Hi. I've got a '97 F150 w/5.4L Triton in it. I'm having problems with cyl #3 & 4 and failing spark plus & coil packs. I had the dealership fix this the first 2 times it happened, but they nailed me for $200 each time. I suspected it was due to a leaky clamp issue mentioned in Ford TSB's and insisted they pay to fix it this time around, but they won't budge. So now it has been 10K miles I've been driving with this condition, and I have to do something about it.
I bought the Chilton manual for this vehicle and they make a spark plug change look pretty easy and routine. But the Ford guy told me previously that part of the $200 repair expense had been because they had to remove the fuel rails to do the job. A call to my favorite independent mechanic resulted in a quote of $350 to do a tune-up on this thing, which seems to validate what Ford said about the process.
What the scoop? Can one do a simple spark plug change (+ coil packs on 3 &
4) without special tools and without removing the fuel rails? Is there anything special I need to know before launching into this?Thanks in advance.
Jim