not even see where it came from. A Ford trained shop owner took it and fixed it with a kit that Ford put out . I think it was like a helicoil repair and charged me $400 which I was happy to pay. He didn't seem too happy to see me coming after that. I did take the truck to him several more times. It was not one of my better buys , that truck.

[rbuck351]

I changed plugs on a friends 2001 Ford F150 and found taking the plug wires off without tearing them apart to be a real pita. The plugs came out alright and new ones went in with anti seize. I had to put a noose around the plug wire and drop it down around the lower part of the plug wire to keep from pulling them apart.
Then he brings me a newer Ford explorer that had the plugs in the side of the head instead of the top. There was so much stuff in the way that I couldn't even see most of the plugs let alone get at them. I had him take that one elsewhere.
I have often thought car design engineers should be forced to remove and replace anything they have designed ten times on ten autos that have been used for over 5 years in coastal areas. Maybe they would learn something their college professors didn't know.

[DocSavage]

South Main Auto had a video on this subject and IIRC he broke 3 plugs trying g to remove them but had the extractor kit which made getting the broken plugs out a snap.

[rcslotcar]

South Main Auto had a video on this subject and IIRC he broke 3 plugs trying g to remove them but had the extractor kit which made getting the broken plugs out a snap. I always watch "South Main Auto" videos. He owns a small shop and does amazing work! His video on the subject make me wonder what Ford was thinking when they designed that motor???

[redneck1]

Best learn up on the cam phaser for that 5.4
Your about halfway there .

[swheeler]

The Triton plugs sucked big time! On a warm engine, I pulled all the coils and blew compressed air down around the plugs, then sprayed heavily with PB Blaster. I went in the house and made coffee and had a couple cups, with the engine cooled down I again blew compressed air around the plugs, they all unscrew like the plug out of your weed eater, they got a coat of never seize aluminum when installed. Now I got a Coyote 5.0, these are EASY to change, 2 beers and an hour about does it. :drinks:

next spring will be plug time for 07 200HP Evinrude ETEC V6 outboard, plugs indexed with spark gap facing fuel injector, swap them around holes or use spacers under plugs until they line up correctly, they can be varied some by altering torque specs to stop inside the "window" 90 * I think.

[Jsm180]

Real trucks don't have spark plugs. :kidding:

[Winger Ed.]

Real trucks don't have spark plugs. :kidding:

Or automatic transmissions.:bigsmyl2:

Wait,,, I take that back,,,,, the girl versions do.:kidding:

[MaryB]

Watch out for the dreaded 5.4 Triton cracked intake... if you can faintly smell coolant or it seems to go down slowly look close at the aluminum crossover tube on the front of the intake. If it looks wet, or is discolored you have a cracked intake. If it goes to far it can hydraulic a cylinder and cause damage.

[cp1969]

5.4, the worst engine made in my opinion.
Had a beautiful 01 F250, one month after paying it off, POPPED a plug. Ford wanted $5000 to repair. Nope sold it as junk and moved on..
Still makes me sick thinking about that one!From what I've heard, the Eco Boost might not be any better.

[Tripplebeards]

I bought that tool for my tech at a small shop I worked at for a $118 about 8 years ago. Most of my plugs broke off. All came out with the tool. The “brake free” fluid drained into my plug holes and clogged up my catalytic converters because the fluid never burned so the cats had to be replaced. I leaned I should have taken it to the dealer. The plugs were replaced about 20k later and came right out. I just went through and replaced a hub assembly, half shaft, sway bar end links, lower steering shaft, both upper o2 sensors, brake fluid level sensor, tires, brake fluid, oil and filer in the last month. I also have a vacuum line that like to pop off the back of my passenger side intake manifold. I stuck it back on with 3M 77 industrial adhesive. My truck is an 04’ crew cab. Bought it in 08’ with 56k on it. It had a 160k on it now. The frame is rusty and I’ve stuck a lot of money in it over the years...but it owes me nothing. Like Mary said, my Intake craked about 5 years ago and has been replaced. It also has sounded like a diesel since about 65k from the rotten cam fazers. They all do that. I’ll drive it till the frame rots through. I should have kept my 98’ extended cab. I saw it the other saw it the other day and the boast looks like new. My 04’ cab corner rotted out about 5 years ago. I had them fixed and it rusted out again and looks worse now. Imo don’t buy 04 to 08’ f150...and 5.4l of the same years. I knew about the this motor I would have never bought the truck years ago. I’d tell you to sell it now that it runs good while your not at a loss...yet. This truck has treated me worse than any high maintenance girlfriend I’ve ever had.

