I went to Autozone and picked up some spark plugs tonight for a tune up (that might have been my first mistake). The plugs that came out of the truck were Motorcraft Platinums that had the numbers AGSF 22P on them. The guy at Autozone sold me Motorcraft Platinums AGSF 32FM. Are these even close to right? I gapped them to .042 (as the sticker under the hood suggested and I checked it against the Haynes manual) and the truck runs like crap. I'm going down there tomorrow to ask the guy what's the deal. Any thoughts on these plugs?

 

autozone sold you resistor-less spark plugs

( the coil completely discharges before it has time to spool another charge )
the resistor type plugs prevent the coil from completely dis-charging , therefore it has enough time to spool another charge .

you will be better off with just the basic champion spark plugs

i am presently using the new CHAMPION COPPER PLUS plugs

and they work damn good

 

Uhhhhh no.

AGSF22P vs AGSF32FM

A = 14mm thread, 3/8 gasket seat
G = 3/4" reach
S = Suppressor (Carbon)
F = Tapered Seat
First number = Heat range
Second number = Cannot remember
P = Single platinum-nickel electrode
or
FM = Finewire platinum-nickel centerwire electrode, nickel plated shell
or
PM = Single platinum-nickel electrode, nickle plated shell

Factory 3.0 plugs are AGSF32PM / SP-493, one step colder Motorcraft plugs are AGSF22FM / SP-500.

Given what you pulled out was one step colder than factory, someone may have been trying to take care of a pinging problem. "Runs like crap" doesn't really describe the problem too well, does it ping/knock? If so, the counter professional did not sell you the wrong plug, but they may not be aware of the pinging problem of most 3.0s.

 

Good post

 

Thanks for the info, gang! This is exactly what I needed to know. Get this, though. The truck says on the little sticker the gap should be .042-.046. I took the 22P plugs out of the truck (which ran fine, by the way) and the gap was .090 on them! Is this normal? How would the thing even run well with this high of a gap on this type of plug?

As a side note, the truck doesn't ping. Never has.

 

It will run, but it will carbon track the rotor button and cap with continued use, I know this from experience. GM recommended a .060" on my Pontiac because it was during the time of emissions clamp down, it was a cheap fix to get by the smog police, but it ate up rotors and caps like crazy.

But there is no cap and rotor on your 00.. when was the last time you replaced the coil pack?

 

I was told some spark plugs require a diff. gap than that of what the engine says.

I was also told, as long as it's not LARGER than what the engine says, it won't cause any damages.

-shrug-

I just follow the instructions on the spark-plugs.

 

Turns out NO ONE (except maybe Ford) carries the Motorcraft 22P spark plugs. I went with the Champion Platinums and the truck just purrs now. What's really weird is the little metal tip on the 22P spark plugs had burned off (apparently these were the original spark plugs and had 142k miles on them!) and because of that, had burned the gap open to .080 on all 6 of them! I have no idea how the truck was even running but it was running quite well on the original plugs like that. It'll be interesting to see how well the truck runs tomorrow on the highway.

 

Never. The truck has 142k miles on it and still runs perfectly. I refuse to change it until it stops working well. Those things aren't cheap. :)

 

Did some more digging, the AGSF22P is actually the factory plug for the 4.0, but Ford tossed them in 3.0 FFVs too, some people complained these plugs caused pinging and stopped using them.

There was also a mention the plugs may have been discontinued and superseded by another number, two other proven 3.0 plugs were recommended, AGSF12PP and AGSF22PPM.

 

Nice information here on plugs but I have another question. I see a lot of 22P's mentioned here but in the manual for my 02, 3.0L not a flex fuel, it states the following. Am I missing something here?

Plug Type: AWSF-32PP***

*** If any spark plug needs to be removed for inspection, it must be
re-installed in the same cylinder. Cylinders No.1, 2 and 3 have a “PG”
suffix. Cylinders No. 4, 5 and 6 have a “P” suffix. If any spark plug needs
to be replaced, use only spark plugs with the service part number suffix
letters “PP” as shown on the engine decal.

 

I have a 2003 3.0l Flex and the factory plug is a AGSF-22PP per the owners manual.

 

What is the part # for the Champion plugs? I've got a 99 3.0L w/ Flex Fuel. It seems really doggy lately and I think it may be due for new plugs. Well, that's at least where I plan on starting.

 

What did you end up gapping the Champions at .42 like motorcraft?