Factory Original Spark Plugs

[52merc]

I start this by saying my car only has 81,000 km [50,300 mi] and I've owned the car since new. Until today I had never pulled the spark plugs. No real reason to as the engine is still stock except for a Western Motorsport CIA and I've had no problems. I thought it was time, just to have a look and make sure I could get them out. All the plugs came out without difficulty. Actually, two of them were merely hand tight. I know the torque spec is only 11 ft-lb, but these two plugs came out without any effort to unseat them. Fortunately they had not backed off and no damage seems to have occurred. All the plugs look good so I'm planning to just clean them up, re-gap them, and put them back in with some anti-seize on the threads.

 

[01yellercobra]

At 50K I'd throw new ones in. They're not that expensive. And past experience has shown me that plugs never last as long as manufacturers claim.

 

[ShootyMCstabby]

Wait hold on a minute. You've owned the car for 15 years put 50k miles and your just now changing the spark plugs wow.

A little tip on Aluminum heads. Get them warm before pulling plugs.

 

[52merc]

I was always told to pull plugs when the heads were cold. Anyway, I already put them back in. They looked perfect yet. EPA tune-up rating on this car was 160,000 km [100,000 mi].

Mr. MCstabby, your math isn't too good is it.

2018 - 2001 = 17 years.

Car is never winter driven and only in the rain if I get caught on the road at the wrong time. Since I've retired I do not put that many miles on either of my vehicles. I have really not put very many miles on it this summer due to all the suspension work I've done.

I had to look for 15 min in my toolbox to find my spark plug gauge. Funny how things change. When I was a young lad, plugs, points, condenser, rotor, and distributor cap were changed about every 10,000 mi. I used to stock several different types of plugs in my garage just to save a trip to the parts store. Oh yeah, they cost about $1 each in those days.

While I had the intake duct off I thought I'd clean the K&N in the CAI. Pretty dirty, I guess I should have cleaned it sooner. That being said, the intake piping and throttle body are still very clean on the inside. The TB loos like it just came from the factory.

 

[ShootyMCstabby]

Yeah sorry I was thinking it was a 03 my bad. Forgot I frequent this section as well.

Your info was good for iron on iron back in the 350 2/4 bolt main days. But since 95% of heads are aluminum now. You have to go about it differently. Things change so do the way you have to work on them.

I go 80 or so thousand on my daily driver. But on my summer car regardless or horse power I change plugs every year. For the info and why not at 20$.

I personally think your lucky after 17 years you didn't have a plug snap off on yeah. Doing it cold.

 

[01yellercobra]

I've always done plugs on cold engines. Even aluminum heads. I've never had an issue. Although I use a bit of antisieze on the plugs when I put them in.

Now when we had the 3V engines in our Expedition and her 06 GT I would pull the plugs when the engine was warm. But that was because of the awesome two piece design. I managed to only break one plug and it was in an F150 with 125k on the clock. I considered myself lucky.

 

[52merc]

Back "in the day" with OHV engines, it was common to break spark plugs because it was so tight working around the strut towers and exhaust manifolds. I've never had a plug strip out threads or not come out. Never had to repair threads with a heli-coil either.

 

[98 svt]

Back "in the day" with OHV engines, it was common to break spark plugs because it was so tight working around the strut towers and exhaust manifolds. I've never had a plug strip out threads or not come out. Never had to repair threads with a heli-coil either.

I had a plug shoot out the head on my 98 Cobra. Had to use a Helicoil to fix it.

 

[52merc]

Back in highschool my buddy had a 57 Ford Fairlane that we used to drag race a bit at the old Mission Speedway in BC. One day he made a pass and the engine started missing. Got back to the pits and with a check found that a plug was gone. When you looked just over the tire there was a perfect view, over the upper A-arm, of the hole where the plug used to be. Plug wire was still there and threads were fine. Popped another plug in - made sure it was tightened properly this time - and went for another run. Never did find the missing plug.

 

[98 svt]

Back in highschool my buddy had a 57 Ford Fairlane that we used to drag race a bit at the old Mission Speedway in BC. One day he made a pass and the engine started missing. Got back to the pits and with a check found that a plug was gone. When you looked just over the tire there was a perfect view, over the upper A-arm, of the hole where the plug used to be. Plug wire was still there and threads were fine. Popped another plug in - made sure it was tightened properly this time - and went for another run. Never did find the missing plug.

Mine blew the threads out, and blew off my drivers side hood scoop/snorkel.

 

[01yellercobra]

I had a plug shoot out the head on my 98 Cobra. Had to use a Helicoil to fix it.

Did that in my 01. Thankfully the coil cover kept the damage to just the COP. I ended up Timeserting it.

My first car was a VW with high compression. Every once in a while it would kick out a plug. The threads on the plugs would give.

 

[scottydsntknow]

Copper Autolites are $1 each, no reason to not replace with new and change them every 30k since it takes like 5 seconds to do plugs in a 4V.

12-15ft lbs WITH ANTISEIZE. 99/01 style heads are 4 thread so you gotta be extra careful. The number of ppl who put these things in "old school" and have stripping or blowouts really makes me wonder.

 

[52merc]

Ford shop manual spec is 11 ftlb. The plugs had some sort of lubricant/anti-seize on them when they came out. If the plugs go in cold, get torqued to OE spec, and are lubed or coated with anti-seize, then they should come out cold.

BTW, back when, there were lots of aluminum cylinder heads around. As a teenager I drove my Dad's Datsun 510. It had a chain driven SOHC in an Aluminum head. Never had problems pulling plugs cold. Put 200,000 mi on it before it rusted away.

And yes, the 4V is one of the easiest engines to change plugs. The easiest was my old 69 F100. I would sit inside the engine bay on the inner wheel well to change the plugs on the 300 CID. If I wanted, there was enough room between the engine and frame rail, to stand up, straddling the twin I-beam front axles.

Copper Autolites cost you a $1 in the USA. Not in Canada. If I start looking at increasing horsepower then I'll switch to copper plugs.