I have almost 45k on the 03 now. Problem-wise I seem to be slightly ahead of curve, as problems come up on my car, then shortly thereafter the posts start popping up from other people, so I'll share this one and hope I save someone else the pain. I've now had this happen twice, and after some research find out that i'm not the only one..
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html
The first time several months ago I was in my driveway, I start it up to pull it into the garage to do an oil change and after a minute or so of idling it starts running really rough, then loud "POP-POP-POP-PUFFFT-PUFFFT-POP" sounds. I popped the hood, thinking I lost half the bolts in the drivers side exhaust header, but the sound is coming from near the base of the blower...and then I see the plug cover trying to detach itself.
You know those moments in life you always remember- the one where 2 seconds feels like 5 minutes? That was me between the time I put my hand on the plug cover and again on the key to shut it off. :burnout:
The second plug back from the front on the drivers head had backed itself out- completely - and was being held against the open hole by the plug cover and coil pack. The plug was totally shot- the first few threads were smashed, the electrode crushed into the tip of the plug. Keep in mind this is a STEEL plug in and ALUMINUM head. Luckilly, with a little effort I was able to get a replacement plug threaded in and all was well.
I checked all the others- one was slightly loose. I've changed a LOT of plugs in my life- I always do a second re-torque to make sure I don't miss anything. But it's possible..
Several months later, I change the plugs to some NGK Iridiums and guess what- 3 of the old plugs are slightly loose. I know damn well I re-tightened all those plugs after the first one blew out, so now I think i'm loosing my mind. I put all the new plugs in and torque them down- TIGHT.
Fast forward 2 months- pulling in the driveway last night and POP-POP-PUFFFT again, shut it off, pull it apart- same thing, drivers head, front plug this time. Unfortunitly, now i'm SCREWED- the threads are damaged enough that I can't get a new plug in. So today I see if I can chase the threads and clean it up enough to fix it. If not, I have some kludgy or expensive alternatives.
Anyone else experience this? Any suggestions? The only contributing factor seems to be that I started using anti-sieze just before this problem cropped up. :dw:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html
The first time several months ago I was in my driveway, I start it up to pull it into the garage to do an oil change and after a minute or so of idling it starts running really rough, then loud "POP-POP-POP-PUFFFT-PUFFFT-POP" sounds. I popped the hood, thinking I lost half the bolts in the drivers side exhaust header, but the sound is coming from near the base of the blower...and then I see the plug cover trying to detach itself.
You know those moments in life you always remember- the one where 2 seconds feels like 5 minutes? That was me between the time I put my hand on the plug cover and again on the key to shut it off. :burnout:
The second plug back from the front on the drivers head had backed itself out- completely - and was being held against the open hole by the plug cover and coil pack. The plug was totally shot- the first few threads were smashed, the electrode crushed into the tip of the plug. Keep in mind this is a STEEL plug in and ALUMINUM head. Luckilly, with a little effort I was able to get a replacement plug threaded in and all was well.
I checked all the others- one was slightly loose. I've changed a LOT of plugs in my life- I always do a second re-torque to make sure I don't miss anything. But it's possible..
Several months later, I change the plugs to some NGK Iridiums and guess what- 3 of the old plugs are slightly loose. I know damn well I re-tightened all those plugs after the first one blew out, so now I think i'm loosing my mind. I put all the new plugs in and torque them down- TIGHT.
Fast forward 2 months- pulling in the driveway last night and POP-POP-PUFFFT again, shut it off, pull it apart- same thing, drivers head, front plug this time. Unfortunitly, now i'm SCREWED- the threads are damaged enough that I can't get a new plug in. So today I see if I can chase the threads and clean it up enough to fix it. If not, I have some kludgy or expensive alternatives.
Anyone else experience this? Any suggestions? The only contributing factor seems to be that I started using anti-sieze just before this problem cropped up. :dw: