Ford V8? 5.4? "Great engine???" Not so much...

[JD GUMBEE]

A few days ago, I got a scathing email about my downing of Ford products.
While I have posted several Ford vans in the market area, I have not been very positive about them.
I'm not alone.



The GM line had problems also. Their Displacement on Demand system has these "off/on servo lifters" that can fail. Most often, they do not fail, but high idle times, especially in police applications, can ruin them.
(Of course, even at 200,000 miles, you can tear the motor down to the intake...replace them and keep on going. Not so with the 5.4 Fords. The GM "servo lifters" do NOT cost anywhere near 8,000 to remedy, either.)

To be fair, Toyota had the same problems with small oil passages.
For some reason, the dealers coast to coast told customers to use synthetic oil. Ford dealers did not...they still suggest dinosaur oil @ 5,000 intervals where I live. (I called.) More money for them when they change it and when they replace the engine for you too.

Were I the owner of one of these 5.4 Fords, I would run Amsoil with a spin on filter and dump the first three changes @ 4,000, then go to the 10,000 or once a year change schedule.
True synthetic oil does NOT leave deposits like he shows you here.
(Be damned sure it is true synthetic, BTW. All "synthetic" oils are not created equally.)
The added cost for Amsoil, if you own one of these gems, will save you a lot in the long run.

 

[regis101]

Yep. I hear ya. Daym shame.
I recently picked up my first Chevrolet product. Found out about their zippy do fuel system.
Luckily, the Express, mine at least , doesn’t have it.
Had a Ford E150 for a bit. The spark plug spitting was a concern. Found out the E series uses the two valve and that issue is less , so they say.
All this modern technology and I’m still only getting ~15-18 mpg.

 

[Plant]

You pays your money and takes your chances with all vehicles, but, yeah, the Triton spitting plugs is a nasty one.

I bought mine from the original owner that had the plugs changed by the dealer ~50k miles ago. Some think that improper torquing leads to the issue, and I'm in that camp. Since the dealer did it I'm reasonably sure it was done right, but one never knows. If it does happen it's not an expensive fix, inconvenient for sure.

I didn't watch the video, what are you saying costs 8k to repair? I can put 3 or 4 rebuilt engines in my van for that cost, doing the labor myself.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

All the Triton engines had this problem. The threads holding the plugs weren't deep enough.

Some owners manage to avoid plug failure by checking the torque specs often. Seems the lack of thread surface area can allow the plugs to get loose and this little bit of play leads to corrosion in the threads and eventual blowout. But if you torque them down maybe once or twice a year then your engine will be alright.

Still it's a major reliability issue and the engine is not suitable for van life imo unless you have deep pockets or are comfortable doing this kind of repair on the side of the road.

Fixing a blown plug with the engine in the truck is possible but you must prevent metal shavings from dropping into the combustion chamber. Also some of the kits used to tap new threads can damage your valves or piston head so you have to ensure the cylinder you are boring out is just starting its compression stroke so the valves are closed and the piston is at the bottom of the cylinder.

The best cure is to remove the heads and have a shop drill and tap new threaded sleeves in all the cylinders and then weld them in so the sleeve doesn't separate from the head the next time you remove the plug. If you've done that then the engines are generally regarded as bulletproof.

For me as a potential buyer the Triton's plug issues are not a deal breaker but just another thing that has to come off the price. 

I'd rather get a non working truck for cheap and put some money in it and then know I have a good truck rather than putting all my money on a truck some stranger told me was good.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

https://www.amazon.com/MTI-Marine-Tex-White/dp/B077DTX72G

When your Ford, it spits a plug...
Don't be scared, just "redneck thug"
Buy this stuff, on the plug threads, use a dab
Spread it around, like never-sieze-but it GRABS
Leave it sit for not one day...but TWO
Do not re-torque it, or it won't work for you
Re-connect it and use as you will
For most, it works...and no chemical spill
If it repeats and the plug pops on out
You have done no damage, they just drill it out
On the side of the road, broke wallet in doubt
Marine tex is your friend...and keeps plugs from popping out

We have glued manifolds on AMC 6 banger together with this stuff, sealed up frozen block-holes where you could see the PISTON (1947 Farmall in 1994...it STILL pulls the plow on 10 acres every year, without problems.)
make sure all the grease oil is out of the plug hole.
(Carb clean.)
Turn the engine over to blow the residual carb clean out...you dont need much. a half-second squirt...really.
Take a tiny brush and "round" the remaining threads...gently, only to remove dirt/loose crap from the failure.
Let the carb clean dry. wait 10 full minutes and huff/puff for the fist five into the plug hole won't hurt it. (If you have air available, use it...but let mother nature do her thing for 5 minutes before mixing the TINY amount of Marine tex...)
You only put a THIN coating on the threads of the spark plug. Women: Think about make up. NOT caked on. A tiny dab 'll do ya, spread evenly on the plug threads.
Put a BRAND NEW plug in, NOT the one that popped out.
The marine tex will "goop" out of the threads a little.
Tighten only to yield.
(Meaning, that the plug is going to give a little "resistance" and then you will feel it "give way" that point when it JUST starts to pull free of the threads is where you STOP and LEAVE it alone for 2 days, regardless of torque. This is a quick fix, not the factory approved way.)
Your plug needs to hit the seat like all the rest (I know this is a bitch to see...but looking at the other plugs, note where the top ends up. Yours should be on the same level.)

