Tried to change my spark plugs!?!

mustangfo · Feb 14, 2009

As the title say i TRIED to change my spark plugs today on my 2005 that has 60,000 miles and i got 6 of the plugs out with no problem and on the last two plugs the nut and thread came out and no plug. I am now fishing for some answers. Do I now need to take off the head and take them out that way or can i soak them some more and finish sliding them out.

Mike97gt · Feb 14, 2009

since the porcelain is still in the head you need to get that out first then the rest of the plug..

first thing you need to do is pour a little under a teaspoon of carb cleaner down the plug well and let it soak for 20 minutes or so..

then using long needle nose pliers try to remove them using a up and down motion

if you get that removed then you need special tool 303-1203 and I can post instructions on how to tap and use the tool to remove the ground electrode shield

if the porcelain breaks in the shield then you need special tool 303-1398

good luck

NastyStang113 · Feb 14, 2009

Power4 · Feb 14, 2009

Ouch man, that really sucks. Let us know how it goes getting the last two out completely.

svttech76 said:
since the porcelain is still in the head you need to get that out first then the rest of the plug..

first thing you need to do is pour a little under a teaspoon of carb cleaner down the plug well and let it soak for 20 minutes or so..

then using long needle nose pliers try to remove them using a up and down motion

if you get that removed then you need special tool 303-1203 and I can post instructions on how to tap and use the tool to remove the ground electrode shield

if the porcelain breaks in the shield then you need special tool 303-1398

svttech76, you seem to know what you're doing. Is it not a huge deal if the plugs break off when you change them? I've heard that worst case scenario the heads will have to be removed to get the plugs out. Do the special tools remove the need to start taking apart the engine?

BJ1000RR · Feb 15, 2009

Yea, I had about 52K miles when We did mine. The very fist one broke & we used both of the special tools, one to drill out the porcelin and the other to remove the ground electrode. It took about 45 min. to do that, then the other 7 came out clean but not without a fight. It is a bitch tho.

mustangfo · Feb 15, 2009

About how much does the tools cost? I was looking last night and i saw that they were like 250 for 303-1203 and the other tool was more expesive then that.

bdcardinal · Feb 15, 2009

mustangfo said:
About how much does the tools cost? I was looking last night and i saw that they were like 250 for 303-1203 and the other tool was more expesive then that.

that is correct. i have sold a bunch to shops around town here. that was before all the other tool companies made their own versions.

UrbanRedneck · Feb 15, 2009

You can buy the tool from Matco, and I THINK that Lisle tool makes a version that should be available from Cornwell, Matco, or Snap-on, and probably online. Don't know how much it costs, but it is not TOO difficult to remove them with the tool. You may get lucky and pull them out the way the other guy said though, since it's carbon holding them in, if the carb cleaner can soften it up enough to pull them out with pliers you'll be home free.

To the guy that asked, yes the tool eliminates the need to remove the heads.

Fishtale · Mar 5, 2009

Breaking those plugs off is a drag. I understand this is a common problem with pre-'08 heads. The clearance is tight around that long bottom section of the plug and carbon will get into this area and stick the plug into the head. As these plugs are a 2 piece design, the bottoms snap off. When you do the change, you might want to check out a one piece plug, like the one's from Brisk Racing. I read that they are much less prone to snap off. There is also a TSB from Ford that recommends a high heat form of Never-Seize (Ford has their own) applied to the bottom of the plug just above the electrode. good Luck!

DiMora · Mar 5, 2009

Did you follow the Ford TSB or just put a ratchet / socket on them and start cranking away?opcorn:

psyco · Mar 5, 2009

Check it out!!

www.denlorstools.com

Lisle Ford Broken Spark Plug Remover LIS 65600 (Alt 303-1203 303-1398)
Product #: LIS 65600
List Price: $99.99
Your Price: $74.37 Qty:

A lot cheaper than buying the two tools.

NastyStang113 · Mar 5, 2009

I changed my plugs today on my personal car. I didn't even need to use the TSB. All of them came out with no problems, minimal creaking. 2008 car with "old" style heads, low miles though.

klaw · Mar 5, 2009

psyco said:
Check it out!!

Automotive tools, auto supplies and mechanics equipment

Lisle Ford Broken Spark Plug Remover LIS 65600 (Alt 303-1203 303-1398)
Product #: LIS 65600
List Price: $99.99
Your Price: $74.37 Qty:

A lot cheaper than buying the two tools.

I had a look at the demonstration article showing how this tool is used. Essentially step one uses the plug threads in the head to push the broken off lower porcelain piece further down into the ground shield. Step two then uses a left hand thread to screw into the top of the ground shield and a jacking thread to pull the ground shield from the head. After extraction they showed the pieces removed. It looks like the step one porcelain push action caused the lower end of the porcelain to contact the ground shield electrode breaking it off. From the picture, it looks like a piece of the ground shield and electrode broke away - did those wind up on top of the piston? If so, that can't be good. Anyone have any experience with this tool?

mustangfo · Mar 13, 2009

I finally finished taking out the pulls. I ended up ordering the Lisle "tool mentioned above" it worked out great. I would recommend that tool if your plugs break. Its not that hard to use and they (2 plugs) in 30 mins.

NastyStang113 · Mar 13, 2009

Good work.

psyco · Mar 13, 2009

Excellent. Glad the tool worked out for you. Sure is a nice alternative to the ~600.00 alternatives. That's just nuts IMO.

klaw · Mar 13, 2009

mustangfo said:
I finally finished taking out the pulls. I ended up ordering the Lisle "tool mentioned above" it worked out great. I would recommend that tool if your plugs break. Its not that hard to use and they (2 plugs) in 30 mins.

Did you have any problems with the porcelain breaking the ground strap electrode on the plug? More importantly, did all the pieces of the old plug and porcelain come out intact (ie. nothing fell off into the cylinder)?

mustangfo · Mar 13, 2009

It didn't seemed like everything came out. I turned the motor over a few time before I put the plugs back in to make sure it blew out

klaw · Mar 14, 2009

mustangfo said:
It didn't seemed like everything came out. I turned the motor over a few time before I put the plugs back in to make sure it blew out

What makes me nervous about this tool is the picture in their blog thread of the extracted ground shield. Their tool first pushes the remaining porcelain further into the ground shield to expose an internal bore for the left hand extraction thread to grip onto.

The first picture is what the original intact plugs look like - notice the intact ground strap electrode.

The second picture is an extracted plug. The caption says that the electrode is broken, but it looks like a piece of the electrode and ground shield are actually missing. Did those fall into the cyclinder? If they did, I can't think that's a good thing.

Their blog:

http://http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/11/ford-spark-plug-removal-tool-picture-of-fords-bad-design/

mustangfo · Mar 14, 2009

Mine did that but it doesnt seem that any of the ground shield fell in. I turned the engine over a few time just in case (with out the plugs in) to blow everything out. I put like 60 miles on it today and everything seems fine. I guess time will tell if anything fell in. If it did then that just gives me a reason to get a short block.

Tried to change my spark plugs!?!

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