Good deal, I normally work on forien cars and trucks and for years the spark plug was deep resessed like the ford I had a special socket made. I took a regulare spark plug socket and had it welded to a 6 in extention so it will not pull off and leave the socket down there. works great. also it helps to start them by using a straight rubber hose to get them started.
COP means "coil on plug" which the '98 trucks don't have. You have two seperate distributors on each side of the engine. COP's system has a seperate coil on top of each plug and you can't miss it.
Now, as far as removing the boots (spark plug wires) on top of the plugs, just put a small nylon rope under each wire, grab each end and give it a firm pull. After you remove each rubber boot, you need to vacuum out the hole of any gritty sand, and who knows what, that found it's way down there...believe me you do have grit, and it'll fall into the cylinder if you don't vacuum out. I use a shop vac, then I shove in a small 1 inch tube I have laying around as an extension on the end of the shop vac hose. I improvised by getting a one inch lawn sprinkler line, and duck taped it to the vaccuum hose. Then I find other narrower tubes and keep attaching them successively, like auto vacuum lines, all the way down to a half inch or less. when I got it narrowed down enough I stick the end down the spark plug tube to suck out all the debris. And I keep this extension in my toolbox for the next time I replace the plugs. Don't forget the antisieze on each plug thread for the next time.
I want to edit this writeup advisory, because I learned that my words in parenthesis (spark plug wires) received an underline link. When you click onto it, it advertises Bosch spark plug wires. Well let me advise you NOT to use Bosch wires on your truck. Our Fords burn too hot, and the Bosch plugs don't stand up to this heat. The electrodes usually deteriorate prematurely...they just melt off. I use Motorcraft...the way Mr. Ford intended it.
I second the motorcraft parts use. I learned that one the hard way, and ended up buying all new motorcraft parts(plug wires, spark plugs, etc...) after spending the bucks on the named brand.
Yeah, gonna do that, replaced air filter recently, cleaned IAC, cleaned MAF, installed new radiator, fuel filter on the list to do this week also. I am getting a little hesitation and engine shudder when coming to a stop, then it smooths out. No idea what the previous owner of vehicle ever did for maintenance. Not an awful shudder, just enough to make me think time to do some maintenance.
My truck(109,00 miles) started konking out at stops and wouldn't idle. I had to powerbrake to and from work - that sucked. I swapped out the MAF, but that didn't work. Luckily, I was able to get my old MAF back from Advance Auto parts, along with my money, and I bought a new IAC for $46. That took care of the problem. A few friends I've talked to said they've had to replace the IAC on their Fords as well.
Funny thing. My wife will groan about the cost of new tools, and then something like a stalled engine will come up and those babies pay for themselves and then some....
I'd like to add another strategy of using compressed air to blow out the spark plug wells. For like $10 or so at the local hardware store, I got a blow gun that has a thin snout (slightly smaller than a straw) maybe like 10" long or so... worked like a charm. As for the vacum bit, I really didn't have any way to be sure that I was getting out all that junk.
I'd like to add another strategy of using compressed air to blow out the spark plug wells. For like $10 or so at the local hardware store, I got a blow gun that has a thin snout (slightly smaller than a straw) maybe like 10" long or so... worked like a charm. As for the vacum bit, I really didn't have any way to be sure that I was getting out all that junk.
Kevdadi,
Yes, I agree with blowing compressed air to clean out the tubes of the cylinders. I may try that as well. I've always just used my vacuum method because that's what my Ford mechanic did, so I copied him...I'm gonna use my compressor next time. To make sure you got the tubes cleaned out, you can get a mechanic's mirror. I just bought one. I'ts a mirror on an antenna extension. Use a flashlight to aim it just so and that's how I can look down the holes for agood bird's eye view. I don't think cylinder's 7 and 8 will work though...too cramped for space.
