Friday, June 3, 2011

2001 F-150 changing Spark plug help?

I have a 4.6 liter V8 2001 F-150 and I am having the hardest time in the world changing the spark plugs.





At the present time, I have spent in the neighborhood of 3-4 hours and I have only been able to remove one spark plug, and I can%26#039;t get the replacement one to get in.





I have enlisted the help of a friend, (whose knowledge of vehicle maintenence surpasses my own,..... but not by much)





I will just call his name Tom, because his name is Tom.





And together that is the sum total of our accomplishments.





I have a Haynes Manual, I have researched the procedure online, and everyone says it%26#039;s a pain in the neck to do.





Any DETAILED help you can give would be GREATLY appreciated.





P.S, Tom Betterton sucks.





-Thank you.








(This is a serious question, I am at the point of murdering someone, so far I have narrowed the list to a select few, I am very sure they would appreciate any help that you can give me)|||For starters, get yourself a good set of tools (Craftsman, Snap-on or other good tools, avoid cheap tools.). including a spark plug socket, wobble extensions, 2%26quot;, 4%26quot; and 6%26quot;. A universal joint extension is sometimes needed. A standard ratchet and a flex head ratchet are both good tools to have on hand. A spark plug boot puller is a good tool to have also. A 6 inch length of vacuum hose that will fit over the end of the plug is handy putting on the top of the plug and inserting it in the spark plug hole and turning it finger tight before you tighten with a spark plug socket.


I%26#039;m not a Ford mechanic, but start by removing one plug at a time and replacing it before you go on to the next one. On some vehicles, I%26#039;ve had to remove front wheels for spark plug access or remove the plugs from underneath.


Last if you lack a lot of experience, you will need a lot of patience and a mechanic to look over your shoulder.|||In the interest of preventing an un-necessary homicide, patients is the biggest tool you need. I changed the plugs on a 97 F150 5.4L and there was one or two that were VERY hard to get to. The hardest part was getting the small nut off of the coil pack retainer. No special tools, just patients and the ability to work your finger tips in tight areas.





Good luck|||OK first of all are you sure you are turn the ratchet the right way? secondly do you have the right size ratchet? and thirdly if you have a torque wrench it should be set at 13 ft lbs....AND if you have not yet checked you must look to see if the threads on the spark plugs are striped... if the threads are gone then you are in TROUBLE and need to go to a mechanic..good luck