if you look at that picture, you'll see that teh threads are at teh top of the plug, there's about a half inch missing off the bottom, the plug goes down thru the head in an area that traps debris, the area below the threads get gummed up with carbon, if they had threaded the plug all the way, and made it a little thicker around the porcelain, there would be no issue, but they cheapened out, making the plug thin and not threaded all the way down

heres a little more info about it
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/120

http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_n...-calls-routine

They are 3 piece spark plugs soldere together. It's a piss poor design at best, and it is VERY common to break one or two doing them. FORD gets about $400 to fix each one, and it is such a common issue that the price is listed out front on the board with the price of a tune-up.

i have never come across them here may google it to see what you guys are talking about

just had a look never seen anything like them on aussie cars now i understand

Its issues like that, I just dont understand why people are still buying the ford/chrysler gm junk.

And I used to be so pro-american cars..............then I had to work on them for a living....pffffft

Your entitled to your opinion, but I wouldn't call them all junk. Yes FORD has the mod motor spark plug problems up till about mid year 04, but the imports have just as many or more problems. I cringe everytime somebody brings me an import to work on. Finding parts can be just as hard as doing the repairs. I'll stick with the AMERICAN "junk" myself, and let others deal with the imports.

most of that Chrysler junk, is imported junk! Fords better engines are made by Yamaha and i don't think there is a better engine on the market right now than GM's LS series

Yep, the GM LS engines are a TRUE MARVEL of engineering. How many V8's out there can be pushed up to over 700HP on stock bottem ends, and still live for over 100K miles. Or how many gas engines out there are well known for going in excess of 500,000 miles with only minimal work(water pumps, plugs, wires, and alternators). there are to many to count of these LS engines in fleet service running 300K miles with never a wrench put on the engine except maintence or a water pump. And they sill get as good or better milage than most of tehse fancy over head camshaft engines with less wear parts to replace.

Its mostly chrysler that I really dont understand why people keep buying, I do think its the biggest junk on the road today.

I tend to stick with volvo and toyota/lexus anymore. Easy to work on, and parts are plenty and cheap.

Ford is not so bad, and neither is GM except the are goverment now. Dont tell me you hate obama, and then buy a new GM.

Chrysler though, is just junk. Period.

I just did some work on a TOYOTA, and it took me almost 3 weeks just to get the heater hoses for the dam thing so I could do the water pump, belts and hoses. EVERY single import I work on blows up in my face trying to find parts for it. Yes GM got a bailout, but in reality FORD got a BIGGER one(it just wasn't called a bailout). CHRYSLER has had some trouble and I haven't worked on that was newer than about an 07 so I don't have any recent experience with them. I just can't stand the mentality of epople who feel imports are so much better when in reality they are not. Go around to repair shops and ask what they dread seeing the most, I bet it's an import.