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Spark Plug wires, 5.0

bretb

Member
Joined
July 27, 2009
Messages
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City, State
Puyallup WA
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 Explorer 5.0, XLT
Hi all, it is time for the plugs and wires treatment on my wifes 1999 Expl, 5.0, AWD. I have been doing the search for the wires most like and are using. It looks like there is a consences for Motorcraft and Taylor. The question is what is the part number for Motorcraft and Taylor wire sets? Reason, the local parts place says there are 2 different part numbers for the 1999; one for cast "log" exhaust manifolds and one for tube manifolds. Pop the hood, and it looks like tube/header style manifolds (their stock:rolleyes:). They don't carry the Motorcrafts, and Ferd wants $180+ for the wire set :thumbdwn:

Checked out Summit, Jegs, and Fordpartsnetwork (now fastpartsnetwork?). Summit offers the Motorcraft and Taylors, but there are multiple listings and not just for colors. Which is it, I don't know.

Thanks all, appreciate the assistance.
 



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DO NOT buy the taylors. Members have had problems with them burning up, and then gotten poor customer service from taylor when trying to get replacements. Buy the motorcraft wires. There is only one motorcraft cable set showing up on fastpartsnetwork, but wow they've gone up in price again. They were around $100 a year ago.
 






Thanks Techieman, I did see one, and the cost seemed high. Dah, should've checked part numbers from fastparts to Summit/Jegs.....Age is so dibilitating
 






OK, no part numbers showing, not even in cart. Good to know about the Taylor wires as well.
 












Just looked at them. Thanks much, and now I've got the Motorcraft part number WR6034, just incase anyone else needs it.

Bret
 






Amazon has the wires for $107.47 plus free shipping
 






I was all for the Motorcrafts too, but I had one new one disintegrate on me as I removed it. I also don't think the quality of the wires themselves is that great for the money. I'm currently using wires made by a small Canadian outfit called "Aurora" (they do sell online). VERY high quality wireset. Made in Abbotsford, BC (about 150 miles from where you live just across the border).

The only advantage I see to the Motorcrafts is that some of them use those metal heat shields. I'm using heat socks instead.

If you compare my wires side by side with Motorcrafts, you can definitely tell which ones are better. I also used Magnecor and they're quality wires too. Both Magnecor and Aurora will sell you single wires if you need them. You trash a Ford wire and you need a new set.

I was all for the Motorcraft wires until I developed the confidence to change my own plugs and wires and saw the quality differences myself. Aurora market their wires as the last wires I'll ever need. I believe it.

Aurora sells 2 different styles for the 5.0 in two different colours (black or red). Great service and support too.

l_95320.jpg
 






Wow, thanks for the input Celly. You bring up a good point with frying one wire, and needing an entire set, or hopeing to find a match single. I'll check out the link. You mention two different styles; is one better than the other, do you know?
 






Decided to take a leap of faith and try out the Aurora Wires. Even if the bank charges a fee for Canadian to US, the Aurora wires are cheaper than Amazon for the Motorcraft. Shipping is a bit expensive, but I deal with freight charges daily at work and with my personal business.

Thanks for the tip on Aurora Celly, I'll see if their as good as the 2 reviews say.

Bret
 






Wow, thanks for the input Celly. You bring up a good point with frying one wire, and needing an entire set, or hopeing to find a match single. I'll check out the link. You mention two different styles; is one better than the other, do you know?

Frankly, I didn't understand the difference. The Aurora guy explained that it depends on the valve covers? The more expensive of the two have different plug I didn't know what that meant. I got the cheaper of the two

There were two part #'s, 95300 and 95320. I went with 95320 in red.

Here is what Gary at Aurora told me (back in early 2006 when I first asked him about the two different wire sets so his site references might be different now).

"In 1999, Ford offered two different wire sets depending on the engine configuration. The most common engine uses part number 95300. This set uses what Ford calls a 'duckbill' boot which is a straight boot that fits into the valve cover of the engine. A picture of it can be found by going to the 'Custom Building' page of our website, clicking on the 'boot codes' link, then the 'Spark plug boots' button and checking 'Style FF' Set 95320 is much less common and uses a boot similiar to 'Style Z'. Both sets have the same coil ends - a rubber boot and plastic cap assembly.

