[Jeff K]

Also a good idea to take a shop air gun and blow the Tec deep well holes out with air to get any crap out of there that may have gotten in there BEFORE you remove the old plugs. I acutally do this on all engines before a plug change.

 

[gvk]

On Gen 4's there are about four diferent levels of dificulty for the rear sparkplugs depending on whether it's Vulcan/Duratec, cop/coil pack,year, etc. The argument of how to replace the rear plugs also depends on how much you are prepared to "risk" working "blind". I think most "Shops" play it safe and pull the UIM for Duratecs. I have a 2001 Duratec which is probably the worst for access to the rear bank. The darned coil pack is a PITA itself to remove it's bolts mounted right over the plugs # 2 and #3 the removal of the bolts for that is working blind. OOph!! The UIM has to be pulled unless you are Houdini with hands the size of a pygmy??? For educated fun--TCCA should set up a Mr Rear Plugs competition for Mr Champion Sparkplug Dude----how fast can it be done???? Mr Rear Sparkpug Remover of the Month-----King RSM---Might be a great small business?

For 2001 duratec you have to remove the cowl and after that it is easy.

 

[danhasenauer]

For 2001 duratec you have to remove the cowl and after that it is easy.

+1^...for any Tec. I have never pulled the UIM for a plug change.

 

[stwalke2]

Finished the Change

So I did it! Changed all 6 spark plugs. It took about 2 hours since I was being careful and couldn't get those clip things off the for the life of me. The back plugs were actually easier than I thought other than the #2 boot took about 10min to get off, ha.

So check out 5 of the 6 old plugs below. I don't think they needed to be changed . Take special note to the center one...holy cow, that isn't a camera trick...the thing is a nub.

Thanks to all for your help and I'm sure I'll need it again since my next project is to fix the windshield wiper fluid tubing that broke 3 years ago.

 

[stwalke2]

Total cost of project $80. Total quoted by auto mechanic $300. I just saved $220 by doing it myself.

 

[danhasenauer]

Well, other than worn center electrodes, they look normal. Good job!

 

[toronut]

Those plugs are not platinums or irridiuns. They are copper? Nothing wrong with that .

 

[stwalke2]

Those plugs are not platinums or irridiuns. They are copper? Nothing wrong with that .

They were platinums. Those were stock plugs from the factory. I put in Motorcrafts back in as well since that's all they had at the store.

 

[sheila]

^ Good job!

 

[bull geek]

Nice work man!

 

[steelstr45]

Good job getting it done yourself. Why did it cost $80 though? Dealer original stuff?

I remember when I did mine it cost me under $30 with wires and plugs from an auto parts store. It was like $14 for the wire set, and like $2 per plug if I remember correctly.

Those clips were the hardest part of the project though! After I finally got them off using a lot of wd-40 and pliers.

At least on my Gen 3, they are supposed to unclip to get the wires out, but were on there backwards from the factory! So I had to remove them off their studs completely to unclip them. I put them back on the 'right' way so that next time I could just unclip them instead of removing them.

The plugs and wires lasted the rest of the cars life (around 60,000 miles more), but sadly the brakes went and transmission, and a bunch of leaks forced us to scrap it at just under 200,000miles.

 

[stwalke2]

Good job getting it done yourself. Why did it cost $80 though? Dealer original stuff?

I remember when I did mine it cost me under $30 with wires and plugs from an auto parts store. It was like $14 for the wire set, and like $2 per plug if I remember correctly.

Those clips were the hardest part of the project though! After I finally got them off using a lot of wd-40 and pliers.

At least on my Gen 3, they are supposed to unclip to get the wires out, but were on there backwards from the factory! So I had to remove them off their studs completely to unclip them. I put them back on the 'right' way so that next time I could just unclip them instead of removing them.

The plugs and wires lasted the rest of the cars life (around 60,000 miles more), but sadly the brakes went and transmission, and a bunch of leaks forced us to scrap it at just under 200,000miles.

Yeah, I couldn't find a wire set under $50 and the plugs were $5 each which happened to be the original motorcraft ones...all they had in stock (well, with 6).

I coulda waited a week and done Rock Auto with other parks for about $30 but I feel comfortable using stock manufacturer plugs given this is my first time and its all they had across the street!

Either way, I saved some serious cash.

I just ordered my wiper hoses from Amazon of all places. We'll see how that goes next week.

 

[wjc]

Yeah, I couldn't find a wire set under $50 and the plugs were $5 each which happened to be the original motorcraft ones...all they had in stock (well, with 6).

