Tuneup

[Ocala Tom]

Good morning, yesterday I completed a tuneup with a sparkplug change. I hap been putting it off as I was afraid that I was going to have plug removal issues, but all 8 came out just fine. This thing needed a 14mm socket for plug removal and replacement and the 1st one I tried with a 1/" drive impact socket actually loosened the ss tube that's pressed into the valve cover. I thought I had broken a plug as I had tried the 4 hole 1st. I was able to reinstall it without too much effort but that was a lesson I'll never forget. I also changed my oil. Gonna top it off with fuel today and see if my milage improve any with the fresh Champion Iridium plugs. It had Motorcraft platinum plugs in it and I'm guessing the were the origionals. The all looked pretty similar except the 8 hole. That plucs center electrode was gone all the way to the porcelain. Never seen that before.

 

[Blown09]

Since we are talking tune up…..
I noticed an increase in MPG by switching to the 4L8E-A4A injectors. Granted, mine were probably slightly clogged/worn(had 198k on it at that point-didn’t see much trash in the inlet filters however), so some gains were from a new injectors. But I think these injectors work better in the 3v application due to them being a 2 hole instead of a 4-6hole. Goes against the norm of more holes=more atomization, but these injectors helped more than I thought they would. And to be fair, my truck ran fine at part throttle/cruise. I think it has to do with how the fuel is distributed/directed directly at the intake valves, and combustion chamber design of the 3v.
Think I went from 17-18 up to 26-27mpg at 65-70mph. Keep in mind, I am lowered, and had some other inlet mods done(ported tbody, deleted CCRM’s, diy “CAI”).

That said, these are cheap enough now that if I had north of 150k miles on my truck, I’d swap them out regardless. Just food for thought. Hell that’s not to say stock replacements may have given the same or similar results, but IMO I still think the 2 hole design works better in this app.

Here’s the injectors I purchased(think I got them on eBay though).
https://www.injectorplanet.com/products/ford-4l8e-a4a