There could be something to the fuel and time. It's super common for the ford 3 valve modular to break spark plugs off in the head. The usual internet recommendation is to run costco gas for a while to help prevent them from breaking during removal. It's so common for them to break that there are several specialized extraction tools just for that motor. I bring it up to kinda support the idea that fuel could be a contributing factor. I added time too because I have run E85 exclusively for > a decade and I have never had an issue with R&R on my plugs. I do DD the car, and replace the plugs frequently.

 

My car sits for months at a time, with occasional startups to operating temps, so I'm always nervous about stuff like this.

 

BS. My car sat for two years with E85. Plugs came out fine. Never have an issue. What on earth would E85 have to do with your spark plug threads anyway. If your cylinders have E85 in them after shutting the car down you have bigger issues.

Don't over-torque your plugs. That's probably the issue here. Never use anti-seize which actually can make you over-torque them without knowing.

Been running E85 for over a decade now.

 

I always have my ear out for things to be cautious of. The whole "e85 sludge" thing made no sense to me, either until two people I know had it happen

 

You also used to be adamantly opposed to using E85 in general too.

I'm 99% sure people are over-torquing spark plugs. I used to check plugs before every car I tuned. Most of them I had to give some serious ugga uggas to break them loose. They should never be that torqued down. I never ever use the end of the socket handle to tighten my plugs, always use my hand towards the center. Makes sure I don't add too much torque. Or just use a damn torque wrench.

 

I'm locked down so I only look at it when i do a workout in the man cave every second night

 

Still against it, buuuut I can't argue with the IATs. I'm still all about pump gas unless at the track. You just gotta use a certain amount of care with e85. Once you know about that and work around it, the trade offs are acceptable for me. For now, anyway.
I use a torque wrench on spark plugs because I don't want to guess. Doesn't take any longer so I see no reason to be lazy with it.
I think a lot of people also tighten plugs when hot. And the uggas.

 

Besides lower gas mileage what is the issue with E85?

 

Hahha, don't get him started.

 

Just oddities I've dealt with but I doubt anyone else has, so my preference is to only use 85 when I need to. The issues I've had are relatively easy to avoid, assuming I don't forget, now that I know about them.
- rotted soft fuel line
- corrosion on fuel pump/hanger
- corrosion/rust on interior metal (had to leave a couple containers in the car for a few weeks)
- having to transport 25-30 gallons to the race track
- sludge used to be a concern, but I think that's finally resolved itself, though it still sticks in the back of my mind

There's more that I'm forgetting, but none of them are really much of a big deal. Some are no longer a problem for me I.E. now that I have Flexfuel, I no longer have the headache of swapping fuels.

Disclaimer: these are my reasons for my opinion and I don't expect anyone to agree LOL

 

What about dumping a can of Torco for the day? No Issues?

 

All that crap is good for is a heavy coating of deposits over everything.

 

Theoretically, could help stave off detonation. I tried it once and seemed to help, but never used it again because I didn't like turning everything in the combustion chamber orange.

 

Apparently, the thread ends of the plugs in the IX stick one-two threads into the chamber, these threads corroded and rusted thus when the spark plug came out they jammed. These plugs hadn't been removed in 2 years (8k miles done), and it idled a lot. 3 came out and wasted the threads in the head, cylinder 2 I did not get lucky and eventually broke off after trying for 2 hours to remove.

I've changed the plugs in Evos hundreds of times and not had this issue, but it's the only explanation I can come up with after investigating.

 

-E85 has nothing to do with the plugs getting stuck in the head. But, it is corrosive , leaves gunk deposite on piston crown/ring lands and cylinder walls. Not a fan of it, I much prefer toluene.
-Your mapping does though, very high cylinder temps, excessive use of anti-lag and two step launch control, or even high egts. Other reasons, include overtightening them, and or doing it while the head is very hot.
- Quality octane boosters do work, they also leave deposit on parts, due to MMT.
-Only problem I ever had with plug replacement, was when a couple of times, one of them, each time it was a different one, would split itself apart while unbolting it, leaving the outer threaded body half screwed on the head, but still freely unbolting. This was due to a faulty plug.


~Marios