BD's 2000 Explorer Limited

[BrianDye]

Little girls gonna get some new plugs and wires tomorrow!

Im gonna shoot a before and after video of a cold start/idle/etc. Let me tell you, the before videos might hurt to watch.

 

[willzilla]

Truck looks nice man! That digital setup is slick I must admit!

 

[CDW6212R]

R&R the IAC solenoid, clean that well. It greatly affects the idle, and since a lot of the crankcase vent is going through it, it accumulates a coating just like inside of a valve cover.

Hold the IAC with the electrical solenoid up at all times, you don't want carb/brake cleaner getting in that. Spray it well, use a pick or tiny screw driver to partially open the plunger(push it away from the electrical side). That usually helps the idle smooth out, it sticks or doesn't move smoothly when it's dirty.

 

[BrianDye]

Well...today sucked, to say the least.

Started at 11am, got 7 plugs done between then and 7pm.

Long story short, all plugs but 1 & 3 came out NO problem. Didnt even need any penetration lube. Wires were a PITA but no complications out of the ordinary.

We kept shooting 1 & 3 with "Pen" some expensive stuff he had, like 20$ or more a can. Still wouldnt budge. So we gave up, since we both had stuff todo around 3ish, and I decided ill just bite the bullet and take it to a local shop. Ive heard too many horror stories about breaking plugs, shavings going into the head, having to rip the head apart, etc. So NO shop around Monroe would do it. Two of them said they would, but they wouldnt even have me in until Wednesday. I asked "Paul" (Real nice shop, guy is a bank of automotive knowledge) I said what would YOU do personally if this were yours.

He said NOT to work on it when its hot, since its aluminum, and then reccomended parking it for the night and every hour or so shooting it with heavy ammounts of PB. Then just slowly crank on it til it breaks loose.

Thats about the time when Chris called me back and decided to cancel his plans so we could work on it; and long story short, #1 snapped off, we got the rest of the electrode part out with the vaccum (NO shavings whatsoever thank goodness), and then spend 2+ hours trying everything to get the threads out of the head. Well finally we found out about these nifty things called "EZ outs" and bam, after about 5 minutes we had it out. So now 7/8 plugs are done, my MPGs are 3+ more than before, it starts a little faster, even idles better running on 7 plugs.

Were gonna tackle #3 tomorrow morning....wish us luck

 

[BrianDye]

Oh, let me say another thing; original plugs and wires. 155,000 miles.

Plugs were gapped probably 3mm.

Gas mileage already went from a rough 13 to 16.5

 

[CDW6212R]

Wow, 155k.

 

[BrianDye]

Plugs would NOT be bad at all on this thing if they weren't seized in there. All were really easy by jacking up the front end and taking both wheels off. (And the smaller flap in the wheelwell)

Wires were a PITA only because of the stupid way some were routed and the clips were like fused shut, we had to break most of them off. (Clips as in the wire holders or whatever they're called)

 

[CDW6212R]

We can thank Platinum plugs for the long service intervals, which creates that kind of problem. Changing plugs every 25k miles used to be the right way to do it, and it had other advantages too as you can see. I never go much beyond 25k miles typically, 40-50k is a lot to me. Which points out how old my 99 truck's plugs are. I'm soon going to do the timing stuff again, so the plugs should go also. Thanks.

 

[BrianDye]

Well at least I bought a set of plugs that will last the rest of the trucks (Or engine I should say) life :


Jk, but I cant believe some of the ridiculous plugs out there. Some claim to instantly add 8-9 MPGs, more HP, more Torque, etc and are like 14$ a plug.

Thank god tomorrow morning im gonna finally get that last one out. Shes wanting to run so good now but cant, due to an 11 year old plug

 

[BrianDye]

And it wasnt even the threads that were rusty or anything, its just that thick rim thats above the threads on the plug that also goes into the block. The threads were fine but that part was just complete rust and corrosion.

 

[CDW6212R]

Spark plugs are not magic items like people think, and "they" advertise. Any new plugs with the proper gap and oriented in the chamber properly, will all make virtually the same power, and get the same mileage.

Watch and notice that every comparison people make will be between an old set of plugs and some new set. You can't judge any new plug by comparing it to any old plugs. That's not fair and don't believe it.

Buy plugs based on your plans to keep the vehicle, and the likelihood of when they will be changed next. If that engine had had plain $1 plugs when new, the owner would have had to replace them at some point well before they seized to the heads, say at 40k miles. The super hard platinum etc. tips, they make the plugs last long enough for that to happen. But along the way also, the performance drops gently, and the owner doesn't notice it.

Just write down in your maintenance log, when you replaced them. Far down the road someone will notice that and be able to swap them again before they get stuck in there.

 

[BrianDye]

I know those claims are BS, I just laughed when I seen them. AutoZone had 4 or 5 different ones on a little plastic display with those little facts.

Sure they'll boost your MPGs and make you run smoother; if your plugs are old and toasted.

Anywho, we got the last plug out, had to use that "EZ Out" again which we had already planned. Fun times, but im definitely gonna order those aurora wires. Mainly because I dont like the way these heat shields on the AutoLites are. But shes running like a CHAMP, idles smoother, starts faster, and im happy. Now im gonna do the rear diff. What kind of oil does that use? (Along with the friction modifier, but I havent seen any AutoZone around here with that FM stuff, what other local stores carry it?)

 

[BrianDye]

 

[Keeper0311]

That looks like a mess man. Glad you got it all sorted.

 

[BrianDye]

I think I shed a tear the other night when we broke the plug off man I was a nervous wreck thinking all the little particles were gonna fly in the cylinder and whatnot; but thank god none did, and that EZ out worked wonders!

But im finding some people say 75w-140 for the rear diff (With friction mod. if its not synthetic), and some are saying 80w-90?

 

[BrianDye]

I was due for a new air filter anyway, so I figured why not try one of these from AutoZone.

So far, so good. Had to buy a new MAFS adapter, as the plate from AZ is to small. (Plate bolts onto the original MAFS housing and then the new cone filter tightens onto the lip of the plate)

 

[Joe Dirt]

You just added 8-9 MPG with that filter...

 

[BrianDye]

AND it feels like I just added a supercharger






:

 

[BrianDye]

So the new plugs/wires definitely helped the hard starting, but it occasionally still does happen, I was reading up on how to clean the IAC (Just to see what to clean it with), and it seems like everyone who cleaned it, just ended up having more problems. Mines not "whining" or making any noise that I can hear while driving.

I guess ill give it a shot tomorrow; worst case, I drop 50 bucks for another new part under the hood.

 

[BrianDye]

Well I cleaned the IAC just now, I had the Fiesta out all last night so my X has been sitting since midday yesterday. Turned the key and she fired right up! In less than half the time she usually took on a cold start! I was happy as hell!