Disaster struck yesterday....

[gotchopsticks]

I have been hearing a slight exhaust leak for a week or so, and have been very busy dealing with moving and finals so i never really had a chance to look into it. i figured it was just my mid pipe because i have had problems with it in the past. yesterday i heard a funny noise on the freeway so i pull off. the car is running fine, and as soon as i start to move, i hear a pop and then sounds like my car has open pipes. i pull over and my coil is laying on top of my motor with the plug almost under my plenum. i tried a new plug to see if there are any threads left and it didnt grab anything. what can i do now??
View attachment 382580

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Congrat you are the latest victim of spark plug blowout. Do a search here for "timesert".

 

[AvalancheSVT]

does this sort of thing happen a lot with the 4.6?

 

[streethorse]

does this sort of thing happen a lot with the 4.6?

Where you been? Thats been talked about afew times

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Hmmm, at work I could not see the picture of the plug...

You should definitely borescope that plug hole and look at the threads, the valves, the top of the piston, and the cylinder walls.

You are looking at as little as $150-300 for a timesert or as much as $1200-1700 for a new dealer installed head.

What plug is that exactly?

 

[Black'02]

From the looks of the damage to the plug its more then just a spark plug blowout. I dont believe people have been getting that kind of damage to the plug from that but i could be wrong.

 

[Back2Mustangs]

I could be way off, but from the direction that the metal threads are curved (upwards) it appears that the damage to the threads was done when it was screwed into the head. If it were blown out of the head, wouldn't the stripped threads be curved downward, towards the cylinder?

 

[40thmustanggt]

is this with all the 4.6's from 99-04??

 

[smueller]

I had a 94 Pontiac Grand Prix and had the same thing happen. At first I didn't know what happened, it sounded like the entire exhaust fell off and I was running straight headers! I figured out what was wrong in a hurry though....

 

[the98stang]

DAMN IT...not another one

People PLEASE check your plugs every time you change your oil. They need to be torqued to 13lbs. I keep saying there needs to be a sticky on this.......

 

[deftsound]

this is a good thread, ill remember to check my plugs next time

I had a plug that got bent some how, the little metal tip got bent down somehow and caused the gap to be completely off and was causing a misfire...

 

[Miles]

Another victim - that's like 1 every few days now...

 

[Back2Mustangs]

I think someone already asked, but I don't see an answer:

Is this problem with only the PI head? I haven't heard of this in the Non-PI heads.

 

[whyask]

Moderator Gods.. Can we get a perma. sticky thread on this ...It happens so much !

 

[svtpower]

another

Yep, this is a very common issue on all Ford Modular V8s up till 2005 I think. The 5.4s do it, the 4.6 2V and 4V have been known to do it. Modular Mustangs: Check your oil level often and check your plugs tightness ever 3000 miles or so.

TIMESERT is the only proven long term solution.

How many miles are on those plugs? I strongly advice changing them every 40,000 miles or so with a quality copper plug, using a small amount of anti-seize and using a torque wrench to get the tightness exactly correct.

See you are not alone: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html

 

[trinity_gt]

I agree with Black'02: That plug looks almost like it was cross threaded. The damage to the electrode and the "smearing" of the metal after the threads looks like more than just a typical blow-out.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I agree with Black'02: That plug looks almost like it was cross threaded. The damage to the electrode and the "smearing" of the metal after the threads looks like more than just a typical blow-out.

Agreed...

 

[the98stang]

Moderator Gods.. Can we get a perma. sticky thread on this ...It happens so much !

X 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

 

[Miles]

This prompted me to change the plugs on my focus (just did the mustang 2 weeks ago with the new tune).

Always use anti-sieze. Always back the plugs in slowly, with just your hand and an extension. Always torque to 13 ft lbs.

 

[mrvax]

Sorry to hear about it. Read my thread here: http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=699253

It happened to me last month. Not the end of the world as I originally thought.