Greetings Fellas,

Getting ready to do my first pre winter maintenance routine on my new to me 06 SD Triton. At 56k miles I Changed oil, Fuel filter,rotated tires and was going to do spark plugs next until I read many posts with varied opinions. I have always used Autolites in the past, but with all the corrosion/head issues I want to make sure I install the up to date plug for my 3 valve motor that will alleviate any problems the next time they come out.
I dont want to drive to the Stealership to pay 160.00 for a set of Motorcraft plugs when there is a suitable alternative with the same corrosion protection available at Wallyworld or Napa. Thanks for the help, Love the website..

 

Motorcraft plugs were $6 a pice last time I bought some. Of course mine is a 2V V10, 3V may require a different plug, I'm not shure.

The one thing I don't like about autolite is the black oxide coating on the plug body. I prefer the zinc or etc. like on the current MC plugs do to the fact they don't rust up as quick. You won't see the plug though being buried under the COPs.

 

nuttin wrong with Autolites... you can also buy Motorcraft plugs at the parts store... I think you can't go wrong with either one.

I remember reading a spark plug test some time ago, and plain old autolites performed the best, so I've always stuck with 'em. I would stick with the double platinum, whatever you end up buying.

 

Jusst curious why you're changing the plugs if you don't have 100k on them yet?

 

Plugs should be changed at 50k or so. 100k miles plug change is more of a marketing ploy than anything. If you wait until 100k to change plugs the gap may very well be wore to double the recommended gap of .054". An overly large gap will, create poor performance, poor mpg, a missfire and etc. Not to mention it is not a good idea to leave plugs in aluminum heads for long periods at one time. Ford recommends the plugs be torqued to spec on a regular basis. (30k or so)

 

I agree with dkf.
The plugs may indeed last for 100k, however my chances of removing them successfully will be greatly increase by removing them now at 56k, rather than waiting till 100k. The electrodes wear over time so performance will obviously deteriorate along the way to 100k, I just like my chances of getting them out now rather than later.

 

Nothing wrong with preventative maintenance, I've just never experienced much trouble removing plugs even well past 120k, never seen a plug worn past .080" either, gotta love those double platinum plugs where the spark is concentrated between two very hard and concise points unlike the old style plugs that simply wear round requiring more kv to spark even though the measurable gap may only have grown by a couple thousandths.
Keep up on the good maintenance habits and enjoy a healthy long truck life.

 

I ran my first '99 V-10 SD 95 k miles without ever changing plugs. It started better than the brand new '05 I traded it for.I know I have read about problems removing plugs at 100k miles...I hope to trade before that. I just rec'd a coupon from the dealer for a $750 rebate on any new SD delt for this month. Now, if Ford offered a E-85 V-10, I'd say "DEAL".

 

Well, the sun set earlier today and I have had time to read some threads and actually reply to one! Just so happens this thread is close to my heart and is directly related to one of my last posts before spring sprang. The issue is that the plugs for your (and mine) 3V V-10 cost $12 a piece (for Autolite/Motorcraft - Bosch plugs did not get good reviews on this site). The dealer is not a "stealership" for wanting $160 to do a plug change. I posted the question about plugs months and months ago and not one, NOT ONE, 3V owner replied that they would change their plugs every 30K, 50K or any other "K" miles. Oh yes, there were the 2V owners all aglow with stories of improved performance, dirty plugs, gap issues, etc., with less than 100K changes - but at $3-4 a plug, they just break even with a 3V engine and 100K changes. Frankly, I can afford the plugs, but I don't think I would be able to tell the difference when pulling a 14K load up a 7% grade. I'll pay the dealer to do the change as I don't have the time to fool with my vehicles and still run my business. I'll do as I expect others to do with regard to my business . . . pay a pro to get the job done right the first time.

If you have the time and inclination, go buy the plugs for $12 per at your local parts house and have at it. Oh yes, buy boots, something to blow out the debris prior to plug removal, the appropriate anti-sieze compound, and . . . read all the threads on this topic, 'cause there is a lot of stuff you "need" to do it right.

All that said, lest my rig starts running rough and giving other troubles, the original plugs will be in until somewhere near 100K. Then, I'll let the guys who have changed way more plugs than I ever want to look at get all horizontal in the engine bay. It will be good for them and make the grow up to be big and strong!

 

I changed the plugs yesterday on my sisters 95' Explorer w/4.0l. The plugs were changed at 80k with a set of Autolite double platinums. Her explorer now has 160k on it so it was due for a plug change. Even though the old plugs were double platinums there was still considerable wear on the plugs. Every plug had wear Around the platinum disc on the ground electrode, some were worse than others. It appeared to me due to the wear around the platiunum disc that the spark very rarely concentrated on the platinum disc on the ground tang but concentrated on the tips of the ground tang, which caused a great bit of wear. Also her explorer had cast iron heads not aluminum.

What I'm saying is just because you have double platinum plugs does not necessarily mean they will last 100k either. After 80k the plugs taken out were very worn, despite being double platinum plugs.

Why spend $50k on a truck and skimp out a couple hundred bucks to get a plug change? Doesn't make sense to me but its your truck you can do as you please.

 

The 3V plugs are very different from the earlier 2v plugs. The only place you can buy them is Ford. Autolite makes a 1 heat range colder plug for the Mustang 3V, but that is still 1 heat range hotter than the V-10 comes with. Autolite is the exclusive manufacturer of these plugs for Ford. So if you buy from Ford, you're getting Autolites. The correct Autolite part number, if it exsists will be HT2. HT1's are what I'm familiar with for my Mustang, and the HT0's being the colder plug I use the my supercharged application.

3V heads will not experience the same problems as the earlier 2v heads did/do with blowing plugs out, however these plugs do have a different design to them, and there have been many instances were the lower portion of the plug below the threads becomes stuck in the head, requiring a special ford fishing tool to remove it. The lower portion of the plug BELOW the threads, not on the threads, requires a small amount of anti-seize compound when reinstalled.

Maybe Art can dig up the pictures of the 3V plugs I sent him while back, and post them here again.

 

I was under the assumption that the 3V V10 did not have the special plugs with the extended ground collar like the 5.4l 3V does.

Well maybe I'm wrong.

 

ALL the 3V heads use the same style of plug. Only the heat ranges varie from 4.6 mustang 5.4 truck, and 6.8 truck.

I've changed mine already once.

 

So I guess the procedure for plug removal of the 3V V10 is the same as the 5.4l 3V. I saw a video someone posted a link to up in the SD forum going through the steps of a spark plug removal as well as using the MC tool kit to remove a broken off ground collar.

I'm not too keen on this new plug design and IMO Ford should possibly go back to the drawing board and redesign the plug to help prevent the ground from breaking off.

Just like the 2V though I'm sure with regular plug changes utilizing anti-seize that an issue could be avoided.

 

Yes the proceedure is the same, and should be done after the engine is warmed up.