For those of us who only drive the average 15-20k per year, when are you changing your spark plugs? Manual calls for 100k changes, but I remember on the 6.2 that the consensus on the OEM recommendation was that it was generally too long of an interval.

I'm sitting at 2.5 years/50k now with about 40% of that towing our 10k travel trailer and have just completed my own version of a 50k service, changing all fluids and filters, and wondering if now is a good time to get after the plugs?

 

Plugs are cheap and it's an easy thing to do under an hour. Certainly wouldn't hurt "but" not really needed if the truck is running good.

I had 90k miles the 2 plug changes done on my '21' and the plugs didn't look bad at those miles.

 

Thank you, sir. The truck's running well, but I do hit an occasional rough idle. I was thinking plugs and wires.

You rack up miles much more quickly than I do with all the highway miles, and while I do have a lot of highway and towing, I also likely have much more stop-and-go... and a very short commute of less than 2 miles. Figured all that would be a bit rougher on things.

 

Did you see my throttle body post in the 100k maintenance thread? Might need a cleanup, worth taking a peak at it. Easy to get to also.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post21600073

 

I did, thanks for the reminder! Takes me back to my Y2K 5.3 Silverado... had to clean the TB every oil change, IIRC.

 

I was slacking and let mine go until 140k and had some weird high RPM detonation. New plugs fixed it right up though. 196k now.

 

Did mine a couple weeks ago when I hit 60kand my warranty expired. I compared every electrode to the new plug when I pulled it and there was zero discernable difference between them besides the discoloration. That said, I paid under $40 for 8 Motorcraft plugs so it didn't bother me to change them so soon.

From living in the rust belt so long I started always changing plugs sooner than recommended because I had a 4.0L Explorer that had the 100K mile Denso plugs in it for about 100K miles and I had to buy a new head because one welded itself into the head. Corrosion sucks and leaving the area of the country that uses salt like it is oxygen in the winter I have never looked back. I saw a Chevelle that's been sitting in a farm field in Texas for 35 years and it had less rust than my 8 year old truck in Michigan did.

 

Hoary Internet Lore... part of that may be from the old Triton 2-piece plug/short thread days. Back then, you had to change the plugs early or face a sheared plug and/or a repaired spark plug hole if you waited too long.

 

Actually, while it had to do with 16 total plugs and certainly some corrosion possibilities, it was also about plugs going bad at 40k and causing misfires and ruining cats. Lots of these issues posted to FTE, and seemed like every owner who posted about doing their plugs on schedule wished they had done the service much earlier. Nothing to do with Tritons.

 

No... nothing to do with the Triton motors themselves, except for the poor design of some components. I had a short-thread 1999 V-10...

 

I'm in the 50k miles/4 year spark plug changing camp. It's more about preventing corrosion of plug to head and wire or coil to plug terminal than wear on the plug itself.

Dielectric grease the plug terminal and smidge of anti-seize on the plug threads. Some places will say no anti-seize on plugs for aluminum heads but dry threads tend to gall aluminum and allows for oxidation/corrosion which results in damaged threads in the head.

 

As cheap and easy as it is with the 7.3 no reason to go long if you don't want to.

 

I was taught a few years ago that...

Copper tips good for 30k miles
Platinum tips good for 60k miles
Iridium tips good for 100k miles

It's a melting point thing.

I thought most modern cars use iridium tips these days. Not sure about the 7.3L. If the manual says 100k then they are likely Iridium.

 

same as i was 30/60/100 yet personally i dump them all at 60 ,found they start to leak around the case and porcelain by than

 

Plugs are on my list to do soon, I’m a shade over 60k. When the weather warms a bit, planning a full Monty. Plugs, oil, air and TB clean.

My old eco 3.5 ate plugs every 60k, although it was running a bar of boost with a tune. Great truck, sold it with 260k. Never had a turbo or any other failures, just plugs, brakes, one belt and tires. Hopefully the 7.3 can match it.