It's a very common issue on these motors. It's happened to me twice already. But mine had to be repaired as it stripped out the threads. Hopefully it won't happen to you again

 

Welcome to the club.

 

ya your lucky it didn't get into the threads when it took the plug out. when mine did it she blew out the plug threads and i had to heli coil it. make sure they're torqued down to spec

 

so whats your basically saying is that the plug just backed out of the threads, instead of "blowing" out and taking the threads with it? Nice.

I am not sure what you mean by the sleeve. are you talking about the black COP?

good luck man.

 

Torque the plugs WITH antisieze to 156in/lbs.....

 

I torque mine to german specs.

*gude*en*teight*


hope thats not too much...

 

I've put 100+lbs of nitrous through my motor, running it on 12lbs of boost, has 152k miles on it and has NEVER had a plug problem It is ALL related to install and maintenance.... My motor is a 99 Windsor also which is the worst 2v offender. it only has like 3 or 4 threads in each head. I always install the plugs with the engine barely warm, not real warm just barely. Torque them to 156in/lbs. Never come loose, no thread problems and no blow out. I've also pulled and installed plugs on this motor no less than 30 times between changing plugs, reading plugs, plug chops.... Do it right and it will last.

 

where do you get the 156in/lb torque spec from..might i ask? im just curious. equal to 13 lb/ft right?

 

I just changed my plugs the other day and #5 sparkplug was on by like 2 threads!!! lol. i pulled the COP and it had soot all on the boot and the plug was loose as hell. I was like dang if i waited like a another day it would have blew out.

I guess they just loosen up after a while. I haven't changed my plugs in like 2 years.. Just got loose i guess.. I just tighten the new one back up just fine. The engine is a lil quieter also

 

13 ftlb = 156 in lbs.

13 x 12 = 156.

 

i know this....lol. it was a dumb question i guess lol. just never heard of anyone using torque specs for plugs on these cars in terms of in/lbs. thanks though.

 

In the summer I go over all the plugs once a month. I have the same issue, plug came out. Ford didnt put enough threads for the plugs.

 

mine did that at about 4500rpms at the track

 

I appreciate all the answers.

I managed to get everything put back together. Put another 80 miles on the car tonight and all is well.

Ive managed to read through quite a few threads (no pun intended) on this issue. Didn't realize it was at epic/epidemic levels... sucks.

I got away from Vettes for nearly the same reason. My 2002 Z06 has broken valve springs three different times, all at LOW RPM's. I started thinking I was gonna be in the same boat driving around paranoid all the time. The 405 LS6 broke its first valve at 20 mph with only 20K on the clock. The problem never ended.

Anyhow, yeah.. I don't know the correct terminology for all that I did today. I learned a lot and it appears I was lucky. I heard the "ticking' noise and managed to get it taken care of right in my own driveway. I wasn't stranded like so many times before.

I'm sure the second time around things will be easier, but now I'm wondering if I should look at all of the plugs? From what Ive read so far, the worst offenders seem to be the two plugs on the passenger side, rear of the motor.

Ive seen pics posted on the forums where the whole coil was blown to pieces. Ive now been educated on Helio Coils, Anti-sieze, Time Serts, different heads, etc., etc.

Logically, I suppose in my situation, over time the plug was loosened by the heat of the expanding aluminum vs. the steel in the plug. It just kept backing off more and more and eventually would have blown out I guess.


The plug in this picture has an actual *sleeve* (don't know the correct mechanical terminology) still on the plug. I originally thought it was just the plug until I bought new ones. Then I noticed the difference in width.


Like I said, I'm really fortunate I could just screw it back in. I don't have a torque wrench, I was just happy it tightened up...

 

thats what I Was trying to figure out. looks like the previous owner actually blew the spark plug out... his heli-coil (or whatever it is called) is what unscrewed for you. I would defintaly snug that thing down. But yeah if you are paranoid, now would be a good time to make sure they are all tight. Cant hurt. you are very lucky haha.

 

Jan 2011 mine blew out when I was leaving work. Took it to the local dealership to get fixed. They called 2 days later saying car was fixed but sounded like ****. They pulled the head off the next day and found a 3 inch long crack in the cylinder wall. New crate motor was ordered and I was back on the road the next week. My old motor had 100k on it and prior owner had ran nitrous too rich. Didnt know that he had spray on it before I bought it.

