Well, after 56,000 miles, I changed my spark plugs.
The job was not as hard as everyone made it out to be. I was expecting to be cursing up one side and down the other. It wasn't that bad. Sure it wasn't no 4 banger where the plugs are right on top of the engine, but I have seen worse.
Some vehicles have coil packs over each plug. Removing them can be a pain in the butt. Some vehicles, mainly GM's you have to remove motormounts to jack the engine up to get to the plugs.
Here is what I used. For the wiress I used Taylor wires. Taylor-Vertex makes fantastic wires. I rate them right up with Magnecore. Unfortunatly, Magnacore wires are very expensive and hard to find. Taylor wires are inexpensive and are great performing. They are very soft and will remin that way. They do not harden up like others do. Whenever possible, I try to run Taylor wires on my vehicles.
For the plugs, I will use nothing but Motorcraft. I have tried SplitFire, Bosch Platinum and the +4, Heck, I have even used Beru Silverstones in the past. None have performed any better then Motorcraft plugs. Why spend the extra money on something that doesn't benefit you any?
For indexing washers, I used Moroso indexing washers. If you don't know what indexing plugs are, here is the scoop. The washers help you point the plug in the proper direction in the combustion chamber.
Since the 4.0L SOHC engine has Aluminum heads, I used Anti-seeze. If it were to have had a cast iron head, I would have used engine oil. (I learned that the hard way. I had a 1977 Maverick with a 250 CI I6. I used anti-seeze to prevent the plugs from getting stuck in the head. The anti-seeze would allow the plug to vibrate loose. So after a moth of driving or so, I had to tighten the plugs.)
I made sure I used plenty of Dielectric grease on the plug boots and the coil boots. Everything is nicely sealed.
Over all, I am glad I changed the plugs out. They needed changed. My idle has smoothed out, and I know when my Trac hits 100,000 miles, I will be able to remove the old plugs without a problem.
If anyone is interested, I can post pictures of the finished job.
Tom
The job was not as hard as everyone made it out to be. I was expecting to be cursing up one side and down the other. It wasn't that bad. Sure it wasn't no 4 banger where the plugs are right on top of the engine, but I have seen worse.
Some vehicles have coil packs over each plug. Removing them can be a pain in the butt. Some vehicles, mainly GM's you have to remove motormounts to jack the engine up to get to the plugs.
Here is what I used. For the wiress I used Taylor wires. Taylor-Vertex makes fantastic wires. I rate them right up with Magnecore. Unfortunatly, Magnacore wires are very expensive and hard to find. Taylor wires are inexpensive and are great performing. They are very soft and will remin that way. They do not harden up like others do. Whenever possible, I try to run Taylor wires on my vehicles.
For the plugs, I will use nothing but Motorcraft. I have tried SplitFire, Bosch Platinum and the +4, Heck, I have even used Beru Silverstones in the past. None have performed any better then Motorcraft plugs. Why spend the extra money on something that doesn't benefit you any?
For indexing washers, I used Moroso indexing washers. If you don't know what indexing plugs are, here is the scoop. The washers help you point the plug in the proper direction in the combustion chamber.
Since the 4.0L SOHC engine has Aluminum heads, I used Anti-seeze. If it were to have had a cast iron head, I would have used engine oil. (I learned that the hard way. I had a 1977 Maverick with a 250 CI I6. I used anti-seeze to prevent the plugs from getting stuck in the head. The anti-seeze would allow the plug to vibrate loose. So after a moth of driving or so, I had to tighten the plugs.)
I made sure I used plenty of Dielectric grease on the plug boots and the coil boots. Everything is nicely sealed.
Over all, I am glad I changed the plugs out. They needed changed. My idle has smoothed out, and I know when my Trac hits 100,000 miles, I will be able to remove the old plugs without a problem.
If anyone is interested, I can post pictures of the finished job.
Tom
