KATYB wrote: ive had great luck with getting them out first useing a cup of water through a vaccum line followed by a cup of atf. havent had one break yet on prob 30 or 40 engines.
That is an old school method for removing carbon from the cylinders...
Spark plugs? What are those? My glow plugs were simple.
and yep just a realy good method to removed carbon and the atf removes a lil more and softens what is left. just be careful doing it run the water or atf too fast you can damage things.
noddaz wrote:KATYB wrote: ive had great luck with getting them out first useing a cup of water through a vaccum line followed by a cup of atf. havent had one break yet on prob 30 or 40 engines.That is an old school method for removing carbon from the cylinders...
Makes a cool smoke screen too!
KATYB wrote: and yep just a realy good method to removed carbon and the atf removes a lil more and softens what is left. just be careful doing it run the water or atf too fast you can damage things.
I did this Tuesday. Very subjective here ,but it feels like I gained a few ponies. My POS Dakota's 3.9 used to chug up the mountain sides very poorly and normally required a downshift to maintain speed. Now, it pulls fairly decently without a downshift even going SLOWER up the same grades. Upside also is the 3.9 doesn't seem to make as many awful noises and vibrations anymore.
No gain in MPG, but drivability is up.
Was I afraid to ruin it? Sure was, given it is my DD. But on the same vein, it is a steaming pile of E36 M3 and needs a V8 installed. 
So just to revisit this topic... I need to replace my spark plugs on my 2006 F150 5.4L 3V V8 4X4...
I have a choked feeling under load in the upper rpm range. I also have a check engine light and when the auto parts store check it. He said it was something stupid and that it didn't mean anything and we cleared it. Well the CEL is back on. Could the bad spark plugs cause a misfire that turns on the CEL? Then the misfire lets fuel into the cats and starts to choke them down?
What replacement spark plugs should I use? And if I need to replace my cats, which manufacturer?
I will probably have the Ford dealership diagnose the CEL since I just got a coupon 
... but I might try to do this in the garage. I'm guessing I should buy the Lisle tool before starting... and use the cup of water and cup of ATF too.
I just did my 05 4.6L Mustang a month or so back..at 95k miles. I broke half the plugs.
BUT, there's a golden lining. I learned a couple things. To make a long story short, due to some tool issues, I soaked the driver's side plugs down in penetrating oil, then ended up driving it for another week before taking them out. When I DID pull them, I did it with the motor HOT and used a 3/8" impact wrench. All of the ones that soaked for a week came right out.
On the passenger side I got the engine HOT, sprayed them down with PO and let it sit for an hour, then used the same wrench. I broke 3 of 4.
On the broken ones, I used the Lisle extractor tool. On the first broken plug I stripped out the extractor threads on the tool. After a warranty replacement on the tool, I coated the extractor threads with antiseize and they didn't strip, but the did have a lot of wear. I'm not sure if I could do another set of plugs with it or not.
When I pushed the ceramic core in through the ground strap on the last broken plug, the ceramic lost chips into the cylinder. I fabbed up a small plastic tube on the end of my shop vac and used the toe out of an old pair of the wife's knee highs as a filter in the vac hose to collect all the litte pieces out of the cylinder. Then I sort of pieced the ceramic back together to make sure I had all the pieces.
So, three lessons. 1. Soak it and have lots of patience and you might be okay. 2. Get the Lisle tool as insurance, but when you use it, coat the threads. 3. Be prepared to fish the ceramic bits out of your cylinder. It's inevitable.
As for plugs there are several single-piece plugs on the market, I used the Brisk Racing plug and have been very happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQevez-DG0
(shrug)
All I know is if you hear a lifter tick noise with the frequency of a rod knock on the 2v motor.. you've got a loose plug. Pull over before you tear up the threads.
In reply to RossD:
If you have less than 100,000 miles on teh truck, I believe FORD has to replace your cats free of charge.
It is my understanding that it is a federal mandate that all emissions equipment must last 100,000 miles.
I had my cats replaced in my RX8 for free at 75,000 miles.
Rob R.
wvumtnbkr wrote: In reply to RossD: If you have less than 100,000 miles on teh truck, I believe FORD has to replace your cats free of charge. It is my understanding that it is a federal mandate that all emissions equipment must last 100,000 miles. I had my cats replaced in my RX8 for free at 75,000 miles. Rob R.
I've only seen 80k warranty on emissions, but even then I had to use an extended warranty company to get a known purge valve fixed in the EVAP system on the MIL's ride, even though it is an emissions part, at 50k. 
RossD wrote: So just to revisit this topic... I need to replace my spark plugs on my 2006 F150 5.4L 3V V8 4X4... I have a choked feeling under load in the upper rpm range. I also have a check engine light and when the auto parts store check it. He said it was something stupid and that it didn't mean anything and we cleared it. Well the CEL is back on. Could the bad spark plugs cause a misfire that turns on the CEL? Then the misfire lets fuel into the cats and starts to choke them down? What replacement spark plugs should I use? And if I need to replace my cats, which manufacturer? I will probably have the Ford dealership diagnose the CEL since I just got a coupon
And thats why the free code pull cost you that much.
so the earlier F150 V8's are ok ? (sorta) i.e. 4.6 L '97 4x4
wtf is the only appropriate expression for those. it's ridiculous.
"oh your plugs broke off in the head so you need to pay for a new head. TFB" is just ridiculous
In reply to wbjones:
Sorta? They're much less prone to throwing plugs than the 5.4's, but they still do it. I had one in my '97 4.6 that got thrown.. in lincoln, NE.. in the first rainstorm they had in 6 months.. 
.
Just make sure they're torqued correctly and it should be fine.
so, since the plugs were changed by the PO just before I bought the truck ( don't know about their wrenching abilities ) I should probably pull the plugs and anti-seize the threads and re-torque them ... ( consensus seems to be ~ 11 - 13 ft/lb)
In reply to wbjones:
Honestly. I wouldn't DIY them(I know! Blasphemy!), I'd take them to someone who's done a ton of them.
On the flip side, The plugs on my truck were done by a ford dealership 10's of thousands of miles ago.. and I still had one blow out. (shrug)
CEL just went off. WTF. Still need new plugs, though. Which brand, model? [2006 F150, 5.4, 3 valve]
Champion also makes a one-piece spark plug for the 3-V motor. I used those when I changed out the two-piece Motorcraft plugs on my 2007 Mustang. 7K miles later, no problems as of yet.
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