jethat

Watch the video I posted. Plug blowouts are a minor inconvenience. Nothing to worry about to much. 28 lbs Dry and they almost never happen.

akdoggie

NO, don't touch the threads unless they are screwed up. You don't want to remove any material at all on these. They only have so much to work with before late 03.

As far as the torque on the plugs, I'd definitely make sure they were tightened to the correct #age. 28.

R&TBabich

[QUOTE=gkoenig;5314589]I am scared to death of this happening, I torqued mine to 20, I think Ford says 13. I also used anti-seize twice before. I cleaned them up and did not use it this time.
Should I go back and re-torque to 28 foot lbs. .../QUOTE]

I think 13 ft/lbs would probably work fine if people didn't leave the plugs in for 100k.
The first couple of changes on mine I used antiseize and torqued to 20 ft/lbs and rechecked the torque one more time at 10k.
Nowadays, I change plugs/boots/springs at 50k, torque to 25 ft/lbs and recheck torque at 10k and have had no problems.
The plug has a tapered seat and the torque is holding the plug against the seat, not sealing the threads like a pipe thread does.
From what I've seen on the forums a large number of plug blowouts occur between 100k to 140k.
One guy had an OEM plug blow at 68k.
Others have gone over 200k.
Mine went at 108k, just after I bought the car.
This is nothing new about steel plugs in aluminum.
The early 4 thread heads, like your 2001, has fewer threads left to hold the plug if it works loose.
The 8 thread heads will hold longer.
I've seen posts from people that have had blowouts with them, even the 3v heads with those strange plugs.
I'm not sure that 28 ft/lbs is "correct" as I've seen recommendations from 20 to 28.

jethat

[QUOTE=R&TBabich;5314990]I had a blow out once right after I had the plugs changed by the dealer less then a week. They can happen anytime I reckon..

R&TBabich

That's a bummer.
How long were the plugs installed before they were changed by the dealer?
On our V10 the #3 plug blew at 108k, which one was yours?
Before I changed the rest of the plugs I checked the torque.
All the plugs on the driver's side were fine, but the entire passenger side were just a tad loose.
I think the passenger side of the engine bay may run hotter.
The hottest water from the block enters the radiator on the passenger side and the heater lines run down that side which also blocks airflow.
Once a plug works loose I think the compression pulses might start working the threads.
If your plugs were in a long time maybe one had worked loose and the threads were stressed.
Or the mechanic didn't torque it properly.

Jbrew

You had that coming lol.

jethat

I hate working in the dog house in that van. I actually looked at it. thought about doing it myself. But then I quickly came to my senses and paid the dealer the money they wanted for it. They fixed the blowout for free! I came in and they tried to tell me that it just happens with these engine. Wasnt pretty between me and the service writer from then on. Later I actually found out yes it does just happen with these engines. Probably a good thing I didnt know that at the time..

Jbrew

ROFL, he tried to tell you it just happens? It was only a week after they installed them lol. Man, some of those service writers...where do they come from lol.

Yea, Vans aren't much fun to work on, I hear yuh there.

jethat

in all fairness to the tech who did the work.. The engine had about 140k miles on it I bought the thing from the newspaper company in salt lake and had it painted. looked like a new van for a little while. So it probably had never had the plugs out and all. Could be when they pulled the plug the threads came with it never know. Dont mater they fixed it for free. I put another 140k miles on that van and had zero problems with it. I've had a GMC POS van since then that has given me nothing but trouble. It has a carpet cleaning machine that I love. The pachine it a PTO so it almost like part of the van, I've spent well over 10 grand on that van keeping it on the road. Last year I replaced its engine. Probably not going to be able to make money doing what I do (carpet cleaning)) much longer. Old and nearly worn out. So this van has got to last me. Till I give up and get out..
But that last E350 I had. Loved it. probably should have dumped money into it..