[megasupermagnum]

From what I've heard, the Eco Boost might not be any better.

Absolutely not. I don't own an Eco Boost, and I'm not a huge Ford fanboy. I typically prefer Chevrolet engines. The Eco Boost engines have proven to be good and reliable engines. I wouldn't choose one in a real heavy duty, every day tow vehicle, but from what I hear, they get fantastic gas mileage without any bogus tricks, and they make way more horsepower than you would believe from such a small displacement.

The worst truck engine of the last 30 years was Fords 4.0 SOHC (not to be mistaken with the OHV), but the triton series engines are only a half step better. And that's only because they don't self destruct without warning. You can at least limp them to the junk yard where they belong.

[bakerjw]

There was a class action lawsuit about the prices being charged for dealing with removal of defective plugs.
I had a 2004 F150 with 54,000 miles on it and a typical bad Ford paint job. When I traded it in in 2018, they only gave me $3,500 for it claiming that there was potentially cam follower noise. I was aggravated that they dinged me on an issue with their engine. But they also knocked 12,000 off of a brand new truck, so that lessened the blow quite a bit.

[Tripplebeards]

I worked for a very short time managing a Ford service department. The technicians there said when the cam phasers are replaced the ticking goes away....for an average of 15,000 miles and then comes back and the ph zero need replacing again. I even owned my 04’ truck since 08’ abs figured since I will never get a good amount of resale out of it between the rust and the “tick” so I’ll drive it till it drops or rusts apart. Saves a truck payment.

[MaryB]

Guy I know with a used car lot welds the cam phaser solid, noise gone. Sure you lose some gas mileage and performance but it cures the problem.

I researched the Eco Boost before buying my Ford Escape. 200k mile engine and built like a tank. Mine is 240hp from a little 2 liter, almost the same HP as the 5.4 Triton! Guys are taking that little 2.0l Eco Boost to over 500hp on a stock block assembly so that says a lot as to how well designed it is. And it was designed for turbo charging from the start instead of turbo(s) being added to an existing engine.

[Winger Ed.]

[QUOTE=tomme boy;5002070]There was talk of a class action law suite against Ford for this design. You might want to check into it.


In my research, I ran into it.
It ended several years ago, people talked of getting checks for $10. and some as much as $30., and they bounced!

These folks were not in their happy place.
Not only did the checks bounce, but their banks charged them a $12. fee for processing it too.

[David2011]

The later (starting 2004 iirc) engines are a completely different can of worms from the 2003 and earlier. The three valve engines and cam phasers are perfect examples of engineers doing engineering without the required design skills; i.e., understanding the flaws of what looked good on paper. I have a 2000 F-150 and it has had some of the typical problems but I've fixed them and expect it to last as long as I'm capable of climbing into a 4x4 truck. It had blown a spark plug out of the head before I bought it and the original owner JB Welded it back in. I got that fixed, replaced the warped intake manifold and after much effort found that the mass airflow sensor was sending bad data. Once that was fixed it runs like new. It has a fresh paint job as of this past March and is mostly used for home improvement store runs at this point. With the problems of the later engines I thought I was better off to keep what I have. At least I know it's reliable.

[megasupermagnum]

The later (starting 2004 iirc) engines are a completely different can of worms from the 2003 and earlier. The three valve engines and cam phasers are perfect examples of engineers doing engineering without the required design skills; i.e., understanding the flaws of what looked good on paper. I have a 2000 F-150 and it has had some of the typical problems but I've fixed them and expect it to last as long as I'm capable of climbing into a 4x4 truck. It had blown a spark plug out of the head before I bought it and the original owner JB Welded it back in. I got that fixed, replaced the warped intake manifold and after much effort found that the mass airflow sensor was sending bad data. Once that was fixed it runs like new. It has a fresh paint job as of this past March and is mostly used for home improvement store runs at this point. With the problems of the later engines I thought I was better off to keep what I have. At least I know it's reliable.

I wouldn't bet on it. These are known to spit 2 or more sparkplugs over time. Many times a problem like a bad MAF will be ignored long enough that the catalytic converter is taken out. I hope yours lasts, but they are not a real long life engine. One day I wish we switch to hours, rather than miles. I'm sure there is a guy out there with 400,000 miles on a 5.4, but has never seen anything but highway for work. Much more common is a 150,000 to 200,000 farm truck that gave up the ghost with even more hours on it.

To those considering this year Ford, consider one a little older. The 90's Fords were superb overall, and the engines, notably the 300, 302, and 351 were some of the best ever. I would much rather buy 90's Ford with a 4.9L and 250,000, than a early 2000's Ford with 5.4 with 150,000 miles.