Dealers are independant and can set the price as they wish.

Ford would have to do a program to reimburse the dealer for anything they desired to be responsible for.


first line what i said.
second would be easy solution.

if the tech gets them out great for ford, if not pay the piper!

 

Why is it the consumer that pays??.. If the mechanic is not skilled enough? The consumer did not cause the problem, and the consumer was never made aware of the problem prior to purchase, even though the company was aware of the problem.. Like say,,, they knew in 04-05 and didn't address the problem till when 08? So we have what? at LEAST 2 model years of issues with no word from ford? And now we are told "eh... live with it,,, 'eh... pay the man... Doesn't seem quite right? I bet if this were a GM issue,, there would be more people on this site going total bats$$t...

To me, since ford new they $rewed up.. And yes ,,, they sooo totally knew about it. They should eat the broken plug expenses.. Pretty simple really.. Base price for plug removal,,, 250.00.... Any fees incurred for broken plugs,, billed to FoMoCo. Especially since we are talking about factory certified ford mechanics,,[that should mean they are good enough to remove plugs right"],, should be able to remove them no problem...

So why does the customer get the added expense?

 

I don't think suing Ford makes any sense in this issue. For the most part, the plug changes are getting done (albeit with a few more dollars out-of-pocket and some extra shop time) but I hardly see this as an issue worth suing over. In my opinion, people who sign up for this class action crap are 90% of the reason we live in such a screwed-up society when it comes to legal issues.....

 

Follow the TSB, buy a few tools if you have to, and start wrenching away. No need to let the dealership charge an arm and a leg. If you're not happy with what they charge (don't get me wrong, it's an insane amount of money for a plug change) climb in there and do it yourself.

 

OK, so I am rounding into 50k miles and from all the talk on here it is making me start to wonder:
Am I gonna notice a difference in changing them out now, or should I wait till the 75k mi maint? I am not doing it myself either way, so gonna pay the dealer to do it wether its now or then.

YOur thoughts?

 

It all depends on who tells you what. You and I almost have the exact same mileage. I was told to have them changed out at 60k. I think this is what i'm gonna do soon. Some on this site went to 75k and had a couple plugs snap. If you swap them out soon you'll be fine, just take your time and it will go smoothly.

 

Buddy of mine who is a ford tech is going to do mine said if they were going to break their going to break. Still running mine at 91,000 although setting up time to change them now.

 

I agree with your buddy. I just got through doing mine. I had 76,000 mi. and broke 5 out of 8, doing everything according to the TSB + running two treatments of fuel system cleaner ahead of time. They start breaking as soon as you start turning them.

The instructions for the Lisle tool are pretty weak. They leave out the part about inserting the pusher pin into the tool, before you screw the part in that bottoms out on the guide. It worked well though. Just make sure you thread it in, until it becomes very hard to turn. Don't over-do it though or you will strip the threads. Also, get a deep 15/16ths socket to fit over the nut you need to turn in the last step. You also need a pair of long needle nose, in case one breaks, but the electrode wire is still holding the plug in.

I looked at the gap on the plugs that came out w/o breaking. It looked way out of spec to me. Hardly any electrode left. They could probably go for 100k, but my cold idle is much smoother, now.

I think I dislocated one of my ribs with all of that leaning over the radiator shroud and torqueing. They over-torqued them at the factory.

I think Ford should eat the cost over a certain amount, if the plugs break, too.

 

I'm 50/50 on doing it myself.. I have about 64,000 on mine. Just noticed the idle is getting a lil rough, especially in the cold. I'm getting my oil changed tomorrow at my regular dealership. I'm gonna ask about the plug change and see what they quote.

 

have you cleaned the MAF? A dirty MAF can make a rough idle.

 

I haven't looked into that, but i'll check it out. Doesn't look like I'll make it by today for my oil change, but I'll post back when I get the info.

 

There is a writeup in the index of the Articles and How To that shows you how to clean the MAF. Takes about 5-1- minutes, and the cleaner costs about $10.

 

A dirty MAF and a dirty TB can cause idle issues....

Clean BOTH....

 

Sounds like a good project for me tomorrow.. Especially if we get the snow everyones talking about!! lol.. These people freak when anything starts falling from the sky.. Sure my MAF could use the cleaning regardless.. Oh, and thanks for the how to tip.

 

I am one of those who haven't changed their plugs yet. With all the nightmare stories of plug changes, and the fact that my '04 5.4 runs just as good as new at what is now 134,000+ miles, I ain't touchin' 'em. I might set a record, who knows.