Newbie's First Tuneup
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From: Scottsville, VA
Newbie's First Tuneup
This is my first Ford truck and my first experience with a 300 straight six. I just bought my 1980 Ford F-150 Custom 4WD. I haven't brought it home yet but because it was a farm truck it obviously needs a tuneup. I've priced all of the parts and I know full well you get what you pay for of course. I found plug wires for 10.99 at Autozone and I was told that they weren't the best and broke down at higher rpms. The 300 has a very low redline and runs like well a tractor so how important is having the more expensive double silicone wires? I have the same question regarding plugs. My other two cars are high output 4 cylinders with much higher revs so on those I use platinum plugs. For my truck I'm considering 99 cent Bosch Supers so once again would this be an okay choice?
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From: Cheyenne Wy.
Basically, what you are lloking at is pretty much "stock" replacement parts. What that means is that they are (supposedly) built to manufacturer specifications.....
What you will get at that point is Stock performance. Will it make it run....Sure. You may not get the best MPG or power, but it will certainly get it home. And, you can slowly do the things you want to to improve the truck at that point. So if the $$$$ are an issue (after spending the bucks on the truck itself) I say go for it, but don't expect peak performance.
However, I think the double silicone wires I got for mine were $19.99 with a limited lifetime warranty (I know...warranty a plug wire?????) So for the extra $10.00 I would consider it. Also autolote plugs, which you will see many recommend, are 1.29 each. This combo (along with a new cap and rotor) got rid of the miss in mine when I bought it. All told, I think I spent like $40-45 getting it going right.
Jim
What you will get at that point is Stock performance. Will it make it run....Sure. You may not get the best MPG or power, but it will certainly get it home. And, you can slowly do the things you want to to improve the truck at that point. So if the $$$$ are an issue (after spending the bucks on the truck itself) I say go for it, but don't expect peak performance.
However, I think the double silicone wires I got for mine were $19.99 with a limited lifetime warranty (I know...warranty a plug wire?????) So for the extra $10.00 I would consider it. Also autolote plugs, which you will see many recommend, are 1.29 each. This combo (along with a new cap and rotor) got rid of the miss in mine when I bought it. All told, I think I spent like $40-45 getting it going right.
Jim
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Lakewood, Ohio
'For my truck I'm considering 99 cent Bosch Supers so once again would this be an okay choice?"
all bosch plugs are junk. in any car or truck.
a waste of money to me three different times.
stick with autolite.
all bosch plugs are junk. in any car or truck.
a waste of money to me three different times.
stick with autolite.
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From: Cheyenne Wy.
Originally Posted by hokeypokey31
I was figuring this was truly a low performance motor and didn't need anything upper eschelon. My bad.
What you are talking about doing will still certainly be an improvement over the 20 year old parts that are most likely in a farm truck.
Jim
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From: Scottsville, VA
Well I ponied up the extra buck and a half and bought autolites. LOL. As far as Bosch being junk, I beg to differ because in my 99 Dodge Neon the check engine light comes on with the slightest miss with a code that tells you such and such cylinder ain't firing quite right and after 30,000 miles this set of Bosch plus 2 platinums finally gave out. That light comes on after 10,000 miles with regular Champions
Being a farm truck though in a lot of ways is an excellent thing for a truck to be if it wasn't ran into the ground. If it wasn't ran into the ground, you're sure to have low miles for the year of truck it is.
Being a farm truck though in a lot of ways is an excellent thing for a truck to be if it wasn't ran into the ground. If it wasn't ran into the ground, you're sure to have low miles for the year of truck it is.
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Personally I think 30,000 miles on double platunum plugs is terrible.
Regular plugs can get 50,000 easy, double platunums can just about reach 100,000.
Father Experience
Regular plugs can get 50,000 easy, double platunums can just about reach 100,000.
Father Experience
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From: Scottsville, VA
I agree with you fully. I'm driving it around right now with 35,000 on this set with the check engine light on. It's been scanned and it says that cylinders 3 and 4 aren't happy and are low on spark yet the car runs absolutely perfect. Go figure. I've never had a set of standard plugs last 50,000 miles though and it seems a bit of a stretch, no offense.
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A true double platinums like AC Delco platinums of Autolite Double platinums will go 70K-100K as long as the miles aren't put on 5 at a time. Short trips are really bad on stuff like that though. My wife and I live about 10 min. from her school and I had to replace the stock platinum plugs in the Sable at 50K. As far as the '80 F-truck though, you'll be lucky to see 25K out of any plug, and the only platinum I would consider is an Autolite platinum. Boschs won't last 500 miles in it because carbureted engines always have rich mixtures at certain points (start-up, acceleration, lugging, etc.) and the porcelain insulator on Bosch plugs is very porous (allows fast heat dissipation); what happens is that the insulator will clog with unburnt gas and foul out.
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From: Scottsville, VA
The truck is going to receive standard Autolites and be replaced at 10,000 miles or a miss whichever happens first. LOL. The other car I own, the Neon, the Bosch +2 plugs were looking very good but they were replaced with Champion double platinums anyways. I have more power but the check engine light is on which means the plugs weren't the issue instead it's the coil. Looks like when I get the truck home I'll be driving her more than the Neon. Still can't complain about the Neon as most do, this is her first problem in 95,000 miles and she doesn't leak oil even. By the way are 300 Fords notorious leakers like a 302? For those outraged by my last comment about a 302, I had to put a quart in every 500 miles and all the seals and gaskets were new. My best friend used to kid that Ford stood for F***ing Oil Really Drips.
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300s are a whole different breed than the 302. Somewhat hard to compare them.
A 300 is a draft horse, It can pull large loads a slow speed. The 302 is more of a race horse for the same power its going a lot faster.
From personal experience, go for the Autolites and the Higher Quality wires. You may not notice much but its there. You wont gain much horsepower (perhaps 1 or 2 if your lucky) But in my case it runs a good deal better when its cold or wet with the lites and silicone wires than it did with the cheap plugs and cheap wires. When its warm and dry out, dont really notice much difference.
A 300 is a draft horse, It can pull large loads a slow speed. The 302 is more of a race horse for the same power its going a lot faster.
From personal experience, go for the Autolites and the Higher Quality wires. You may not notice much but its there. You wont gain much horsepower (perhaps 1 or 2 if your lucky) But in my case it runs a good deal better when its cold or wet with the lites and silicone wires than it did with the cheap plugs and cheap wires. When its warm and dry out, dont really notice much difference.
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Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Hendersonville, TN
I changed the factory original plugs in my 300 six for the first time at 147,000. What was left of the electrodes were still firing fine. The thing didn't even miss, I just thought it might be time. LOL! That was, of course an EFI engine. Can't expect nearly as much in a carbed motor for the above mentioned reasons. As far as leaks, I sometimes wonder if age has more bearing than miles. My 94 got a V/C gasket at 200,000, when I cracked the head. The pan gasket was done at about 175,000 and had been leaking for a while then, and now the side cover is started to become significant. My dad's 95 has only 75,000 and both the pan and side cover are starting to leak significantly. Perhaps the person that came up with that acronym for Fords owned an Escort. Got two of those, and can't keep 'em sealed. I've decided to just let them keep on a while longer and my gravel drive will soon be a blacktop. Increases property value. BTW, my 94 also has the original wires at 217,000 and no sign of misses or arcing. Recently got it's best ever mileage of 19.5 on a long interstate trip.