Champion 7989 spark plugs are a one piece design that eliminates separating (image courtesy of ModdedMustangs.com).

Summary: In this auto repair blog post, we provide information about an improved design spark plug for Ford 3 valve engines. The original equipment Ford Motorcraft spark plugs have became notorious for breaking when being removed.  One of our previous articles is on broken spark plug removal; but who wants to put the same bad design back in?  There was a huge need a newly designed replacement spark plug that would work in place of Ford’s badly designed spark plug that has caused much expense and inconvenience for many Ford owners. This article is about that plug and has application information as well.

Ford owners looking for a better spark plug to put back in their vehicle after going through broken spark plug blues are turning to the Champion 7989 one piece design. The two piece Ford design has been a total nightmare for unsuspecting Ford owners and mechanics. The original spark plugs can break easily due to a combination a poorly designed spark plug and carbon build-up. If changing the spark plugs for the first time in one of these engines, read our repair article on Changing Ford Spark Plugs 4.6, 5.4, 6.8 – Ford TSB 08-7-6. The article provides information that may help the person doing the job, from prevent breaking the spark plugs to begin with – or least it may help prevent breaking anymore. If researching how to remove broken spark plugs, we have an article that shows the Lisle 65600 DLT in action doing  just that. We sold the Ford special service tool (303-1203) when there were no other options, but now the tool we sell the most of is the 65600. In most cases this tool does the job terrifically, preventing the need to remove the cylinder heads to remove the OE separated spark plugs. The Champion replacement plug at this time only comes in one heat range, however this seems a like a small trade-off to have a plug that’s not going to break at the time of the next tune up!

The Champion Double Platinum Power spark plug (7989) one-piece design is the one I would choose if faced with this dilemma. In addition to its problem-solving design, the new Champion Double Platinum Power plug features the conventional looking electrode which can be gapped. The Motorcraft design has a n electrode saddle which due to design CANNOT be re-gapped. The new Champion plug also has an exclusive Heat-Active alloy, which enables the plug to reach and maintain the optimum temperature range more efficiently.

The new Champion Double Platinum Power spark plug is available at this time for the following vehicles:

• Ford Expedition                   2005-08     5.4  V8
• Ford Explorer                       2006-07     4.6  V8
• Ford F-150                           2004-07     5.4  V8
• Ford F-250 Super Duty      2005-08     5.4  V8 and 6.8  V10
• Ford F-350 Super Duty      2005-08     5.4 V8 and 6.8  V10
• Ford F-450 Super Duty      2005-07     6.8 V10
• Ford F-550 Super Duty      2005-07     6.8 V10
• Ford Mustang                      2005-07     4.6 V8
• Lincoln Mark Lt.                  2006-07      5.4 V8)
• Lincoln Navigator               2005-07     5.4 V8
• Mercury Mountaineer         2006-07     4.6 V8

Please reference this auto repair article when quoting, linking to this page is welcomed and appreciated. If you are new to linking a page. 1. Left click the link; http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2009/10/champion-7989-one-piece-design-spark-plug-ford-3v/ to highlight  2. Right click, select copy 3. Right click and paste to forum, blog web page etc. Thanks! Disclaimer: Auto repair information/tips are designed for informational purposes only, without warranty of any kind, in no event shall the author of this site be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages sustained in the course of using the information in this article.

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Tags: Champion, 7989, One, Piece, Design, Spark, Plug, Ford, 3V

Lisle Auto Tools manufacturing company was started in Clarinda, Iowa in 1903 by C.A. Lisle. The first tool his company manufactured surprisingly wasn’t an automotive tool at all, it was water well drilling equipment powered by a horse! Subsequent products were not automotive related either, remember old ringer washers? And how about the old style manual push mower? Some twenty years after the Lisle Corporation was first started, the tool company made its first automotive product.

The product was an automotive specialty tool for resurfacing Ford Model T valves. Since car engine valves were refaced every 20,000 miles back then, the specialty tool became an instant hit. Lisle’s automotive specialty tool line now is made up of more than 400 tools, most of them made in the USA, right there at the original Clarinda location.

With Lisle’s innovative specialty tools and prices that are amazingly low, Lisle continues to forge ahead developing very useful auto specialty tools for today’s and tomorrow’s automobiles. If you would like to see some of the Lisle automotive specialty tools we offer, remember there’s free shipping at $99 and no sales tax charged outside the state of Florida. 

Tags: lisle, auto, automotive, specialty, car, tools

If  Ford’s poorly designed spark plugs would just all come out like these.

