the_mary•3d agoProlific Poster

Chatting with a retired tech at the diner near the old Ford plant

He mentioned that on the 2008-2012 F-150s with the 5.4L, he'd always replace the spark plugs cold, not after a warm-up cycle like some manuals suggest. Said he'd seen way fewer threads strip out that way over his 30 years. I'd been doing the opposite, so I tried his method on one yesterday and it went smoother than usual. Anyone else have a specific trick for those tricky Triton plugs?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.stella3d ago

Cold makes sense because aluminum shrinks more than steel when it cools down. That extra clearance probably keeps the threads from binding up as much. Might have to try that on my buddy's truck next time.

-1

emma_murray493d ago

Grab a can of compressed air keyboard cleaner and turn it upside down to freeze the bolt. Works way better than just waiting for a cold day. Just watch your fingers because that stuff gets seriously cold. I've had to do that more than once on old aluminum intake manifolds.