COP and spark plug recommendations

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Apr 5, 2013 | 12:35 PM

wkbrdtx

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From: Houston

COP and spark plug recommendations

My 03 EB 5.4L now has 202K on it. Time for new plugs. Last replaced at 100K by Ford. They want $350+ to do the work. I have more time than money and will consider doing it myself. (Ford charged about $350 to replace the #8 coil last year after it threw a code). If I change the plugs and coils myself, what do you recommend? Coils - $60 made in China, $200 for Accel and $303 for Motorcraft. Plugs - Autolite, NGK, Bosch $3.50 - $4.00 each. Motorcraft $5.26 each. (all spark plugs listed are "platinum").

Thank you in advance.

Apr 5, 2013 | 12:38 PM

alloro

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From: 0,0,1

Go with the Motorcraft plugs and the eBay COPs. If the old COPs are good, I'd keep a couple of them around for spares. There have been reports of the Accel COPs developing cracks.

Apr 7, 2013 | 11:12 AM

r2millers

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From: Southern Cal

Quote:

Originally Posted by alloro

Go with the Motorcraft plugs and the eBay COPs. If the old COPs are good, I'd keep a couple of them around for spares. There have been reports of the Accel COPs developing cracks.

To alloro's point, go with the best, knowing that there's a good reason they want to charge you 350 bucks. It is a real pain to access the back plugs and you don't want to do it again soon.
However, You might do what i did, replace the back two coil paks knowing you don't want any issues and inspect the others and/or replace the rubber boots to save a few bucks.
Most coil paks go bad when the rubber boots crack and allow the spark to ground out against the plug hole wall.
Remember to use plenty of dielectric grease on the boots and anti seize on the plug threads.
Now hope it's all well for another 100k.

Apr 8, 2013 | 04:25 PM

wkbrdtx

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From: Houston

Thank you for the recommendations. Due to the current mileage (100K+) of the plugs and the cost to replace ($535 - spark plugs only, at Ford) I am going to tackle this myself by replacing the plugs with Denso iridium (8 for $68) and the coils with Accel super coils (8 for $199). All but one coil pack has over 200K miles. I will grease them good with dielectric and anti-seize. I plan to saturate the plug sockets with Kroil the night before and then have all day to complete the task. I expect to have to purchase some additional universal joint socket pieces and probably the Ford spark plug socket and still save over a hundred dollars over the cost of having the Ford dealership do the work. I hope that they put anti-seize on the plugs at last change (100K). They would not guarantee that the plugs would be removed without issue (and the extra costs to rectify the issue) even though they changed the plugs last time.
Follow up to follow...

Apr 8, 2013 | 09:16 PM

alwaysfords41

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You should use Motorcraft plugs. I agree on the eBay COPs. You might want to have the Lisle removal tool handy, you can always return it if you don't use it. If you do use it, it will be the best money you've spent.

Apr 9, 2013 | 08:41 AM

c_hohensee

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Quote:

Originally Posted by alwaysfords41

If I am not mistaken the 03 was not a 3 valve so there will not be an issue that the Lisle tool will help with.

Apr 9, 2013 | 11:36 AM

r2millers

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From: Southern Cal

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_hohensee

If I am not mistaken the 03 was not a 3 valve so there will not be an issue that the Lisle tool will help with.

Yes, you are correct, the 2 piece plug came with the 3 valve cylinder head in 2005.
No issue with removal unless the threads come out with it, hence the need for anti seize.
You will need at least 2 short extensions, 1 long one and at least 1 u-joint. I also had 1 mega long ext that helped out in front of the engine.

Note... Be sure to use duct tape to hold the plug socket onto the extensions and u- joints to be able to pull the whole assembly out once your plugs are unthreaded.
I also used that for holding the socket onto the extension to remove the COP bolt. A real pain to find if lost back there. I also taped that bolt into the socket when reassembling as it's tough to get both hands back there to hold the bolt in place without falling out.
Take your time and take a few deep breaths, as most of the work on the back two cylinders is by feel.
You will also have to loosen and partially remove the fuel rail on the driver's side to remove the back cop's.
Good luck and let us know how it goes?

