This is not for a truck. It's for my 98 Sable with a 3.0L. There is currently 61,000 miles on the factory plugs. I want to change them before the chill of winter sets in.

My past experience with bosch plugs have been positive in my other Ford vehicles. My plan was to use Bosch +4 (#4458) plugs when i do the change. Does anyone have any good or bad feedback to offer before i do the change. Thanks

-hooD

 

You really can't go wrong with OEM. If you've gotten 61,000 miles on the factory plugs and they haven't given you any problems, I'd go with what Ford originally put into the vehicle. You might want to inspect/replace the plug wires while you're doing the plugs. For a few more dollars, it's worth the investment. When I had my Sable, I changed the plugs at 60K. Needless to say, new wires at 64K. Live and learn. BTW- Cool avatar, but when did my dog pose for that picture?? LOL!

 

Brand isn't the important thing - make sure they are double platinum. Don't get the splitfire - they can't hold a gap for crap. Iv'e got 80k on my origional wires and plugs, and they are fine. Are you having any problem with yours? Just curious.

 

Use Motorcraft Double Platinum plugs. You can find them at Autozone.

Otherwise, use Autolite DP's which are Motorcraft clones. You can find them at Napa or Advanced Auto.

Bosch plugs are a gamble ...sometimes they work well in Fords, sometimes they don't. I've read countless posts where they have not worked out well.

With Motorcraft DP's, you get a top-notch plug designed for the EDIS ignition in your Sable. There is no gamble involved ...they work great, end of story...

 

silvapain:
I just recently purchased the Sable 5,000 miles ago. The car runs super smooth, i'm very impressed with it. And i figured changing the plugs would be a good idea. I have seen plugs with less miles on them needing replacement. This is just preventative maintanence.

droptop:
Good point about the OEM plugs...thus the reason why the car idles and runs so smooth. I was already debating replacing the wires in my sleep. Thanks for confirming my dreams! Yo Quiero Taco Bell!

Rockledge:
Yes, i have read similar posts about Bosch plugs also. I do know that my '81 4.9L loves those plugs, but that relic of a truck is a beast of another era and i should not use that as a comparrison.

My decision is strongly favoring the motorcraft double platinums. I promise to update this post when i put in the new plugs...

-hooD

 

I run the Bosch plugs in my 4.0 Aerostar, my 3.0 Aerostar and my 5.8 F 250 all with great results. Power and gas mileage has increased in all of them. They aren't cheap but have paid for themselves a few times already.

 

After talking to a Motorcraft rep at Sema 2003, I'm going to try a
new Motorcraft platinum plug. It's called "fine wire", and I
understand that the voltage required is less than the older "PP"
suffix plugs. My local Ford dealer was able to get the correct P/N
for my 1999 3.0L FFV: AGSF12FMF6. Ford no longer carries the
AGSF12PP, which is the double platinum P/N called out in my
owner's manual...

 

Update:
Finally changed the plugs and wires at 83,000 miles. The plugs were worn and the wires looked a bit tattered too. Replaced with OEM motorcraft double platnum plugs and wires and noticed a remarkable performance gain.

The factroy plugs were worn to a .080 gap. Thanks to all for the replies.

-hooD

 

I switched to NGK TR6 copper plugs recently. They are 1 heat range colder than stock. The engine temps are much better and there is reduced detonation. The only downside is that they don't las nearly as long as DP's (~20K vs. ~100k).


I also put in a 180F thermostat and Royal Purple's Purple Ice to finish off the package. The Taurus runs great. Now if I could only figure out why it's running lean.......

 

Rockledge, I beleive Autolite manufacturers the platinum plugs for Motorcraft. Bob, great idea on the new Motorcraft "fine wire" plugs. I wonder if they would work in an older 3.0 V6 (1987)? If you, or anyone knows, please post. Thank You, everyone here on this 3.0 forum is a great source of information and experience for the 3.0V6. Considering Ford is still using the 3.0 V6 in various upgrades and "tweaking" from the mid 1980s, this V6 design must be a good, dependable engine, or FoMoCo would have discontinued building it several years ago. Never could see the oil filter location, directly above the starter idea, however! haha...

 

can anybody tell what could be ticking on the driver side dash(maybe from speaker) started happening when i put the wrong sparkplugs in. I was dropping voltage and feeling the heat through vent I checked plugs and they were wrong. I have the right ones in now and the ticking is still there. no noise from radio. uit gets louder with acceleration. please help

 

can anybody tell what could be ticking on the driver side dash(maybe from speaker) started happening when i put the wrong sparkplugs in. I was dropping voltage and feeling the heat through vent I checked plugs and they were wrong. I have the right ones in now and the ticking is still there. no noise from radio. uit gets louder with acceleration. engine is missing. please help

 

The ticking sound you are hearing sounds like an exhaust leak on one cylinder. I don't know what you mean by dropping voltage, but the heat you are feeling could be coming from the exhaust leak. Did the "wrong" plugs you installed have the wrong threads???

 

I've been using the Autolite double Platinum in everything I've changed plugs in for the last year or so and have no complaints so far. In the past I've used NGK, Bosch, ND, etc. The only plug I absolutely WILL NOT use is Champion. I have had very bad luck with them, both automotive plugs and small engine plugs. I have seen more of them go bad within a short time of being installed, or be dead right out of the box. When I did small engine repair for a living, we had a name for it, we called it "Champion Syndrome". A customer would come in with piece of equipment that would not run, perplexed because he had just put a brand new plug in it and it soon quit. The first thing I would do on hearing a story like that is check to see if the brand new plug was a Champion, if it was, I would check it for spark and then install a new ND plug which we sold. The look on their faces when it would fire right up was priceless! I have also done tune-ups on cars/trucks with Champions and found dead ones right out of the box. Once I had three in the same batch of eight, the motorhome I was working on didn't run too well after that tune-up with only five out of eight cylinders firing. How does this company stay in business marketing such crap? (Okay, end rant!) -TD

 

Check the Oxygen sensor (02 sensor). Probably need a new one.