Spark Plugs and the Triton

Numerous accounts of potential spark plug ejection on all early Ford Triton V-8s and V-10s are well documented, supposedly partially due to a limited number of threads in the cylinder heads to screw the plugs into, thanks to castings designed to be as thin and light as possible, some due to incorrectly made threads, etc., etc.  Problem designs were supposedly phased out beginning in mid-2000's with, as I understand it (and I could be mistaken), the version of the V-10 (2-valve) going into the E-Series being somehat better by about 2005, the same year (I think) the 5-speed automatic appeared in the E-series with the V-10, and that the problem was completely fixed on the 3-valve V-10s on the pickups and F-53 Class A motorhome chassis by 2008, and by 2009 for the 2-valve V-10 on the E-Series.  That was a year after the grills were made bigger and suspension was improved, and the same year as the new dash and instrument cluster.

I searched the forum and didn't find anyone suffering spark plug problems, though most from the early 2000's seem to occur after plugs were changed, and most of your rigs seem to be about 2005 or newer, when some souces claim fewer problems and none from 2009 to present.  Few RVs seem to get to the current 60,000 to 100,000 mile time for a changeout very fast, so I wouldn't expect many reports of problems.  

But, have any of you experienced this or know of it?  If I do buy a Ford-based product, including PC, I'd like info to corroborate claims of certain years being more or less problematic than others.

Hi Michelle,

There has been a lot of discussion on this subject on another forum, www.RV.net

I know nothing about, nor have any experience with any of the 3-valve Triton engines, other than they were never put into an E-series because they simply don't fit inside the engine compartment because the heads stand too tall.

As I understand it for the earliest 2-valve Triton engines, regardless of engine size and cylinders, the problem is as you say, too few threads in the engine head to hold the spark plugs in.  I believe the troubled number of threads is four.  It is extremely rare for the plugs to pop out on their own.  The problem is revealed most often when the engine is being serviced with a new set of spark plugs, corrosion being the primary culprit.  There is some debate when Ford increased the number of spark plug threads in the engine heads from four to I think eight.  Either 2003 or 2004 is the start of "good years".  2002 is surely the last year of the four-thread engine heads.

I have been a volunteer mechanic in the C.A.R.S Ministry at our mega-size church for the under-resourced in our community for nearly 20 years now.  A lot of early 2-valve Triton engines are now passing through the shop, most often inside old Ford Explorers.  Unfortunately it is not uncommon to encounter this problem because these vehicles are old now and have been exposed to Chicago winter salted roads for many years.  I could not put a percentage of vehicles with this problem, but it is low.  Still a low number is significant.

If I were shopping for a used motor home, I would try to avoid one with a Ford chassis that is not older than a 2004 to assure I don't have the problem.  On the other hand, if I found an exceptionally sweet Ford chassis motor home <2004 at a great price, I would not rule out the purchase because of the spark plug issue.  Keep in-mind that motor homes are not commuter vehicles that are driven in rush hour traffic, being loaded with salt spray during it's life time.  If the motor home never seen salt, I would feel fine buying it.

My brother owns a 1997 Ford chassis E350-V10 Starflyte motor home, the first year the Triton V10 was installed in the E-series.  His rig turned 100,000 miles last year so he got a tune-up which went fine, no issues with changing the spark plugs.

As far as which Ford chassis is better?  It's very simple, "The Newer, The Better".  Like you have mentioned, Ford has been improving the chassis along the way.  I hear the latest transmission introduced in 2016 or 2017 is noticeably better than the ~11 year old TorqShift transmission it replaces.

I feel it is best to limit yourself to a Ford chassis not older than a 2008 if buying a motor home in lengths exceeding 28 feet for the sake of weight/load alone.  But in the shorter lengths where weight is not an issue, the pre-2008 chassis might actually benefit for it handles the load, yet offers a softer ride on the front axle.  Nearly all the extra load capability in the 2008s to 2017 is added into the front axle where it is not needed in a short motor home.  My PC-2350 suffers from the front axle being too light, not too heavy, so a softer front suspension seems better to me.

This is only my opinion here, based on what I have read and concluded over the past 10 years on these things.  I am no expert on this stuff so please don't hold me to my facts & figures stated here.

Ron

Well, Ron, you know a lot more about it than I do, as all I know of it is a lot of the online chatter, though some did include some Ford info.  I probably did see some of it on RV.net, and somewhere on some issue someone said something like "...Ron Dittmer's right again, as usual...."

I think someone did talk about removing old plugs by soaking them with penetrating oil for a few days then GENTLY tapping them with a hammer, adding a few more drops of oil, tapping again and soaking a few days, then turning 1/16 turn, adding a few more drops oil, wating a day, turning another 1/8 turn repeat, repeat, etc.  Obviously, no shop could do this unless they had room to spare but shadetree mechanics might.

Re. later model front suspension having too high a spring rate, one could easily have lighter coils installed or add a multi-opening front hitch receivers (left, center, and right) as one sees on pickups for farm use, by some boat owners, or by anyone needing to play switch engineer with their trailers anywhere.   That could also hold a bike rack as long as the bikes didn't block lights or the forward view and one was not taking a lengthy trip that'd leave one's bikes covered in dead bugs.  Just the weight of the hitch receiver might help but wouldn't get into the weight range of snow plows, etc., that do take heavier springs and further alter alignment.  This weight issue on shorter units with the firmer front springs from 2008 on might come into play on rigs with the 5.4 Triton or the pending 6.2 V-8.  Hmmm....

I think someone did talk about removing old plugs by soaking them with penetrating oil for a few days then GENTLY tapping them with a hammer, adding a few more drops of oil, tapping again and soaking a few days, then turning 1/16 turn, adding a few more drops oil, waiting a day, turning another 1/8 turn repeat, repeat, etc.  Obviously, no shop could do this unless they had room to spare but shade-tree mechanics might.

That is very sound advice.

Because the job has to get done right away where I volunteer, I soak the plugs with PB Blaster, then use a breaker bar rocking the plugs, loose/tight, loose/tight, back and forth, the tiniest amount at first, working into strokes to work them out.  But other volunteer mechanics will strong-handle it, then scratch their head as to what just happened.