What did you do this weekend? Participation required

[429CJ-3X2]

Reviving an old thread!

Motivated by a 1300 mile round trip coming next week, I finally replaced the original spark plugs and wires in my 2002 ST at 127,555 miles a few weeks ago. I've had the plugs for several years knowing it needed to be done. The gaps on plugs 1-3 were around .072, while 5 & 6 were .092 and .096. (I dropped #4 as it came out and still haven't found it.) The worst part of the job was getting the wires off the plugs, and getting the new #2 plug started in the hole. With the tire off, you can see the plug and hole, but there's not enough room to get my hand in there. I ended up using the boot off one of the old wires to get it started with my fingertips.
I've been getting around 15-15 1/2 mpg locally - sometimes 16. I drive a mix of short highway and interstate and city driving, although very little real stop and go. It got 17.1 on the first tank with the new plugs and wires, and almost 17.5 on the second tank. That's with the topper and roughly 200 lbs of tools and stuff in the back. On previous interstate trips from Des Moines to St Louis or Kansas City, it's gotten 18 to 19 mpg. The trip next week is to Columbus, Ohio, which will include a long stretch of pretty flat road in Illinois. It'll be interesting to see what the mpg will be on this trip!

In the past couple of weeks I've also
Replaced the fuel cap
Replaced the foggy headlight lenses with a perfectly clear set of Ford lenses I found at the salvage yard at some point.
Replaced the battery cable terminals.
Cleaned the MAF sensor.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Road trip recap to follow-up on my post above.
We left Des Moines last Tuesday at 3:40 after I picked up the grandkids from school. They didn't go with us, but were the reason we left when we did. We took most of our food with us, so we probably added another 100+ lbs in the back with coolers and luggage.
Overall, the truck didn't get the mileage I'd hoped for with an average of 17.9 mpg for the 1357 mile trip, but wind was a factor. Aside from a few miles, the trip was entirely on interstates I-80, I-74, and I-70. Cruise control was set at 75. Speedo reads a little fast.

The first and last 200 miles or so were the hilliest. There are a few flat stretches, but I-80 across Iowa is pretty much up and down hills. On top of that, there was a 25-30 mph wind blowing out of the NNW hitting the left rear quarter which didn't help a bit. When we turned south on I-74, the wind was hitting the right rear quarter. By the time the terrain leveled off as we neared Galesburg, IL, the wind was dying down. From Galesburg, I-74 angles SE across Illinois and Indiana to Indianapolis. From Indy to Columbus is pretty much straight east. We spent Tuesday night in Peoria where I gassed up Wed a.m. (If you're traveling thru Peoria and need to stop for gas, eats or motel, take I-74 thru town as there's virtually nothing on the bypass.) 16.36 mpg on the first leg.

Wednesday was beautiful - frosty in the morning, but it quickly warmed to the low - mid 50s, and NO WIND! From Galesburg east, the terrain is pretty flat. The hills are long and gradual for the most part. I drove from Peoria to about 30 miles outside Columbus before needing fuel. 19.62 mpg on this leg. Yay! I might have squeezed out 20 mpg except for a couple of factors. An accident in a construction zone outside Danville, IL forced all traffic off the interstate and through town. That was 20-30 minutes of idling as we crept through town. Worse than that, the speed limit for trucks in Indiana is 65. In theory, it's safer if trucks go slower because they take longer to stop, but what it does is bunch the trucks up on hills and in construction zones. A lot of trucks that can cruise at 70 can't maintain their speed on hills when they're limited to 65 and the trucks clog up the road on hills. I screwed up by hitting the RESUME button on the cruise control when the road cleared which causes a surge instead of getting back up to speed more smoothly before resetting the CC.

We started back Thursday at 3 p.m. via the same route with a stiff wind out of the S or SSW, which created a lot of turbulence around semis. It died down west of Indy. From Columbus to Danville, IL, we got 17.99 mpg. (Fill up on the Indiana side of the border). Friday came with a noticeable wind out of the SW which continued most of the day. 17.77 mpg on the last leg.

Mileage was figured using my odometer which was right on the money with the mile markers along the interstate. I used the same technique every time when filling the tank. I assume all gas was 10% ethanol. Around here, I know what I'm buying, but the pumps elsewhere aren't marked as well. Gas prices were all over the place. $3.02 in Des Moines when we left. (2.93 when we got back.) In IA, prices ranged from 2.91 in 1 spot to 3.69. Illinois ranged from 3.21 to 3.69, but generally around 3.26. Highs and lows were sometimes only a few miles apart, and the highs were the exceptions. In Indiana, gas was consistently between 3.25 and 3.29. In Ohio, 2.89 was the norm. Again, this was 87 octane, probably 10% ethanol.

I'm very quick to criticize how other people drive, but the only idiot move I saw was in Indianapolis when someone went from the far left lane, across the center lane to the far right lane - at 55 mph through tight traffic - so sharply that I could see the entire right side of their vehicle. This was in a construction zone on a bridge with high cement walls. The lanes were extra wide, but I don't know how they didn't hit the wall head-on.
The only other issue I noticed was that there were plenty of construction zones all along the way and speed limits through them were largely ignored. Besides the safety issues, I don't like the idea of a possible $2500 fine, so I tried to stay close to the speed limits.

I only spotted 3 or 4 other Sport Tracs on the entire trip. I often see that many or more on a 20 minute trip around Des Moines.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket on the '02 ST yesterday. It started leaking about the time I changed the driver's side a few months ago, and got bad pretty quickly. I'd read the horror stories about getting to the lower rear bolt, and dreaded doing this side, but the job went much better than I expected. I used a short 8mm socket, a swivel, and an extension and got that bolt out without any trouble. Thanks to the plug wires I put on in Oct being slightly different lengths than the originals, I didn't even have to disconnect them, except from each other. I didn't even have to disconnect the vacuum line that crosses over the valve cover. Once the air intake tube is off and all the hoses are disconnected/removed, it's a pretty straightforward job. It would be easier getting the valve cover out and back in if the alternator was off, but it's not worth the effort to take it off.

Today, I finally found an answer to this - Solved - 2004 Sport Trac No 4WD High, but low works

Tomorrow or Saturday, I'll replace the thermostat housing on the '04 ST with an aluminum one like I have on the '02. It started leaking like crazy during our recent spell of -10 to -15F temps.