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so, ready to tackle the oxygen sensors. just wanted to confirm:
looking toward the front on the driver's side, this is one of the upstream sensors, right? looking toward the front on the passenger side, this is the other upstream sensor, right? and this is the downstream sensor that i should probably leave alone, right?
thanks for all the help so far, folks. i've learned a lot already. :)
so, both upstream o2 sensors have been replaced, downstream sensor left alone. job was easy with a cheap offset sensor socket. old sensors looked... old?
old o2 sensor, possibly original?
with that done, i moved on to replacing the spark plugs and wires. the old plugs seem in pretty bad shape - buildup on the electrode and gap way too big (measuring closer to .070 when recommended is .052 - .057).
old plugs
you may have noticed there are only 5 in the picture... all 3 on the driver side were pretty easy. first one on the passenger side sucked. second one on the passenger side *really* sucked. the last one on the passenger side, i don't even see how to get to. coming from underneath doesn't seem possible for me (i'd have to reach up past the exhaust and o2 sensor), and trying to snake down from the top and go back seems way too tight as well. taking off the wheel and liner doesn't seem like it would help. any advice? again, it's a 2004 4.0, and i can take pictures of the area if necessary. thanks for all the help and advice.
Taking off the passenger side tire and removing the splash guard is the only way I do the passenger side spark plugs. That makes it easier to get to those spark plugs than it is to get to the driver side spark plugs from the top.
well, i took the advice and put it up on stands, removed the passenger side tire, and i realized there was already a perfect gap in the liner which wasn't comfortable to reach through, but was pretty well-placed and actually less painful than doing the first two from above. so i got all the new plugs and wires installed, and it started up strong, going to 2500rpm for about 10 seconds, then dropping to 1000rpm for about 30 seconds, and then settling at about 750rpm with a nice smooth idle and maintaining that up to operating temp and for the 5 minutes i let it run. (it was 70°F today, so not cold.) can i take that as confirmation that i didn't screw up the plugs and wires? a mistake would become obvious almost immediately, right? and should i be concerned about those first 10 seconds at 2000+, or is that normal?
