5.4 3V spark plug broke !!!

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10-08-2013, 12:45 PM
redfirepearlgt

5.4 3V spark plug broke !!!

You all know the nasty rep the 3v engines have with those pathetic 2 piece spark plugs made by motorcarft and autolite. A friend has a 2008 Ford F250 that has some driveability issues. It has over 80K on it so he has it at a friends garage and while pulling plugs guess what? YIP not only did the outer shield stay in the head but most of the porcelain insluator as well. Anyone know how to get this one out? THey have the kit but it is designed with the idea of the insulator coming out and only the shield staying in. ANy ideas that would help would be great. At the moment my only thought was to find top dead center on that cylinder top downward on the insulator hoping it would free from the shield and then would pull out in one piece. The other idea was to break it up into small pieces in hopes it would pass through the exhaust valve. Another was to pull the exhaust manifold rotate the crank to find the exhaust stroke and attach an air hose to the exahaust port pressurizing the cylinder in hopes the ceramic insulator would dislodge.

Any other brainstorming ideas or first hand tricks that have worked for you in this situation would be reatly appreciated. Thanks. This is his work truck so without it he makes no living. appreciate the feeddback
10-08-2013, 01:06 PM
jktruckin06

Chad, ford has a tool they use which grinds up the ceramic and removes the metal. Then upon start wide open throttle to blow out what you can. It is a stupid design, pm with a number to pass on coming your way.
10-08-2013, 01:08 PM
redfirepearlgt

Quote:

Originally Posted by jktruckin06

Chad, ford has a tool they use which grinds up the ceramic and removes the metal. Then upon start wide open throttle to blow out what you can. It is a stupid design, pm with a number to pass on coming your way.

Cool thanks. I will passt his on.
10-08-2013, 03:47 PM
facemelter71

Never heard of revving the hell out of it. But anyway,Matco has a tool that pushes the porcelin into the tip and allows the left hand thread tool to grab the stainless steel and press it out. Ive used the hell out of it and it works great.

Ford tool,which is stupid in my opinion,wants you to superglue the porcelin onto a thick wire (coathanger Piece) and hope it pulls out, then tap the stainless steel with a thread tap and thread their tool into the stainless and press it out.

Ford tool puts metal shaving from the stainless in the cylinder,good luck with that,I want nothing to do with it.
10-08-2013, 03:49 PM
redfirepearlgt

Got the special removal tool for the ceramic insulator in route. Two now broken off out of four. These two piece plugs suck. Thanks for the note on the removal tool Jon. We knew about the one for extracting the shield but were unaware of the one needed to remove the ceramic insulator if it broke off in there.
10-08-2013, 07:36 PM
Adam@S&MMotorsports

Quote:

Originally Posted by facemelter71

Never heard of revving the hell out of it. But anyway,Matco has a tool that pushes the porcelin into the tip and allows the left hand thread tool to grab the stainless steel and press it out. Ive used the hell out of it and it works great.

Ford tool,which is stupid in my opinion,wants you to superglue the porcelin onto a thick wire (coathanger Piece) and hope it pulls out, then tap the stainless steel with a thread tap and thread their tool into the stainless and press it out.

Ford tool puts metal shaving from the stainless in the cylinder,good luck with that,I want nothing to do with it.

:agree: The Matco tool pushes the porcelain into the tip so there is no need to remove it, break it, or put any BS into the cylinder.
10-08-2013, 07:45 PM
jeep45238

Chad, remember that trick I told you about in the car? It might be worth a shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQevez-DG0
10-08-2013, 08:52 PM
redfirepearlgt

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeep45238

Chad, remember that trick I told you about in the car? It might be worth a shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQevez-DG0

I mentioned that. He was skeptical. I will bring it up again however.
10-08-2013, 10:23 PM
m347

The Matco tool is the way to go for sure.
10-08-2013, 10:53 PM
redfirepearlgt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam@S&MMotorsports

:agree: The Matco tool pushes the porcelain into the tip so there is no need to remove it, break it, or put any BS into the cylinder.

I will mention this Adam. Was not aware that there are different versions apparently. Thanks. I almost called you about this but did not want to impose on you for free advise on removal. Thanks for the input.
10-09-2013, 05:40 AM
jeep45238

Run Seafoam and let it soak in PB blaster after letting it get slightly warm, I'm willing to bet the impact will get the others out.

The way I look at it - try it. It's not like you're getting any luck doing it the regular way by hand.
10-09-2013, 06:06 PM
redfirepearlgt

He got 5 of the 8 out, installed all new boots and says it is better but still backfiring a bit. He ran out of time and had to get the thing road worthy so he could get to a jobsite. Will get the other 3 replaced and hopefully that will clean everything up. As well there is no muffler on the truck so that could be causing issues as well. That is also being remedied this weekend. Cats are in place however. Thanks everyone for the help.