CatchinBluegill wrote:
FWIW, what my regular mechanic (at one of the top independent garages in my city) said about the V-10 is that even on the later ones, the spark plugs have a tendency to break in half when removed, so I should either:
A) Steer clear of the V-10, or
B) If it's anywhere near 90,000 miles, ask the rental company to replace the spark plugs before I buy it, so that the person sitting there with half the plug in his hand isn't me. This is what I call the "new plug problem." The old one was just blowing the plug straight out of the head.
The spark plug matter has been resolved since at least 2008 when a redesigned plug was put into service, but for some reason the drama refuses to die. If plugs are breaking upon removal, the mechanic is doing it wrong. Ford has a TSB out with very specific instructions on how to remove a spark plug. Some mechanics are just too lazy and don't follow it, resulting in broken plugs. I've never once seen a plug break when following the Ford procedure.
