what made the spark plug blow out to start with?

crappy design.

ford spark plugs suck.

the old 2 valve motors have about 3 threads. So much of a problem that ford published a TSB with the procedure to helicoil the head on the vehicle.

the new 3 valve heads have the exact opposite problem. the spark plugs are way too long and they break off in the head. again, ford developed a special tool to fix it without removing the head.

all he needs to do is helicoil the one head. there are special tools and inserts available for just this purpose, look on ebay. it's a very common problem with those heads.

I have an 01 with the 5.4. Is that the same motor? It only has 60k on it.

yes he has an 02 with the 5.4

If you are going to keep the truck do it the right way, if you plan on trading it in on a new one, take the cheap way, but understand that I've seen it happen on quite a few 4.6L and 5.4L engines and have never given a warranty to a customer unless it gets done the right way. Food for thought, the newer 5.4L 3V engine doesn't have this problem.

I had a 2000. If I recall, there were specific ones, not many, but some, that could thrown plugs.

Mine was chipped (yes, back then it was a plug in chip :D ) with intake and exhaust. Never a problem one.

Wish my Excursion was the same. Although the Excursion will do 2 circles around the Expy. then park at the end of 1/4 and wait for it to catch up. :D 6.0's aren't trouble free, but when they're running, they are running.... :D

According to Ford, the "right way" is a helicoil. Maybe i'm not using the right term, i believe ford calls it a "timesert" or something to that effect, but it is an insert that can be installed in the head without removing the head that serves the same function as what we know as a helicoil.

And the new 3v engines have the exact opposite problem... the spark plugs break off in the head. Ford has already published a TSB and developed a special tool for that fix.