Spark Plug Removal
 

Had the two piece Motorcraft Spark Plugs changed out in the 2007 GT to the one piece Champion 7989. Some pics of the broken plugs. 7 hours of labor to get them out. New plugs, Lisle Removal Tool and Labour $525.00. I understand that there has been a class action award against Ford in the USA for this problem not sure about Canada. I will phone Ford Canada on Monday to find out.


https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cpn-7989

That sucks Ray...I was hoping it wasn't going to go that way for you. Still, it could have been worse...you didn't have to pull the heads.

Thanks. Yeah I heard about the heads being pulled on a few 5.4L trucks with the same problem, But in the end it worked out good. GT had lots of pickup and go before, now it is really spunky.

7 hours labour, thats brutal, whats even more brutal is the plugs. Wow.

Makes you wonder why Ford would go to such a plug. I understand that due to many complaints that the spark plug was changed in engines/Mustangs built starting in November 2007. Mine was built in May 2007 so it missed the change.

Pretty common. I've heard lots of horror stories...my wife's uncle had the ones in his F150 done last year to the tune of $1200.

Had it done on three F150's and 23/24 plugs broke. Two trucks had the head removed and total bill for the three combined was about $5000. I doubt it actually took them 7 hours to get them out. It's been a common problem for a long time and there are some guys that are really good at it.

Good luck calling Ford Ray. This class action exists for F150's. http://www.fordsparkplugsettlement.com/

Ouch!

Seven hours is what it took. The mechanic is my neighbor. I watched part of the process, very time consuming.

I did call Ford of Canada this morning and explained the spark plug issue. The response from Ford is while there may be a class action lawsuit and award in the USA there is no such class action award in Canada. Seems if I want some compensation then I would have to start a class action over the issue. But I am not about to spend a few thousand dollars to do that to recover $525.00. While the customer service representative was pleasant she further advised that she was not allowed to talk about the specifics and technical issues of the spark plug problem in 4.6 & 5.4L vehicles. Seems they know there is a problem but do not want to address it. Me wonders what happened to the slogan "The Quality Goes in Before the Name Goes On?" But i was informed by a friend who is a former claims agent for a large company that there is a class action lawsuit underway for this problem. If you have a vehicle with these type of plugs simply go to the attached link and add your name and vehicle particulars. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https...GMYfrDqzwchekg

I changed mine at about 70K (3 years ago) and was lucky that none broke. Replaced with Champion 7989's and they work great. What a gut wrenching procedure though to start breaking them loose and wondering if any are going to break. I took my time and soaked overnight then used a torque wrench to remove them so I wouldn't over torque the plugs and break them off.
I went to Crowfoot Ford (in Calgary) and asked the Service Advisor how much to change the plugs. He laughed (which really pissed me off) and said anywhere from $800 to $1200 depending if any broke and that probably a few would break. Then I started thinking about it and thought that there really was no incentive for them to take it slow and try not to break any - because they would just get to charge more if (and when) any broke. Glad I built up the intestinal fortitude to do it myself. Got the plugs from Rock Auto, put anti-seize on them and they have been great ever since. I took the car in for the air bag recall and of course the SA recommended that the plugs be changed - "we want your money!!!". You guys are right in your feeling about no support from Ford for their crappy design. Same with the hood lip corrosion issue and the PTU in other vehicles. Design & build something something that is poor and prone to failures and charge for customer. Quite a business model!

Nice work! How did you soak the plugs? I've heard that some people crack them loose and then soak them with carb cleaner.

I wasn't in a hurry. I removed the COP"s and sprayed some de-carbonizer (sorry I forget what the name of it was - carb cleaner works - anything that says dissolves carbon - could have been PB Blaster too) into the hole where each plug was and left it overnight. I filled the hole quite full. I figured some would evaporate, but hoped that some might find it's way down the spark plug. Then in the morning I took my torque wrench and broke the plugs loose - maybe a 1/16th turn - just a crack and let them sit again for a few hours with more carbon degreaser and let it soak in further. I think the torque setting was about 55 ft lbs (but best to look it up to see the torque that will break the plugs). I used the torque wrench so I didn't over-torque them and break them off. Then I turned them out a bit more and used a tighten/untighten back and forth procedure to 'work' them out. They squealed alot. Sounded awful. Fortunately it worked for me.
After all the plugs were out, I put a towel over the cylinder heads on each side and cranked the engine for a bit to blow out any liquid that might have remained in the cylinders because I didn't want any blow out liquid all over the engine, hood or fenders. I was careful not to put any anti-sieze on the tip of the new plugs - only on the threads and the snorkle (from the threads to the tip).