Not tractor, but truck ejected a spark plug.

Fatjay

Member
Bringing the family home across the pa turnpike, I heard a horrible sound that sounded like a flat. With the cattle shoots the way they are now, it took me a half mile to find a place to pull over. Not sure why I didn't keep going, if it was a flat it would have been Impossible to change it there.

When I stopped I noticed the sound was still there, so I popped the hood thinking I blew off the exhaust on my v10 excursion. Right on top was the coil, broken off and arcing away on the intake manifold. Shut off the engine, inspected the damage, and realized there was nothing to do but drive another 100 miles home on 9 cylinders.

Yesterday I picked up a helicoil pack for spark plugs and put it in, with the help of lots of grease. The rtv is setting now, hopefully when it's done, plug and coil go back on and its issue free. Otherwise I need a new head.
 
I have not heard of this being an issue on the V-10s but the 5.4 V-8s had this happen regularly. I would not use a helicoil. There are repair kits available that are much better than the helicoil in this application. The aluminum heads just are not very thick in the spark plug area. So they make a larger Steel insert that goes in the strip plug hole. and then you peen it in.
 
I suppose this could be used to fix a tractor with stripped plug threads too. It was fairly simple.

The kit came iwth the tap, 3 inserts, and a punch. The tap went on the end of a 3/8" drive.
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I greased it up real well to catch the shavings.

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It worked out pretty well.

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Went in 3/4 the first time, then cleaned it best I could before repeating. Definitely fill the recessed parts with grease to catch as much as you can.

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Couple pieces of shavings got down in there though.

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Pair of forceps with a paper towel down in there cleaned things up pretty well.

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Harbor freight 99 cent socket holder was perfect. Took the holders off and was left with the curved base, which I wrapped in a paper towel and pushed down to clean the edges best I could.

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Put on the medium insert before the main insert so it wouldn't thread all the way onto the plug. I backed out regularly to check my depth and this made it easier.

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Don't forget the RTV. Used the punch to flare the outside perforations into the sidewall to keep it from going anywhere.

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RTV is 24 hr to cure, should be ready around 6pm tonight.
 
I had an 'old' 67 Ford 390 that would do that regularly.You would hear it puffing before it blew out. Just tighten it back and
go on your way.
 
JD gave you good advice.

You should have rented or borrowed a kit and used the correct repair insert, as you are not the first one to try a simple heli-coil in a Ford modular engine head and have it fail.

Probably still could re-do it with the insert.

<img src = "http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611G8No%2BnUL._SX355_.jpg">
ONE example
 
The 4.6, the 5.4 and the V-10 all in the "modular engines" family all had the same 2 or 3 threads in aluminum to anchor the sparkplugs, and all commonly had failures.
 
(quoted from post at 10:18:37 08/29/15) JD gave you good advice.

You should have rented or borrowed a kit and used the correct repair insert, as you are not the first one to try a simple heli-coil in a Ford modular engine head and have it fail.

Probably still could re-do it with the insert.

&lt;img src = "http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611G8No%2BnUL._SX355_.jpg"&gt;
ONE example
When I was first reading, a lot of people said this. I think this is due to the thought that it's like a regular helicoil for bolts. However the insert is thick and solid, just like the one you linked, the only exception is it does not have a flared head, so you have to know where to stop. The punch flares the head pushing the teeth on the side into the wall.

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Back in 2005 I was pulling my 24' tandem bumper trailer loaded with 14000 lbs through the Rocky Mts. My vehicle was a 1999 F250 SUPER DUTY 2 WD extend a cab short box V-10. A SPARK PLUG blew out ! Vehicle had 110,000 miles. The cylinder inhaled particulate and scored the cylinder. Around 2001 the firm I was with lost two F250 Ford V8's with the same problem. Ford should have been ashamed to have placed ALUMINUM heads on vehicles with out installing STEEL inserts. My neighbour lost a spark plug on a FORD V-6.
 
I had that happen on a 69 Karmann Ghia going up a
long hill. I drove it home on 3 and just cross
threaded the old plug back in there. It's still that
way. The car it sitting in the shed awaiting
restoration currently. It will get new heads.
 
I've had that happen 3 times on my 5.4. Repaired with the same inserts you used with no problems. Some can be real hateful to get at. Having the head gaskets replaced now and will put inserts in the remaining holes to prevent future problems.
 
Although not too common, the Ford V10 engine is known for this to happen. My O2 motorhome has the Ford V10 engine. I doubt I will ever change the plugs for that reason. The engine has manufacturing defect where there isn't enough metal in the head for good thread length. The newer engine from what I hear doesn't have that problem. The next problem with that engine is the exhaust manifold studs breaking off. The engine has a lot of power, and uses a lot of gas, but gets the job done. Stan
 
Good luck with that repair. it doesn't seem to work very well -- the boys have seen it tried. The guys the shop replace dozens of the 5.4 and v10 heads for this problem every year. That along with the tranny problems is the main reason 99% of the ford pickups we get in on trade go to an auto auction. Ford should have recalled them and fixed them, I guess there are not enough people really complaining about them.
 
Start the engine with the plug out :wink:

I had good luck with those inserts as long as I got to it first if I did not they were hit and miss if they worked...

I broke down and brought the tools to repair it correctly since then I have had only 2 to repair... One more and the tools paid for but that seams the way it goes when you buy a specialty tool you may end up never using it again :(...

http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemD...r3KMxUNrtlpD52l175s-xHAu_41JHJF2rAaAjTB8P8HAQ
 
Most people don't realize that the exhaust is EXTREMELY restricted on the early v 10 . Take a cast iron pipe and smash it shut to 1/2 the size and that's what you have . They build heat like heck and heat the alum head and pop go's the plug. Not so much on daily drivers but very common on heavy pullers. I put the headers on when the manifold bolts broke like they do and WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I picked up 2 mpg and dropped the coolant temp 20 deg. If you can afford the fix it is WELL worth it.
 
