I have been unable to locate a do-it-yourself manual on my 97 Club Wagon. Looking for tune-up procedures for spark plug replacement.

 

Hi
First question I have is: How many miles is on your E? The plugs are supposed to be good for 100k miles. They usually will last that long.
If you want to change them, each coil must be unbolted and removed to access the plugs. The wiring harnesses above the coils attached to the fuel rails have to be temporarily relocated (don't confuse which connector goes to which coil) Then using a 6" deep plug socket you can remove them, some from under the hood (after removing the airbox) and inside the truck.
This isn't a fun job by any means. I'd also stick with the Motorcraft plugs, you don't want to have to do this again anytime soon.

 

My van has 40K . did not know anything about the modular engine or tune-up frequency. Owners Manual says tune-up at 45,000.

Got anymore info on 97 V-10?

 

I don't know if the 97 had the 100,000 mile plugs or not but, if you leave them in there for 100,000 without taking them out and putting them back in every 30-40,000 miles good luck on getting them out. My dad has a Ford escort that supposedly didn't need a tune up for 100,000 miles but, he decided to check the spark plugs out after 30,000 miles and the gap was like three times bigger than it should of been in a couple of the plugs.

 

Interesting, that the manual says 45,000. That's new to me. Ford's been boasting that they can go for so long. I am going to have to find out what they say a "tune-up" entails on your V10, there really isn't much, aside from plugs, filters (which I change at 30k intervals) and the pcv valve. (That used to be free at 60k on a lot of Ford products) I'd pull one of the back plugs and check it, to see if they need changing, before going thru the whole routine. put anti-seize on the plug/plugs before installing it/them.
I would watch one thing on your E-van, if you have rear heat and a/c, the heater hoses are teed under the doghouse, check them, they aren't the best appearing conglomeration, and it's something you can't bypass if they blow on the road.
About getting the plugs out of a motor at 100k, I used to work at a limo/van shuttle company, and never had a problem with the plugs coming out, unless something gets into the threads, (i.e. cracked head letting coolant in is a big one, not common on Ford's though, except Escort 1.9s)
They had Buick Roadwhales with the LT1 motor that we "let" go for about 250,000 per plug change and they usually came out looking (for the miles) not too bad. (I have found that AC platinums are a pretty good plug)
One note: many aftermarket plugs, except NGK platinum, just don't last, I have stuck with what came in the vehicle.
Usually any Ford with a plug suffix "pp" indicates double platinum and is the long duration plug.

 

Did the spark plugs you take out at 100,000 miles have the anti-seize on them? I changed some plugs at I think it was 40,000 miles but they didn't have the anti-seize and I ended up breaking one. That sure wasn't a very pleasant experience. I started using anti-seize but, the car got junked before I ever tried to take them out again.

 

Yes and no.
The Motorcraft "factory" plugs supposedly are coated with some type of anti-sieze. I'm entirely conviced they are, they come out rusty, unless they use a copper based coating.
The replacements are not, so anti-sieze is mandatory.
All AC delco plugs are coated with it, and are made of stainless to aid in long term durability.
I know what you mean, with broken plugs. Where I work, we just had to change a guys motor, he tried to remove the plug and the hex part of the plug broke off (of course it didn't help that the head was cracked right at the threads with coolant getting in there). He decided to put a new motor in with the mileage it had on it.

 

 

Has anyone had problems or know of someone having problems with head castings on v10 Triton engines.this is my second set of heads where the water port under where the thermostat sits blows out the intake gasket.The water jacket litterally blows out. Dealership is giving me problem. Can some help.

Randy

 

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