Change Plugs?

[cden]

My 02 explorer xls has 117,000 miles. I'm thinking about changing the spark plugs. Should I do the wires also, are they easy to change? If not is it a big deal? Also what brand of plugs are the best, or most recommended? Thanks!

 

[thepotroast]

My 02 explorer xls has 117,000 miles. I'm thinking about changing the spark plugs. Should I do the wires also, are they easy to change? If not is it a big deal? Also what brand of plugs are the best, or most recommended? Thanks!

http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258091&highlight=change+spark+plugs

As far as what's recommended? Well, by Ford...that would be Motorcraft's which is what they come with. It's what I replaced mine with. As far as wires go? There are so many brands out there...find out what your parts supplier has, and then come back and ask

 

[rumpledoll]

One important tip - only change the plugs on an aluminum head engine when the engine is cold. Hot heads means expanded aluminum means tighter grip on the plugs and a greater chance of stripping them - something you really don't want to do.

Rumple

 

[jrford]

with 117k you might want to replace the wires (if you have them) too. That other posted reminded me lol, just do one plug/wire at a time. . .another thing imho, its better to use motorcraft stuff . . . less problems in the long run, Another thought there is a lot of good marketing out there when it comes to plugs/wires to bad you truck dosn't 'read' lol. . .usually it dosn't make a difference or makes things worse.

 

[thepotroast]

And to reiterate my suggestion, just stick with the Motorcraft plugs (they are platinums by default). Make sure they are gapped correctly, .052-.056 I believe is the gap for your year.

For wires, I just went with the Bosch brand, it's all that the parts house had in stock. I believe that Ford used the ACDelco wires for their 3rd gen's (or at least the 2002 which is what you have), so you can pick those up for around $30. IMO...all of the wire brands are going to be just about the same, since we're not talking high dollar performance stuff here. Just looking on rockauto.com, they list 10 different brands of wires for your truck, anywhere from $20 - $40. They are all going to be 8mm, and they are all going to be just about the "same". If it makes you feel better to buy the more expensive ones, so be it

 

[Swamp Fox]

I replaced the plugs in my '04 Flex V6 with Autolite Iridiums and NAPA Belden Max wires. It runs great.

 

[cden]

How did you get to the plugs on the passenger side?

 

[pfeffer1728]

Take the wheel off, probably take the dust shields out too...ought to make it easy to get to

 

[EasyRhino]

Can't speak to the V6 (didn't find in your profile what engine you have), but the V8 has no 'wires' in that the coil packs are on top of the plugs, therefore, it has no spark plug wires. So if you have the V8, you only need the coil packs when they fail, and when they do, you should get a CEL which will throw a code.

Also, for the V8, you'll need to work around the Fuel Injectors to gain access to the plugs. I think (do a search) that the back plugs are hard to reach w/o disconnecting and removing the F/I 'log'.

Do follow what others said here: do it cold for sure - the V8 heads are susceptible to blowing out plugs, and if the threads are shot, you increase the chance of this happening.

For the V8, I recommend pulling the coil packs, shooting some high quality penetrating fluid in the spark plug bosses (PB Blaster is the best), letting it sit and soak overnight, and using a torque wrench, carefullly unscrewing the plugs. Be patient, if the plug does not come out at a rational torque value, I would let it stay there - no kidding. At that point consider the result of tearing out the threads or living with an old plug for the duration you might own it. Doing a head repair is dayumed expensive for the value of replacing a spark plug (which lasts for a very, very long time in these).

Let us know how it goes, and good luck.

Do you know if the plugs are original??

 

[cden]

They are original. I replaced the 3 on the drivers side, 4,5,6. The pass. side looks like a pain in the ass to get to. The main problem that I am having is that every now and again when I go to start it it wont start. I'll need to put my foot on the gas and then It will start. I thought changing out the plugs would be a good start. The truck is in excellent condition, all the matience has been kept up to date.

 

[1_v8_merc]

Holy ****, 117k and stock plugs!?

I did mine at 30k and they looked pretty rough, 2 of them were very rusted.

Doing the plugs on the v8 is SUPER EASY.
I guess i've worked on tighter cars, because i thought there was plenty of room to work....of course that's once you disconnect a couple plastic lines and take the air intake hose off....piece of cake.

It's very tight where the spark plug goes down into, so be careful, there's just enough room to fit an extended socket down there, so it kind of sucks if your extension pops off or if the socket wont let go of the plug and you can't feel the plug as you try to screw it back in.

Just take your time, and play it cool.

I think you need a swivel piece to get around the fuel line or some crap on one of the passenger side plugs, i can't remember, but you can buy that at wal-mart.

I used Autolite regulars I think, I would never use Bosch in a Ford, heard too many horror stories.
Could be superstition but people I know personally have had problems with them.

Stick with motorcraft or autolite

No need to go super fancy with double plats or anything.

If you want to replace the Coils, go for it, like the other guy said, the v8's don't have spark plug wires, it's just a little coil thing attached over the spark-plug boot....which you will remove before getting to each plug anyways!

There are some web-sites that sell aftermarket coils for our trucks....but you have to search 99-04 mustang GT, i believe all the coils from those cars are the same....since the motors are, as long as it's a 2v motor.

They did a test on a mustang magazine and got around a 27hp gain from 60,000volt or or 75k volt coils, cant remember exactly.
People still dispute it today, but dyno numbers are dyno numbers!
Im not saying to buy them(they cost $500 anyways), but just food for though maybe.

 

[cden]

my explorer is a v6. It looks like on the drivers side you need to take off the air filter in order to get to the plugs.

 

[pfeffer1728]

if you're having trouble starting for no reason, are you parking facing downhill? sometimes mine will have trouble if I'm parked nose-down for while with a low tank.

 

[cden]

no, it's usually on flat ground. sometimes with a full tank

 

[Robsbrd99]

Was thinking that a fuel filter would also help some.
Wow, 100k+ on factory plugs. Im also one that changed early. Did mine at 45k. Looked pretty worn down to me. Would love to see a pic. of yours.

 

[rocco123]

Just a small bit of advice. Only change 1 or 2 at a time, then start the eng. This will help in troubleshooting if you get a bad plug. Not fun going back over all 8 cylinders to find a possible bad one. had bad plugs before right out of the box.

 

[mchrist809]

I just did Motorcraft plugs and wires on my '04 4.0 (rockauto.com). Piece of cake. There's a step-by-step thread on this with pics if you search (not hard to find). 100K change on plugs is according to book, so not sure why others are so surprised w/ 117. You should be fine. Put some anti-sieze when you install new ones.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Just a small bit of advice. Only change 1 or 2 at a time, then start the eng. This will help in troubleshooting if you get a bad plug. Not fun going back over all 8 cylinders to find a possible bad one. had bad plugs before right out of the box.

That's really good advice rocco-- I've been doing that for years now- it saves a ton of hassle for not only bad plugs, but bad wires or in one case- my fault- bad installation/gapping.