I see two or three a month come in the shop . This is the insert I use now. I have the other thinner type,but I have seen those blow out. This type really works good .Coat threads with JB weld and never had and issue . This type will will repair hole if other type has blown out again .
 

My Ford dealer used a helicoil when plug blew on my '00 Expedition. It has worked fine.
 
I have had this happen on both a 5.4 and a V10. I fixed them with a steel insert. I got them from a company called Timesert. The V10 blew the plug the day Katrina hit the coast so I guess its been 10 years. Also been over 100000 miles and some big loads. No problems yet and still working her at about 280000 miles. Do it right and it will last. Lee
 
Cal-Van sells a tool kit that will be a guaranteed fix - even if other inserts have already been tried. I personally possess one of those kits, and have successfully repaired TWO heads with it. First head was already inserted and had blown out the repair. The repair was done with the insert shown in the pictorial below. Problem one was that due to the location of the failure, it was not possible to verify if the insert had been properly swaged with the provided swaging tool. Somehow, it did not "feel right" to me. Sure enough, it failed again a few weeks later. At that point, the vehicle's owner had seen an ad for the Cal-Van tool set. We ordered the kit, and with some apprehension, we applied it to the affected cylinder. So far, it has been going strong for over 6 months.

Now a few words about Ford and their "manufacturing practices."

Ford has been using aluminum heads WITHOUT steel inserts since the early 1980s. To those of you who criticize that, I say WHY NOW??? After they worked fine for 30 plus years, why now point a finger and condemn Ford?? Don't discount the fact that most other carmakers also use aluminum heads without steel inserts.
Next, about the "reliability" of Ford products, I say this: Ford stands up well to ANY of the competition. Their frequency of repairs are no worse than any other make, and substantially better than some other makes. If you are having good service from the make that you are driving, then I say bless you and I hope that you continue to get good service from that make. If you are having problems with your Ford, I suggest that you take a good hard look at the odometer. What do you expect Ford to do about a spark plug blowing out at 150,000 or more miles? How long do you think that a manufacturer should warranty a product???
I have been driving Ford cars for about 40 years. I have gotten above average performance from ALL OF THEM. My current vehicles include a 2000 Explorer with 250,000 miles on it, a 1993 Ford Taurus with 188,000 miles on it, and a 1954 Packard with unknown miles on it, but it is 61 years old.

Quit picking on Ford!! I'm not picking on what you drive!!
 
I'll agree, I like ford. I went from ranger to explorer to expedition to excursion, and now I own two of them. I love my fords and wouldn't own anything else. The v10 that failed has 260k miles on it and has been largely trouble-free. Coil packs and plugs were done about 6-7k miles ago, I suspect they weren't torqued properly.

I do think that there was a mistake made by ford, though. The head has 4 threads in it for the plug. However the insert I put in has 12. They had room for more threads, but didn't utilize it. I feel this was a design flaw, even if it took 260k miles to occur. It's so extremely rare to hear of this issue happening with any other engine series, what's wrong with the 4.6/5.4/6.8 which has it happen frequently enough for them to be known for it?

This wasn't a heavy load trip, it was the family of 4 sitting on the turnpike for hours on end at 65mph with the cruise control on. I'll never know what triggered it for sure, but hopefully it does't happen again. I'll be checking all the other plugs to see that they're in snug for sure.
 
"How long do you think that a manufacturer should warranty a product???" Forever against a spark plug blowing out. The same as the steering wheel not coming off in your hand. TDF
 
(quoted from post at 06:41:41 08/29/15) Bringing the family home across the pa turnpike, I heard a horrible sound that sounded like a flat. With the cattle shoots the way they are now, it took me a half mile to find a place to pull over. Not sure why I didn't keep going, if it was a flat it would have been Impossible to change it there.

When I stopped I noticed the sound was still there, so I popped the hood thinking I blew off the exhaust on my v10 excursion. Right on top was the coil, broken off and arcing away on the intake manifold. Shut off the engine, inspected the damage, and realized there was nothing to do but drive another 100 miles home on 9 cylinders.

Yesterday I picked up a helicoil pack for spark plugs and put it in, with the help of lots of grease. The rtv is setting now, hopefully when it's done, plug and coil go back on and its issue free. Otherwise I need a new head.
ts a Ford. That's just what they do. Wait till it happens on one of the back cylinders. This one one of the reasons I don't ever work on Fords. There are local shops that specialize in working on these things. I have a friend that owns a machine shop....he has one guy that only rebuilds ford heads that had the blown head gasket problem and he also has a steady flow of trucks every week with the spark plug threads blown out that's he fixes in the parking lot between head rebuilds. Another friend has a decent side business repairing fuel injection control modules on the diesels. I guess it's a good thing....at least Ford is keeping Americans working...
 

Not picking on Ford as I have owned several, but there are certain things they have done over the years that were flawed, and the spark plug blowout is one of them. Since they've revised the heads and the threading on the newer Tritons I guess they have as much as admitted they screwed up the earlier effort. Bad thing is they have never formally admitted the mistake and tried to make any sort of restitution for folks that had issues. Mine blew out at around 130,000 miles (under no load) and it was the rear driver side that they said was the hardest to get to. I didn't really expect they would make it good, but would have been nice to at least cover the parts that got ruined. Electrical gremlins in the early Expeditions are another issue they never addressed, along with rotting (and breaking) upper and lower control arms, and the rear spring shackles on Rangers. I took mine to a shop that does 2-3 shackle replacements a day.
 

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