rbrais

What ever happened to the days when the spark plugs were in full view and could be changed in 10 min?

POMMESDEUX

Did the plug change on my 02 5.4 this morning. Armed with a Shop Vac , Compressor, Aerosol Blast Penetrating Oil, Torque Wrench and every combination of 1/4 and 3/8 Sockets and Extensions and this post. Happy to report only one casualty a 8mm Deep socket swallowed into the Suspension Mounting Brackets. New Autolite Iridium Plugs and NGK Plug Boots in fired it up and Hello P0406 code that wasn't there before, forgot to plug in a sensor on the EGR plumbing. Old plugs were NGK and still in reasonable shape. Thanks to all who have posted here and there for giving me the tips to do it right the first time. Now to face the P1451 code.

jakez

i just got done with my plugs...i did everything the instructions said but i cant get the last 2 ones to the right of the firewall?...but it runs great with the other 6 in! and got rid of a small tick! woo hoo!!!

Sinko

Hello, all. I just bought a 2003 FX4 Screw, 5.4L a couple weeks ago. I was curious as to how much it would cost to have a mechanic change my plugs. Well, I found out real quick that I wasn't going to pay to have this done. So, I did some research on methods used to accomplish this, and found this one to be very informative. It took me 6 hours to complete. I did remove the Triton cover and power steering reservoir, but not the fuel rails. The hardest one to get to was the rear passenger one. The 7mm bolt holding the COP on was very hard to get out. I put Motorcraft plugs back in(exact same ones in the guide), gapped them to .054" and torqued them to 28ft-lb. No anti-seize was used because the nickel alloy used in these plugs will prevent them from seizing. I used a 5/8" magnetic socket to ensure the plug came out, and then I would put the new plug in the socket with an extension to start the plug into the threads. Once that was done, I switched to a regular 5/8" socket. Also, I did use dielectric grease inside the old boots before I reinstalled them. He is not joking when he says use a variety extensions. You MUST have 1/4" and 3/8" drive extensions and swivels/universal joints, a shop vac and compressed air to get this job done. Another thing I found helpful was a pen magnet in case I dropped any of the screws. I used it several times to retrieve bolts and sockets. I want to thank you for a job well done on this how to guide. It really saved me a lot of time and money. I don't have much free time to do this stuff since I'm in the NAVY, so it's much appreciated.

Quadabaum

"The 97-03’s do not have the breaking issue the 04-08’s have."

Step 11, last sentence.

By breaking issue do you mean the spark plugs breaking in half into the head? Because people everywhere are scared to do plugs on their F150's due to the spark plugs are **** to breaking off inside the head. I was wanting to change my plugs but after reading post after post i decided not to because i was not sure if my 1999 F150 XLT 4x4 would have the plugs that break off. If i dont have these plugs it would be of great help to me to let me know so i can change my spark plugs.

P.s. Great write up and thanks for any help you can give me.

otto457

Quadabaum: Yes the 04-08 will break the spark plug at the head. Their design uses a two piece plug with a shank. The 97-03 do not have the breaking issue as the spark plug and head design are different than the newer ones. The posts you read about those scared to do it is mostly the 04+ 5.4L motors. You don't have this problem on yours.
The one issue we deal with in the 97-03 motors is the plugs backing themselves out of the heads. This is why at least 28 ft/lbs is recommended.

Quadabaum

Thanks otto!!!! This write up and thread has helped me greatly. I will definitely be changing my spark plugs soon. i will let everyone know how it goes.

usafstud

Thanks for the guide. It wasn't as frustrating as I did imagine. Just took a while. Took me about 4 hours, that includes the 20 minutes to make sure all the new plugs were gapped to specs.

Two things I wanted to add:

1) I did not have to use any angle couples. I just fished the right length extensions where I had some space to turn the ratchet.
2) Have a shop vacuum ready to vacuum up debris on the valve covers. I had a few corn pieces that could have fallen in to the engine if I didn't.

aholbro1

Great write-up, Otto, many thanks!
I do have one question regarding the following pic - I thought #4 was farthest aft on pax (right) side? This one looks like #5 to me...am I all hosed up? (it matters, as I have a P0304 to investigate and thought I'd swap COP's between #3 and #4 and see if the miss migrates from 4 ot 3 - will accomplish plug change with another study of your post once I have that sorted)

Here is what the socket on #4 looks like. Loosen and remove the sparkplug.

bobkyle2

Number 4 is the farthest back on passenger side.