I tried looking for a thread but is there any trick to getting the spark plugs out on the pass. side of a 4.0L? I was thinking maybe if I took the inside wheel well out I could easily get to them. So is there a trick or am I just being lazy? Ford made it so nothings ever easy. -_-

 

yea pull out the fender liner and do it...or you can do what i did and left that job to the dealer lol

 

They are surprisingly really easy to do.
Step 1- pull wheel and inner fender plastics


Step 2- remove old plugs that are right in front of you.

 

Thanks!

 

Yep go through the fenders and have someone help you from up top, makes job soooo easy!

 

I hope you had a step 1.5.....put truck on jackstands!

 

^ agreed!

 

Michael:

The passenger side is a bit harder, just because there is not that much room over there. But the job is still ridiculously easy, if you can turn a wrench there is no need to pay the dealership to do it. I actually did it twice over the summer. Once with autolites, and then again with the oem motocraft plugs, based on the recommendations from guys on this forum. There is no need to jack the truck up and take the wheel off, but it does make the passenger side alot easier. Just turn the wheel all the way to one side, and you can access this area enough to get the job done.

Some little tidbits of advice:

Spray the areas where the plugs are with some wd-40 well before you attempt to break them loose. You do not want to break a spark plug off in the engine block, cuz then you are screwed. (or at least you have to pay $$$ to get it out) Also make damn sure nothing falls into the engine through the empty holes when you do get them out. Be sure to properly gap all the new plugs before you install them, and do them one at a time so you don't mix the wires up for the firing order.

Good luck! and I hoped some of this helped.

 

Thanks paganwars, this will help a lot and hopefully make it a little easier with some insight.

 

No prob. Its well worth it, I gained 2 mpg and my truck accelerated much smoother after changing them out. Also consider changing the wires as well if they have the same mileage on them. I think the worst thing about the job was skinning my knuckles every time I turned that wrench lol. Not a lot of room to work in there, but if you are thin like me it should be pretty easy. All in all its more annoying than actually difficult imo.

 

I don't know when the last time the previous owner changed them and I haven't in the 30,000 I've put on it so hopefully it will help. I will buy new wires soon too. Does an upgraded coil help at all? Also, should I wait to get the wires to put the plugs in or will it not matter?

 

Ok so I changed the plugs today and now I have a ticking sound from the middle plug on the drivers side that's annoying as hell and I managed to brake the plastic hose on the spherical vacuum thing so my vents don't open -_- also, my front radiator support has holes in it from rust. Unbelievable. No real difference from what I can see.

 

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If the hose has a leak just tape it up. The ticking could be arcing did you put it in correctly ( dont say you did) go take it out and put it back in. If you didnt do wires do them. Also I'm not surprised about the rust lay down and look at your frame

 

Dave, I think I know what the problem is but I don't want to face it.. I think the dumb previous owner before me cross threaded it and that's why it won't go in all the way. The plug on one of them just will not catch and the other goes in half way and then stops. I knew it from the first turn of the wrench. This truck must have been owned by some stupid @$$ kid before me because I have found some half @$$ed things done and it pisses me off when I find them. Also I think my truck was in a front end accident for sure. The hose broke off inside the rubber fitting so I will just pick a new one up. It was like 25 degrees out so I'm not suprised it broke.. as for the rust it is my goal this spring to get as much of the underside sealed as possible. A little POR15 and bed liner should do it.

 

Glad to hear you got it done. Were the plugs you took out original? One easy way to tell if they are still the factory plugs, 1.) if they are made motorcraft and 2) they will have little dots of paint on the ends. They come this way from the factory.

One thing I forgot to tell you is always start threading the plugs by hand, never with a wrench. Then you tighten them down with a wrench. Its almost impossible to cross thread anything by hand, unless you are a gorilla lol. I'm not saying that you messed it up personally, but its something to keep in mind.

Get another plug and test it out in this spot where it won't go in all the way. Start by threading it gently in by hand. They should go in with only a twist of your fingers. You do not want to be driving around with a plug thats only part-ways in, as it may or may not shoot out during combustion.

As far as the radiator rust, if its that bad I wouldn't go slapping anything on it yet. You've got to drill or cut out the worst of the corrosion, and then use a rust converter. Followed by some paint or your choice of sealant. My '04 has some rust spots on the radiator support as well, its on my to-do list, lol.

 

I have a good background with mechanics and I NEVER start with a wrench (this should be common sense for people). The plugs before were auto lites so they have been changed before. If I could see what I was looking at I would know for sure what is wrong.

 

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You could pull the head off and heli coil it. Good as new

 

What plugs did you put back in?

 

Motor craft.

 

atta boy.