read before working on a ford 5.4L 3v

[mfdfirefighter46]

notice to everyone if you are going to do spark plugs on this engine do not do it without this tool they are known for breaking down in the engine that being said this tool is amazing http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/prod … roduct=484 it will save you alot of time and fustration very idiot proof. i hope this helps someone in the future so they dont sweat like i did before i knew about this tool….. ENJOY!!!!!

Topic

[mfdfirefighter46]

if the link dont work its called broken plug remover for 3v

[dreamer2355]

I have heard alot of issues with those Tritan motors, mainly when people are going way over there required mileage on those plugs. However, it wasnt a smart idea by Ford either to use a 2 peice plug S:( and this is coming from a Ford fan…

[ncarter124]

I like when they blow the plugs right out of the heads because there isn’t enough threading. Good work Ford.

[3SheetsDiesel]

The method that I use when I’ve got to remove the plugs from one of those engines is to get myself a can of Seafoam, get the engine nice and hot, pull the coil packs off of the plugs, pour about a table spoon of Seafoam into each spark plug hole and then loosen the plugs about a eighth of a turn. After that, i’ll let it sit until the engine is cool, then I’ll work the plugs back and forth until they move freely. After that, I’ll remove the plugs as normal and I’ll put anti-seize on the threads of the new plugs before I install them.

[pcmdjason]

My wife’s Mitsubishi Galant blew a plug but we didn’t realize it. It just seemed to miss really bad at idle but smoothed out at higher speeds. It was dark so I took it for a test drive and just revved the hell out of it thinking somehow that might help. But no luck. And I could smell a lot of burning oil.

The next day the engine bay was covered in oil residue. And the coil boot was like charcoal. I tried it put a new plug in but it just dropped down without catching the threads. It sat for a week with me doing all sorts of research and finally bit the bullet and bought a kit to re-tap it having never done it before. (BTW many tap kits will not fit down spark plug tubes once you put a socket on them, O’Reilly had one that instead took a socket or 3/8″ drive extension)

I dipped the tapping tool in petroleum jelly and frequently pulled it out and removed the metal chips. I was worried about tapping too far and hitting something and in the end didn’t go down far enough but by that time the sleeve had been installed and it was too late.

The coil sits about 1/4 inch higher than it should but it works ok. I shimmed it with 1 nut on each side. I also had to replace the spark plug gasket since it burned away and fragments of it were bouncing all around the lifters.

It worked out in the end but the whole week I was worried about it.

[thor9hammer]

Ive replaced the plugs on probably 10 different 2004-2008 Ford 5.4L v8 Triton 3V. I am a Ford fan for life but this was a horrible idea and they should be embarrassed by the lack of support they have given their customers. Tons of people putting out about $600 bucks to have someone do them for them and much more if they break and they always do. Out of the 10 that Ive done all have had an average of 4 break off.

The tool to do the job right is close to what the initial poster wanted to link above but that link takes you to the main site of Lisle ( The company that makes the tool. Its called the LIS 65600. This link will take you to the tool and to all of the individual replacement parts for the tool.

http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/se … &x=13&y=14

My thoughts after 10 of the plug removals:

1.) They dont make tools any simpler than this.
2.) The tool works by pushing the ceramic (there are 3 different ways these plugs break….ceramic breaks in half leaving half in the bottom of the ground shield thats also stuck, ground shield by itself, or the ceramic splits and can be pull out by a pair of long nose long neck pair of needle nose pliers) down far enough for the ceramic to snap the bottom of the grounding shield so the cutting threads of the shield removal tool to bite. It is measured exactly so even if you think it may be pushing too far its not. I did modify my wet/dry shopvacwith some small diameter rubber hose (used to connect an icemaker to a refrigerator) so I could vacuum out the cylinder as a precaution. In all the times I have used this tool it has not broken the ceramic and I only vacuumed the cylinder to make sure I have rid any small particulates.
3.) You will want to buy a small bottle of cutting oil. The threads on the shield removal tool can dull ultra quick if you dont use the cutting oil. I did 4 full jobs before mine started to dull. I also decided that for $26 it was worth buying the replacement removal tool (the reversed thread cutting part, not the shrouds ).
4.) Ive made money with this tool and Ive charged half of what the dealers wanted to charge simply because Rotunda wants to over charge for their tools. The same tool from Rotunda is almost $700.00 and not as effective.
5.) After using this tool, the job is significantly less daunting and Ive finished the job in under 2 hours.

Also make sure you use Nickel anti-sieze on the plugs threads when you put the new plugs in. Nickel has the highest temp rating and will save you a major headache the next time.

Good luck!

[jacobnbr1]

If you hit the plugs with a good strong 3/8 impact they are less likely to break… I know sound stupid but it works.

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