BE CAREFUL. The plugs have been known to break off in the head. I have seen the dealer communications from ford about this before I quit working for them. The last I heard the plugs like to sieze in the head. They are a new design and look quite different from conventional plugs. They are quite a bit longer and have an extended tip. Also they are sized for a 9/16 spark plug socket (matco has them). Personally I would pay the dealer to take them out the first time and if one does break let them explain to ford why they are replacing the head. Depending on how the plug breaks, if it does at all, they may be able to remove the extended tip of the plug and save the head. It all comes down to whether the porcelin comes out or not. if the porcelin breaks off in the head then the head will need to be replaced. If only the metal stays in the head then there is a tool to remove it. If you want to try this yourself we were told to remove the plug about 1/8 of a turn and fill the hole with a good quality penetrant and let is sit a while to prevent breakage. Always use a torque wrench when installing plugs in any ohc ford motor.
On the other hand I am going to pay a dealer to pull mine before warranty expires and hope the snap off. Free heads, and I think I could talk a few friends into letting me get them ported before installation. It shouldnt make a difference, the car will be out of warranty once it comes out next year anyway.
Your friend's NGK's definately will NOT work in your 'Stang. FLYIN is on top of things. I have heard a lot of stories where the plug change went OK, but also several that went badly. I have 30K miles and am considering having the dealer change mine at about 35K miles for exactly the same reason outlined by FLYIN.
I have the 3V Ford Kit from Matco to repair just this problem. Also, if you do try it yourself, MAKE SURE it is on a dead cold engine. Never attempt when warm. That's when the most damage occurs.
I did mine and let me tell you I was nervous as hell doin the swap. The plugs were really rough coming out and there was rust all over the plug which made it even tougher to come out. I did what was recommended by turning the plug 1/8th of a turn and filling the hole with some pb blaster. I also loosened the plug VERY slowly so I could feel if it was becoming stuck in the hole so I could spray some more blaster down there. I would recommend the dealer do it if you dont feel comfortable. Doing the plugs was the hardest part of my supercharger install if that is any dictation of what you are getting in to.
ok I am thinking twice about it now...Maybe I'll go see Ford and give her back her plugs. I can bolt on CAI's and Exhaust all day but this might need special attention. Thanks guys.
I have anti-seize that I was going to apply to the new plugs but these guys have me worried lol...My 03 GT was so simple when it came to spark plug changes.
The deal is that the plugs are a very extended tip design with a alose fit sleeve after the threads. Once you see the new plug you will understand. Apparently the design change was necessary with the 3 valve head design. My opinion is after the first plugs come out you probably wont have any more problems as long as you dont leave the replacements in forever. I also completely agree with a little anti-sieze on the threads and especially the sleeve.
i was told by steeda when i ordered the brisk plugs to put the anti sieze on the smooth part between the tip and threads when i put in the brisk plugs.when i did this, i had no problem.i had no problem pulling the autolites out many times either.never broke one.anyone know why a lot of people are having problems?
I have 40k and I am going to do it whether they need to be changed or not...along with the fuel filter and a full fluid flush. I am pretty hard on the car so I think it's about that time.
I was just wondering what you torqued the brisk plugs to and the autolite HT-1 plugs to because I have both types. Martin from brisk out of Houston said not to exceed 13 ft pounds of torque. The autolite hot line tech staff don't know even though they make the factory motorcraft plugs. The factory spec is 25 ft pounds so way so light on the brisk plugs they both have tapered seats. By the way DO NOT PUT ANTI SEIZE ON THE THREADS OF THESE PLUGS ONLY ON THE MOTOR SEAT AND SHAFT BELOW THE THREADS THIS IS WHAT IS CAUSING THE PLUG TO BE OVER TORQUED AND ALSO TO BACK OUT OVER TIME BECAUSE THE THREADS DO NOT COMPRESS PROPERLY WITH THE ANTI SEIZE APPLYED.
I have not seen one where the porcelain broke and stayed in the head, but I have seen a few have just the metal extended part past the bottom of the threads stay in the head. There is a tool to remove them as somebody said above and it's not that hard to do.
replaced ine for step colder when I bolted on the charger. Was a cake job, just make sure the car is cold and take your time.. Worst part I dealt with was the depth at which the things sit down in there. My plug socket didn't want to hold these plugs so fishing them out slowed me up.