54,000 Miles, All Plugs came out in one piece

[el_jefe]

So ill share how I did it on the 06 3v. I know everyone has their own technique but i thought that i would share my own. When i got off for lunch at work, i drove home and got it fully hot. I loosen the spark plugs until they started catching. Then like the ford TSB i sprayed PB penetrating oil on top. I went back to work and let the let it sit for about 2-21/2 hours. Then loosened them a little more until the started catching and almost stopping. I then tightened them all the way back in tight. After i started to remove them again their was a lot less friction and all of them came right out. Replaced with brisk plugs for the turbo and im about ready to get tuned. after i got the plug out i wiped them and that pb penetrating oil made the oil and carbon wipe right off those plugs. as you can see on the bottom plug in the picture. I swear by this stuff.

Hope this helps you guys. Other thing i made sure to stay straight on the extension and socket.

 

[Mike K]

I'll be doing this soon. Thanks for the steps to help prevent excessive drinking.

 

[shark tales]

god news. great to hear. doesnt the tsb say to do it when the engine is cold?

 

[SickGT]

Great advice. I am noticing that a lot of people with earlier year mustang(2005-2007) are having the spark plugs break when trying to remove them. I have a 2009 GT and wanted to know if I should worry when changing out the spark plugs. I currently have 22,500 miles on the motor and not changed the spark plugs yet. I bought it new.

 

[irishpwr46]

^you dont have to worry, they changed the head design and stopped using two piece plugs in early 08 models

 

[el_jefe]

god news. great to hear. doesnt the tsb say to do it when the engine is cold?

yeah tsb says to do it when its cold. i figured the metal expands and contracts almost the same rate. i know there are some differences in the metals but whatever. What i did worked for me. LOL. as you can tell mine were a little junked up.

I would have been sick if one was to break because i am installing the turbo this weekend to get tuned on tuesday. I would have had to have a swift drink to ease the pain if one broke off. I went back and forth on buying the tool but figured, why buy a 70 dollar tool. Glad i didnt because it would have been a waste of money.

 

[01yellerCobra]

It seems that removing them when the engine is warm is a good trick. I sea foamed ours and then cracked them about a half turn. At that point I soaked them in PB Blaster and they all came out in one piece.

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[hunter1022]

I changed my 2 pc plugs in my 06 at 5,000 miles went with the Brisk plugs as well 1 pc and no worries on removal. Just watched a video on the removal of the 2p plugs in the 07 and under s197 and they said to warm the engine up slightly before removal.

 

[shark tales]

hmm ok so having it warm it working for you folks, ill def do that then. i have an 08 and should not see these problems but i dont want to take this lightly.

gl with the turbo and tune!

 

[SickGT]

Wasn't aware of this. Thanks.

^you dont have to worry, they changed the head design and stopped using two piece plugs in early 08 models

 

[10cent]

+1 for doing it warm. When I did my 06 I did the passenger side bank per the TSB and broke two of the four. I did the driver side with the engine warm and they all came out smoothly.

 

[fdjizm]

I would think ford wouldn't tell you do take them out warm for safety reasons lol
but that would be the best bet being that aluminum expands more than steel.

 

[b's stang]

Wow. I feel lucky. When me and my buddy were installing my blower I didn't do any of that when I changed the plugs.. I have an 05 and at the time it had 88,000 miles on it. Glad that shit didn't break. Good write up op

 

[el_jefe]

I would think ford wouldn't tell you do take them out warm for safety reasons lol
but that would be the best bet being that aluminum expands more than steel.

that was my thinking as well. yeah just got my oil pan back on and about to start the hot side piping.

 

[wa2fst4u]

Similar experience, except I got cocky and of course the last plug broke off. I'm now the proud owner of the extraction tool kit. BTW.. definitely worth it and the rest of the plug out in just a couple of minutes. "Is that all you got!!.. Bring it!!" I exlaimed.

 

[Fuerte]

I need to change my plugs but I dont really want to spend 60 bucks on the tool. Anyone want to sell me theirs next week?

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[Chris B.]

My 2005 had between 55,000 and 56,000 miles on it when I changed the original plugs recently. The Ford tech video someone posted a link to on here said to remove the plugs when the engine is warm, but not hot. All eight of mine came out in one piece too. Here is how I did it:

1. Drive to the auto parts store, get new plugs, carb cleaner, anti seize, and drive back home.

2. Park car and let it sit with the hood up for a little while.

3. When the valve covers are no longer hot to the touch, take off the coils, spray compressed air into the plug holes to get out the dirt and dust, loosen all 8 plugs 1/8 to 1/4 turn, and spray carb cleaner into the holes where the plugs are until the carb cleaner is deep enough to reach the ceramic on the plugs.

4. Go in the house and eat lunch. (a.k.a. let the plugs soak for 30 minutes.)

5. Tighten each plug 1/8 to 1/4 turn, then try loosening them. Four of the eight came out easy at this point for me. They made a little noise, but they didn't have much resistance.

6. Any plugs that didn't come out easy, respray the carb cleaner in the holes and let them soak at least another 30 minutes.

7. After letting the plugs soak, try tightening and loosening them 1/4 turn in each direction, then try taking them out. At this point, the remaining four came out. They made noise, but didn't offer much resistance. If any were difficult to take out at this point, I would have resprayed them with carb cleaner and let them soak longer.

 

[el_jefe]

yeah i would definitely get some dust remover. I used a straw and my natural air. LOL

 

[Ampire]

yeah i would definitely get some dust remover. I used a straw and my natural air. LOL

Shop vac on reverse flow works well too if your shop vac bucket and filter is clean.

 

[Alfiedagr8]

Just as a tip. If you change your plugs every 60k miles you shouldn't break a spark plug. Happens mostly on high milage plugs from what I have seen. And a warm engine does help.
A truck came in last week at the dealer with original plugs at 180k miles. Came in for a miss. Broke 5 plugs. Warm too. Dang. But i have the extractors. No big deal.