there is an 01 E350 extended van on CL locally.
5.4 - guy says he stripped out plug threads on one hole. wants $1200 for the van with 170k and it looks really clean in the pics, thinking of going to look at it later this week after i make some room in the driveway and offering 900-1000.
anyway - can the plug threads be repaired on vehicle or does the head need to come off? that'd be the deal breaker for me, i'm not taking apart an engine in a van.
This is a common problem. Poke around and you'll find kits to fix it.
Yes, it can be repaired in-vehicle. I would not attempt to DIY it though, as it's very tricky and involves drilling the head and inserting a timesert for new threads. I had a shop do it twice to my P71, they did a great job (and if they screwed up, they had to buy and install a new head).
It can be done in most cause head on. depends on how much room you got. Fordtrucks.com should point you to the better of the kits.
Use cheap shaving cream to fill cyl an keep chips out. don't for get you'll need a new COP too as it breaks the hold down tab.
hmmm. i'm not much of a "take it to the shop" guy - i've never taken anything anywhere. maybe i'll go see how much room there is to get in there. i guess i can look at my buddy's 5.4 van before i go waste the seller's time.
It's a van, you are probably going to get a better repair removing the head, not that it can't be done in car. Most likely the passenger side middle two plugs are the culprit(s) or the two most difficult plugs to replace in a van or truck.
maybe i should forget about it because it's a ford, and i have talked myself out of ever owning one again several times.
but $1200 for a clean looking 1 ton extended cargo van is hard to find around here.
i really want an express/savana with a 5.3
In reply to patgizz: 01 was before Ford really got serious about quality control.. expect some other issues to crop up..
Yank the modular engine and drop in a 351?
Do Mustang GT engines suffer any spark plug problems?
'scuse my ignorance, I haven't kept up w/ Ford stuff but I'm considering a '05 and up GT in the spring
TIA
fasted58 wrote:Do Mustang GT engines suffer any spark plug problems?
'scuse my ignorance, I haven't kept up w/ Ford stuff but I'm considering a '05 and up GT in the spring
TIA
Yes and no. The Mustangs do have this issue, but only through 04. The 2005 and newer Mustangs use a redesigned 3V head which has full threads, so you'll be A-OK.
In reply to Javelin:
whew, thnx Javelin
Javelin wrote:fasted58 wrote:Do Mustang GT engines suffer any spark plug problems?
'scuse my ignorance, I haven't kept up w/ Ford stuff but I'm considering a '05 and up GT in the spring
TIA
Yes and no. The Mustangs do have this issue, but only through 04. The 2005 and newer Mustangs use a redesigned 3V head which has full threads, so you'll be A-OK.
But then it got the E36 M3ty 2pc spark plugs that break off in the head.... Which wasn't fixed until 08.
In reply to Ranger50:
after all these years ya think theyda got spark plug science down... or is science the problem 
In reply to fasted58:
I had heard the 2pc plugs were for emissions reasons...But then warranty/customer complaints nixed the "better" idea....