 

Maybe I should pull that whole thing back out (if I can get it cuz I snugged it up pretty good) and put some "Lock-Tight" on it or something.

It screwed back in just fine.


If it had never been locked down correctly in the first place, what would be the difference of the insert coming out vs. the plug coming out?


In other words: What makes one stay in better than another if there is an issue?



I've got to go get some better wrenches, sockets and extensions so this doesn't have to be a monster job. I think I'll do like some of the others here said and get in the habit of checking them often.


Ive driven the car from Cali to B.C and from B.C to L.A and from there to Vegas and back to Northern Calif.


I had ZERO problems. I'm not gonna give up hope yet!

 

Maybe I should pull that whole thing back out (if I can get it cuz I snugged it up pretty good) and put some "Lock-Tight" on it or something.

It screwed back in just fine.


If it had never been locked down correctly in the first place, what would be the difference of the insert coming out vs. the plug coming out?


In other words: What makes one stay in better than another if there is an issue?

It could have been due to the installation process. I just did a timesert on my car a couple weeks ago.

The last two steps are key. The second to last is installing the insert. There is a flange on it (like a countersink) that presses against the head. If the original installer didn't torque this down sufficiently (or use red loctite) it would be much more apt to come loose.

The last step is actually cold forming the couple of threads inside the insert. If this wasn't done fully, when the plug was actually installed, it may have cold formed the threads itself, and wedged itself in there pretty tight.

Your best bet is to install a new insert to the proper torque, and then re-form the threads. That should keep it in there.

gude en teight with a 3/8 ratch is way too much torque! You only want bout 14 ftlbs which is nothing.

Gutenteit mein freund!

It really is a bad idea to go by the old hand tight method. The factory spec of 11-15ft-lbs is very light, unless you're some pencil wristed wuss, in which case don't get your lily white hands dirty and take it to a shop. :gayfight2:

I don't trust myself to do it by feel, because I usually end up snapping things that way. It usually goes like this "Alright...just a little bit tighter and...****. Where the **** are my bolt removers?"

 

#6 check it out.

Ten Essential Tools For A Well-Equipped Garage

 

I think you are right my friend.

The insert obviously is not going to come off of the plug. They are now *one*

I didn't see any traces of locktite and thought that might be a good idea, but its so hard to tell when you are a novice like I am. It may not even have threaded back in correctly when I put it back, it may have just "wedged tight" again.


A new insert and maybe some professional help is the route I'll go. There's a few Stang mechanics around here that I'm sure can do the job correctly.


I'm gonna keep runnin it for a while. The weather is bad so I can't work on it outside. My broke down ZO6 sits in my garage.


I know it's not a good idea, but if it pops again, I can temporarily wedge it and easily get to a good place to work on it. I don't believe it's one of those things that's gonna leave me stranded, although it won't sound to great.


Check out this thread. Unbelievable. Probably *blown* out of proportion. I read about 25 posts and gave up. It can't be accurate. Any thoughts?


Consumer complaints about Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect

 

Holy hell, i cant imagine a timesert backing out... well i mean the previous owner/ mechanic that did that must have been completely retarded and like stated above not used any locktite. But atleast you know it didnt blow out! Did you put any locktite on it when you installed it?

 

No, because at the time I was on my own. I didn't know what I was seeing and there really weren't any quick resources. I found the ticking noise, grabbed a hold of the coil and turned it. The ticking stopped.

I then pulled the plug and it took me some time to realize that this thread had a Time Sert on it. I thought it was just the plug until I bought the new ones.


This for me is a "live and learn" and as I stated, I had nowhere to work on the car today, but tomorrow I will pull the plug back out and put some locktite on it. Already bought the stuff.

I even bought better tools to help me access everything better. This plug is right under an offset of the fuel rail.

My goal is to check ALL the plugs tomorrow. I would like to see just how many of them have been... "altered?"


Actually in re-reading the post above, I think it would be better to just have the job done right, but I have to find someone that can tell for sure if the insert was NOT "cold rolled" and inserted correctly the first time.

I don't really like putting Scotch tape on glasses....


We shall see. I want to be in the company of an experienced mechanic during the process.

 

any bolts that contains an explosion is going to be pretty "f'en" tight in my book lol

 

op, just to help you out, there is no need to pull the fuel rail to get the COP's off