2005 F150 engine missing

[aaron_mn]

05 F150 with the 5.4 V8, developed miss, especially under load. Assuming its spark plugs, heard horror stories about this era fords, like plugs snapping off when trying to remove.  Anyone have experience? Any tips or pointers appreciated. Already found a special tool for removing broken plugs online for about $60. Wondering if it's something I want to dive into or not. Thanks

[NW-GSP]

Might be worth the money to pay someone to do it. You could prob pull the plug wires and then spray some release agent on the plugs and wait a few hours then come back and try getting them loose. Make sure not to over tighten them or you can screw the threads up and cost yourself a ton of money

[YellowDog]

I have a 2005 F-150 5.4l V-8 with 88K miles.  I just took mine to a local mechanic and paid to have my plugs changed.  I didn't really have the time to dig into the job myself but sort of wish I would have.  If you have time and/or can afford to be without your rig for a weekend and are mechanically inclined I'd do it yourself.  I read a lot online about the problems, suggested proceedures, and the special tool and think it is doable.  What I hate is that the "book" says it is a 3.5 hour job and for each plug that breaks you add about a half hour.  If you take your time and follow the proceedures reccomended you shouldn't break too many IMO.  When the mechanic did mine he talked about how he had never broken one before and then when he did mine they brok 5 of 8.  I had them replace the serp belt, fuel injector/system service, fuel filter, and pinion seal all at the same time.  They called me 4-5 hours after the truck was dropped off to tell me it was done and yet I paid for about 10 hours of labor.  I feel like if he would have taken his time and actually used the 3.5 hours the book calls for he would have been less likely to break plugs and then "have" to charge me for more labor (time) that he didn't actually spend on the job. 

What kind of "miss" does the engine have?  Mine is now making the famous ticking noise which from my research may be normal and not a big deal but it also could be the cam phasers but it might also be an exhaust leak.  There are some 2005s that had an injector problem that Ford realized and increased the warranty to 10 years 120K miles that can actually result in the injectors sticking open or closed and toasting your engine.  From what I have read Ford has replaced quite a few engines (rebuilt short blocks) under warranty. 

[10thmountainarcher]

Have an 06 that does the same thing. The 3 valve ford engines pretty much weld the threads of the plug to the head. Thus causing the breakage when attempting to remove.  Getting quotes of around 500$ to have someone change them. The dealership also told me I had three bad coils.

[Special T]

I think that that year has a small coil over each spark plug. Individual coil per plug. If that is the case it is likely one of those. I think they run like $80ea. If you think its just one dead cylinder you could buy one and just move till you solve the problem. Or you could just find a good Mech that treats you good. They are harder to find than a good looking woman who cooks, cleans, is good with money and lets you raise hell with the boys!

[bloodhound]

buy an in line spark checker and move it from cylinder to cylinder. look for bad spark at one or more cylinders. usually if you notice a miss fire on a v8 its because you have more then one cylinder missfiring. its hard to tell a miss fire on one cylinder. since then engine will pretty much run fine with one cylinder down, it will just idle a little lower. you will notice a lack of power though in the top end of the motor if not sparking right. rule of thumb, check spark to the plugs, check the spark plugs, check compression, then check injectors. a bad injector will cause a "missfire feel".

[gotshot]

Had mine changed a little while back. None broke but it was expensive. I have heard of a couple people who had to have a head pulled because of breakage so I decided to have it done. One thing is common, After a little while some people begin to smell gas in the cab. It is from a plug slightly backing out. I took mine back and of course they said they didn't believe anything on the internet but then called me a little later saying no. 7 plug was slightly out of torque spec and the problem was fixed. They do have a rather long service bulletin out with latest procedures on changing them.

[lagnar]

Keep the truck,  put in a 7.3l deisle, saw one for 3k-4k awhile back.  Those engines run 300,000 . Your grand kids will be driving it around.

[YellowDog]

Keep the truck,  put in a 7.3l deisle, saw one for 3k-4k awhile back.  Those engines run 300,000 . Your grand kids will be driving it around.

Is this really doable?

[jackelope]

Keep the truck,  put in a 7.3l deisle, saw one for 3k-4k awhile back.  Those engines run 300,000 . Your grand kids will be driving it around.

Is this really doable?

Put another $10-15k in for all the other stuff you'll need to make it work and it's do-able.
 

[lagnar]

True... engine cost alone seemed a worthy investment, I have no idea how much to transfer an engine. It might just cost less to really have it worked over?  Sorry.

[YellowDog]

Keep the truck,  put in a 7.3l deisle, saw one for 3k-4k awhile back.  Those engines run 300,000 . Your grand kids will be driving it around.

Is this really doable?

Put another $10-15k in for all the other stuff you'll need to make it work and it's do-able.
 

That's what I figured.  Wasnt sure why it would be suggested when the overall cost really makes no sense.

[lagnar]

read the headline and just assumed, didn't read the message, I thought the engine was missing...  not mis-firing. sorry.   Doubt it would take 15K to replace engine however. I've had it done and it didn't cost anywhere near that.

[jackelope]

read the headline and just assumed, didn't read the message, I thought the engine was missing...  not mis-firing. sorry.   Doubt it would take 15K to replace engine however. I've had it done and it didn't cost anywhere near that.

it's a 1/2 ton truck with a gas motor. How would you put a diesel in it? All the electronics would get changed, the whole fuel system, the suspension to carry all the added weight, the list goes on and on. 

[lagnar]

alright already... I SCREWED UP NOT READING THE BODY OF THE TEXT>  FOR THAT i AM VERY VERY SORRY AND WILL NOT EVER ASSUME OR JUMP AHEAD TO MY OWN THOUGHTS AGAIN.