Took the van to the local Ford garage for a tune up. They broke a spark plug, made the plug hole larger and used a regular helicoil for the repair. Have a miss in #6 cylinder so I started changing plugs and found the repair. The helicoil came out with the plug. The garage does not have another helicoil that size but said they could install a larger one. No evidence of thread locker on the outside of the helicoil nor anti sieze between the plug and helicoil. Anyone have any solution to this or where to go in West Virginia for a suitable repair??? Crimped insert or something along the lines of a Cal-Van repair??? 2009 E250 4.6 engine. Thanks.

 

I would contact an attorney, if they won't replace the head. Those repairs are always just temporary.

 

Yea, right. An attorney would cost more than a new head plus installation.

 

They damaged your vehicle. This is their problem, not yours. Keep it that way.
You sue for damages plus attorney fees. The business should have insurance.
As soon as they get notified by your attorney they will probably notify their insurance and replace the head.
The only thing you did wrong is touching this after they worked on it. Now you have to show that they caused the problem, not you.
If you can avoid being blamed for the damage you're in good shape.

 

Something you might try,

I realize this may not sound pleasing , but it is an alternative.
See if the Ford dealer that did the repair can either provide you with the type repair they used so you could reinstall the temporary repair and get it back on the road or direct you to where they purchased the kit. Unless you ask , you will never know and they just might come across with some cooperation considering you found they did a sloppy job.. There are lots of Fords running around with that repair and have no further problems. We all would rather have the repair done to complete satisfaction, but sometimes the cost just doesn't sit well.
If you do it the better way , it may not be such a problem the next time you remove the plug.
What do you think?

 

Most car lines have a district rep who is there to protect the manufacturer. A lot of times they will insist that something gets done.
Some Ford engines, especially the V 10, have a history of blowing out spark plugs. I don't believe you said which engine you have,

 

Since you know, and they know, that they caused the initial problem and their attempt to fix it didn't work, I wouldn't get one finger dirty on this.
I'd talk to whoever I had to (shop manager, lawyer, etc.) and fill out paperwork with whoever I had to in order to get the shop who caused the problem to fix it properly or pay someone who can but I would not work on this myself unless you happen to be good at it. But don't delay. Time can be your enemy.
The more you try to fix this yourself the more you'll run yourself in circles and regret it in the end.
Just talking from my experience in similar situations.

 

You might have a tough time with this because as far as they are concerned the repair was effective until you tampered with it.

An entirely different question, was the miss coming from the cyl with the repair?

 

I took the thing in for a tune-up a couple of years ago. It started missing again on cylinder 6. When i pulled the plug the helicoil came out with it. I called the Ford stealership that installed it for another helicoil but they claim they don't have any with that thread anymore. Local repair shop has something close but I fear it isn't the same. It has a miss once in a while so I will try another coil pack on that cylinder. The plug was clean, almost too clean. I closed the gap on the plug which cured the miss for a while but on hot days under load the miss returns for a short time. On cool days it doesn't miss at all. Tells me there is a possibility the coil is overheating and breaks down a bit. Thanks for all the input but I fear it's too late. Now I have a poor feeling about Fords.

 

You are not alone.
There are lots of folks with problems that were not handled to a customer's satisfaction.
Different dealers work to their own policy.

I have never had to go to the extent of hiring an attorney for a repair and they are the only winners.
`If the dealership offers to repair the problem at no addl cost to you, I would consider it,,,,,,, insisting the repair be done according to accepted practices in the trade.which you are pretty much aware now.
You might try to ask them if they would guarantee their work if you brought it in at a later date for service related to the repair. (Like plug replacement).

Would like to know their reply, thanks.