Spark Plugs Replaced...

[r1crusher]

So I took the time a couple weeks ago to change the plugs in the SHO because it's been tuned for a while with the OE gapping.  And while I was at it decided to do the plugs in the wife's F150 too as it's tuned as well (thanks Torrie ).  All new plugs were gapped to a tight .030 so I think that should be good.

Pretty simple, took my time.  Nothing major problem wise short of breaking one of those stupid flimsy red locking slide clips on one of the coil plugs. Truck was uneventful except for trying to climb up into the damn engine bay to get to the back plugs.

Here's the plugs out of the SHO and they looked pretty good for 40k miles on them...

Here's the plugs out of the F150 at about 36k miles and well...they don't look nearly as good. The center porcelain around the electrodes were much darker and one plug even had a lot of carbon build up around half of it.

Most of the plugs were running close to the .035 OE gappings so they weren't getting blown off like I've seen on some plugs out of EB engines.

And to top everything off, new air and cabin filters and they definitely were needed.

 

[SHOdded]

Yup, I'd stick to the 100,000 plug change interval

 

[ZSHO]

Definetly needed it,reminds me of my last barbecue which turned out to be well done.  Z

 

[r1crusher]

I'm beginning to think that the F150 plugs being worse might be due to gas grade we're using.  It's running an 87 octane tune from Torrie but it runs and tows well regardless.

But yeah...100k miles is probably the sweet spot for doing the plugs.  LOL!

 

[A 01 Badger]

I just changed mine as well (along with 3bar and a LMS 93 oct. tune)  I went with the NGK Iridium one step colder.  I feel like it's worth mentioning that although the OEM's looked pretty good at 40K, not a single one was gapped the same, nor were any of them under .035 (one was over .040).  All 6 at .030 now and it does seem to run smoother to me, although it may be placebo.  I only ran the tune one day before switching the plugs so I can't really say if they did much.

I am attempting to attach some stock plug photos.

 

[SHOdded]

Agreed, the stocks look they are wearing pretty well.  How long have you had the SHO again?  The new plugs will most def help you make the best out of the tune, in a sustained fashion.

 

[ZSHO]

Did you notice any visible signs of oil preferably #3 spark plug well ? A01 badger best of luck and change the plugs more often,especially running a tune.  Z

 

[A 01 Badger]

Agreed, the stocks look they are wearing pretty well.  How long have you had the SHO again?  The new plugs will most def help you make the best out of the tune, in a sustained fashion.

I have had the SHO since Dec 2014, it had 18k when I bought it so I can't say for sure what was done maintenance wise, but I am pretty confident those were the original plugs.  Total mileage now is a few hundred short of 40K. 

 

[A 01 Badger]

Did you notice any visible signs of oil preferably #3 spark plug well ? A01 badger best of luck and change the plugs more often,especially running a tune.  Z

I didn't notice anything.  All the plugs were pretty clean and dry.  Have you heard this was common?

 

[BiGMaC]

Did you notice any visible signs of oil preferably #3 spark plug well ? A01 badger best of luck and change the plugs more often,especially running a tune.  Z

I didn't notice anything.  All the plugs were pretty clean and dry.  Have you heard this was common?

It is not uncommon for the #3 spark plug well to have a leak in the well seal or valve cover gasket allowing oil to leak into that well... And they are deep. When I was regapping my plugs right before I tuned it, my '13 SHO had over an inch of oil there... She was only about 5 months old (bought new).  ... Dealer replaced both under warranty. So I recommend putting the spark plug socket on... Then remove and look at it, or use a something for a "dipstick" before removing a plug to avoid a cylinder full of oil... I do now after just dumb luck finding it the first time.

 

[Livernois Motorsports]

I just changed mine as well (along with 3bar and a LMS 93 oct. tune)  I went with the NGK Iridium one step colder.  I feel like it's worth mentioning that although the OEM's looked pretty good at 40K, not a single one was gapped the same, nor were any of them under .035 (one was over .040).  All 6 at .030 now and it does seem to run smoother to me, although it may be placebo.  I only ran the tune one day before switching the plugs so I can't really say if they did much.

I am attempting to attach some stock plug photos.

This is exactly why we pull the plugs on every EcoBoost vehicle that comes through the shop and recommend this to our customers as well.  Sure on occasion 1 out of 10 vehicles may have plugs gapped near .035, but most all of them are highly inconsistent and have a few cylinders that are around .040 or even worse.  So on a stock tune that is not going to be noticeable, but throw a strong 91-93 tune on the vehicle and it's spark blow out city.  The F150s seem to be the worst because they make more boost and have usually been running 87 primarily before adding a tune. 

I couldn't tell you how many times we hear from F150 Ecoboost guys after they have switched over to a 91-93 tune and are experiencing spark blow out.  Everyone's always so quick to blame the tune and then once they change / gap the spark plugs, suddenly their issues have been resolved.  Most report back claiming their vehicle idles smoother than ever and runs like a beast now especially at WOT.  Vehicles that had a significant amount of miles on the plugs typically see improved fuel economy as well.  We prefer to keep a fresh set in our vehicles and recommend to change them about 30k to ensure optimal performance at all times. 

 

[vernonator]

So how hard is the change? Mine are still stock and all this talk makes me want to swap them out. Just did the set on my son's '02 Ford Ranger and they were AWFUL to change (like having to pull the passenger tire/wheel well to get to the back two). Bad enough to pay someone or pretty easy?

 

[ajpturbo]

I wouldnt mess with them unless you are having problems and showing symptoms....people saying they think they have spark blow out or not running smoothly is not enough for me...show me misfires in a log then ill look at the plugs

 

[Livernois Motorsports]

So how hard is the change? Mine are still stock and all this talk makes me want to swap them out. Just did the set on my son's '02 Ford Ranger and they were AWFUL to change (like having to pull the passenger tire/wheel well to get to the back two). Bad enough to pay someone or pretty easy?

Five of them are pretty straight forward and then 1 of them will take almost as long as the other 5 did depending on how much disassembly is done. 

 

[ajpturbo]

Hopefully you dont strip the threads in the heads because you THINK you need plugs because all this talk about plugs you hear lol...or hopefully they dont strip on the way out because you have a high mileage car...might not even be able to get the plug back in if that happens lol

 

[pmezo33]

So how hard is the change? Mine are still stock and all this talk makes me want to swap them out. Just did the set on my son's '02 Ford Ranger and they were AWFUL to change (like having to pull the passenger tire/wheel well to get to the back two). Bad enough to pay someone or pretty easy?

It's really not that hard of a job.  There's a good how to with pictures in the how to section that should help.  Shouldn't take you more than an hour as long as the boots come off easy.  I had a little issue with the coil boots getting stuck on the plug when removing mine.  Other than that, it's fairly straightforward.  It would probably take me a half hour now that I've already done it once.  Don't forget to grease your coils and use some anti-seize on the threads when installing the new plugs.

 

[SHOdded]

If you use antiseize, use a minimal amount, a tiny dab vertically striped across the plug threads.  That will then distribute itself over the threads as you install the plug, without changing torquing specs.

 

[96grimreaper]

Changed the plugs to Ford SP534 in anticipation of my LMS tunes which hopefully will be here today. Out of the box they were gapped between .30 and .34,  I went ahead and set the gap to .30.  Took roughly an hour and a half to change the plugs and I only broke 1 red clip. Big hands and transverse motors don't get along too well.  Factory plugs were all over the place from .33 all the way up to .38.

Might be a placebo effect, but the car already seems to run a little better.

 

[SHOdded]

Yeah, those red clips work well, but are really annoying the first few times ...