Ford Dealerships are not supposed to install inserts for that repair. It's placed right in the tsb that the only correct repair for blown out plug is head replacement. If it's warranty, Ford would rather pay for replacing the head than pay to place a helicoil because inserts come back 100 percent of the time, not to mention a big chance of dropping metal shavings into the cylinder and ruining the bore and rings. If it was out of warranty at the time of the first repair, they may have done it to try to save you some money, but if that was the case, they should have given you both options and informed you what a helicoil could do later on.

Whats the year and mileage on the truck? If it's not tooooooo far out of warranty they may be able to PO5 or PO7 this job. Thats basically a request by you to Ford to absorb part of the cost of the repair, even though it's out of warranty. If Ford knows about the previous repair though, they may decline it simply to spite that dealer for circumventing the correct repair the first time. Go to a different Ford dealer and ask them to get help from Ford. It's close to a $4000 repair, so raise hell if you have to.

 

When they did the repair, they told me both options. They did tell me that Ford did not 'authorize' the repair, but that it was usually done as a first step as long as no other plugs had come out from the other cylinders. I did talk to a bunch of mech's at other places and the ones that did do them previously told me that they had not had any problems if they were done correctly and used the correct insert. I just confirmed today that the insert is indeed a steel one, not the hard anodized aluminum.

The truck is a 2001. At the time of the original repair, it has 99490 on it. I have 107 and change on it now. The dealer looked at it yesterday and I am bringing it back to them for Monday. He did seem to want to help, but I don't know how far his help will go. I will be bringing printouts from all the postings I canget my hands on, as well as a copy of the page about the CA lawsuit.

As for raising hell, that's what I will do if I am forced. I am planning on having the easy, 'you are going to want to fix this quietly and not force me to go to the area manager, then Ford, then the NY atty General' talk with the service manager when we find out what happened. If they balk, then the gloves come off. I will definitely talk to them about the PO5 or PO7 deal too.

Thanks for the info........I may even start to compile a list of those that have had to deal with this.

 

So, here I am. I have decided to get the repair kit from 'Fulltorque' and have it done. The kit is not too terribly expensive, about 380.00. I also figure I would offer up the kit to those that have the issue come up. I guess I could network through the websites and allow the plug victims of America the use, for a small fee, of the kit as long as they buy the fasteners. It's better than having to buy the whole kit, you can just rent it for as long as you need to get the job done.

Pass the word, save my email, Let's help each other out.

BTW....let's get a list of NY Ford owners that have this problem together. I have the feeling we will need it soon.

 

ouch , that really sucks, push it till the limit !!!!!!, let us know how it goes

 

the only way exceptible to ford is head replacement and i agree with that as a ford tech but then they should be replacing heads on all that have blown out free as a recall there is and was obviously a problem.

 

Same here HockeyHitman. If it was my truck, I'd want to replace the head. I work at a Ford dealer though, and can get a healthy discount on the parts and I have the knowledge of how to swap the head myself. It's unfortunate that it hasn't been made a recall, we all know it should have been. Alot of people getting the shaft on this one. I don't know what "kit" DaveJ has found. I haven't taken the time to go the website to check it out, but I wish the best of luck although I hold doubts for a permanent repair. If it was a permanent fix, Ford would have bought the rights and save themselves millions in warranty repair costs.

I still dread the next time an F- series comes into the shop popping because I know the only way I'll fix it is to replace the head and if it's covered under warranty I'll be losing my *** on the time Ford pays me to fix it. You'd **** bricks, but I've seen guys raise Expedition and f-150 bodies in order to gain easier access. Myself... I just accept the time I get to R&R the engine, leave it in there and bust my stomach over the radiator support.

Built Ford Tough....

 

Just reading thru the thread , ( no pun ), I've been turning wrenches for a lil over 30 yrs now , an in the past by customer's request , an also on several old truck's I owned. I have heil- coiled the spark plug hole after the threads had been screwed up by someone cross threading the plugs.

I used the red locitie thread lock an let it cure overnite. An never had a problem with the insert coming out , or the plug backing out, of course these were cast iron heads as well . guess I've just been lucky . probaly wouldnt try it on an alum. head. I think most people probaly fail on the insert method as said they used the wrong type , or the hole was to badly damaged to properly hold the insert.

But this should be a warranty issue on these motors , an the folks need to band together an force it

 

i wasnt saying that it is not good to put a heil-coil ,off warranty i have seen some put heil-coil in and was ok ,if you follow fords recommendations they want head replacement as a ford tech i have not seen anyone in our shop lift the cab to gain access but i heard alot of people are doing it and saving time...

 

Just to let everyone know, I have the kit from Fulltourque for the 5.4 Triton motors. I will rent it to those of you that do not want to invest in buying the kit. I did a lot of research and found that the inserts that this kit uses will not fail. I had mine done about 20K ago (give or take) and there have been zero issues with it.

If you have a need, or know someone that needs it, contact me and we can work out the details. A few buck for a 'rental' beats buying the 450.00 kit.

dave

 

Just a suggestion, but worth a try ...... ( http://www.timesert.com/html/triton_repair.html )

I had a 2001 F-150 that I used the time-sert on, and it has lasted over 52,000 miles since the repair.

This is NOT a heli-coil type insert and worked great for me.