hi Jim. my nephew bought an 02 F250 5.4 4X4, fully loaded. it has 95,ooo miles on it and i want to change the plugs. i have asked 2 different dealers parts dept,(i don't trust either one of them) and was told to use double platinum bosch plugs by one and triple platinum by the other. what is the proper plug for this year 5.4 engine, and is there anything i should watch out for??
also, the original owner locked the front hubs when he bought it, and drove it for those 95K miles with then locked. they are almost impossible to move. is there any special things to do for disassembly to clean the hubs?? i have not gotten a service manual for it yet, that is the reason for asking.
Hi, Tom.... Plug change is pretty straight forward on these.... The usual stuff about making sure the plug wells are clean goes here.... I check as many as three times before the plug is all the way out of the head... If someone has made a habit of using a pressure washer on the engine, small rocks and dirt can get washed into the well and sometimes get stuck between the plug hex and the well...
Cylinder heads should be "hand warm" for the least problems.... you'll be able to tell if the plug is going to give any trouble in about the first
1/8th to 1/4 turn. If it feels like it wants to bind up, spray enough good penetrant to cover up to the hex of the plug and leave it sit for a while. We use a product called Aero-Kroil on the 3V troublemakers and this stuff is great...
For the plugs, I don't think you'll go wrong with the Motorcraft spark plugs... The motor is a coil on plug ignition system... very straightforward... and only really requires a plug with platinum centre electrodes. A quarter inch drive 7mm universal socket will go a long way to helping get the coil hold down screws out with a minimum of fuss....
While we're making life easier, the vapour management valve is attached to the heater case.... get that out of the way and it opens up the right side of the engine quite a bit... I use wrap ties to hold the heater hoses out of the way a bit, too....
When you install the plugs... they don't need anything on the threads but they should be properly torqued.... 13 lb/ft is the spec.... don't exceed that number. A dab of brake caliper/dielectric grease in the end of the coil boot helps, too....
Every now and again, a coil boot might sieze in the well.... usually a back one... work carefully with a pick or small screwdriver, some pentrant and an airhose and you should be safe... get rammy and the boot will rip and make your life miserble...
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