SHO Spark Plug Replacement How-to

I changed my plugs last night using this thread as reference. Went fairly smoothly with one hiccup. The rubber boot attached to the bottom of the coil was my issue. 4 out of 6 stayed on the plug. The first one being the passenger side by the firewall, aka the most PITA one to get at. A pair of long needle nose pliers are definitely required to get the boot out. After ripping apart the first one with short needle nose pliers, I borrowed a long one from my Dad. I was then able to get a good hold and pull then right out, completely intact. I went to Ford first thing this morning and got a new one, plus 2 extras just in case. Here's a pic. They were only $2.45 each.
qapapysa.jpg

Here's a pic of it attached to the bottom of the coil.
ju2e4ezy.jpg

Since I have big hands, thus making it extremely hard to work in tight spots, I moved the strut tower brace to gain a little more room. Just remove the 4 nuts and slide it forward out of the way. Or you can take it completely off, but I didn't do that. Here's a pic of the driver side, passenger side the same.
ehapynan.jpg

Finally, even though I had no issue getting the stock plugs off, I still used anti seize on the new ones. 

Once I had everything put back together, I started her up and she purred like a kitten. 


Brad
2010 SHO with PP
MyCal LMS Stage 3
Sent from my iPhone
 
BiGMaC said:
Kolk1 said:
I guess mine is totally different. I didnt remove anything, just the 6 bolts, the 6 coils, and 6 plugs. I didnt unbolt the EVAP, or charge pipe, just worked around it.

Im used to working on motorcycles though, so I thought it felt like tons of room. lol
Click to expand...

Good info!  I'm an old scooter guy myself (Aspencade, the old 10:1 compression... touring, not a rocket)
Click to expand...

Me too, I had a Gold Wing before they came dressed...had to put on the old Vetter Windjammer fairings, bags, and lowers...even had a custom seat for my first one!  Now back to topic...
 
Awesome :thumb:  Hope you don't mind, but I edited a couple of posts with a quote of the How-To with links instead.  Makes the thread a lot easier to read.
 
Thanks for the How-To! I used this today when changing my plugs for my UNLEASHED TUNE!

NOTE: Do not have car keys in your pocket while doing this change... Remote start button being pressed when you have one of the plugs out and the car starts without you knowing leads to a lot of rushing to open a car door... hahaha
 
Thanks!! Did this about 1.5 hours.  Had to find the right ratchet extensions then dropped one down the back of the motor.  About 30 minutes was wasted on stupid stuff.
 
I know I'm resurrecting an old thread but I wanted to thank iheartgroceries for the walk through, knowing the bolt sizes saved me some time. I did not need to remove anything but I did unbolt and disconnect the intake piping to get to the rear drivers side plug. Just used a spark plug socket and extension. My plugs were in crazy tight so I had to use my torque wrench to remove them. Having done it now I bet I could do this again in about 30mins. The rear passenger side was accessible by just bending the wires a little. On a final note my SP534's were all gapped at .030 out of the box, even though everywhere on the net says .035.
Here is a pic of the first 2 plugs I removed next to a new plug for comparison. This is on my Explorer after about 36k, and a couple runs at the drag strip last year. I'm thinking we might have just a little more space to work with on the back plugs in the explorer than the guys with the sho. Oh I got the plugs and the little gap device from oreileys for $27 after tax. Can't believe I paid $100 for plugs from LMS and another $100 for install from the dealership last year (just wanted it done). Anyone debating doing this them selves, I say go for it, probably one of the simplest things to do on these vehicles
 
They were varied from .033-.035. These particular ones really weren't that bad, but I was surprised how far the gaps opened up in that time frame. I am however new to checking the gaps on plugs (and I'm no expert) and I didn't realize they can open up that far in such low miles
 
I just took my car into Dobbs and asked them to change my spark plugs and they said 'there will be a gasket involved' and that 'they have to remove the intake manifold to change spark plugs'

Sounds like rubbish to me

Thoughts?
 
paokara777 said:
I just took my car into Dobbs and asked them to change my spark plugs and they said 'there will be a gasket involved' and that 'they have to remove the intake manifold to change spark plugs'

Sounds like rubbish to me

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

COMPLETE CRAP!!!! Totally and utterly complete BS...... ALLDATA might suggest removing the intake manifold so you have more room for the rear.. and there is an online tutorial for the 3.5 NA engine where the guy removes the intake manifold... but I would hate to say the stealership is using youtube for repairs/maintenance... lol..

I did it with a 3/4 socket wrench, extension, sparkplug socket, 10mm (I think) socket for the bolts holding on the coil packs, long needle nose (to get the spark plug boot), and dielectric grease....

Tell that dealer to go pound sand....
 
he was looking at the car lol.
Having said that maybe he didnt notice it was a SHO?
THey are hard to pick out at first glance.
 
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