Expedition body is raised for easier cylinder head removal.

If removing a cylinder head on an Expedition or Navigator, many professional technicians will do a “Body Off” procedure which makes the engine much more accessible. Although this appears to be over dramatic and an over-kill, it really doesn’t take that long to raise the body once you know what to do. Flat rate technicians make their money by getting the job done in the shortest period of time. And if that means seemingly going to extremes, so be it!

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Calvan 11/16″ drill bit used with air ratchet and 1/2″ socket.

DenLors tools has sold hundreds of the Calvan spark plug repair kits and has had no reported failures. We’ve answered many questions about Ford spark plug thread repairs over the last couple of years and have included them in various places on our site. Now in this auto repair blog ALL of the frequently asked questions to date are posted here in one central location, if you don’t see your question answered, feel free to use the comment form and ask. Included here are questions about repairing spark plug holes after Lisle, Time Sert, Big Sert, or other brands that are thicker than the Heli-Coil, but still have managed to fail and allow the spark plug to blow out AGAIN. We are not out to discredit or slam any other spark plug insert company, we just know from our customer feedback what works and what just works for awhile. The questions below answer questions from real customers with this real problem. We recommend the Calvan Ford spark plug insert repair kit as the best solution, the following will help show why.

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See the quality difference in the Heli-Coil (top) & the Calvan (bottom)

In this automotive repair/tool blog we cover Ford spark plugs blown out of cylinder heads, it’s still a huge problem. To date we have sold hundreds of Calvan spark plug thread insert tool kits and have had no one call back to say it was too hard or it didn’t work. The included video makes the spark plug insert repair easy to understand and answers all the questions about how this job can be done in the vehicle saving thousands of dollars. We are commonly asked if the Calvan spark plug repair kit will work after TimeSert, Heli-Coil or some other thin, weak repair has failed and have blown out AGAIN. The answer is yes, Calvan inserts are much thicker than the competitor’s inserts and will work much like an over-size oil drain plug will work in a stripped out oil pan. Since the Calvan insert is not just a coil of wire like the Heli-Coil it is much stronger. And since the Calvan insert is thicker than the Time Sert, many times it can be used when the Time Sert is spit out.

This YouTube Video Shows a Classic Auto Assembly Line

Automotive assembly lines sure have changed, I didn’t see one robot! They were pretty advanced though considering this was in the 60’s. One of the most automated tools I saw in this car assembly line video was the spot welder for welding the body panels together. The spot welder was kind of similar to the Miller spot welder that we sell.

Metal Stamping.  The huge metal stamping press, for creating and shaping the metal body panels is just cool. Assembly line processes have always been a curiosity of mine. I worked on cars for years and have found myself asking, How  did they do that?  Thanks to video sites like YouTube, it’s easy to have many questions answered.

7,000 Gallons of Paint.  I like the fact that these VW cars were submersed completely in paint. I know that when the Ford Mustang was built in the 60’s they were certainly not dipped. My 1967 Convertible Ford Mustang Cowl Repair was needed mainly because the body wasn’t dipped or rust proofed in any way on the backside of the body panel. That was a nightmare auto repair for me, since I’m more of a mechanical repair guy and not a body or paint man. 

What’s Old is New Again.  Who knows Mexico and maybe Cuba could possibly be using this assembly line footage in their VW manufacturing plants as a new employee training film!

This picture shows some side dash bolts with trim removed.

A Ford Explorer that has a full charge of refrigerant and is cooling, but is not quite cool enough may have a broken fresh air door. The fresh air door is also called a recirculate door, max air door or main air inlet door. The function of the door is to let fresh air in, or to recirculate the inside air. When the air conditioning control is set to the max position, the fresh air door seals off the outside air to recirculate the air in the passenger compartment. When the air is recirculated, cooler air temperatures can be obtained since the air is cooler to begin with, compared to the outside air.

Not Just Ford. Any vehicle with a broken recirculation door or actuator that moves this door can have this problem. However a broken blend door is a common problem with the Ford Explorer. This can be checked easily. First, listen for increased air flow when changing the the AC to max. If the air doesn’t sound louder in the max position, there’s a good chance the recirculate door is broken. Next open the glove box and look for movement of the recirculate door when switching from normal to max air.

Fresh Air door assembly, broken door fell to the bottom.

Dash Removal. If the door is broken, dash removal is required to access and change the door assembly. Book time pays 6.9 hours not including check out time and evacuation and recharging. This job can be done by an experienced technician in about 45 minutes, with no need to evacuate and recharge the AC system. The dash is not completely removed, just unbolted and swung out to rest on the passenger seat to allow removal and replacement of the main air inlet door assembly.

Remove the Console. Remove the center console upper trim (one 7mm screw), unplugging the power outlet. There are two 10mm bolts securing the front of the console to the floorboard. Move the seats forward, from the back seat area remove  two 10mm bolts from the sides of the console. Now the console is loose, place it to the side.

Unbolting the Dash. After disconnecting the battery, remove the trim panels from the sides of the dash and the defrost trim from the top. There are two bolts on each side and two on the top. Unbolt the steering coupler near the driver’s floorboard. There is one hidden 10mm bolt that is accessed from the outside.

Hidden Dash 10mm Dash Bolt

Sneaking it Out. No need to remove the wipers and cowl trim. Gently pry the cowl trim up and leave it propped up about an inch and a half to allow access to the bolt. Have a magnet pick up tool handy in case the bolt falls out of the socket. Unbolt the wiring harness on the right side and unplug the antenna. 

Swing the dash out to access the recirculate door

Swing It. Slowly swing the dash out with care not to put excessive force on the wiring. Once the dash is pulled back, remove the 8mm screws from the metal support bracket and the top of the door assembly. There are two 8mm screws that cannot be accessed, pull on the fresh air door assembly break it away from the evaporator case. Now remove the 8mm screws and remaining plastic, making sure no plastic pieces fall into the blower fan.

Use Right Stuff Sealant at the Mounting Points Marked in the Picture

Right Stuff. Instead of re-using the two 8mm screws at the hard to access attaching points near the firewall, apply right stuff sealant or a similar substance to secure the fresh air door assembly. Then re-attach the remaining 8mm screws that can be accessed. By using the right stuff securing method, much time is saved. Now re-install the dash and console and an eight hour job is completed in about 45 minutes!     

OK, finally Calvan has released their version of the OTC 303-1203. The Calvan is pictured on the left and the Rotunda is on the right. Calvan actually did a very nice job, improving on the Ford design and including a storage case. And they even upgraded the thread tap by adding badly needed length to it to reach down in the spark plug recess of the cylinder head. Still no word about if Calvan is going to tackle the production of a lower cost equivelant to the 303-1398 porcelain remover. We can special order the 303-1398, but with the price around $700 we have refused to stock them. Hopefully someone will figure out an easier, less expensive way to remove the porcelain without the over-priced Rotunda 303-1398. Early TSB’s from Ford said to remove the porcelain with needle nose vice grips. I’ve also talked to tech’s that chip away at the porcelain until it can be removed piece by piece. Mustangs, F150’s, Vans and Rv’s are affected, any Ford with a 4.6 or 5.4 could have this problem. If anyone has found an effective way to remove the porcelain, please comment. At least now we have a nice alternative in the Calvan 39100 to the Rotunda 303-1203.