I coulda waited a week and done Rock Auto with other parks for about $30 but I feel comfortable using stock manufacturer plugs given this is my first time and its all they had across the street!

Either way, I saved some serious cash.

I just ordered my wiper hoses from Amazon of all places. We'll see how that goes next week.

Believe it or not I've ordered quite a few tools and parts from Amazon lately. I've been surprised by how much automotive stuff they stock, and the prices are great. Got a Beck Arnley timing kit for my dad's Nissan truck for $117 delivered, cheaper than anywhere locally.

 

[fct]

This is my first post and I first want to say what a great forum and thanks in advance for any help. I've done a few quick searches but haven't really found an answer so I'm doing the easy thing and just asking.

I have a 2003 Ford Taurus @ 120k miles (v6 by the way). Apparently the spark plugs have never been replaced. My auto repairman quoted me $715 for changing the wires, plugs and (unrelated) 2 back tires. Judging from past experience that puts the spark plug and wire cost at around $400+.

I asked Meineke Auto Repeairs shop for a quote to change all spark plugs with new double platinums. Their quote was around $170 for labor and parts, including engine diagnostics. Granted, this was with a $30 coupon. I thought that's still too expensive, and possibly a ploy into getting me to pay for other services I'll try to change them myself too..

 

[stwalke2]

I asked Meineke Auto Repeairs shop for a quote to change all spark plugs with new double platinums. Their quote was around $170 for labor and parts, including engine diagnostics. Granted, this was with a $30 coupon. I thought that's still too expensive, and possibly a ploy into getting me to pay for other services I'll try to change them myself too..

It is way easier than I thought. It's like plug and play. I used to build computers and thought that was easy...the hardest part about it is the stupid clips Ford uses. This is coming from a guy who just started to do his own car work. Hell, I don't even change my own oil (that's cause the cost savings aren't there yet, ha).

 

[huntrm47]

did you have any trouble taking the back wires off? i can get one of mine but the other 2 are hard. if i pulled my hardest i still couldn't do it. I tried wd-40 and that didnt help much, anybody know another little trick that might help?

 

[steelstr45]

did you have any trouble taking the back wires off? i can get one of mine but the other 2 are hard. if i pulled my hardest i still couldn't do it. I tried wd-40 and that didnt help much, anybody know another little trick that might help?

try a slight twisting motion, but be careful.

They do sell special tools to pull spark plug wires if it's really completely jammed on there.

Usually, on the Duratec engines I just twist the plug back and fourth while pulling and it comes out, but I've never had one really badly stuck.

Be aware, if it breaks off in there or something, you may be kind of screwed haha. I can't imagine it breaking though unless it's really bad.

 

[stwalke2]

did you have any trouble taking the back wires off? i can get one of mine but the other 2 are hard. if i pulled my hardest i still couldn't do it. I tried wd-40 and that didnt help much, anybody know another little trick that might help?

Number 2 was the hardest. I just had to twist a few times and pull hard. try to tug form the base of the boot, not where it does the 90 degree bend...if that makes sense.

Make sure all the clips are off as well.

 

[huntrm47]

ok ill try it out again this week. ill let you know how it goes. Thanks Alot!

 

[k8crd]

No way will I replace by 2004 duratec rear plugs without removing the UIM

On Gen 4's there are about four diferent levels of dificulty for the rear sparkplugs depending on whether it's Vulcan/Duratec, cop/coil pack,year, etc. The argument of how to replace the rear plugs also depends on how much you are prepared to "risk" working "blind". I think most "Shops" play it safe and pull the UIM for Duratecs. I have a 2001 Duratec which is probably the worst for access to the rear bank. The darned coil pack is a PITA itself to remove it's bolts mounted right over the plugs # 2 and #3 the removal of the bolts for that is working blind. OOph!! The UIM has to be pulled unless you are Houdini with hands the size of a pygmy??? For educated fun--TCCA should set up a Mr Rear Plugs competition for Mr Champion Sparkplug Dude----how fast can it be done???? Mr Rear Sparkpug Remover of the Month-----King RSM---Might be a great small business?

+1

I removed the passenger side upper and lower cowl to check into the possibility of changing the rear plugs on my 2004 duratec.

I took a couple of pictures. There is no way I would even attempt to changed the plugs this way.

I will order the gaskets for the UIM and then remove it to change the plugs.

The first picture shows the location of #1 cop and the UIM.

The second picture shows the pass. side upper & lower cowl removed.