Goldenpony

That's a head stomper.

2007StangV6

You're telling me. Meant to post this picture earlier of the plugs. Left side is the NGK plug, Right side is the OEM Motorcraft.



They look to be the same size from the threads on up. The part where the boot goes is slightly longer on the NGK, but I don't think that would have anything to do with the cylinder hitting the plug. But you can see that the NGK is completely smashed in.

2007StangV6

Still running rough. I cleaned out the throttle body and gave the MAF sensor a spray down. That worked out before, but didn't seem so this time.

Anyone have any ideas? I can take another video if that would help determine the problem. The car sounds like it's going to die when I first started it up so I shut it off in case something was wrong.

Could it be the IAC? I saw a thread on here that said someone had to change theirs out.

JimC

That smashed electrode is very odd. Unless you did something putting the plug in to smash it down, then you have to determine what caused it; usually that is a result of the piston contacting the plug. Since you are continuing to have issues, pull all the plugs and see if you have more smashed electrodes. Any new or unusual noises from the engine bay?

JimC

Just listened to your videos on the first post. Does the car still sound like that?

2007StangV6

Smashed electrode is very weird. I'll pull all the plugs again and see if there are any more. I don't think I did anything different than I usually do when I change out plugs. I'm very careful when putting them in, definitely don't just shove them in hard randomly hoping to find the threads. Then I tighten them by hand, then finish it off with a socket wrench.

The car does not still sound like that. She sounds more normal now that i've cleaned the MAF sensor, throttle body, and put in a can of Seafoam.

There is still a slight tick that I hear and a "fluttering" sound when the car is moving, though I think they are the same sound.

There is also the thunk that happens every now and then at idle. Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, the car is sitting still. When I hear it, the RPM's drop, maybe to right about 500.

The car itself doesn't seem like it's lost any power. It accelerates like normal, drives like normal, and everything. Just the "thunk" and the "tick" are what i'm hearing now.

Pretty sure i'm just going to eat the costs and redo the spark plugs AND wires one more time. Advanced didn't have motorcraft and they don't keep the wires in stock, so i'll have to go to the local dealership to pick everything up. Hoping that will fix everything.

SCCAGT

First off, plugs and wires are items that work hand in hand. Always do them both. If you have already changed the wires and are wanting to go get a set of Motorcraft wires, odds are, you are wasting money. Getting to the spark plug thing. If that electrode got smashed AFTER it was installed, you have a serious problem that can only be cured by replacing/rebuilding engine. I had a kid with a 2V V8 Edge mustang come in to my shop and we found the same thing. Changed the plugs, and all was well....until the kid revved it up high again. Spark plug got smashed once again. This is caused by piston movement on the wrist pin. Not good. I hope that isn't your situation. Unless you just didn't notice the plug being smashed already before installing, and you didn't drop it, then you should be fine.

2007StangV6

SCCAGT, I did do both the plugs and wires at the same time. First set was the NGK with new wires, then the second set of plugs with the same wires, and now these motorcraft plugs, same wires.

I did get the information wrong, the cylinder with the smashed plug was cylinder 3, not 6. Not sure why I got that mixed up.

I did pull the plugs out and looked at all of them before installing new motorcraft plugs. All plugs looked fine. I wanted to see if the motorcraft plugs would get rid of the ticking sound, but it made it run worse. It sounds like the way it did with the NGK's. Going to go back to my second set of plugs, and try something else. Maybe push in the gap slightly.

SCCAGT

Gap is suppose to be .054-.056. Closing the gap any more than that can make it run poorly. If you don't have a gap tool, they are $1 at any parts store.

Without hearing it run, ticking sounds can come from a variety of places. Main ones:
-exhaust leak at the manifold
-injectors make their own normal ticking sound.

TfcCDR

I would take a look at the top of the piston from the cyl where the plug was bent. If you don't see impact marks, the electrode was bent during the installation or removal.

If you DO see impact marks, they should all be in one spot -- if it looks like measles, something else is ratting around in the top end or has been ejected through one of the valves.