Spark Plug Wires

[Ricardo Miramontes]

Hey guys, and gals,
Does anyone know if Splitfire makes wires for a 1998 XLT SOHC? I went to Autozone and they said they didn't. But sometimes I wonder about the competency of some of the high school kids working at those stores. Sorry if I offend anyone. Also, my check engine light came on yesterday without any visible or audible problems to my engine. It seems to run just fine. Could it be an emissions code, I guess it's a shot in the dark huh? I'm thinking I'm going to reset the computer today and see if that clears it.
Now here's a little story. I took my truck to get a tune up a few weeks ago, and had all the usual work done, when I took it in the morning the mechanic (family friend) said it would be ready mid-day. Fine I went a picked it up at 3:00 pm after he had called and said by the time you get here it will be done. I get there and at 6:30pm it was done....a few hours late. I also noticed that his son had been working on it as well, I didn't think anything of it I figures "hey....who can't do a simple tune up" I would rather pay to have it done, that's my excuse.
Come this weekend I was looking in my engine bay and I noticed that he used two different wires and one of the wires was much thinner diameter than the rest and it was so long it was rubbing up against my left exhaust manifold, and that I suppose would explain my dancing idle, I noticed some sparks coming from that area.
The only reason I'm wrting this is so that you make sure your mechanic has the reasonable logic and common sense, and experience to perform the task.

Thank you.

 

[mike91]

Spitfire should definitely make wires for your truck - from my experience, it Autozone doesn't have it, they'll tell you it doesn't exist. Especially so you can buy their crappy wires in the green box. If not, Jacobs electronics should have something for you.

 

[91expl-sport]

Hell dudes, has anyone tried the Bosch Plugs?
I too am running with the crapy wires from AutoZone.....


91 Explorer Sport 4.0 V6 EFI
Bosch Platinum +4's
K&N FIPK for a 96 Explorer
BBK 66MM THROTTLEBODY
BORLA HEADERS
Flow master Series 40 AND 2 1/4 CUSTOM PIPES
Granatelli Mass Airflow Sensor 70MM
SUPERCHIP
Edelbrock shocks
255/70-R15 Viper LT’s With 3.73 Gears
180 JET THEMOSTAT
Pilot Pro-Truck Series PL-700B Fog Lights on the Smithblit bumper
UNI TRACKTION BARS
Wind Jammer
Lund Sunvisor

 

[Ricardo Miramontes]

Wires

I was told that the Bosch wires were pretty good but those cost about 100 bones. I guess it's worth it for the performance gain.

Thanks,
Ricardo

 

[FlyAU]

My Bosch wires were $25?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Ricardo Miramontes]

Hey FlyAU,
Did the ones you get have a ceramic isulated plug piece? Black in color? The ones I saw did, actually my mechanic was about to put them on my truck but didn't at the last minute because he got the wrong ones. He was the one that told me somewhere along $100. I may be wrong.

 

[mike91]

Are the Bosch's called truck plug wires? Its sounds like it from your description. I picked those wires up over a year and a half ago and for the price, its not worth it. I have tried the Splitfire, Jacob's and Bosch Truck wires and even though I currently am running the Jacob's, I think Splitfire is the best bang for the buck. The wires only cost around $59.99 and if you are lucky, there will be a rebate for $20.00 and they work just as good if not better than Jacobs.

 

[BGN]

What is the best way to know when its time to replace plug wires? I think I remember hearing some years back that taking a volt/ohm meter and using it to measure resistance tells alot but what I don't remember are the figures involved.

Thanks for any feedback provided!

Barry

 

[FlyAU]

Here's what it says on the wire insulation:

"BOSCH ULTRA-PREMIUM - 8MM OPTI-LAYER MAG CORE"

 

[BGN]

Thanks FlyAU,

I have 8mm silicone wires as well from John Baker Performance. They are probably 4 years old at this point so I'm kind of wondering how their holding up--hence my question.

Barry