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plugs and wires

konaboy

Well-Known Member
Joined
April 26, 2005
Messages
172
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3
City, State
Ohio
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 XLT
Had a conversation with a guy the other day about replacing plugs and wires and he said "I've replaced my plugs but not my wires why should I worry about them they work." The only answer I had was that they were old, about 80K on them, I did'nt have a really good answer than that. I've always understood when doing plug replacement with that many miles you should replace the wires as well. Anyone have a better answer?


Kona
 



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Its good to replace them cause often times, the old wires will have a higher degree of resistance in the wires than ideally recommended. You have to consider that the extreme temperatures inside the engine compartment can do harmful effects to your wires, they can dry them out to the point where they start cracking, show wear & tear, etc.
 






when i did my plugs i did not do my wires...an i prolly should have..they have 88k miles on them(but looked great). so i will hopfully do it here in the near future.
 






The coating on the plug wires will get brittle with age and develop microscopic cracks (which you cannot see)... These cracks will prevent the full electrical charge from reaching the plug as the electricity will be leached from the crack (moisture exponentially increases this lose)... Several years ago my XLT had problems with highway speeds.. It would loose power and stumble when I gave it some go pedal at 60mph+. I thought it transmission related... A mechanic told me the above story about the wires.. He then got out a plastic watering can and proceeded to pour a small stream over the wires with the engine @ idle... As soon as it hit one of the wires the engine immediately stumbled... I replaced my wires and my problem was solved...
 






I thought it had something to do with the wires breaking down and losing conductivity, but I didn't want to sound like an idiot if I wasn't right. Thanks guys.


Kona
 






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