I've replaced plugs on quite a few 5.4Ls now (the 4.6L with plug wires is similar) and once you've done a set they really are not as bad as they look. Contrary to what some people will say, you don't have to remove the fuel rails. The Coil On Plug (COP) assemblies will come out past the fuel rail. I take an old piece of seat foam and put it on top of the radiator support to the engine to allow me to lay on it without hurting my tummy. It makes the job way less painful.

Start by removing the cover over the throttle body (the black plastic cover that says "5.4" on it). There are three 10mm head bolts that hold it on. Next remove the air intake tube from the throttle body to the air filter housing. You loosen the hose clamps at either end of it, disconnect the connector on the AT (about half way up the air intake hose), the pull out the small hoses that go into the air intake tube near the throttle body. Next remove the brace from the power steering reservoir to thermostat housing. There are three 8mm or 5/16" head screws that hold it on. Now you should be able to see the COPs.

To remove the COPs you can use a 7mm or 9/32" wrench or nut driver or socket, extension and ratchet or all of the above. If you turn the fuel injectors to the side it will give you more room to work with the COPs. Unplug the connector on each COP by pressing the tab in and pulling on the connector. After you're done that just twist and pull the COPs out. A couple of the COPs on the driver's side and #4 on the passenger's side are a bit hard to get at but with some patience they will come out.

After you've removed the COPs take a blow gun and blow out the spark plug holes. Don't be surprised if there is rust and junk in them. Next you can actually remove the plugs. Use a combination of extensions, swivels (universal joints), sockets and ratchets to get at them. Whatever works best for you is good.

On the harder ones to get at I usually use a socket with a 4" extension, then a swivel, then a long extension, then the ratchet. The plugs are way down in the holes which is why I use the extension then the swivel. The swivel makes it easier to clear the firewall.

Set the gap on the new plugs to whatever it says on your emissions decal on the radiator support....usually .052-.056". Apply a small amount of anti-seize to the threads only on the spark plug. You can use a piece of vacuum hose or fuel hose over the end of the plug to get it started in the hole. Carefully start the plugs in their holes. If you can't get them most of the way in by hand with the hose take a look and see why not. Cross threaded plug threads are no fun! The plugs are to be tightened to 13 lb-ft. which is just hand tight with a short ratchet. Don't over tighten them! The threads in the aluminum heads have enough problems as it is. After that just put everything back together in reverse order. Apply some dielectric grease to the plug boots as well to help seal them.

I've done enough of these that I can replace the plugs in approximately 45 minutes but don't be surprised if the first time you do it takes a few hours.

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Thinking of buying used backhoes? It could be that you're trying to save some money or that its need may not be that vital to warrant a new equipment. However, buying a used one doesn't really have to mean that you need to buy the first one that you can lay your eyes on. You still have to consider their quality and even the service that can be offered by the supplier.

If you're thinking of purchasing used Caterpillar equipment or backhoe, you can take note of the following tips:

1. Check the essential parts of the Caterpillar equipment. Used backhoes should still consist of three parts. These include the tractor, loader, and the bucket, which can be found at the back end of the tractor. If one of them is missing or not functioning properly, ask the supplier if they can provide the part and how much it may possibly cost you. Of course, it doesn't hurt to inquire if you can get the missing part for free.

2. Conduct an inspection first before you buy used backhoes. Consumers tend to overlook the importance of having a thorough inspection. It doesn't mean that it's Caterpillar equipment it's not prone to wear and tear. In the same way, it doesn't mean that when the supplier says they're still in good working condition, the used backhoes are. Just to make sure that you're still making a good investment on your purchase-it's still your money anyway-check the equipment yourself. Take note of its hydraulics as well as mechanical and electrical issues. As much as possible, the parts should not be close to deterioration; otherwise, you could save on the purchase but spend a lot on the maintenance costs.

