the 4.6 ticking sound

[Cantslowdown]

Well I work at ford and i deatil cars.. I asked a tec to lissen to the car he said thats just the injectors ticking.. He said if it was a plug blowing out are trying to it would miss and be alot louder.. He also said my mpgs would be droping as well...

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Good news

 

[Mike97gt]

Well I work at ford and i deatil cars.. I asked a tec to lissen to the car he said thats just the injectors ticking.. He said if it was a plug blowing out are trying to it would miss and be alot louder.. He also said my mpgs would be droping as well...

they dont misfire when they loosen up, if that was the case we would have a lot less blown out plugs. it's a 7mm bolt holding in the coils down.it's very easy to check the plugs i strongly suggest you do it yourself. he maybe right that it's the injectors in fact it's very likley it's the injectors but i would play it safe and check them.

I too am a ford tech and i work with 25 other ford techs and only 1 other guy at my work knows a damm thing about mustangs. not trying to insult the guy at your work but do you want to replace or rethread the head. we have had several memebers on here find loose plugs.

 

[Cantslowdown]

I am prob going to have them do the tune up cuz it seems its always to cold to do it here are its raining.. I dont have a shop.. Plus I am scared if i was to have a lose one that with me changing them that the warranty would not cover it so.. I am going to have them do it for 60 bucks ... The guy i had lissin just worked on a 4.6 with a blown plug it was in a van tho... B/W how would that little bolt hold the the plug in.. I would think the force of the piston would sind that thing up and out of the head..

 

[Mindstatic Pro]

the 7mm bolt is holding the coil to the intake, which in turn is holding onto the plug. The plugs are still threaded into the head.

 

[Cantslowdown]

So then the plug wouldnt just blow out if the plug is still thread to the head.. Are u saying they come lose and not all the way out?

 

[01' Bullitt]

So then the plug wouldnt just blow out if the plug is still thread to the head.. Are u saying they come lose and not all the way out?

It can happen that way, and it usually does for awhile, till the COP bolt gives out.

That's why some peoples threads in the head get stripped out. The COP and bolt hold the loose plug in for awhile and it strips the crap outta the aluminum head till she blows. It's a simple check that can save lots of money, I do it whenever I can.
Check the tq on the plugs, if they are loose check the threads for wear then find/grab a torque wrench and put em to 13 ft/lbs, no more, no less. It's pretty simple but if you are not too inclined to do it yourself have someone who is check soon.

:SNSign:

 

[trinity_gt]

So is that the only trick to keeping them where they're supposed to be: torque them to 13 ft-lbs, no more, no less?

 

[Cantslowdown]

I would asume so cuz then u know that none of them are lose.. We'll find out here soon cuz my car is going to have a tune up done i guess by my work since my worranty and all if anything is worng it will get fixed right there.. And if i did it then find a problem i might have to fight to get it fixed so.. I guess the 60 is coming out of my mod money but hey better to be safe then sorry right..

 

[Mike97gt]

yeah i would get them done. after you start to feel more comfortable under the hood with this car you will be able to check them yourself. it's really easy since the plugs are right on the top of the motor.

you can have that ford tech change them. it's really nothing against him or his work that he is not aware of the reason why the plugs blow out. ford is not giving much out for info on this problem. over the years there has been a tsb/ssm recommending the head be replaced if the plug does blow out. then one to re thread it using a special kit. never have they stated the cause of the problem.

once back in the 2002 model year svt dealers got a message telling us to recheck the torque on the plugs (and also do something that i will not even mention because of the controversy it started on here a long time ago, and it's a terrible idea anyways) before delivery of all new lightings ( 5.4 had even more of a problem with the plugs)

ford has been very very tight lipped on this problem. never once has the cause of this problem been mentioned in tsb/ssm's only what to do after it happens.

 

[nyuk98gt]

Cantslowdown:

Check the plugs only when the engine is COLD. And, when you change plugs, put a little anti-seize on the threads. Aluminum (heads) and carbon steel (plugs) will corrode together and you may tear out the threads the next time you go to change the plugs. Be careful that you don't get anti-seize on the electrodes. Use a small brush or a toothpick to spread the stuff on the threads. (It's messy and kinda hard to get off your hands).