I recently visited my local Firestone car care center and was told that Ford has issued a "service advisory" stating that spark plug replacement should be followed by a re-torquing after another 500 miles. They charge the same fee (minus the plug cost) to do this. Apparently this is in response to the possibility of blowing the plugs due to plugs working themselves loose in the aluminum heads. I have 87K on my 150 4.6 and am considering changing the plugs myself....is this something that I should tackle or let the pros at the dealership have it or Firstone have it?
Getting ready to replace all the plugs on my 2001 5.4 after a service engine light related to a misfire on #7. Aside from replacing the plugs, should the COP's be replaced too, or what should be included as part of this tune up? Got a $63 quote at autozone for the coil pack. Is the coil pack the set of COPs and wires? Additionally the light was associated with a "fuel injector fault." Could the misfire be responsible for this? I've got a good set of wrenches and 2 days off, but I've never replaced the plugs on a car before and I'm concerned I might be getting on over my head trying to save a buck. What could I expect to pay to have a mechanic do it? I like to consider myself a do-it yourselfer, but in addition to a craftsman mechanics set, what additional tools should I purchase?
Last edited by geocraig77; 11-02-2005 at 07:32 PM.
Reason: Additions
I too purchased a new Ford F 150 w/ the COPS system. So I'm looking forward to eventually changing the plugs, wires, COPs, fuel injectors etc. etc.; eventually al will give me trouble. Somewhere in this thread someone had really good tool suggestions. One was a wobble head ratchet set,( what is that?) and something that won't allow the sockets to detach from the extensions when blindly diving down tubes fishing for the plugs. Can anyone recall who suggested these good tools? That would be a good reply to read and possible print out for future reference. I always use anti-sieze on my plug threads, and don't overtighten at all on the plugs...aluminum heads, remember? Use Motorcraft plugs (factory recommended) stay away from Bosch ( that's my recommendation, from experience).
a coil pack sends the spark to a set of four cylinders, the cop (coil on plug) = each spark plug has its onw coil and it is on top of the plug. I would sugest a special long spark plug wrench so that the wrench won't get stuck on the plug and give you problems. Blow or vaccum the well area of the plug before removing to get the junk out. just take your time and a stool (sturdy) to stand on helps alot. follow the instructions.
You should read what whimsey says in this thread. He wrote on 10-19-05, or seek out page 19, one page back from this current page 20, pertaining to tools needed.
Much thanks to racerguy for the step by step, as well as all of the advice from lance, Philco, the others. The wobble head extension in my opinion is a necessity; it made the removal and installation of the plugs much easier. At a consistent pace it took about 3 to 3.5 hours. I did not like the idea of uncovering so much of the fuel sytem so I covered some of the openings with surgical gloves (wearing the gloves is a good way to keep your hand and fingernails clean). As expected, the 7 plug was corroded and nasty, and 7 and 8 were a beeotch to get off. I'm glad I started on the driver side. Fuel rails were loosened but kept on (driver side only). U-joints are a must, and the torque wrench I bought and tried to use seemed useless with some of the extensions an U-joints needed. Dealer plugs vs. autozone were 2 X's higher. I'm sorry, but dealers wow! $103 per hour labor! I assume it would have cost me 3-4 hundy to have them do it, and I don't know about you boys but they would have to be pretty fast to even be considered. Truck runs great now, I will have to go ahead and have the injectors cleaned professionally (unless there is a thread for that). I initially thought the 60,000 service the guy I bought the truck from would have included the plug change (I bought the truck 6 mos. ago w/ 78.000 Miles). Apparently not.
You can go to Autozone or Pep Boys and find the great product called Lucas Fuel Injector cleaner. Get the big bottle and you can follow their instructions on how much to put into an enpty tank before filling up with gas. I believe they recommend 3 oz. per 10 gallons...I usually give it a little more. After a few miles driven yu're gonna notice a nice improvement in pickup speed.
Actually I have already received the Lucas fuel additive. From the talk of the guy at autozone this stuff rules. And to clarify, I have no problem with mechanics at dealerships, I know how it works b/c it's the same way where I work. The worker makes about 1/5 of what the "man" pays. But the man is the man.
Last edited by geocraig77; 11-04-2005 at 02:09 AM.
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lucas additive
