SeanG

Took my 2011 F150 Ecoboost with 60,000 miles to the dealer a few days ago because of extreme misfire stuttering and hesitation. They quoted $800 for new plugs and a carbon cleaning. In other words $50 in plugs and $10 of Seafoam.

Anyway, we know dealer service departments are a ripoff if you have half a brain, a tool kit and Youtube so I did the job myself and here's what I found.



3 out of 6 plugs with cracked porcelain letting the spark arc out thus no spark to the cylinder. Replaced the plugs and problem fixed...for now.

Found a video on Youtube explaining why it's happening and what the implications are. For example the catalytic converter$$$ turning to toast.
I can see nothing but trouble in the future for these motors which is shame because I really like my truck aside from the super crappy gas mileage.

I wonder how the new 3.2 diesel is working in the Transit?

zx12-iowa

Ok glws. Bye.

Mike Up

From the videos I've seen. The engine has to be broke down to clean the carbon so that it doesn't break loose and destroy the turbos. The high cost is likely for the labor of breaking the engine down.

That's what happens when you make a lot of power out of little displacement. There's no free lunches, you pay for it somewhere.

Good luck on your next truck. The GMs look nice but the Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi looks nicer. Ram 1500 isn't a truck but a glorified grocery getter!

redmist

You went 60K on the stock plugs?!?!?! Sir, you hurped before you durped.

kevin7898

there is a tsb out on these cracked plugs, came out in the last week or so
IMAG0625 by kevinstuparyk, on Flickr

CreepinDeth

So what does the TSB state about the fix for these cracked plugs ??
I'm curious now.

To be totally honest, you bought the first year truck and this is exactly why I bought a 2013 instead of a 2011 used one.
Bugs are not worked out completely on 1st and 2nd year models. I can only hope my 2013 is not affected too.

shortdustoff

For the TSB, think they check the coils and plugs for a misfire. Thought I read it somewhere on here.

Burns331

Why cant the oem plugs go 60k? I have 40k on mine now. Just pulled them and regapped from .035 to .028. All looked good, pretty sure my old man has 90k on his eboost plugs.

What would cause them to have more issues than another type of plug? I know you will say boost, but i guess im looking for more explanation than that.

white_dc

iTrader: (12)

Sounds like an issue with the Direct Injection on these motors. Alot of the Audi, BMW, and a few Lexus motors that use DI have the same issues with Carbon buildup.

TJPlatinumEB

So wait, you are going to sell your truck because of something you waited too long to fix? You already had the misfires and hesitation and crappy mileage and you didn't think to look at the plugs? Or you just wanted to have the dealer do it?

Ford dropped the ball when it came to printing the change intervals on the plugs in the EB, period. I've had 2 EB's now a 2011 and a 2013 and I go no more than 20k miles between changes. For $30 or so bucks and less than an hour of my time, it's cheap insurance. Never had a misfire or hesitation issue on either truck and both had been stock and tuned at various times.

It is a WELL known fact that forced induction engines are extremely unforgiving with spark plugs. My fun car, a Toyota Supra, gets a plug change everytime the oil gets changed. I've worked for race teams and shops that changed them on every 1/4 mile pass.

Ask any tuning company here on this site or just search around and you will find most people changing them at significantly shorter intervals than Ford says to. It is one of the easiest engines/vehicles to change the plugs out on and it gets them running as best as they can be so why not do it?

Selling because of something you should have seen and fixed awhile ago given the look of those plugs and because of fear of what you read somewhere is not much of a reason to sell a truck, but that's just my opinion. Do the maintenance, familiarize yourself with the vehicle you own and are responsible for, and enjoy it.