Ford sold me out, switching to Toyota

[D Fresh]

I had the other issue with my 5.4 plugs.

Truck was bought used and had the sparkplugs replaced previously. Whomever did it overtorqued them.

I had overtorqued sparkplugs that blew out of the heads threads and all. Sounded like a God dammed IED went off. A shop vac with a homemade nozzle, shrink wrap stepped down incrementally, a heli coil, and a new plug and coil were necessary each time.

Got pretty good at it. By the third time I probably could've done it on the side of the road. But driving it home with an open cylinder was always fun.

Hmm... maybe a shot of WD-40 in the spark plug well at each oil change might be prudent.

Since we live in a semi arid climate here, it's probably not an issue. But I wonder if the OP's problem was exacerbated by living in Texas near the gulf... which means high humidity and higher corrosion due to salt is a likely probability?

I like this idea.

I ordered the cover, studs and nuts from a Detroit area Ford dealer that sells online. They had the cover, but were warning that the studs/nuts didn't fit my '22. I see elsewhere that they are OK for the '22 and since they are called out on the TSB, I ordered them anyways.

I decided not to wait for rust, codes, etc. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I had thought that this cover was purely cosmetic until I read this thread and the referenced TSB.

I don't know if this cover delete was a parts shortage issue, or the handiwork of the Ford beancounters, I suspect the latter. This wouldn't be the first time that a cost reduction went awry.

Thanks for posting this info about the issue and the fix.

Greg

Be aware that @NotBudule and other users have found that the actual point of entry is probably at the cowl. It seems water drops there, lands on the top of the block, then settles in from there.

The cover might not really do anything. It was originally designed to mitigate sound, not water. Which is why it was only standard on the Lariats.

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[JimG_AZ]

Man fuck all this shit now im wondering if I should have saved my $$ on the extended warranty i just bought and traded the Ranger in

This is why you shouldn't buy the extended warranty until the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty is about to run out.

 

[Wytchdctr]

This is why you shouldn't buy the extended warranty until the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty is about to run out.

I did but only to cover the stuff I don't want to fix that will likely break; like a blend door etc. I will end up with at least 100k on this thing before I get rid of it. I do not want to rip the dash apart of pay for a failed tail light.

 

[NotBudule]

This

Be aware that @NotBudule and other users have found that the actual point of entry is probably at the cowl. It seems water drops there, lands on the top of the block, then settles in from there.

The cover might not really do anything. It was originally designed to mitigate sound, not water. Which is why it was only standard on the Lariats.

It's a LOT of water , as soon as I saw how damn much it was , I made it "Job 1" ... Bent the cowl back some , sealed and bolted it versus those push rivets then covered the lip with some split pipe insulation... That much water is not good for the top of the engine no matter where the cover (hopefully) deflects it to and is an absolute JOKE from Ford as a fix ...imo... These frozen plugs are gonna start popping up a LOT more now that these trucks are getting to tune up mileage for a lot of people...

 

[GTGallop]

what about if I have an extended warranty through Ford?.....I bought the Ford Premium Care 6 year/ 125K miles extended warranty through Flood Ford based on some on the other issues I've read on here (A/C heater box thingy mainly)......is this issue covered by the extended Ford Warranty?

I did buy the cover some time ago just because I needed it to be part of the cool group of Rangers owners that got theirs before they deleted them from the Lariats.....

In that case... Covered.

 

[NotBudule]

Sealed the two halves of the cowl and bolted together , then just split foam to hide it ...the insulation by itself redirected the water away from plugs , but I decided to seal it up and keep it outta there...

 

[Jason B]

This is why you shouldn't buy the extended warranty until the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty is about to run out.

I don't think that is how ESP work. The milage and time starts when the truck was purchased, not when the ESP is purchased. If you wait until 36K miles to buy a 150K ESP, you don't get an extra 150K miles, you are covered until the truck hits 150K.

