Ford F150 issues

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Displaced Canadian

Displaced Canadian

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
3,248
Location
Millersburg, OR
I have a Ford F150 with a 5.4 triton engine. It had a fuel smell in the cab and a slight tick. It went in for new plugs and to see what the issue was. They changed the plugs and the smell and the tick went away. They mentioned that most plugs were loose and one was barely hand tight. About 2 months later the smell came back. They found #4 plug was loose and it went away again. Two weeks later the smell is back. Looking around on the internet it seems this is a common issue with this engine and it always seems to be loose plugs. Is there a better long term solution? It gets a little old having to go in and get the plugs tightened every 4000 miles. I have 12 miles until the warranty expires.
 
Last edited:
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Bad thing is they are aluminum heads and if you tighten the plugs to tight you can strip the threads or cross thread them. Check with you Ford dealer there might be a fix they use. I have the same engine in our 2004 Expedition and have never had the problem. Could be an overly careful Tech also.
 
I have the same engine in my F-150 .... going in to work one day I blew one of the plugs right out! Sometimes when that happens the threads get stripped.... I was lucky! You might check with Ernie Borraga, he would likely know of these issues and the best alternative solutions!
 
What year? I believe up until 2004 the heads did not have enough threads cut for each plug and the plugs were stripping the threads. And some did blow out. After this they now have a hole other problem with their plugs, but it is not that they loosen up, it's that they brake in two when changing them.
 
It's a 2005, no heated tailgate. The dealership is going to have somebody different look at it to get a second opinion. Not sure if it's just a different person there or if they are going to bring in someone else.
 
I'll have to a little digging at work tomorrow. The 5.4 are notorious for blowing out the plugs or even breaking when replaced. That's why the dealers charge an arm and a leg here in Louisille. I haven't seen any loosen up, but whatever you do, DON'T USE LOCTITE. I should be home around 5pm tomorrow and will post what I find.
 
Don't even dream of using locktite on the spark plugs. The majority of the time when spark plugs come loose on the 4.6 or the 5.4 2valve engines it's because the plugs were not tightened to spec when they were installed. The design of the heads makes replacing the spark plugs a challenge. If not properly tightened, the plug will hammer the threads each time the cylinder fires, resulting in stripped threads, and usually a broken coil. The 5.4v 3 valve engine that first came in the '05 model is the one that has plugs break off and requires special tools to remove the broken plug.
By the way, I work at a Ford dealership here in South Texas, and have access to service literature ( manuals, service bulletins, wiring schematics, etc.). If any of you are ever in need. I'll be happy to help.
 
Last edited:
I originally was going to change the plugs myself until I found out what it was going to take to get to them and that the odds of breaking one is quite high. The whole job would be easier if the engine wasn't practically under the dashboard. The paper I got back from the dealer reads,"Verified customers concern. Ran Oasis, found no related TSBS or SSMS. Removed caps and checked torque on all spark plugs. Found #4 was out of spec. Tightened and re-tested, all good at this time." The smell is quite strong on start up and if you sit at idle. Other than the fuel smell issue it is quote a nice truck. Not much from 0 to 30 but after that it gets up and goes. One other thing, not sure if it is related to the problem. A 3 or 4 times in the last year when I have started it when the engine is warm, it will fire and not start. It will do this a few times then start.
 
Last edited:
You shouldn't get much of a fuel smell from a loose plug. You'll generally hear a ticking/tapping noise as the plug moves around. You may possibly have a problem with your vapor management valve sticking open when the engine is off. That could explain both the hard start and the fuel smell.
 
How many miles are on it? Did you have the 100,000 mile tune up performed? If so were platinum plugs put back in? I see this issue quite often and generally it is caught too late and the threads get pulled out of the head. The solution is not to use a locking compound like locktite. You will lock the threads to the plugs and will destroy them when they need to be removed. New platinum plugs are your best bet at this point.
 