The new plugs last forever. This fix has been running in shuttle buses for 75,000 miles (V10's)
It takes literally, 30 minutes to do it right, and no draining coolant/oil/head removal.
(TWO DAYS, no crank. Drive it to a spot first going CUFF CUFFF CUFF and let it fully cool off...THEN do the procedure.)
When the plug needs changing, you will need to have it fixed the normal way. (At least all of them...and there have been many...I know of had to break the drill/tap out for plug replacement.)

Every vandweller should have Marine Tex.
The stuff will hold back Mike Tyson...fix cracked/split radiators...seal glass...stripped alternator threads...plastic door handles...loud, obnoxious partners mouths...Okay, maybe not human mouths.

2 days sitting time.

EDIT---in my experience, this stuff deal with heat/thread-hold MUCH better than JB weld.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

I'd rather get a non working truck for cheap and put some money in it and then know I have a good truck rather than putting all my money on a truck some stranger told me was good.

As long as you wrench it yourself...I agree.
People who do NOT do their own work...I completely 100% disagree. Buy the most solid performer in the class vehicle you want. Money well spent. This is proven.
Paying others to repair a turd (as demonstrated among the forums over and over again) is NEVER a sound financial decision.

(mods...sorry about the double post)
(JD meekly retreats, tail between his legs...to the middle east...)

 

[[email protected]]

https://www.amazon.com/MTI-Marine-Tex-White/dp/B077DTX72G

When your Ford, it spits a plug...
Don't be scared, just "redneck thug"
Buy this stuff, on the plug threads, use a dab
Spread it around, like never-sieze-but it GRABS
Leave it sit for not one day...but TWO
Do not re-torque it, or it won't work for you
Re-connect it and use as you will
For most, it works...and no chemical spill
If it repeats and the plug pops on out
You have done no damage, they just drill it out
On the side of the road, broke wallet in doubt
Marine tex is your friend...and keeps plugs from popping out

We have glued manifolds on AMC 6 banger together with this stuff, sealed up frozen block-holes where you could see the PISTON (1947 Farmall in 1994...it STILL pulls the plow on 10 acres every year, without problems.)
make sure all the grease oil is out of the plug hole.
(Carb clean.)
Turn the engine over to blow the residual carb clean out...you dont need much. a half-second squirt...really.
Take a tiny brush and "round" the remaining threads...gently, only to remove dirt/loose crap from the failure.
Let the carb clean dry. wait 10 full minutes and huff/puff for the fist five into the plug hole won't hurt it. (If you have air available, use it...but let mother nature do her thing for 5 minutes before mixing the TINY amount of Marine tex...)
You only put a THIN coating on the threads of the spark plug. Women: Think about make up. NOT caked on. A tiny dab 'll do ya, spread evenly on the plug threads.
Put a BRAND NEW plug in, NOT the one that popped out.
The marine tex will "goop" out of the threads a little.
Tighten only to yield.
(Meaning, that the plug is going to give a little "resistance" and then you will feel it "give way" that point when it JUST starts to pull free of the threads is where you STOP and LEAVE it alone for 2 days, regardless of torque. This is a quick fix, not the factory approved way.)
Your plug needs to hit the seat like all the rest (I know this is a bitch to see...but looking at the other plugs, note where the top ends up. Yours should be on the same level.)

The new plugs last forever. This fix has been running in shuttle buses for 75,000 miles (V10's)
It takes literally, 30 minutes to do it right, and no draining coolant/oil/head removal.
(TWO DAYS, no crank. Drive it to a spot first going CUFF CUFFF CUFF and let it fully cool off...THEN do the procedure.)
When the plug needs changing, you will need to have it fixed the normal way. (At least all of them...and there have been many...I know of had to break the drill/tap out for plug replacement.)

Every vandweller should have Marine Tex.
The stuff will hold back Mike Tyson...fix cracked/split radiators...seal glass...stripped alternator threads...plastic door handles...loud, obnoxious partners mouths...Okay, maybe not human mouths.

2 days sitting time.

EDIT---in my experience, this stuff deal with heat/thread-hold MUCH better than JB weld.

Mechanic rapp, I love it!

 

[bigskybob]

I can't remember how many years it's been since I changed a spark plug.Maybe I'm lucky but I just have not had a plug go bad in at least 10 years.

 

[B and C]

I change plugs, wires (if they have any), cap and rotor at 100k regardless. Part of regular maintenance. I hate to wait for a problem to crop up. Seems like they always do at the worst possible time.