EDIT: For example. In my case I bought a 125K 8yr ESP. What I'm actually getting is an extra 89K/5yr bumper to bumper, and 65K/3yr on the drive train.

 

[JimG_AZ]

I don't think that is how ESP work. The milage and time starts when the truck was purchased, not when the ESP is purchased. If you wait until 36K miles to buy a 150K ESP, you don't get an extra 150K miles, you are covered until the truck hits 150K.

EDIT: For example. In my case I bought a 125K 8yr ESP. What I'm actually getting is an extra 89K/5yr bumper to bumper, and 65K/3yr on the drive train.

You are correct with what you said, but there is one more significant factor that you are missing and the finance guy never fully talks about. That factor is the proration time when you can sell the warranty back if you do not use it. During the bumper-to-bumper warranty period, you would never use the ESP. So, if you sell your vehicle or it gets deemed a total loss due to theft or accident during that period, you may lose a significant amount of money on the warranty buy back. I had this happen to me with my Expedition. I sold it with 33k miles on the odometer and as I recall, I think I lost close to 40% of the warranty cost when I sold it back.

 

[Jason B]

You are correct with what you said, but there is one more significant factor that you are missing and the finance guy never fully talks about. That factor is the proration time when you can sell the warranty back if you do not use it. During the bumper-to-bumper warranty period, you would never use the ESP. So, if you sell your vehicle or it gets deemed a total loss due to theft or accident during that period, you may lose a significant amount of money on the warranty buy back. I had this happen to me with my Expedition. I sold it with 33k miles on the odometer and as I recall, I think I lost close to 40% of the warranty cost when I sold it back.

I didn't even know about a buyback option on the ESP. I thought it was only transferable to the new buyer or a new vehicle.

 

[YaBoiNewton]

you’re right it can happen to any other vehicle but it usually doesn’t in my experience. Every Toyota I’ve owned lasted at least 300k without a single failure other than things I caused. Have a Tahoe with 581,000 miles that’s never had a failure. Have a 97 z71with 312,000 that’s never had a failure other than an alternator. But my wife’s 2019 f150 needed a transmission at 100k. Now my ranger has a list a mile long with problems.

hopefully it’s a coincidence but I’m starting to have my doubts.

Almost 150k supercharged miles on my '08 mustang. Still on the original driveline from the block to the axle. I hate to use anecdotes, but running an engine at 150% of the stock power output for 15 years is one hell of a margin test. It still smokes most other sports cars available today.

My Ranger has had a shit ton of problems, but I've never had an issue getting repairs covered. Seems like OP needs to find a new dealer.

 

[pbethel]

You wouldn't be the first person I've seen mistake "AR" for Arizona. However... The first to actually see "AR" and convert it to "AZ".

Arizona is where home is for me, despite being a military brat. I don't like what it is now (Phoenix area).

Ouch! I know better. Years and years of AL for AK. A lot of my mail went to Alabama first.
And now I'm doing it. Boy do I feel dumb.

 

[that408guy]

Weird, I've never noticed any water in my engine bay after a wash. Looks like I need to give her a good soaking.

 

[JesseS]