The lucky guy that removed the spark plugs in the picture above, has someone watching over him, he narrowly escaped huge spark plug problems. We have orders everyday for specialty tools to remove broken spark plugs from Fords. The two piece spark plug typically comes apart, separating the main part of the spark plug from the huge electrode shield. Ford’s spark plug design comes under the heading “what were they thinking?”  DenLors Tools was one of the first automotive tool suppliers to sell the Rotunda 303-1203 specialty tool that was recommended in the Ford TSB to remove these broken spark plugs when they were broken upon removal. Now, we have a much better solution in the LIS65600. The Lisle specialty tool has quickly became our most popular tool for removing Ford broken spark plugs. We have had only positive feedback from auto techs that have used this tool. Ford forums have recently been helping to spread the word of the success of this new tool. There is quite a buzz about a Ford class action suite regarding this poorly designed spark plug, but our role is to help those that are dealing with broken spark plug problems, to remove them as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

See the pictures below of the best tool for removing the broken electrode shield. I did a demo at a local shop to show how great this tool works. In fifteen minutes it was out and that was my first time using the tool.

Pusher in place, it screws into the spark plug hole and the center is ran down all the way.

 Puller in place, after the porcelain is pushed down to allow access. Apply slight pressure so the self tapping tool can bite into the sleeve.

Notice the electrode is broken but holds the porcelain from going further, also the tool only goes so far.

Success!

Linking: Please reference this article when quoting, linking to this page is welcomed and appreciated. If you are new to linking a page. 1. Left click the link; http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/11/ford-spark-plug-removal-tool-picture-of-fords-bad-design/ to highlight 2. Right click, select copy 3. Right click and paste to forum, blog web page etc. Thanks! Disclaimer: Repair tips are designed for informational purposes only, without warranty of any kind, in no event shall the author of this site be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages sustained in the course of using the information in this article. 

Related Articles

Champion 7989 One Piece Design Spark Plug – Ford 3V

Changing Ford Spark Plugs 4.6, 5.4, 6.8 – Ford TSB 08-7-6

Lisle 65600 Product Listing on Our Site

Tags: Ford, Spark, Plug, Removal, Tool, Picture, of, Ford's, Bad, Design, auto, specialty, remover, removal

New Specialty tool for handling Ford broken spark plugs!

If you’re a subscriber to our automotive tool blog, you know we pointed out in a previous post, the need for a less expensive alternative to the Ford Rotunda 303-1398. The SPX Rotunda 303-1203 removes broken spark plugs on some Ford 5.4 engines, 2004 and up. But it only works after the broken porcelain piece is out of the way. That’s where the new Lisle LIS 65600 automotive specialty tool, comes into the picture. The best way to try to prevent Ford spark plugs from breaking to begin with (per a Ford Technical Service Bulletin-TSB) is to loosen the spark plugs slightly and then soak them with penetrating oil. Sometimes the carbon build up around the electrode shield will still separate from the main part of the spark plug. So, in many cases the porcelain part of the spark plug will stay in. This prevents the use of the 303-1203. Rotunda offers the SPX 303-1398 to remove the porcelain or ceramic piece, but the pins included in this six hundred dollar kit can only be used once. The pins are secured into the center of the broken spark plug (where the electrode was) with loc-tite, then the puller is used to hopefully pull the ceramic piece out of the way, so the two hundred dollar 303-1203 can be used to remove the metal electrode shield.  

Lisle’s Method, using the LIS65600 auto specialty tool implements a different approach. First, if the broken porcelain is stuck down in the spark plug hole, the first part of the Lisle kit is used to press it down a little further without breaking it. Forcing it all the way into the the cylinder would create more work, don’t worry it doesn’t do that.  After the porcelain is further down, it allows room for the second part of the Lisle tool to be used. The left handed threads of the tool self taps into the electrode shield so it can then be pulled out along with the porcelain, still fully intact.

Linking: Please reference this article when quoting, linking to this page is welcomed and appreciated. If you are new to linking a page. 1. Left click the link; http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2008/10/alternative-to-the-rotunda-303-1398-auto-specialty-tool/ to highlight 2. Right click, select copy 3. Right click and paste to forum, blog web page etc. Thanks! Disclaimer: Repair tips are designed for informational purposes only, without warranty of any kind, in no event shall the author of this site be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages sustained in the course of using the information in this article.       

Tags: Alternative, Rotunda, 303-1398, 303-1203, LIS65600,, Lisle, LIS, 65600, Auto, Specialty, Tool, automotive, broken, spark, plug, blog, forum, tech, article