3. Bring an expert with you. This is necessary when you don't know how to inspect a used backhoe yourself. You may want to bring someone who knows Caterpillar equipment too well. Most definitely, the supplier can provide you with one, but to avoid any biases, you can select your own. In the end, though, the inspector can only provide you with recommendations, and the final decision rests upon you. Make sure that you can take note of everything that he's going to say.

4. Make sure that you can expect good customer support. If there's one thing that a used backhoe is prone too, it would be downtime, and with that, you absolutely need excellent customer support. Make sure that the supplier can extend the right kind of assistance to you. It should be able to give you the necessary parts as well as the overhaul just in case the entire Caterpillar equipment breaks down.

This also means that you should also know the company's policies when it comes to maintenance. How do they manage Caterpillar equipment breakdown? How long does it take for them to repair the used backhoe? How much would you spend for the maintenance? Can they offer discounts for a period of time?

Thinking of buying used backhoes? The best choice will be a Caterpillar equipment, and you can get it at Cleveland Brothers. They can also extend an exceptional customer support, where you can look forward to easy change of parts. You can also search through their website of the available backhoes that you can buy.

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Today welding is the most common method used for joining steel fabrications largely because of the speed at which joints can be made and the reliability of these joints in service. However because most welding operations are now relatively simple to perform it is all too easy to forget the complexity of the chemical and metallurgical actions that are taking place when the weld is being deposited. Therefore not surprisingly welds occasionally fail.

The most common causes of weld failure can be attributed to one of the following causes:-

Overload.
Before applying the various design formulas, the problem itself must be analysed and clearly stated. This is not always obvious, and trying to solve the wrong problem can quickly lead to insufficient design stresses. When a load is placed on a member, stress and strain result. Stress is the internal resistance to the applied force. Strain is the amount of "give or deformation caused by the stress, such as deflection in bending, elongation in tension, contraction in compression, and angular twist in torsion.

For example of this is a lifting lug on a pressure vessel. If the vessel is lifted by a spreader beam the loading condition on the lug consists of a simple vertical force putting the attachment welds either in tension or shear. However if the vessel is lifted with a rope sling the loading condition becomes more complex because there is now a horizontal component of the force to consider as well a the vertical one, which effectively increases the loading on the welds.

Joint Design.
A welded joint should be designed such that the welder can easily manipulate the electrode to ensure good fusion, particularly in the root of the joint. The profile of each run should be roughly as wide as it is deep; wide shallow weld beads and particularly deep narrow beads are both ideal candidates for hot cracking.


Solidification Crack
This type of cracking occurs when the weld is starting to solidify, in the pasty state, as it posses very little strength and therefore any residual loading is likely to cause it to break before it has fully solidified. The problem can be compounded by impurities that are forced out of the solidifying weld, becoming trapped in the centre of the weld during final solidification. Hot cracking can occur where their is a high degree of restraint in the structure of the fabrication or where the structure moves slightly as the weld solidifies.

A good example of this type of failure is on the weld used to secure the small plug in the mandrill hole of a spun dished head on a pressure vessel, a weld that many people do not take seriously because of its size. As the weld cools it contracts causing the plug to move , if the weld at the other side of the plug is still solidifying it could easily fail. This is because of the very high contraction stresses generated by the plug as the weld starts to solidify.

Bad Welding Method.Hydrogen Crack
It is very important when carrying out any welding to ensure that it is done correctly. Consideration has to be given to all aspects of the process and also the environment. Often welding has to be carried out under site conditions, the welding is often carried out in situation so that small general purpose electrodes are used resulting in low weld heat input which when combined with no preheat gives very rapid heat dissipation Which can create a hard micro structure particularly in the location of the heat affected zone. This along with high levels of residual stress will create the ideal condition for hydrogen Hydrogen Fisheyes In A Tensile Test Pieceinduced cracking,
which although normally associated with high strength steels can occur in low carbon steels if the conditions are right. The resulting crack may not occur immediately the weld cools down but some time afterward, therefore if this type of failure is expected non destructive examination should be delayed by at least 48 hours after welding.