Set 95300 is quite a bit more expensive because of the spark plug boot style used.

Despite what he said about the "more common" wires, I went with the cheaper ones and routed them my way. I do know that the Motorcrafts and Magnecors I used do not have the "duckbill" boots either and instead used more of a 45 degree boot. I routed mine non-standard because I have headers and there are some tight clearances with them.

There are the "duckbill" ones from their site:

l_95300.jpg


Surf through their catalog and you'll see the differences.

I've spent a lot of time being fairly creative using wire looms and zip ties to keep the wires safe. I also use lava rock heat socks to keep them from burning up. I actually spent a little more $$$ on the heat socks than normal relative to the standard fibreglass ones that are normally available (click on my link above for more info on the socks).

In the course of my routing experiments, I did destroy one of the Ford wires and that was one with a metal heat shield on it. I was test-driving the truck and started missing badly after a very spirited ride. I got it home and the smell of burnt rubber was very evident when I popped the hood. The wire was almost broken clean through. It wasn't the fault of the wire though. I wasn't making contact with the header tube but I guess it was close enough. The wire was partially protected by a fibreglass sock, but a slight uncovered spot was where the wire gave out.

Aurora (and Magnecor) wires are made of silicone which have a much higher heat tolerance than the material used to make "lesser" wires. I don't know what Ford uses, but it's not silicone. The quality of these wires is superb as mentioned. The Aurora wires are a better buy and to me, I think they're higher quality. The boots look more sturdy (but Magnecor are pretty high quality too). I didn't mention how well they hold on to the plugs either. They make a "click" sound as they grab on. I still used a small amount of di-electric grease on the plugs as recommended by Aurora. I have removed some of the wires in the course of routing and they definitely hold better than the Motorcrafts.

I think if you give these a go and be careful how you route them, you'll be happy. It is possible to buy heat socks indvidually if you're watching cost (I have them on all 8).

I'm very happy with these wires and despite the fact Motorcraft are a good wire, they don't last forever. Aurora pretty much feels that their wires are the last ones you'll ever need. Shoot him an email. He's a pretty easy going guy and inspires trust and confidence in his products.
 






FYI, those wires pictured there are for different engines, the plugs are down in a deep hole. That ridge is what seals into the top of that hole, likely those are for a 4.6 or other modular engine.

I'll give a thought to those possibly later, I prefer black wires to any bright colors. Night,
 






Go with the 9mm Ford Racing wires from Summit, $50 for the set, those are the same I used on my mustang, never any issues.
 






Go with the 9mm Ford Racing wires from Summit, $50 for the set, those are the same I used on my mustang, never any issues.

Never mind what I said. I just found out that those wires dont fit the Ex's. Summits site says they do, but Ford Racings site says no. I wish I would have known that before I ordered them.
 






I Have AutoLite performanace wires in the mounty. $65 for the set @ Advanced Auto.
 






Never mind what I said. I just found out that those wires dont fit the Ex's. Summits site says they do, but Ford Racings site says no. I wish I would have known that before I ordered them.

Summit sold you Mustang 5.0 wires I bet. Apparently Summit doesn't know that Explorers are DIS.
 






DO NOT buy the taylors. Members have had problems with them burning up, and then gotten poor customer service from taylor when trying to get replacements. Buy the motorcraft wires. There is only one motorcraft cable set showing up on fastpartsnetwork, but wow they've gone up in price again. They were around $100 a year ago.

The problem with the Taylor's is they were designed for stock exhaust manifolds. I Ran a set of Taylors for 5+ years on mine and only had one fail due to my negligence.
 






Where do they go??

Can anyone tell me which wire goes to which plug? That is...I need to know which cylinder(s) has the heat shield on them. The mechanic who did the engine swap didn't pay attention to which wires had the heat shield on them so now we're just guessing. Already had one boot fry. Thanks!
 






Can anyone tell me which wire goes to which plug? That is...I need to know which cylinder(s) has the heat shield on them. The mechanic who did the engine swap didn't pay attention to which wires had the heat shield on them so now we're just guessing. Already had one boot fry. Thanks!

Your '02 Edie Bauer is different from the second gen which is what this forum/ thread is for. You also don't say if you have a 4.0 or 4.6
 



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I'm in the minority here and will probably get chastised, lol, but I use the Beldon wires at $45.00.
 






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