IN 2006, I WORKED FOR A FORD DEALERSHIP IN MIDLAND ONTARIO FOR TWO YEARS AS THEIR GOFOR/SHUTTLE DRIVER ETC...BECAUSE I'M MECHANICALLY MINDED, I ALWAYS SAT WITH THE MECHANICS AT LUNCH AND LISTEN TO THEM HASHING OUT THEIR PROBLEMS WITH VARIOUS FIXES BUT ONE OF THESE PROBLEMS IS RELATED TO YOUR PROBLEM. IT INVOLVED CHANGING THE SPARKPLUGS ON THE FORD TRITON 5.4 AND HOW ALL THE SPARK PLUGS WERE SEIZED IN THE BLOCK AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET THEM OUT WAS A MULTI STAGE PROCEDURE/SEVEN PAGES NO LESS OF STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO GET THESE PLUGS OUT. IT INVOLVED WARMING THE ENGINE, APPLYING COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF PENETRATING FLUID, THEN, COOLING THE ENGINE DOWN, PUTTING A WRENCH ON THE SPARK PLUG AND APPLYING LIGHT PRESSURE, LOOSENING, TIGHTENING WITHOUT ACTUALLY MOVING THE SPARK PLUG, THEY HAD TO DO THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WARMING THE ENGINE, SPRAYING TONS OF PENETRATING OIL, LETTING THE ENGINE COOL DOWN TO COLD OVERNIGHT AND DOING THE WRENCH THING AGAIN, LOOSENING TIGHTENING BUT NOT ACTUALLY MOVING THE THE SPARK PLUG. IT WOULD TAKE THEM DAYS TO REMOVE ALL THE PLUGS ON THIS EFFING MOTOR BUT IT WORKED. YOU COULD DO ALL OF THE ABOVE YOURSELF AND SAVE A TON OF MONEY. I'LL GO ONLINE TONIGHT AND TRY TO FIND THE SEVEN PAGE SERVICE INSTRUCTION THAT THEY HAD TO FOLLOW. I HOPE THIS HELPS. THESE ARE GREAT TRUCKS AND WELL WORTH HOLDING ONTO RATHER THAN GETTING RID OF IT OVER THIS POOR DESIGN RELATED TO FOUR SPARK PLUGS .. THERE ARE VIDEOS RELATED TO THE ABOVE WHERE THE MECHANICS SUGGEST USING FORD MASTERCRAFT CARBERATUR CLEANER INSTEAD OF PENETRATING FLUID BUT AGAIN THAT RELATES TO THE TRITON MOTOR. https://www.google.com/search?q=FOR...57j33i160.24868j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 AND HERE THE VIDEO FOR REMOVING THE PLUGS ON A 2020 RANGER::

Sorry, can't even read these long all caps posts, gives me a headache.

 

[JesseS]

levittown ford is a forum member and may be able to get one for you. they used to be cheap like 40 or 50 bucks but now i think they are about 4 times that.

Yep, I got a cover for my '21 from them after that 1st thread about water in the wells.

 

[HenryMac]

Sorry, can't even read these long all caps posts, gives me a headache.

Posted by TOMDEE:

In 2006, I worked for a ford dealership in midland ontario for two years as their gofor/shuttle driver etc...because i'm mechanically minded, I always sat with the mechanics at lunch and listen to them hashing out their problems with various fixes but one of these problems is related to your problem.​

​

It involved changing the sparkplugs on the ford triton 5.4 and how all the spark plugs were seized in the block and the only way to get them out was a multi stage procedure/seven pages no less of step by step instructions on how to get these plugs out. It involved warming the engine, applying copious amounts of penetrating fluid, then, cooling the engine down, putting a wrench on the spark plug and applying light pressure, loosening, tightening without actually moving the spark plug, they had to do this over and over again, warming the engine, spraying tons of penetrating oil, letting the engine cool down to cold overnight and doing the wrench thing again, loosening tightening but not actually moving the the spark plug. It would take them days to remove all the plugs on this effing motor but it worked. you could do all of the above yourself and save a ton of money.​

​

I'll go online tonight and try to find the seven page service instruction that they had to follow. I hope this helps. these are great trucks and well worth holding onto rather than getting rid of it over this poor design related to four spark plugs .. there are videos related to the above where the mechanics suggest using ford mastercraft carberatur cleaner instead of penetrating fluid but again that relates to the triton motor.​

​

https://www.google.com/search?q=for...57j33i160.24868j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=utf-8​

​

and here the video for removing the plugs on a 2020 ranger: ​

How to change a 2020 Ford Ranger's Spark Plugs -How do they look after 40k miles?! - YouTube​

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