Metallurgical failure.
Materials that are to be welded have to tolerate severe thermal transients created by the welding process without suffering deterioration of their mechanical properties or adverse phase changes. The metallurgical composition or temper conditions of certain types of metal may make them unsuitable to weld or may require special controls to be imposed during the welding operation. For example some steels that are easy to machine may contain high levels of sulphur that may result in cracking of any attaching weld. Therefore this type of material should not be used on load bearing fabricated items such as the eye bolts that are often found holding down manway covers on pressure vessels.

Weld Defects.
They can usually be attributed to the welders inability to set up and manipulate the welding equipment; although bad joint design and faulty welding equipment can also be responsible. The most significant defects are cracks and those that resemble cracks such as lack of fusion, cold overlap etc. This is because of the risk that the crack may become unstable and propagate when loaded causing a dramatic failure often by brittle fracture.

Lack Of Fusion Defect
Porosity seldom causes weld failure in multi-run welds however it is a sign that something has gone wrong with welding operation and can often be caused by other defects that may not have been detected such as lack of side wall fusion. Weld profile can also cause failure, if the weld size is too small because the joint is underfilled with weld then its load carrying capability will be reduced, if the joint contains excessive weld metal this can create a notch effect which can lead to failure by fatigue if the loading condition fluctuates. Bad fit up excessive root penetration on single sided welds can create defects in the root of the weld such as wormholes and even cracking. Distortion of welded joints can cause failure by buckling if the welded member is subjected to compressive loads.

Guidance on imperfection levels of welded joints is given in EN ISO 5817

To minimise these problems the following points should be considered:-

1.Design of the weld based on the loading condition(s) the joint will carry

2.Accessibility to enable ease of welding

3.Control of distortion

4.Careful consideration of the welding environment

5.Matching welding process with materials

6.A factor of safty applied to the design stress of the weld which should be based on the consequance of weld failure and the level of non destructive testing that is to be carried out.


For example a pressure vessel made to PD5500 category 3, (no radiographic inspection), can be up to twice a thick as an equivalent vessel made to category 2, (10% Radiography). Fillet welds and Partial Penetration welds should be used with care as they contain lack of fusion, they are only suitable for relatively low stressed joints that are not subject to any form of fatigue loading and should be used with a suitable factor of safety, which for fillet welds is at least two.

Once the weld has been designed it is then necessary to decide upon the welding method, this is then documented in the form of a welding procedure specification. The European Welding Standard for welding procedures, EN ISO 15609-1 (formerly EN288 Part 2), gives guidance on the content and format of such a specification.

However this document on its own is not sufficient because we need to prove that this welding method will produce a weld of acceptable quality possessing the right mechanical properties. Therefore it is necessary to simulate the joint in all essential features and weld it under normal production conditions. The completed joint can then be subject to both non destructive and destructive examinations to determine if the joint is going to be suitable for the application.

For most stringent applications the European Standard EN ISO 15614 Part 1 (formerly EN 288 Part 3) is preferred for welding procedure tests in steel materials and part 2 for Aluminium and its alloys. There are other parts of EN 288 that deal with alternative routes for qualifying procedures, other than a procedure test, for less onerous applications. See Welding Procedure Section for details.

Once we have established that the proposed welding method is satisfactory we then have to ensure that the production welds will also be of the same quality. This involves making sure the welders posses the required skill and knowledge to deposit sound welds in accordance with the approved procedure. Whilst we can be confident that the welder who did the procedure will be able, any other welder used must also demonstrate his ability by successfully completing a welder approval test. The preferred standard for this is EN 287 Part 1 for steel and part 2 for aluminium and its alloys. This standard not only tests the performance of the welder but also requires it to be monitored and revalidated every 2 years to ensure that the welders skill can be relied upon.

Finally make sure that when the welding operation is being carried out it is supervised and coordinated by properly qualified personnel.

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