Greetings! I'm new to the forum, as I have recently purchased a 2011 F250 6.2L truck with 114k on the clock. I'm setting out to do some basic maintenance on it since it's in really good shape. I have 16 Motorcraft SP-526 plugs to go in it. Normally I'd replace wires when doing plugs, but in all my research on the forums and google I've found plenty about how to do the plugs themselves, but no one mentioning if they changed the wires and the COP boots when doing new spark plugs.

What do you guys do? Change none unless one breaks during removal, change all the wires only, or change the COP boots and wires every plug change? From what I can tell ford sells the wires individually at $20ea, and I am having a hard time finding a part number for the COP boots. I try to stick with OEM as much as possible to not introduce issues.

 

rock auto dot com . can give you a part number and idea of price..

I go by the see and feel method... cracked, dry, stiff......broken.
I do not see Motorcraft parts for this.

 

I saw those parts on rock auto. Not being OEM, especially for the COP boots, makes me leary. or am I being too picky?

 

picky is a personal thing.

all of mine are fine at 136,000 when I changed my spark plugs.. right after time of purchase

 

Its up to you. There is a good chance they will still be good yet but I'd at the minimum carry a couple spare boots and wires in the truck. Another way to look at it is that you saved a good chunk of change in labor doing the plug change yourself. So why not take some of that money saved to buy boots/wires and keep the old ones for spares.

 

Am not at all familiar with the 2011. My 2002 F250 6.8L V10 has a spring inside the boot of the COP. Is that spring the same as what you are referring to as a wire?

At any rate boots are nothing but a rubber shield or covering. While the boots are inexpensive, they only need replacing if cracked, hard and dried out, etc.

The springs inside the boot should be cleaned, as dirt and/or corrosion does collect on them.

Given the cost, and for peace of mind, I would replace the boots and springs when changing the plugs. But that is just paranoic me. Doing so will eliminate a potential source of misfire going forward.

 

The Coil is fine until it goes out, usually they last 200+ thousand miles.

I would replace the wires only if the boots or jacket is showing signs of wear.

 

When I sold my 2008 V10 last year it had 286,000 miles on the original cops. Unless you get a misfire in a cylinder why change them.

 

My company 6.2 has about 150,000 miles. I have had the plugs changed twice, nothing else electrical. It runs like the day I bought it

 

For those who have replaced the COP boots which ones did you use? I'm finding AC Delco and Denso parts

 

You can go to https://www.carid.com and input your trucks year make model engine 2w or 4wd etc etc and it will give you some prices on a bunch of after market and Motorcraft ones as well. You will see the parts numbers in the corner of each brand your looking at and of course the price.

If you want to see what the cost is from Ford go to Fordparts.com and then put in your vin and go thru the menu to find the parts your looking for and it should give you a price or if you want to shop a certain Ford Dealer you can put in the dealers ZIP code and it will tell you the prices from the dealer.

I would take the price you see on the Ford site and call up the dealer you deal with and ask the parts guy if you can give you a better deal, sometimes they can sometimes no, but never hurts to ask

 

The 6.2 has 2 plugs per cylinder. There are 8 COP's and 8 wires that run from the COP to the second plug. That is the wire he is referring to.

 

Correct. I'm not talking about the COP's themselves, but the replacable boots on the COP and the ignition wires for the 2nd spark plug. Basically asking if as a part of a plug change if the boots and wires also need to be changed on these engines

 

See, it shows that I was correct in stating I, "I not at all familiar with the 2011." Appreciate being enlightened!

 

Why are you talking, then?