If it's that bad man pay somebody else to do it for you

 

YOU'RE A MECHANIC! If you couldn't change the plugs easily I'd say you needed to be fired.

I'm a software and networking guy. Lets see you setup a few servers, routers, firewall and network them even if I give you the tools to do it. Then when you can't make it work I'll call you names and say you're stupid, ok?

I've always owned Fords, and I love this truck. Just because I had a bad experience with the plugs and know that in the future I will have to do this again doesn't mean I hate my truck.

Since 2004 I've owned a 2006 STX, a 2004 SCREW XLT, and now this 2005 SCREW XLT. I've also owned a 91 Ranger XLT and a 92 Ranger XLT Custom. I currently own a 2007 Mustang GT/CS and a Ford Five Hundred. My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, and the second was a 70 Mustang Mach1. I'm a Ford guy who loves Ford trucks.

It is my opinion that the spark plugs/heads on this engine (the design) is stupid. That doesn't mean I hate the truck.

 

obusnizzle,

Do you think it is a good design to make people pay $800+ to have Ford change spark plugs? (at $95 local mechanical labor rate) Just look at this message board and there are dozens (if not more) of people complaining of the same issues.

Fact is if I didn't love the truck it would be gone already. The reason I was so pissed off was because I do love the truck and it strikes me as stupid they way Ford designed the heads/plugs.

 

Grape or Cherry? or ??

 

I know where you're coming from Brattonr. If I had known beforehand what a bitch the F150 4.6/5.4 is for simple maintenance service, I'd have seriously considered rebuilding my old '85 Chevy 6.2L diesel.

Thank God the former owner of my recently-acquired '97 4.6L XLT had the truck tuned and changed the plugs. All I had to do was change the sparkplug wires, a PITA in itself....and that change was after a week of chasing the cause of a P0308 misfire which-surer-than-crap looked like a bad injector.

 

Yup. And the Rotunda tools that are used to remove the plugs (one for the porcelain and one for the electrode grounding strap) are $800 and on NATIONAL BACK ORDER. At least according to the dealer and Amazon.com at the time I did my plugs. Tell me this ISN'T a problem when the tool is on national back order!

FYI: The Lisle Ford Broken Spark Plug Remover LIS 65600 tool works great and I found it for $50 online ($89 at Oriellys).

 

I got the 97 F150 specifically because it has the 4.6L, essentially the same engine that is in my 94 LTC Sig and almost every police car in the world (...well at least on this side of the ponds). It has a well-deserved reputation for longevity and reliablility, something I have not seen for the 5.4L.

Based upon some of the horror stories about the 5.4L I have seen on this forum, I am very happy to have stuck with the 4.6L.

 

it happens, Rotunda OTC doesnt produce in the volume that other tool manufacturers do. I had the same problem finding the OTC 4.6L/5.4L valvespring compressor.

 

Fair enough. But doesn't it send warning signals if Ford has to make a special tool for their engines for the spark plugs because they know it's a problem? I guess that is cheaper than fixing the plug/head design?

Still love the trucks. I think the F150's are the best looking, best riding and have the best quality on the road today. But no one will convince me that the plug/head design on the 3v motors isn't seriously screwed up.