changed spark plugs and fuel filter this weekend

[Phi 844]

My dad and I changed the spark plugs on my X this weekend and man, that was a pain in the butt. The 3 on the drivers side were the hardest to get out. It took us awhile to get them to fianlly break loose. We put in new Bosch Platinum +4's. We figured they were worth a try. Anyway they sure did go in a lot easyier that the old ones came out (imagine that .

As far as the fuel filter goes that thing did not want to come out. We had all the right tool and everthing, but the fuel line just did not want to come lose. It did come off and the new one is in (no leaks...so far).

Well, if nothing else It sure made for an eventful Sunday afternoon.

~Andy

 

[Dirt Research]

Ditto on everything you mentioned it being a pain.
I cursed more than I spoke when I did mine. I went
with standard Champion plugs-nothing fancy.

 

[Sport (no trac)]

Bosch +4 gap?

What did you do about the gap on the +4s? I put a similar set of plugs on my Kawasaki Ninja, and even though the parts guy said there was no need to gap them, the box said to adjust to factory specs.

What was the story with the Bosch plugs?

 

[Rhett]

The Bosch +4's are supposed to be pre-gapped; i.e. you don't need to adjust their gap. For a 91-94 Exp that means .054" gap.

Personally I don't like anything that I can't adjust. I run Autolite's on mine and I opened the gap a little over spec. I wouldn't recommend side-gapping or even opening the gap unless you are running some pretty stout wires, like Magnacor KV's, Taylors, and so forth.

 

[FordFanatic]

Sparkplug Torque Setting

Just wondering what the Torque setting for explorer sparkplugs is? Thanks!

-CJ

 

[astrochimp]

just a note..
Someone told me..he builds and tests engines..that Champion spark plugs are just plain Crap. Bosch are good But they have a high resistance. NGK plugs are the best choice ..or at least one of the best.

I dunno

 

[jimmiecakes]

Spark plugs

Bosch +4s are side gap and cannot be successfully gapped by conventional means. Someone would really have to do some convincing to get me to go for the extra cost.

If memory serves correct, spark plug torque is 20ft/lb. Run them in until the tapered seat touches the head and nudge them 'bout 1/12th of a turn.

Opening up spark plug gap beyond factory spec. will expose more mixture to the spark. Unfortunately the extra voltage required to ionize the plug gap "may" overpower the insulating properties of wires, boots or coil towers or even reduce the life expectancy of the coil pack (depends on how carried away you get). YMMV.

 

[KEbert]

Don't forget to ou anti-sieze compund on the threads before you put them in, it makes it a lot easier to take them out since our Explorers are tapered.

 

[FordFanatic]

thanks

Just wanted to thank you all for the useful info. I just put in a set of motorcraft sparkplugs nothin' special. Thanks for the info!

 

[Nonoy]

My X is still on the driveway with a jack on it. I started this afternoon sometime at 4 pm and was able to replace the 2 spark plugs by the passenger side. It was really a pain and decided to call it a day. I'll start early Sunday tomorrow after a nice breakfast. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

 

[iceman]

yep replacing sparkplugs are the biggest pain i just put some autolite platinums in my 94xlt and i cursed it the whole 2 hours.
does any1 know what a good price for magnecor spark wires is ?

 

[Rhett]

Magnacors are expensive, i think they run about $120, but it might be cheaper (like $80-90) now. My Jacobs wires were about $70. Magnacors are arguably the best wires, imo. Jacobs, Taylors, Bosch, and so on aren't too bad either.

 

[Van I.]

Magnacor wires

Check out cyberauto.com . I think I saw it for $68.