[Ford R&D] "Lets bury the spark plugs in the bottom of a 4" long by 1" dia. cylinder. Then lets aim the holes to the rear of the engine, and to top it all off, we will bury the engine under the firewall. Don't forget to put the injectors, and all kinds of vaccum lines in the way. Lets see how those backyard mechanics like that!" [/Ford R&D]



I was driving my cousin back to Virginia Tech, and about halfway there, the truck started missing real bad. So I turned around and headed back home to take the van. Got worse on the way, and eventually the CEL came on a few miles from the house.

Grabbed the van and took my cousin back and dropped $42 for Motorcraft spark plugs at Auto Zone. Worked on it for about 3 hours and replaced 6 plugs (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8.). We tried as hard as we could, but the #3 boot would not budge. It would pop off of the plug, but it would not come out of the hole...so we left that one, and #4 (which we couldn't even get a finger on) alone for now. This comming weekend we'll replace the plug wires and the final two plugs. It seems to idle smoother, but I didn't have time to take it for a test drive.

105K miles on the origionals...so I can't complain about the longevity.

This is just another reason to add to the long list of reasons NOT to own a new vehicle. I helped my friend replace the plugs and wires on his '77 GMC 3/4 ton. We both sat in the engine bay and had the entire job done in 10 minutes. Hell...it only took me 30 minutes to replace the plugs on my other friends '98 Ram 1500 with the 5.9 Magnum. He went inside to...uhhh..."drop a deuce", and when he came out, I already had 6 done.

Why do I like Fords again?

 

Stop your whining! Take it to a shop and pay someone else to do it.

Ever tried replacing plugs on a 2 plug 2.3 - that is one tough job.

My 4.2 is a snap to work on and I like the entire truck.
I miss working on older trucks too.
I can't wait until I start my 84 Bronco build - carb 300 - easy stuff.

I see where you are coming from, but that is where it is headed - remember trucks are designed for quick assembly and not for ease of repair.

 

You pay for it and I will consider it. I don't trust anyone but me touching my vehicles. Or, you could come on over and do it for me. I guarantee you will be "whining" after one hour passes and you haven't even changed one plug.

Geeze...Im just blowing off a little steam...

 

I know you are huffed, I have been many times.
Be glad you can do it yourself, I give you props.

 

Yeah changing plugs on these are a pain in the ****. I dont know if it will help, but when i got a stuck boot i sprayed some penetrating oil down there and then took one of those curved needle-nosed pliers to take them out.

 

same here bud, i just changed mine a week ago and then went home to greenbrier county W.V it ran good ok on gas but you have a point dont let anyone work on your truck they do care its not their truck, just takes time and put a three inch lift on her it makes it all better.

 

I have changed the plugs twice but the fiirst time was a son of a b***h. I replaced the boots both times and put plenty of dielectric grease on the inside to keep moisture out. Some sparkplug thread grease is a must because of the aluminum heads and with only four threads holding them in doesn't help either.

 

Yup...tried all of that, but #3 still wouldn't budge. It'll be better once we get the new wires, so we don't have to be easy on the old ones.

 

i didnt replace my boots this time, because when i got a quote they were $30 + per boot. i am in college and i cant afford that. i would highly recommend buying a 7 mm wrench and holding onto it. i just went the hard way and pulled the fuel rain and i ended up replacing an oring on the fuel rail..........

Matt

 

Next time i change my plugs, i will just buy napa wires, I dont see me paying $30 per boot.

 

After having that issue (couple of weeks ago) I just put plugs in about a yr. +/- months, mine was a pain in the butt! Had to remove the injector wire, tie up the two heater hoses back towards the electric connections and pull like hell! After fighting 15-20 minutes, pop! I actually got it while pulling the wire and not the boot. Try twisting.... I know you probally have already.
Hey Bobby82490, I wouldn't do it! They lasted all of two months! and then I went with Motorcrafts, yea they're $$$ but, $$$ well worth it!!!!

 

i wanted to get all new boots but napa quoted me 30+ for each one

Matt

 

Shoot. I just bought my 2000, its quite a shock coming from an 82 inline six. I tried changing my oil the other night and gave up. First I couldnt even find the dang oil filter, then when I did find it I couldnt figure out how i would get to it since its stuck right above the fron differential. I finally gave up and now im debating whether to give it another shot or just take it and get it changed. I have a mechaninc that I know personally and trust but it still kills me to know that I'm going to have to pay someone else to fix everything, even stupid things like changing the oil.

 

I feel your pain. I've done mine twice and bought a spark plug boot removal tool, or whatever the heck you call it. It looks like a plier with a wide rubber coated "C" type end to it to grab around the boot. As much as I hate spending money on specialty tools this one is worth it for the job and I got it at Sears for not too much money. The big problem with the design of these engines (in addition to the pain in the butt installation/removal) is that water will get down into that hole the spark plug sits in and corrode the end of the spark plug wire/plug interface. When I pulled mine out due to a misfire I bought new wires and cut away all the boots to the old wires - one or two of the metal connectors that attach to the plugs inside the boot were completely blackened and rusted (these were motorcraft OE plug boots with only about 60K on them). Anyhow to make a long story short buy the tool and new wires. And you're right - the engineer that designed it should be publicly beaten! / end rant.

 

OK....after working on it non-stop from the time I got home (8:45pm) to just a little while ago (12:45am)...it's still not done. All of the plugs and wires except for the #4 cylinder are DONE! The old plugs were gapped at .080-.090

Yesterday, when we were trying to get the #3 boot off the plug, we tore it a little and gave up shortly after. It missfired non-stop on the way to work today, instead of only under load like it was initially. If we didnt tear that boot, it would have been fine.

I work 2nd shift, so I asked my dad to pick up a set of wires on his way home from work. $86 for a set of Autolite wires. I expected Motorcraft...but I forgot to mention that to him earlier. Hopefully these last a while (Anyone have any input on Autolite wires? ) Oh...and I did put a very heavy coating of di-electric grease on the contacts...so hopefully no corrosion in the future.

After this, our next big (planned) project is to fix that damn exhaust leak (donut gaskets).