I want to replace the plugs and wires on my 2002 model. Do those caps on the plugs just pull straight up and off? I don't want to break something by not knowing before hand. also would ford parts be best or is there another brand that is better? also in my manual it says my engine can have either 8 or 4 plugs, I cant see 8. Is there a sticker on the truck that would tell me? I know the last question is a dumb one but hey thanks for any advice!!!

 

There was a year or two that the engine came with an extra set of spark plugs that were mounted into the exhaust manifold to burn the exhaust gases more to help with EPA regulations. Your 2.3 should have one coil pack that holds all 4 plug wires, there is no distributor any more on most cars and trucks built after 1996. The engine is computer controlled and most of what was involved in tune-ups was made a thing of the past. It as easy as it can be now, the only problem is the vast amounts of plugs and wires you can choose from. I went with E-3 sparks plugs and stayed with the oem wires. I had one issue with the plugs, they look identical in size but the seat on the E-3 plug is higher then the oem. The plug sets deeper in the plug valley ( were the plug screws into the cylinder ) and the oem plug wire didn't quite snap on the E-3 plug in the #1 cylinder as well as the other 3 cylinders. I trimmed down the side of the plug boot to make it fit lower into the plug valley.

 

Your engine is a 2.3L Duratec engine with only 4 plugs. The 2.3L Lima engine has 8 plugs and 2 coilpacks, as stated before.

The first time before I unplugged the wires from the coilpack and removed them from the spark plug wells, I draw on a piece of paper how the wires ran from the coilpack to each cylinder. Something to keep in mind in order to not mess with the wire order.

In order to remove them, disconnect the end from the coilpack and then give a little twist to the end by the cylinder, and just pull it straight out. Do not pull it out too hard, just pry it gently.

I recommend you to use Autolite/Motorcraft plugs and wires. I replaced my original wires with Autolite and 15k miles later they've been working fine with no issues at all. Plugs are Autolite as well. I've tried Platinum, Double Platinum and Copper plugs. Right now, I'm running Copper plugs.