This is a How-To on drilling, tapping and rethreading a stipped head on an 02 F150 5.4 Tools needed: -Lisle rethread kit (highly recommend, comes with everything needed. Bit pricey so hopefully you can rent it somewhere) Amazon.com: Lisle LI65900 Rethreading Tool: Automotive -1/2" drive socket wrench -8-10" 1/2" drive extension (depending on what spark plug youre working on) -Shop Vac -10mm socket -7mm socket -hammer To start off i would remove the "5.4 Triton" throttle body cover by taking out the 3 10mm bolts. The plug i worked on was #7, thats the second from the drivers side from firewall. i found it easier to work by also unbolting the power steering fluid reservoir by removing the 3 7mm bolts and just moving the reseroir to the side. Make sure the plug and coil pack are taken out of the head. first thing you have to do is drill the remaining threads out of the head with the drill bit included in this Lisle kit. it connects to the 1/2" drive socket wrench. before inserting the drill bit into the hole you should put the red stop sleeve over the hole, make sure to put the sleeve the right way. you will notice the sleeve has angles on the base that will match up to the top of the hole. what this sleeve does is allow the drill bit and other tools used to only go so far into the engine. the tools have a lip on the top of them that will catch the top of the stop sleeve. once you drill all the remaining threads out its time to tap the whole. this also hooks up the 1/2" drive. put this in the head and turn until you feel no resistance inside. remember to put the red stop sleeve over the hole to avoid going too far down. after this step is finished you need to clean the engine out of any aluminum shards that have fallen into the engine. i started the engine and let the aluminum fly out of the head. i also used the vacumm attachment included in this kit to suck out any remaining shards. i left the vacumm fitting inside the head for a little bit. once the engine is clean of any shards of metal its time to put the thread insert in.grab the threaded tool from the kit and a steel thread insert and screw it on the tool the proper way. make sure the side with the teeth is threaded on the tool first. before putting the thread in you have to spray it with a primer and put a bead of locktite on it. after the locktite is put on put the tool in the hole and screw it in, dont forget your stop sleeve. keep turning until the tool stops on top of the stop sleeve. once it stops, unscrew the tool and pull out of the hole. the sleeve should stay inside the hole. after you remove the tool grab the last tool out of the kit (the name slipped my mind at the moment.) what you do with this tool is put it into the hole with the stop sleeve inplace. on the tool there is a white line. this white line needs to match the top of the stop sleeve. put the tool in the hole and hit it with the hammer. dont over do it. you can now put your new spark plug in the hole and you coil pack on top. job finished.
good write up man, i wouldnt have used that insert though... the only ones i trust are timesert and stitch and lock because the one you put in there can still back out. hopefully it works in the long run though!
no problem dudes! i figured it would be a handy one to have around. its simple to do. just takes a little time.