Well, I decided to tackle the dreaded spark plugs on my 2007 GT today. Success!

For those people that do not know, the 3 valve Mustangs, F150’s, or other vehicles have a Ford 3 valve engine in it is prone to having carbon build up on the spark plug shield that sits inside the cylinder head. If too much carbon builds up, it is possible for the two piece plug to separate when removing the plug and leave you in a sticky situation that may potentially cost you some money and a trip to a dealer.

Let me first say that some people shy away from doing this because there is a possible risk that there is already too much carbon on the plug and you could break the plug on a perfectly working car.

My GT has 18,365 miles on it and I only had second thoughts about doing this one time. The number one cylinder gave me a little bit of a fight coming out. I only used a 1/4” socket wrench, so I was able to limit the amount of torque I applied. I let it sit with a little bit more of the penetrating fluid and it came out without any issues.

I followed the TSB to the letter: http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricant.../tsb/06152.pdf

I was sure to use a lot of air from my compressor to ensure there was absolutely zero dirt in the spark plug well before I squirted it with penetrating fluid.

Below are some photos of before, during, and after I removed them and cleaned them. I did not take pictures of the application of the nickel anti-seize.


Plugs right after removal and before cleaning:


During cleaning:


After cleaning, before Nickel Anti-Seize and re-installation:

 

excellent, i'm glad it went well....

i pulled mine and applied the nickel
also, about a month ago.

 

question.
Would a seafoam treatment help remove any carbon buildup on the plugs before a removal??

 

Possibly, it is hard to tell. It might be worth a shot though.

 

I'm going to replace the plugs on mine. Not sure if I'll wait for other ones besides the Champions. Champions are not my favorite. I also have an 06 F150 5L. I can't believe that I get the double whammy On a side note,what would you use for the F150?

 

By the time we *NEED* to change plugs on our 3V engines, they'll have aftermarket port and polished heads with bigger valves available.

 

for a few dollars and peace of mind, I want to do it

 

No, it will not.

 

why not? I never used seafoam but from what others have told mw who has.. Is that it does a great job at removing barbon buildup. In fact that is what it was designed to do.. Why would it not do it on the 4.6? I am just trying to establish a better way at getting the plugs out.. I have nothing to do with seafoam..

F

 

Just did mine and the carbon build up already looked like highvolts above.
This is with only 3,400 miles...

Since we now have the anti-seize on them, next time can we just take them out without using the carb cleaner pre-soak.

 

From what I have read, Seafoam is a good product. The problem here is, the location of the carbon buildup between the ground electrode shield and the bore in the head is kind of a dead area. Any product you introduce into the cylinder will not circulate into that area so it will not have any effect on the built up carbon. It's a cool sounding idea but I don't see it working. Sorry.

 

ok. Going with that thinking.. Then HOW can unburned fuel get to that location to build up the deposits IF the seafoam can't.. They are both introduced into the cylinder the same way..? I still say the seafoam stuff will help

 

I have a theory that you could consider. I don't think the deposits are so much the un-burned fuel issue because fuel management these days is so tightly controlled by all the sensors and PCM. But one universal fact that happens upon combustion of fossil fuel is water and carbon. As these two combine , they form deposits in the combustion chamber. Along with various acids from additives and the burning of motor oil ( don't forget what's on the cylinder walls ) they bond and cake, layer after layer until we have the problem we have.
The second part of the theory is this -- As asked in so many words, " How does the deposits get into that narrow cavity between the plug and head ? " Answer - Heat cycling from start-up -- driving -- shut-down ----- cool-down , over and over again , combined with something called capillary action " draws " the moisture along with the carbon up between the plug and head and cakes in layers until it takes up all the space there and creates our problem . Solution -- use a solvent to soften the carbon or better, dissolve and flush away the carbon - PB Blaster , or better yet LACQUER THINNER combined with a warm motor and patient use of your hand ratchet will yield good results . After removing the coil, fill the area around the plug with lacquer thinner, then loosen the plug until you feel resistance and stop . Leave it like that for a minute to give it time for the lacquer thinner to do its job - then tighten and re-loosen the plug until you feel resistance again, repeating this process all the while , keep adding the thinner as it trickles past the threads to soften the carbon . Each time you loosen the plug , it will come out a little farther than before, until finally it comes out. Don't worry about the thinner. It evaporates away quickly leaving behind nothing to harm your engine . Then follow normal procedures as outlined for the prepping of the plugs. But before you put the plugs in, put a light coating of motor oil on the threads to ensure ease of removal next time. Do the threads in the head as well with oil . Use a Q-tip to moisten the threads on both sides . Then after you anti-sieze the long shank of the plug, re-install the plug. .

 

Logical. Isn't this pretty much what the TSB says? The only difference is they recommend carb. cleaner which isn't much different than lacquer thinner.