Triton v10 blown plug - Heli coil vs.new head

Good people,

I have a '99 Ford E350 van with the Triton V10 motor. I'm looking for
some advice on reparing a blown spark plug. Here's the story...

March 1 2006: Took the vehicle to a Ford dealership in Ithaca, New
York, because it was "missing" or "misfiring", particularly up hills.
They diagnosed the problem and told me the spark plug and coil assembly
had to be replaced on cylinder #4. I authorized the repair. Cost: about
$500.

March 14 2006: During a cross country trip, the van breaks down in
Gallup, New Mexico (approx. 2500 miles after the repair). It's making a
loud "popping" noise, that sounds like some sort of compression leak.
The vehicle is towed to the local Ford dealership, where they tell me
that spark plug #4 has blown out, taking the threads with it. The head
needs to be replaced, at a cost of about $3000. They tell me the
dealership in New York is clearly at fault--they probably over
tightened the plug. I am told this is a common problem with these
Triton heads.

March 16 2006: After two days of conversations with both dealerships,
Ford in New York will not accept responsibility for the repair.
Apparently, there's nothing in their charter about ethical treatment of
customers. It's all about the benjamins.

Looks like I have to pay for the repair myself. The local dealership
tells me there's a "quick fix" alternative to replacing the
head--inserting a Heli coil. It's not a long term solution, but it will
get me home.

So here's the issue: The Heli coil is a much cheaper solution than
replacing the entire head, which is very appealing. But how reliable is
the Heli coil? Is it an appropriate solution for blown threads on one
of these Triton aluminum heads? What's the life expectency of this
solution? Will it last at least long enough to get me the remaining
1500 miles to complete my trip? Someone, please tell me if this Heli
coil solution is just plain WRONG, and I need to pay the big bucks and
replace the head.

Thanks!!
Ron

<ron.rice DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1142568570.390484.175640@z34g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Good people,
>
> I have a '99 Ford E350 van with the Triton V10 motor. I'm looking for
> some advice on reparing a blown spark plug. Here's the story...
>
> March 1 2006: Took the vehicle to a Ford dealership in Ithaca, New
> York, because it was "missing" or "misfiring", particularly up hills.
> They diagnosed the problem and told me the spark plug and coil assembly
> had to be replaced on cylinder #4. I authorized the repair. Cost: about
> $500.
>
> March 14 2006: During a cross country trip, the van breaks down in
> Gallup, New Mexico (approx. 2500 miles after the repair). It's making a
> loud "popping" noise, that sounds like some sort of compression leak.
> The vehicle is towed to the local Ford dealership, where they tell me
> that spark plug #4 has blown out, taking the threads with it. The head
> needs to be replaced, at a cost of about $3000. They tell me the
> dealership in New York is clearly at fault--they probably over
> tightened the plug. I am told this is a common problem with these
> Triton heads.
>
> March 16 2006: After two days of conversations with both dealerships,
> Ford in New York will not accept responsibility for the repair.
> Apparently, there's nothing in their charter about ethical treatment of
> customers. It's all about the benjamins.
>
> Looks like I have to pay for the repair myself. The local dealership
> tells me there's a "quick fix" alternative to replacing the
> head--inserting a Heli coil. It's not a long term solution, but it will
> get me home.
>
> So here's the issue: The Heli coil is a much cheaper solution than
> replacing the entire head, which is very appealing. But how reliable is
> the Heli coil? Is it an appropriate solution for blown threads on one
> of these Triton aluminum heads? What's the life expectency of this
> solution? Will it last at least long enough to get me the remaining
> 1500 miles to complete my trip? Someone, please tell me if this Heli
> coil solution is just plain WRONG, and I need to pay the big bucks and
> replace the head.
>
> Thanks!!
> Ron
>

The Ford V10 and, I believe, one of the V8s had (have) a reputation for
blowing plugs. The Ford warranty fix was to install a heli coil or similar
as a permanent fix as I recall.

RCE