i took my 2005 f150 5.4L in to have the spark plugs changed due to a misfire and in the process of them taking the spark plugs out they broke (which is a pretty common thing in this model truck). the original quote to have the spark plugs removed with no issues was around $530 and the quote they gave me when they realized all of them could break was $1300. i told them to only do 4 out of the 8 and that quote was around $950. hoping i would have my truck back in a couple of times the shop calls me back and asks me to come take a look at what was going on. they show me pieces from the spark plugs inside of the cyclinder on top of the piston. the guy told me they tried everything to get the pieces out but had no luck so he told me they were going to have to take the engine out and get in there in remove the pieces that were stuck. new quote was around $1800 which wasn't bad from the quotes that other people have got for the same job. he calls me back an hour later and tells me they don't have the tolls to do the job and the dealership would do it for $3400 which I don't have the money for right now. does anyone have any other ideas on getting these pieces out?

 

I have to ask, did the dealer have you sign a form stating if the plugs break it will cost more? Not sure if that is in the small (or large) print or not.

 

Could try a shop vac and a small hose?

 

I took it to a local mechanic. they informed me that if the plugs broke it would cost more.

 

UGH! Sorry to hear that....royally sucks!

 

Are they using compressed air with a wand in the plug holes? Sorry it sounds like they are trying to hose you because I have done several 4.6 and 5.4 3V mots with the HT plugs and all debris comes out with the above mentioned technique.

 

honestly I have no idea. they told me they tried everything but I will have to ask if they used that method. they cant be stuck that bad. if only I could win the lotto lol

 

I had a similar issue doing this. I did the plugs myself, and I believe all 8 broke and I had to extract each one. They all came out but tons of stuff fell into the cylinders.

I blew them out with compressed air, but I wasn't confident I got it all out and I couldn't find a piece of an electrode from a plug.

I called the dealer, and had the truck towed there. I paid the dealer to bore scope every cylinder, and they also stated there was a lot of stuff in there and they cleaned it all out with compressed air and possibly a shop vac. They also oiled the cylinders from the top, and hand cranked the engine slowly to make sure nothing was binding.

All said and done I think I dropped $700 there for that piece of mind.

In my opinion, the compressed air and vac should work especially if you have a bore scope to verify.

I'd definitely recommend taking this job to the dealer from the start or doing it yourself, the mechanics at the dealer have much more experience working with this since they see a million F150's.

 

I am now a true believe in using an impact tool. I have read on here where so many others used it worked well however, before I tried the first one I got down on my knees and said a prayer. All 8 came out with no issue at all and maybe, just maybe the YIELD I used helped a tad but I only let it sit on each plug hole for 5 minutes (we used YEILD in the military on B52 bombers on lots of stubborn bolts and nuts). Oh and the engine was cold as well.

 

X2. When I first called my local Ford dealer and asked about plugs, they told me the cost for a tune-up was right around $550 flat. That was WITH the included risk of breaking plugs.

Your mechanic is screwing you pretty hard man, the spark plugs are annoying but they shouldn't be charging you $1800 for it.

There is a *possible* financial upside. There is evidently a class action lawsuit in the works directly relating to this matter, you might be able to get into that if you're having to make some significant out-of-pocket costs on getting these replaced. I'm not a lawyer so for the love of god don't take my word at face value. Just take a few moments and look at the details of the class action and see if it holds water.