The truck has 123000 miles on it. Bickford in Snohomish did the plugs. Not sure what they used. I had bought some expensive plugs and when I decided not to do it the dealership recommended using a different plug. Where is the vapor management valve?
 
I see that you live in Marysville. I own a shop in Tukwila. If the dealer doesnt help you out let me know and I will take a look at it free of charge.
 
I may be mistaken, but they don't offer anything but Iridium plugs for that. That's why they are $15.00 a piece.
 
TellicoTurning said:
Ruby pen turning said:
I dont know what a fix would be but I am glad you put this on here. Around a month ago we started smelling fuel on our 2001 king ranch. I will have to check it out.
Click to expand...

I'm glad too... I just bought a used 2003 F150 Triton... haven't smelled any fuel yet, but will be on the watch for it.
Click to expand...

I also have an 2003 F150 4X4 with the 5.4 triton, I have 193,000 miles on it and have never had this problem nor smell, but have had the coil packs on several plugs crack and split open and quit firing, I have beat this truck to death, hauling loads that should only be put on a 1 ton truck in some of the worse places you should never put a truck and never had a loose plug.:biggrin:
 
Say what you will but I've had Ford trucks for 45 years and always had great service out of them, I have a 65 F 100 with 347,00 miles on it and it still runs WITH THE ORIGINAL MOTOR!! (my dad bought it new) and I have a 1979 4X4 F 150 with 296,000 miles on it with the original motor that still runs!! You can keep your shimmy lays!
 
My '03 doesnt have that problem but it has blown the head gasket. On the oil side so it leaks oil down onto the exhaust and smells like burnt oil everytime you stop somewhere..Ticks me off but they said they will have to pull the motor to get head off!! SO for now I am adding a extra quart of oil between oil changes. Figure thats cheaper than having the motor pulled and gasket replaced. I was told it was a design flaw and they have a fix for it so when it starts getting bad I will have it fixed.
 
Knock on wood, my '01 has right at 160k miles and still running strong. Getting ready to do the O2 sensors after throwing a P0136 code the other day. Will occasionally throw a P0171 and P0174 code but typically cleaning the MAF sensor takes care of these. Otherwise it's very maintenance friendly to the budget.
 
Truck went to the shop today, they still have it. They haven't given me a lot of info. They said they have a call into Lansing, Michigan to see what they think. We shall see tomorrow.
 
Sounds pretty crazy that a Ford dealer must call Michigan. What size is the city you live in? There's about 7 Ford dealer's here and if they told me they had to call Lansing, I'd be ****ed and take it somewhere else.
 
The closest Ford dealership is 5 miles away and said that they didn't smell anything. The next one is about 20 miles away and all the locals say to take your Ford there. The place is busy, this is the first vehicle I've taken to them. So far they are at least trying to fix it and that is more than the other dealership did. However, next time I buy a truck I'm thinking Chevy and nothing newer than 1987. Love that square nose.
 
The truck is fixed. Just goes to show that computer diagnostics is no match for grey hair. The computer found nothing, so they sent it over to another service team that had a guy who has been there " from before God created dirt". He replaced the evaporator solenoid and the line from it to the manifold and no more smell. They said he found the problem in about 10 min. They charged me for the parts and ate the labor because they had the truck for four days. I'm happy their happy all's well that ends well.
 
Evaporative Emissions Solenoid= Vapor Management Valve. I wasn't working for Ford before God created dirt. But when I hired on Moby Dick was just a minnow ;)
 
I am with "shadetree" on this one. I had a Ford Ranger...little 4 popper engine and a 5 speed tyranny. Put 429,000 miles on that little bugger. I traded it in on another Ranger and my wife promply totaled it out. Now I am driving a '05' F-150. So far I have 118,000 on it and it is still running strong. I always thought that Ford trucks were better looking trucks and better at pulling. Dodge is OK but GM makes some ugly trucks.
 
dont use loctite on your plugs...........................................
farmer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom