spark plugs backing out????

[5.0Flareside]

well here it is. Bout 2-3 months back i did a tune up on my truck. well bout a month or so later i was checking the plug wires and noticed the plugs were loose. well i went through and tightened them up. Well come like 3 days ago when i was changing my plug wires i notice my plugs were loose again. So what is the deal?

 

[Skandocious]

That's quite strange... Normally people have the opposite problem-- spark plugs seizing in the heads. How much torque are you putting on them?

 

[5.0Flareside]

im just snugging them up to make sure i dont break them. but i used the platinums so idk if that is much of the problem.

 

[TexasNomad]

I use to have this same problem few years back, really never could figure out why they would do this.

 

[5.0Flareside]

did you ever figure out how to fix it? i heard that if i tighten them up when the motor is warm it will fix this. They said that if tightened up when cold when the motor goes through its heat cycle it will loosen up.

 

[TexasNomad]

It honestly didn't stop until I got new plugs.

 

[5.0Flareside]

huh? well that blows. hopefully the tightening when warm works. cause i dont even have the money for plugs right now. dont even have enough gas through till next paycheck. dont know what im gonna do???? UGH! I hate minimum wage.

 

[Skandocious]

Well buying new plugs might not be a bad idea anyway since you're using platinum plugs. For some reason these old pushrod engines HATE platinum plugs. I saw many many threads on the other site from guys that had used platinum plugs and within 5k miles noticed that their engines were running like crap-- pulled the plugs and they were TOASTY!! Some guys posted pics of the nasty plugs that were only a few thousand miles old. I wish I had saved the pictures It's a pretty common theme with these trucks and most guys will say to stick with the copper plugs-- either Motorcraft of Autolite and nothing else. These motors are pretty finicky about which kind of plugs you give them.

But hey that works towards our advantage because the copper plugs are cheaper! You can order 8 copper Motorcraft plugs from rockauto.com for $1.59 each-- making $12.72 + shipping for 8 of them!

 

[5.0Flareside]

yeah they are 1.99 at all the parts stores. i wont go with anything other than motorcraft plugs. And yes i soon found out that the copper plugs were much better than the platinums. to late. oh well. Hopefully next paycheck will have enough left over for new plugs. sheesh. but even 16 dollars i dont have. if i pull out my wallet right now, i have 4 1's. thats it.

 

[john112deere]

huh? well that blows. hopefully the tightening when warm works.

If your heads are cast, I guess this might work, but NEVER, EVER try it with an aluminum head engine. I'm thinking you'd be better to find a torque wrench and put 'em in to Ford spec....

 

[5.0Flareside]

yeah there the stock cast iron e7 heads. but whats the ford spec???? and i dont have access to a torque wrench.

 

[NeXtras]

about 7 foot pounds.. pretty sure..

but with a crush ring, you need to go 3/4 turn after finger tight, and the tapered plugs ned 1/4 turn after finger tight
my guess.. what ever plug u have is a bad metal.. obviously a platinum electrode but not what i mean.. i bet the cast iron is expanding more than the plug, causing it to losen up

 

[5.0Flareside]

probably im gonna go back to the regular coppers once i get the money. So it wont be long. but i just got done pulling the plugs and checking them and wiped them off and they look still almost new. 5k miles on them. but i put them back in and now i have a HUGE! miss. feels like only running on 7 cylinders.

 

[Skandocious]

probably im gonna go back to the regular coppers once i get the money. So it wont be long. but i just got done pulling the plugs and checking them and wiped them off and they look still almost new. 5k miles on them. but i put them back in and now i have a HUGE! miss. feels like only running on 7 cylinders.

Did you run 2 of the wires too close together after you put the plugs back in? I think 7 and 8 are the ones that can't be next to each other. Might be getting a crossfire. Or just those crappy plat plugs

 

[5.0Flareside]

thats what i've been trying to figure out but i cant get it right i guess. idk. gotta go to work so im be driving moms car. oh well.

 

[Chrono558]

Being it's a 351 the firing order shouldn't have the 7-8 crossfire issue. Do check your plug wires and make sure you didn't get two of them crossed. It's really easy to do and will definitely cause a miss. Just follow the wire from the distributor cap and make sure it's going to the right cylinder.

 

[5.0Flareside]

well i figured it out. I accidently pulled one of the spark plug wires off. so its drivable now. but ive still got a miss its an intermittant miss so ill be changing plugs next week when i get my check. going back to the coppers.

 

[Bob Ayers]

well i figured it out. I accidently pulled one of the spark plug wires off. so its drivable now. but ive still got a miss its an intermittant miss so ill be changing plugs next week when i get my check. going back to the coppers.

The only platinums that will give you trouble are Bosch platinums. If you use the correct Motorcraft platinums (ASF32P or SP501) they will run fine, and for a long time.

 

[5.0Flareside]

well actually today the miss got worse. so im going out now to check the firing order. i have this feeling i did get them messed up.

 

[5.0Flareside]

Well i just checked the firing order and it was indeed correct. But the other day when i changed plug wires, when i pulled plug wire 3 off it pulled the little metal post out of the distributor cap. kinda thinking thats whats causing it and my dad thinks so too. gonna get a new one and see if that fixes it.