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Apr 16, 2013 | 08:34 PM

alwaysfords41

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Quote:

Originally Posted by alwaysfords41

I knew I shouldn't have written that....had a COP go bad in the middle of nowhere VT today. Limped to a station, they directed me to a Ford dealership another 15 miles away. $239 and I've got a brand new #3 COP and plug. On the plus side, rented a 2012 Expy for an additional $45 and went tooling around on a half day test drive as it is in the running to replace the 2003.
All in all could have been much more of a disruption, other than the cash it cost a couple of hours of vacation.

Apr 19, 2013 | 10:34 AM

#10

wkbrdtx

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From: Houston

Quote:

Originally Posted by r2millers

Great info. Thanks!
I will not buy the lisle tool. I will arm myself with duct tape, penetrating oil, dielectric grease and anti-seize compound. I assume that the socket extensions and universal joints should be of the 1/4" variety to better allow access to small spaces. Start date is April 26, 2013. I will follow up with results.

Apr 19, 2013 | 11:20 AM

#11

r2millers

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From: Southern Cal

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkbrdtx

I used all 3/8" drive and it worked fine. No need to go smaller.

May 12, 2013 | 07:47 PM

#12

wkbrdtx

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From: Houston

waiting for next window of opportunity

I did not get all of the parts in time for the project start date.
I have the parts now and will let you know the results after the job is done. Thank you all for the tips.

Jul 8, 2013 | 10:44 AM

#13

wkbrdtx

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From: Houston

Done deal

I recently got the added incentive to get’r done when my wife experienced a bad misfire condition when driving the Expedition. She didn’t think that she could make it home because it was missing so badly, so she pulled to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. Then, after restarting, it ran fine and she made it home. We subsequently drove another 200 miles before I was able to do the work. Before starting the work, I ran a can of sea-foam through the brake booster line and let the vehicle sit overnight to cool the engine completely.
I started on the passenger side working front to back and all the plugs and coils looked OK. The plugs were well worn after 100K+ miles on them (209K on the Expy). I did not notice any sign of anti-seize on the plug threads, nor dielectric grease on the plug boots. The driver’s side ignition was a different story. The middle two spark plugs (6 and 7?) had about an inch of oil at the bottom of the boot. I assume the oil leaked past the head gasket and ran into the plug well. The head gasket will be replaced next. I forgot about the dielectric grease until I did the driver’s side plugs and did get them well coated. I thought that if I were careful when replacing the plugs and boots I would not get any dirt in the cylinder. Once I got to the driver’s side I was able to see the dirt fall into the plug well when I removed the coil and boot. From there on I blew out the dirt before removing the plug each time. The initial startup after the work produced a cloud of white smoke which cleared up after a minute or two.
The passenger side had AGSF32PM plugs while the driver side has AGSF22WM plugs. The last changeout at 100K miles was done at the Ford dealership (plugs only) and I do not know why they would install different plugs on the same vehicle nor what the difference is between the two. I installed AGSF22WM in all 8 along with “made in China” coils packs.
The job took me about 5 hours total (lunch break not included) and I was well prepared and under no time constraints. The GearWrench ratchet and 5/8 X 6 swivel, magnetic spark plug socket paid for themselves in time savings along with the tip to tape the sockets and extensions for easy retrieval. The swivel spark plug socket eliminated the need for any 3/8 u-joint however I did use the ¼ u-joint for the #7 coil bolt.
Spark plugs - $33.18
Coil packs - $69.99
GearWrench set and socket - $56.07
Additional socket extensions and u-joints – $50.63
Total – 209.87
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Jul 8, 2013 | 01:48 PM

#14

SilverSS

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From: Ocala FL

The white smoke on initial start up was more than likely from the sea foam. It's always a good idea to blow out the plug well's with compressed air after the cop has been removed. I doubt the head gasket is the culprit for the oil in the plug wells. I haven't taken mine apart yet so I'm not sure how exactly it's set up but usually there's seals around the valve cover where the plugs go in that can go bad and leak or maybe a bad valve cover gasket. I'm sure someone will chime in that knows more about the mod motors.

Jul 8, 2013 | 07:28 PM

#15

alloro

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From: 0,0,1

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkbrdtx

The passenger side had AGSF32PM plugs while the driver side has AGSF22WM plugs. The last changeout at 100K miles was done at the Ford dealership (plugs only) and I do not know why they would install different plugs on the same vehicle

Maybe they only 4 of each number on the shelf.