Chris

 

[Cantslowdown]

We have good tecs i must say that.. And we have had a few 4.6s with the blown plug problem so we are aware of that.. But i dont want to srew my warranty up so..

 

[98blackstallion]

Sorry allen,


BUT the ford techs here suck ass...there some of the worst mechanics ive ever seen. I would rather take my car to a garage full of monkeys. The only good thing i will say about the ford techs and there knowledge of mustangs is that analyzer that they have finds whatever is wrong with the car. After what they did to mine and andy's cobra i will never take mine back there. Sorry to hi jack you thread.

 

[Mike97gt]

Sorry allen,


BUT the ford techs here suck ass...there some of the worst mechanics ive ever seen. I would rather take my car to a garage full of monkeys. The only good thing i will say about the ford techs and there knowledge of mustangs is that analyzer that they have finds whatever is wrong with the car. After what they did to mine and andy's cobra i will never take mine back there. Sorry to hi jack you thread.

if both my arms were broken i might let 2 of the 25 at the dealer i work for touch my car. if i could i would just have my doctor leave my fingertips free and just try to work that way

BUT i have worked for for,honda and gm dealers and a few private shops including 2 perfomrnace shops. and every shop hires some good techs and some crap ones.

there are a lot of guys out there that can swap out parts ok, but knowing what caused the problem in the first place is another story. plus a lot of techs just hack and steal and don't care at all about your car. this is why i recomend that with your mustang you should find 1 guy you go to that knows his stuff

 

[Mindstatic Pro]

I usually retorque my plugs every oil change. I like the piece of mind more than the extra 15 min. it takes to check up on them. Usually you can have all the plugs torqued before the oil is completely done draining anyways.

+1 on the antisieze. definately a must

 

[Cantslowdown]

Welp they changed the plugs the car runs alot better now...The tick sound is still there we did find a small exuast leak..We even cleaned alot of the Tb with out taking it off.. Far as are tecs welp they all are gear heads.. One of them is going to the track with me he has a good 10 sec car its rail dragster..Plus i got to see how everything gose on the car and all so I learned alot..
Bear I must say they have worked on alot of stangs and Cobras we had a 04 cobra in a few months ago and I ran into them at wal-mart they said the car runs great and like the free car wash we gave them..

 

[98blackstallion]

im sure they are good but after they tried telling me something was wrong with my car and i caught them in the wrong there before they started ripping stuff apart and charging me out the ass.....as for andy's cobra, he had to have some recall work done and the covered the interior with grease and **** and about ruined it. Plus they are expensive as hell.... i just go get my parts from melbourne and even with the extra gas expense its still alot cheaper....I just have had bad experiences with them but Im glad to hear that you got your stuff straightened out and are having good luck with them...

 

[Cantslowdown]

I was there when ur car came in and I do know the tec that worked on it he is one that has the dragster.. I know that thing smelt rich reall rich i could smell it in my shop.. As for Andys cobra dunno i prob wasnt working there yet.. Plus who knows who the manger was.. The one they have now is getting alot of things in order I know the shop at one time has somethings worng.. All I know is I do work there and they have all been a big help yes we arent cheap and no dealership is cheap...

 

[the98stang]

yeah i would get them done. after you start to feel more comfortable under the hood with this car you will be able to check them yourself. it's really easy since the plugs are right on the top of the motor.

you can have that ford tech change them. it's really nothing against him or his work that he is not aware of the reason why the plugs blow out. ford is not giving much out for info on this problem. over the years there has been a tsb/ssm recommending the head be replaced if the plug does blow out. then one to re thread it using a special kit. never have they stated the cause of the problem.

once back in the 2002 model year svt dealers got a message telling us to recheck the torque on the plugs (and also do something that i will not even mention because of the controversy it started on here a long time ago, and it's a terrible idea anyways) before delivery of all new lightings ( 5.4 had even more of a problem with the plugs)

ford has been very very tight lipped on this problem. never once has the cause of this problem been mentioned in tsb/ssm's only what to do after it happens.

Don't mean to steal the thread...but aren't the plugs torqued down to 13 lbs? I need to check those b1tches..

 

[Cantslowdown]

Yes..